Should I even put any efforts to write my GMAT ? Please help

Free advice from the world's top MBA consultants
This topic has expert replies
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Oct 23, 2010 8:42 pm
Hi, I have been discouraged a lot during my Preparation for my GMAT scheduled Dec 9th 2010.

I am Indian Female 26 years of age

Did my undergrad in a top 20 engineerg school in India (Bachelors in Computer Science Engg) with a very low gpa or 5.65 on a scale of 10.(Reason being my mom passed away during my first year)

I later on joined a business school which awards post graduation diploma in business administration (PGDBA - most schools in India offer this and not MBA's) with specialization in telecom management with a gpa of 72 on a scale of 100 ...

I got placed through my business school in a telecom organisation and worked for 2 years as Senior Executive Product Management with a recognition award for excellence.

I later got married to a guy living in USA and came over to USA in June 2010. I cannot work here as I am on dependent visa. So I thought I should do a MBA here in supply chain to improvise my skills and get a work visa of my own ... hence started preparing for GMAT and scheduled the same for Dec 9th 2010. In the course of my preparation I have been meeting ppl and everyone seem to think that I have a very tough chance in getting into a good school due to my Low GPA and also the fact that I already have a Graduate degree in Business, low experience(2 years) and presently jobless(because I cannot work on a dependent visa)

I am looking at the following schools and my GMAT is in the range of 670-720 in my practice exams.
1) UC Davis
2) USC MArshall
3) ASU
4) Thunderbird
5) UC Irvine
6) UW - Foster

Can you please Advise me as to what my chances are in getting into one of the above schools. Will my existing business degree and low undergrad gpa(was depressed due to my mom's demise) and low experience(2 years) and presently jobless(because I cannot work on a dependant visa) hamper my prospect of getting into a good school ?


Should I even put any efforts to write my GMAT ?


Your frank reply would be greatly appreciated.
Source: — Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant |

User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 1255
Joined: Fri Nov 07, 2008 2:08 pm
Location: St. Louis
Thanked: 312 times
Followed by:90 members

by Tani » Sun Oct 24, 2010 10:47 am
Yes, some of the factors you mention will lower your chances for a top school, but they do not rule you out. Most schools give you a chance to explain details such as your mother's death. If you can show that your grades improved significantly by senior year, that will mitigate your low early grades. They also will understand that you do not have permissions to work here. You will have to compensate for your current lack of work by demonstrating the quality of your earlier work.


THe business degree is a bigger problem. They will definitely want to know why you need another degree. If they sense that you are simply trying to find something to do here, they will not be supportive. You will have to have clear reasons based on your goals and the curriculum in India for wanting a second degree. If your program in India was not up to date on supply chain, that would be a good argument to make.

Some of the schools that you have selected have higher acceptance rates than others. Those will be your best bet. With your international background, Thunderbird should be an excellent choice and it has a strong acceptance rate. Although it's overall rank is not high, it is ranked #1 for international business. ASU is a good bet because of its strong ranking in the supply chain and logistics. To be safe, you should probably find one or two more schools with acceptance rates around 50%. University of Tennessee - Knoxville is in a lovely town and has a strong supply chain program. They will be more interested in your goals and they have a smaller international group so that will help your odds.

Should you bother? It depends on your goals. If you are only willing to go to a top fifty school, then you will face some risk, but that does not mean you will not get in anywhere.

Good luck,
Tani Wolff

Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Oct 23, 2010 8:42 pm

by savithav » Sun Oct 24, 2010 12:36 pm
Thanks a ton for giving me a clearer picture as to what I need to do. I will definitely give GMAT a shot and then pick up probably the best colleges which will be more lenient given my factors.

Once again appreciate your help a lot

User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 1255
Joined: Fri Nov 07, 2008 2:08 pm
Location: St. Louis
Thanked: 312 times
Followed by:90 members

by Tani » Sun Oct 24, 2010 2:38 pm
Glad to help. Good luck!
Tani Wolff