Should I wait a year?

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Should I wait a year?

by Rhj1987 » Wed Oct 07, 2015 5:33 am
Thanks for looking through everything! I'm really on a fence here.

I'm 28 turning 29 in July and I'm looking at a porjected GMAT score around 700-720 if I were to apply for round two decisions in January. I know that if I had an additional year, that my score range could be in the 750-760 range which would go a long way to offset a low undergrad GPA and an English Lit. background.

On top of this, I have a new project that came across my path where I would be leading the Chinese division of our company out of mediocre growth by changing our marketing strategy and overall position within the marketplace. If successful, this would completely change the game for the after school education industry in China.

Both of these seem like good reasons to postpone applying to B-shool, but I'm concerned about being too old when I apply. I would be entering my first year at 30 years old. I'm wondering if the addition GMAT boost and work experience would be offset by applying too late?

I would appreciate any feedback.

EDUCATION
University of Maryland
B.A. English Literature (2.8 GPA)
Graduated May 2011
Fluent in Chinese

WORK EXPERIENCE
XXX XXX XXX (Not a brand name company)
Chief Strategist
  • Worked with the China COO to define our customer profile and company strategy which led us to exit several unprofitable market segments and adapt our long term growth strategy
    Worked with the COO and Chief Academic Officer to create an international counseling program set to be exported to Japan, Indonesia, and Korea in the following year
    Created a student feedback / student score database that enabled automated student reports and increased student feedback workflow efficiency by nearly 200%
    Led an academic team of 5 to standardize and automate curriculum to be exported to Japan and Indonesia
    Worked with Chief Academic Officer and academic team to align course offerings to support the new company strategy
Xuhui Branch Manager (Jan. 2014 - Dec. 2014)
  • Created and implemented a student management system that tracked and centralized student data across centers. The system currently has 98% uptime.
    Worked with the finance and operational teams to develop CRM procedures from initial student screening and placement to payment procedures
    Developed the company intranet to house centralized student data, drive center adoption of the student information system, centralize center, full-time, and part-time teacher scheduling, and host an online employee training portal
XXXXXXXX (International School)
Shanghai, China
Foreign Affairs Office Liaison (Jan. 2014 - June 2014)
  • Acted as an ambassador between school administration and the foreign teaching staff for the 7th and 8th grades, and worked with the Administration to help implement new teaching and campus policies
Head of 8th Grade Honors English (Aug. 2013 - June 2014)
  • Worked with the English department head to standardize curriculum progression from grades 5-8 as well as curriculum leveling within different class levels within specific grade levels
XXXXXXX (Local Primary School)
Shanghai, China
English Instructor
Jan. 2012 - June 2012

Taught grades 1-5 conversational English

XXXXX (Local Education Group)
Guangzhou, China
English Instructor
Aug. 2011 - Dec. 2011

Helped company pivot to find profitable market segment

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by mbaMissionJenK » Wed Oct 07, 2015 5:18 pm
Hi there,

Thanks for posting. I wouldn't be overly focused on age-for-the-sake-of-age... as the schools will likely say that they will not select on or against the basis of age... that said make sure you are comfortable going to study with those who would be on average a bit younger than you etc. But they'll be more focused on what stage you are at in your career, and it looks like you currently have 4 years of full-time work experience after undergrad.. so if you applied now you'd have 5 years at matriculation, well that is right at 'average' at most schools actually! And in another year, would be 6, no biggie. I wouldn't make the call based on GMAT as the main driver especially without knowing your score, but the experience you say you've been offered or has come up does sound quite appealing.. not sure if it's something you'd do even if you apply now? Or if you could mention it? A third option would be give it a shot now and then re-apply if needed. That said I wouldn't overly-worry about your age if you feel next year is most ideal. Good luck!
Jennifer Kedrowski
MBA Admissions Consultant
www.mbamission.com
[email protected]

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by Rhj1987 » Thu Oct 08, 2015 9:02 pm
Jennifer,

Thanks so much for the advice. We're still hammering out the details of this project so I think my level of involvement will dictate my application decision.

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by mbaMissionJenK » Mon Oct 12, 2015 9:27 am
Keep us posted on anything we can do to help!
Jennifer Kedrowski
MBA Admissions Consultant
www.mbamission.com
[email protected]

Register for a Free Consult from mbaMission: https://www.mbamission.com/consult.php

Visit the mbaMission Blog: www.mbamission.com/blog

Follow mbaMission on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mbaMission

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