Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant

Dear Consultant,

I am struggling between getting a job in real estate or management consulting.
In general, is a job in consulting better in MBA admission?

Why are there so few people in real estate who would go for an MBA?

I have got offers from two companies.
One is a very very prominent and well established property developer in China (but less known in the US of course)
One is IBM Consulting (international)

I am personally more interested in property development,
but I was worried that it would hurt my chance to go for an MBA,
because IBM is definitely known by the admission people...and consulting seems a better fit?

But in general, how do MBA Admissions view candidates with background in real estate????

Hello,

Essentially, you should choose the path that is most meaningful to you, as it will allow you to create the best applicaton.

1. The goals that you describe in your application are essentially the "backbone" of your application, and therefore everything relates directly or indirectly to them. Therefore, if your goals are in real estate development, then choosing work that enables you to create a thoughtful and logical "story" leading up to those goals is ideal - hence, selecting the real estate position could be worthwhile in this context.
2. Adcoms are interested in consultants, but they're also interested in diversity, including industry/sector diversity. They have fewer applications in real estate than they do in consulting, yet real estate (especially global) is an incredibly important industry. Therefore, you could view it as a strength, as long as you portray it advantageously in your application.
3. How adcoms view real estate varies. It is not in itself negative or positive. It is relative to your goals, what you have to say about it from your experience and research, how well you convey the value of the school's resources as pertain to real estate, etc.

Best regards,
Cindy Tokumitsu
Senior Editor, Accepted.com