profile evaluation

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profile evaluation

by anutakoluchka » Thu Mar 17, 2011 10:07 pm
Dear consultants and members of beatthegmat,

I would appreciate your advice, suggestion, or thought regarding my profile. I plan to apply to a graduate business school (MBA program) within NYC area. My area options are: Columbia, NYU Stern, Baruch College, and Fordham University. My intended major is Marketing.

BACKGROUND & EDUCATION
I am a 22 year-old female. Originally from Central Asia, I grew up in Russia, where I graduated from top 20 universities. My first degree is English Teaching and Social Sciences from a local school (full-time) and my second one is in Government and Municipality Management from one of Moscow universities (part-time). Both programs I finished with honors and received a number of scholarships.

WORK EXPERIENCE
My work experience is pretty diverse. I worked as an English teacher in Russia and as a counselor at summer camps in the USA with advanced group and special needs students. My total teaching experience including part-time and full-time positions is 3 years. While studying at school, I joined major local advertising agency in my city where I gained marketing research and promotions experience. There I was promoted and worked as a promotions manager for a period of 3 years.
I've been living in NY for almost 2 years. Due to the restrictions of an international student status, I have limited work opportunities. I held positions of an assistant manager and bartender within a restaurant.

GMAT
I took gmat once and scored 600. To be honest, I was surprised. My practice test results varied from 640 to 690. Besides, my score breakdown is not well-balanced. My verbal section score is on the lower side compared to my quant. Any suggestions on this?

EXTRACURRICULAR
Extracurricular activities coordinator at school, volunteer at orphanages and hospitals, folklore and ballet dancer.

Thank you in advance for your help!






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by Tani » Fri Mar 18, 2011 7:18 pm
Your background and education are strong, but the GMAT will be a barrier for most of the New York area colleges. If you can afford to take a test prep course, by all means do so. The test strategies can move your score ahead significantly. I have seen students increase scores by as much as 200 points. There are many options in New York, including more affordable online courses. For the verbal section, one of the best things you can do is to read well-written material in English as much as possible.

Your work experience will limit you, although some schools will make allowances for the fact that you don't have the visa needed to get a management job in this country. At 22, your work experience must be largely part-time while in school or during summers. That will make you less attractive to top-ranked schools such as Columbia and NYU. Since you are already in New York, you should consider contacting the admissions departments at Fordham and Baruch to get their input on your profile and what you might need to do to improve it before applying.

Good luck,
Tani Wolff