The majority of MBA applicants seem to be in the IT, Banking, Finance, etc.., work field. I, on the other hand, come from a Industrial design background. I attended the top design school in NYC and graduated in 2006 with a 3.7 GPA and BFA degree in Industrial design. I am currently a designer for a luxury products company with 2.5 years experience there. After working in Product Development at a corporate company, I grew interest in the business side of the process, specifically, marketing. Since I am a designer in Product development, I am in constant communication with , marketing, sales, and vendors overseas. I then began to feel that Design and business share many similar qualities and processes. Every day I at work my job consists of problem solving through design. I believe that business/marketing faces problems all the time that need to be solved. Since marketing is the closest thing to design as far as creative vision is concerned, I want to bring in problem solving skills from design into the business side. I recently took the GMAT and scored a depressing 590. I do have the confidence however in raising that score another 100 points.
Do you think that with my different background and a 690-800 GMAT score, makes me a qualified competitor against all the IT, Finance, etc. applicants?
I currently live in the Northeast and REALLY want to go to Columbia or Kellogg. I am shooting for Fall '09 admission. If I took the GMAT once again by the end of this year, can I still make it in time for the later rounds of admission?
It's very rare to find anybody from my background with an MBA so any feedback/advice/suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
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MBA student from very DIFFERENT background
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Lisa Anderson
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Dear Peter284,
Your industrial design background will set you apart and should be leveraged to your advantage. Schools do not want only the IT, finance people; they want a broad, diverse class with interesting backgrounds and the potential to be a business leader. I think you would be within range for Columbia and Kellogg if you could get your GMAT up to even a 650 (of course, higher is better). It appears you have defined career goals and a solid rationale for getting your MBA. Just be sure to write strong essays, submit great letters of recommendation, and be impressive in your interview.
Best of luck,
Lisa
Your industrial design background will set you apart and should be leveraged to your advantage. Schools do not want only the IT, finance people; they want a broad, diverse class with interesting backgrounds and the potential to be a business leader. I think you would be within range for Columbia and Kellogg if you could get your GMAT up to even a 650 (of course, higher is better). It appears you have defined career goals and a solid rationale for getting your MBA. Just be sure to write strong essays, submit great letters of recommendation, and be impressive in your interview.
Best of luck,
Lisa
