Research MBA Programs

Hey everyone,

After hours upon hours of research and mixed reviews I was able to put together what I believe is the consensus and wanted to get some opinions on the subject. My career path is to become a commercial real estate developer/investor and am looking for the best path in order to accomplish that goal, whether it be a top MBA program or a MSRE/MRED.

I'm 23 years old and graduated Dec. 2013 with a major in finance from the University of Central Florida. GPA is 3.4 and my GMAT score was a disappointing 570. I have been working with my Dad for 6 months who is a commercial real estate developer/investor for his own company. I also already have my RE license and have taken one (1) and plan on taking my second Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) course in the approaching couple months, which is the premier designation within the commercial real estate field.

From what I've been reading i heard that you should try and get into the absolute best MBA program you can (top 25/50; regardless if they have a RE concentration) or one of the top tier MSRE/MRED programs if the top MBA isn't achievable. The top tier MSRE/MRED programs from my research are (in no specific order) MIT, USC, Cornell, Columbia and NYU (IF ANY OTHERS PLEASE ADD).

Long story short I'm seeking for advice on which path to take between the MBA and MSRE/MRED. I'm coming to the realization that due to my lack of experience I'm going to have to retake the GMAT which I'm confident I can score atleast a 620 and probably higher than that.

THANKS!

Hey Man,
I'm in a similar situation as you. I'm 29, living in South Florida, looking for an MBA in RE or MSRE (haven't decided). My application has issues also. My gmat is 620, but my gpa is a 3.1., my experience is in Architecture. Blah Blah...

Anyway, I wanted to see how things developed for you. Personally I didn't respect the GMAT at first, I thought it was just a test I had to study for, but really it's something you have to dedicate everything to. When studying I didn't go out or date or hang with friends. I worked and studied, that's it, for almost 6 months. My personal idea for what I thought was 'working hard' grew tremendously. I know that test so well I could give a 90 min presentation about it. I had to change how I see test questions and how I analyzed answer choices. It's not just a test to know arguments or math problems. I'm a better critical thinker because of the gmat, and you kind of have make changes like that to do well on it. I'll take it agian, bc if I don't get a 680 on it I wont get into my choice schools. But I'm also building my application. I'm taking classes at the university I want to go as a Non-degree seeking student, I'm interning at RE firms, I'm getting my license. I'm meeting people and developing every area of my application. I see you're doing a lot of that also. That's great man. But I want to ensure that even if I only got a 650 on the gmat, I'd have such a strong app on everything else that I'd get in anyway.

Have you taken any gmat classes? I recommend the Kaplan online class.

As for your school of choice. I have a family memeber that's also applying for MBA's this year and with a gmat of 730 and 5 years of being an army captain he only got into Michigan and Texas. It's not easy. Ivy league has competitors all over the world.

Anyway, Best of luck, I'd like to know how things have changed for you since March.