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Hello!

As the title indicated, I'm not interested in an MBA. I am, however, applying to other related programs, such as MS Marketing, MS Integrated Marketing Communications, and MS Mass Communications. Some of these programs are at B-Schools, and some are part of the university's J-School, and yet others are part of the university's A-School (advertising).

Here's my question: Is a 650+ GMAT score good enough for these non-MBA programs? After exploring this site over the last few weeks, it seems like everyone is aiming for an MBA at a top 20 school, and they absolutely must have a 750 score minimum. Apparently, all of these people will die from spontaneous combustion if a 750 is not achieved or if they are not accepted to a top 20 school.

There are SO FEW programs out there that offer an MS in Marketing/IMC/Mass Communications that all of them are top 20 and bottom 20 simultaneously. There isn't any public ranking - it's more about fit.

Will a 650+ be fine? Of course I want to score as well as possible so I can be proud of myself and also impress the admissions committee, but I just don't think anything much higher than that really reveals anything about an applicant.

Also, do you have any idea of the level of competition for these programs? I imagine that most people interested in business will head straight for an MBA instead of a more specialized degree. Am I wrong?

Stats:

UC Berkeley - B.A. Mass Communications, graduated Dec 2008
GPA: 3.3ish
Relevant Coursework: Intro to Marketing, Global Marketing, History of Advertising, Visual Cultural Studies, 1st Amendment and the Press, Cultural Industries

Leadership: Vice President / Publicity Director of major student organization at Cal. Managed $100,000 budget for annual events.

Experience: 4 Internships
-DreamWorks Animation (Marketing and Events)
-Sparkpr (Public Relations)
-Badmash (Marketing)
-Craigslist Foundation (Events)

What do you think? Since there aren't many of these programs, this forum is the closest I can get to admissions consultants who might be able to give me a good evaluation of my candidate profile.

Hello and thanks for your question.

The majority of GMAT takers generally are targetting an MBA, which I think is why there is that leaning on here. My expertise is in MBA admissions, but I'll try to give what guidance I can.

Re the GMAT: look at what information your target programs give, specifically average GMAT score and 80% range. This will help you to judge how your score sits with what the programs are looking for.

If there are so few programs then I would expect it to be relatively competitive to get into at least the most generably desirable of them, especially if it's a helpful qualification to have to break into a desirable and competitive industry. Again, look at the information the progams publish about numbers who apply, numbers admitted, and student profiles. You could also contact admissions staff from some of the programs who interest you and talk to them about your candidacy.

I hope this is helpful, and good luck with your applications.

Helen

That is kind of odd how they house the same programs in different deparmtents but that may also reflect different foci of the programs. So...a few thoughts:

- Like an MBA applicant, think very carefully about the focus of the program and its particular strengths; a program in a business school may be more geared towards marketing and marketing research; a program in an A-school may be more geared towards graphic design...

- The websites of these programs will almost certainly have information on the programs including admissions statistics. I would start there.

- Talk to alumni and current students to get the vibe of the place and benchmark yourself against them (noting that it is NOT a representative sample!).

Good luck with your application. Do give a shout if you need help on the application since there are some similarities.

Paxton

P.S. A 750 GMAT is NOT required to get into a top-twenty business school. They would be pretty under-enrolled if that were the standard!