Wharton and Tuck

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Wharton and Tuck

by tcfrank » Mon Dec 06, 2010 8:48 am
Hello! Thank you for all of your responses, I know that I and several other applicants find them very useful.

I have a few quick questions about applying to Wharton and Tuck. I am a current MA student at The Johns Hopkins University SAIS and they have a formal dual degree program established with Wharton and Tuck. I am applying to both of these schools but am a little worried about my work experience. I have 6 months working in software sales, a year in financial services, and a year working as a private english tutor in South East Asia. Additionally, I currently work for the Economics Department as a teaching assistant. Should I address my limited amount of work experience in my essays? I considered deferring my acceptance to SAIS to gain an extra year of work experience for the dual degree application, but I realized I would not gain any additional skills or knowledge by staying at my position for another year. I have a 3.54 undergrad gpa from UC Santa Barbara with majors in Business Economics and Communication, and will have over a 700 on my GMAT.

Any advice is greatly appreciated, if I don't stand a chance and should save my application money, please feel free to tell me that as well.

Best,


TcF
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by Lisa Anderson » Thu Dec 09, 2010 8:16 am
Dear TcF,

It is not so much about the quantity as it is the quality of your work experience. In your tenure at these jobs, did you progress at a rapid rate? did you make contributions that positively impacted the company? did you gain/enhance skills relevant to your future career goals? I would not say applying as a dual degree student is a waste of your time if you feel you can present your work experience effectively in your resume and essays. You need to demonstrate a readiness for business school now and show you have gained skills relevant and transferable to your post-MBA career path. Likewise, you want your recommendations to reflect this readiness, leadership potential, and skill set. Finally, if you score 700+ on the GMAT, then your academic measure (GMAT + GPA) will be strong. Think about your situation and assess your experience--then decide if you feel you can effectively present it.

Good luck,
Lisa
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