Here is my profile:
age: 24/F/Central Asian
GMAT (tested today after 3 months of studying) 570 :33Q, 35V
GPA - 3.0 (I switched from a Biology major to International Relations and Economics half way through my College career at Bucknell University; my GPA increased quite a bit the last two years; though the resulting cummulative GPA is due to the first 2 years in the Bio field i.e. my resulting cumulative since the switch of major to Economics/ International relations was 3.3-3.5 range)
Work experience:
Summer 2007: Taught English in northwestern China
2008 Spring Semester: abroad/research internship in Barbados - Central Bank of Barbados
Summer 2008 : Hospitality Consulting internship in Shanghai China
Year before joining the peace corps worked at TD Bank as a customer service representative
Currently second year as a Peace Corps volunteer serving in Community development helping to initiate projects in fields of youth and small business development.
Speak 4 languages: (including English), Turkic, Mandarin Chinese, and Thai
I am not looking into the typical marketing or finance route - i want to study Non-profit Management with a dual degree in Public Policy. My questions are...
1. How much does my experience/ background count in terms of the field I want to get into in comparison to my GMAT/GPA (i.e. what are my chances of getting into a school that specializes in non-profit management )
2. What are some of the top 30 schools that have strong programs in areas such as non-profit management/social enterprise/social entrepreneurship
3. (i am considering taking the GMAT again; it's just been a difficult process since I do not have easy access to buying books and study materials so I have been using old editions of two books (OG11 and Princeton Review)) but let's say without a second GMAT, what are my chances of getting into schools such as University of Maryland, University of Virginia, Carnegie Melon, George Washington? and what other schools should I also look into?
Thank you so much for your help and suggestions!
5-Day Free Trial
5-day free, full-access trial TTP
Available with Beat the GMAT members only code
MORE DETAILS
Peace Corps volunteer needing desperate advice
This topic has expert replies
GMAT/MBA Expert
-
Lisa Anderson
- MBA Admissions Consultant
- Posts: 3845
- Joined: Wed Feb 06, 2008 8:57 pm
- Location: Houston, TX
- Thanked: 442 times
- Followed by:148 members
Dear zab002,
All application components are equally important in your evaluation for MBA admissions. Thus your experience is as important as your GMAT. Where your Peace Corps experience might be helpful though is that it will lend your career goals in nonprofit management to seem more realistic in some admissions committee member's eyes. Having realistic career goals and selecting appropriate schools for your goals are key in the admissions process. As such, I commend you for wanting to target schools with strong nonprofit management/social enterprise curricula. Your current GMAT/GPA profile is a potential concern for you as it is below average for top 30 programs. However, it is not necessarily out of range for all top 30 programs, and you have the rest of your application (essays, recommendations, resume, interview) to mitigate those measures. Nevertheless, you do need to show that you have the academic aptitude to handle the rigor of the MBA curriculum, particularly the quantitative aspects. If you can retake the GMAT, I do think it would strengthen your application if you increased your quantitative score to 40+. If a retake is not feasible, then I think you do have a chance at the schools you mention (some being a bigger reach than others), assuming your application package is otherwise strong and compelling. In terms of other potential programs, I encourage you to do some additional research as nonprofit management and social enterprise are two growing areas in coursework for many schools. You might try a tailored search on mba.com or research the schools with an established partnership to programs like the Peace Corps or Teach For America as these schools generally want to attract students with your experience.
Best of luck,
Lisa
All application components are equally important in your evaluation for MBA admissions. Thus your experience is as important as your GMAT. Where your Peace Corps experience might be helpful though is that it will lend your career goals in nonprofit management to seem more realistic in some admissions committee member's eyes. Having realistic career goals and selecting appropriate schools for your goals are key in the admissions process. As such, I commend you for wanting to target schools with strong nonprofit management/social enterprise curricula. Your current GMAT/GPA profile is a potential concern for you as it is below average for top 30 programs. However, it is not necessarily out of range for all top 30 programs, and you have the rest of your application (essays, recommendations, resume, interview) to mitigate those measures. Nevertheless, you do need to show that you have the academic aptitude to handle the rigor of the MBA curriculum, particularly the quantitative aspects. If you can retake the GMAT, I do think it would strengthen your application if you increased your quantitative score to 40+. If a retake is not feasible, then I think you do have a chance at the schools you mention (some being a bigger reach than others), assuming your application package is otherwise strong and compelling. In terms of other potential programs, I encourage you to do some additional research as nonprofit management and social enterprise are two growing areas in coursework for many schools. You might try a tailored search on mba.com or research the schools with an established partnership to programs like the Peace Corps or Teach For America as these schools generally want to attract students with your experience.
Best of luck,
Lisa
