Research MBA Programs

Hi,

I'm just about beginning my preparation for the GMAT and want to know which schools I should aim for. I graduated with a degree in management but my love for cars drew me to a writing job at an automotive magazine. I've done fairly well for myself in the 4.5 years I've worked but now want to make a move to the industry.

Given my non-traditional work experience, which are the schools I should look at? From what I understand, INSEAD values diversity in the batch and foreign exposure (my job entailed a lot of foreign assignments). Is that correct?
Please help me out with some of the other top 20 schools as well where my experience could be an asset.

Thanks,

Nikhil

Hi Nikhil - congrats on the decision to go for the MBA! You're right that INSEAD likes to see diversity in its applicants, but so does **every** other school. The challenge with a nontraditional applicant is in showing how they're ready for the MBA and the future career path that they lay out in their essays - in fact, for a school like INSEAD especially, the career goals are very important. That should be your primary criteria in figuring out which schools to target: what do you want to do with the MBA and why do you need one? That can help you identify the schools that are strongest in that area. There's lots of other angles to consider too, but that can be a big one - it's part of the "school fit" that you may hear people talk about.

The other angle of course is your credentials. You'll need to do well on the GMAT obviously, and your grades from college will matter a lot.

The fact that you studied management actually means you're less of a "non traditional" candidate than you may assume. This gives you a good foundation and can help you show that an MBA is a good next step. The journalism angle of course adds a nice element of uniqueness, and yes, the schools do like to see that. But any Top 20 school would appreciate it - and it needs to be presented as part of a package. You need to determine what you're going to do next and build your strategy around that.

What do you mean by saying you want to "make a move to the industry" - are you saying you want to go work for a car manufacturer? If so, then Michigan Ross pops to mind, due to location (and because they're one of our favorite schools). Not sure how many MBAs the car companies are hiring so that would be something to explore too of course.

Just for reference, this guest post on the EssaySnark blahg tells the story of a more traditionally non-traditional candidate who got into bschool this past season: https://essaysnark.com/2013/02/success-s ... candidate/

Hope this helps - let us know if you have questions on any specific school, or any specific career goals, and we'll try to answer!

EssaySnark

Hi,

Thanks for the reply! A job in the automotive industry is my aim for the moment but I'm open to other avenues as well. As I mentioned, I'm in the preliminary stages of my research. Will keep you updated (and seek advice!) when I start zeroing on schools.

Thanks,

Nikhil