Ask Stacy Blackman

Hi,

I am applying to the NYU Part time MBA and would like your opinion on my profile as it stands and whether you think it is a match with the NYU Program.

- In my experience I have done three different internships (they were during breaks so they were Full time experiences for a combines period of 18 weeks).

- I have been employed at a bank and was rotated in different departments for training in which time I worked in investment, marketing, and operations. The period here was 6 months

- I then started my own company (I got an offer from a VC) and after having guided it to success I dealt with a major blow as my investor ran into some financial troubles and had to sell the business after it did really well. The whole experience lasted a year and the business recorded a profit during that time.

- I then started a franchise business (after a small break) and now own three of them with a partner, the business does well and I have worked on several strategies to make it work. I worked on a plan to partner with Equinox (the fitness center) and made some great strategies but I believe that going back to school here would be the right decision.

- I had a 3.47 GPA during my BBA (Hons) and a 3.35 during my MBA.

- I have been a speaker throughout my academic career, I have also presided over a society and been a member of 4 others during my under-grad.

- My internships were actually really tough as the last one was in Novartis at a time when the department was severely handicapped (three people left and they had to do 7 launches in 8 months) and the one before that where I made the SOP's of the whole department, the work involved analyzing and recording procedures for the whole department. It was extremely tough as I was barely in the 4th semester but the project went well.


- Will the experience carry more weight because it was entrepreneurship or will any such weight be eradicated by the fact that these weren't huge successes? The cumulation without internships comes to 3 years.

- How should I position myself for this MBA? would my business liquidations act adversely for me? is it a decent enough position for a part-time MBA? I don't want to waste my time as I have impending responsibilities and therefore don't want to do a full-time MBA.

- I haven't given my GMAT yet but my first practice test yielded 650 and I am improving as I prepare so for the sake of argument lets assume I get a 680-720.

- Also, one of my friends helped me plenty during me own venture? should I get her recommendation as a consultant to the company? she did the same work, just didn't have the title

Thanks for your advice, I'll make sure I clarify the status of the recommender so there is no ambiguity but I believe it is still important to choose someone who can give the most in-depth and personable account of my achievements. I will share my gmat scores soon and ask for more of your valuable advice.

Also, is it necessary to have a supervisor do the recommending? most of my colleagues were the one's who can give very specific and detailed explanations of my work and abilities.

Hi Lisa,

I got a 680 on my GMAT and a 5.5 on my verbal. My understanding is that I will neither be greatly helped nor highly disregarded because of this score. Therefore, I am trying my best to really understand the schools I am applying to. The final list looks like this

- NYU
- Michigan Ross
- Worcester Polytechnic
- Rice University
- U Chicago
- Kellog
- Emory Guizueta

Is there anything that you can suggest for me to do? Presently I am trying to read up a lot about these schools. I have already applied to NYU and Ross, I am trying to choose schools with decent part time programs and a strong entrepreneurial culture. Any advice on how I can further strengthen my chances? things I could consider? Make a more compelling case?

I was also thinking about trying to give the MENSA test, maybe if I score high on it I can supplement my GMAT saying 'hey, maybe I didn't do so well there but my IQ is ok so I'll do well'. What do you think about that?