Interested in Online or Professional MBA

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Interested in Online or Professional MBA

by GATORJV » Wed Mar 09, 2016 7:07 pm
Good evening everyone,

I'm brand new to this site and the idea of an MBA in general. I've been doing research for the past month and wanted some of your thoughts on my profile.

I work in insurance right now and would like to continue to work for my company while pursuing my MBA.

My profile is below:

-27 year old white male.

-Graduated from the University of Florida in 2011 with a degree in Political Science, Minor in History and International Relations Certificate (transferred from Community College to save money and was originally Pre-Law). My overall GPA is a 3.5 and my major GPA is a 3.4.

-After college, I moved to Columbia, SC and took part in the AmeriCorps Program City Year for two years, from 2012-2014. This program is a volunteer program that works in low-income struggling schools to help the students improve in academics and behavior (very high level description). I was a team leader both years leading a team of 3 and a team of 6 with 50+ hour work weeks, data collection/analyzing and management. See here for more info on City Year: https://www.cityyear.org/

-After two years of service, I became an Impact Manager at City Year Columbia from 2014-2015 and managed 14 Corps Members in two teams. My role was a more managerial one when compared to a team leader. I also dealt heavily in student data, Corps Member reviews and trying to balance the needs of our non-profit vs. the needs of the two schools.

-In the Summer of 2015 I started working as a Product Specialist at Colonial Life. In 9 short months I have loved every moment of my job and the business world. I really want to grown my business knowledge, skills and have the ability to further my career.

So far I've looked into the online programs at Indiana, UNC, UF, Carnegie Melon, Texas and the PMBA program at the local school USC (University of South Carolina). With a slight lean at going to UNC or UF. UF seems to be the best price and ranking for what I'd like to pay/my goals. With that said, I'm admittedly biased towards UF. A tab like $120,00 at Duke or $99,000 at UNC does scare me a bit. My company won't pay very much, but anything is better than nothing.

I'm starting to study for the GMAT and obviously hope to get a 700+ score, but it's so early, I have no idea where I'm at yet. I'd be able to get what I would consider decent letters of rec. from the SVP of my department, an AVP in my department and the Regional Vice President and Executive Director of a City Year site.

I'd appreciate any thoughts on my experience, education, story, etc. I feel like I have an interesting story, but could be totally wrong. If I get a decent GMAT score, what are my chances of getting into a school like UF or UNC?

Ultimately, I am hard set on working while I attend school and will do whatever needs to be done to accomplish this.

Thank you for your time and willingness to read this post. I really do appreciate it. :)

Looking forward to any responses.

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by [email protected] » Thu Mar 17, 2016 10:29 am
Hi,

I would agree that your story is interesting. And if you would want to pursue your current career post-MBA, you're in the right track as you already have an experience.

Of course, a decent GMAT would give you a good chance to get into UF or UNC. However, as with most business schools, GMAT alone won't get you in.

If you would like to consider more expensive schools, grants and scholarships would be great step.

Hope this helps!
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by Edison@VeritasPrep » Wed Mar 23, 2016 11:11 pm
Thanks for sharing your profile.

You are off to a good start reflecting on your experiences and detailing your responsibilities and what you have accomplished.

Aside from preparing for the GMAT, you would do well to identify the specifics in your target programs that would show fit with your background and your post MBA goals. Demonstrating this interest and knowledge, together with a focused goal will help boost your chances.

Wish you all the best!
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by Personal MBA Coach » Sat Apr 02, 2016 8:40 pm
GATORJV wrote:Good evening everyone,

I'm brand new to this site and the idea of an MBA in general. I've been doing research for the past month and wanted some of your thoughts on my profile.

I work in insurance right now and would like to continue to work for my company while pursuing my MBA.

My profile is below:

-27 year old white male.

-Graduated from the University of Florida in 2011 with a degree in Political Science, Minor in History and International Relations Certificate (transferred from Community College to save money and was originally Pre-Law). My overall GPA is a 3.5 and my major GPA is a 3.4.

-After college, I moved to Columbia, SC and took part in the AmeriCorps Program City Year for two years, from 2012-2014. This program is a volunteer program that works in low-income struggling schools to help the students improve in academics and behavior (very high level description). I was a team leader both years leading a team of 3 and a team of 6 with 50+ hour work weeks, data collection/analyzing and management. See here for more info on City Year: https://www.cityyear.org/

-After two years of service, I became an Impact Manager at City Year Columbia from 2014-2015 and managed 14 Corps Members in two teams. My role was a more managerial one when compared to a team leader. I also dealt heavily in student data, Corps Member reviews and trying to balance the needs of our non-profit vs. the needs of the two schools.

-In the Summer of 2015 I started working as a Product Specialist at Colonial Life. In 9 short months I have loved every moment of my job and the business world. I really want to grown my business knowledge, skills and have the ability to further my career.

So far I've looked into the online programs at Indiana, UNC, UF, Carnegie Melon, Texas and the PMBA program at the local school USC (University of South Carolina). With a slight lean at going to UNC or UF. UF seems to be the best price and ranking for what I'd like to pay/my goals. With that said, I'm admittedly biased towards UF. A tab like $120,00 at Duke or $99,000 at UNC does scare me a bit. My company won't pay very much, but anything is better than nothing.

I'm starting to study for the GMAT and obviously hope to get a 700+ score, but it's so early, I have no idea where I'm at yet. I'd be able to get what I would consider decent letters of rec. from the SVP of my department, an AVP in my department and the Regional Vice President and Executive Director of a City Year site.

I'd appreciate any thoughts on my experience, education, story, etc. I feel like I have an interesting story, but could be totally wrong. If I get a decent GMAT score, what are my chances of getting into a school like UF or UNC?

Ultimately, I am hard set on working while I attend school and will do whatever needs to be done to accomplish this.

Thank you for your time and willingness to read this post. I really do appreciate it. :)

Looking forward to any responses.
Thank you for the detailed post. City Year is a great organization that I am very familiar with. Your involvement will certainly help your profile. That said, one key will be to explain a cohesive story that details why you made the decision you did along the way. When it comes to the online MBA programs, the prices vary quite a bit, so it is certainly something to consider. You have a good shot at these schools assuming a good GMAT score.

Good luck and reach out if you want any assistance with your applications.

Best,
Scott