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Profile Eval - Non-Traditional Applicant with 640 GMAT

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Profile Eval - Non-Traditional Applicant with 640 GMAT

by ls413 » Sun May 08, 2011 4:32 pm
Hi-
I am looking to apply to a full-time program for Fall 2012. I am a female with 5 years of work experience, and I currently work in the licensing and product development department for a non-profit educational organization. I have a 3.69 undergraduate GPA, and I graduated magna cum laude from a top 15 university with a double major in Film & Media Studies and English Literature. I only took one math course in college - Statistics - in which I received an A.

I had wanted to apply to several of the top 15 schools (I am particularly interested in NYU, Columbia, Northwestern, U Chicago, UCLA, Wharton, Michigan, and Duke), but I took the GMAT yesterday and only scored a 640 (37 Quant, 40 Verbal). I plan to retake the exam in a month, but if my score (and especially my quant score) does not improve significantly, what kind of a chance do I have of getting into the schools I mentioned above?

I am hoping that my interesting work experience, high GPA, solid essays, and the fact that I can bring a different perspective to the class would make me an attractive candidate to some of these schools despite my lower GMAT score.

I appreciate your thoughts!
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by Lisa Anderson » Mon May 09, 2011 8:41 am
Dear ls413,

It is not impossible to gain admission to one of your target schools with your current profile, but you are right to have some concerns. You are also correct that there will be concern around your ability to handle the quantitative rigor of the program. Your A in statistics will be helpful, as well as any quantitative or analytical aspects to your professional experience. Since your target schools are all top 10, I do encourage you to identify 2-3 schools that would be more reasonable to safety options for you. There are some fabulous programs in the 11-40 range who would welcome your application--even with your current GMAT score.

Good luck,
Lisa
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by ls413 » Tue May 10, 2011 1:32 pm
Hi Lisa,
Thank you for your response. Are there any schools in particular in the 11-40 that you would recommend I add to my list? I am looking for a school with a strong marketing program.

Regarding quantitative or analytical aspects of my job - there aren't many. I work in a product development position, so my work has more of a creative bend. Granted, I am involved a little bit in the strategy behind expanding our business, but I do not crunch numbers.

Thanks!
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by Lisa Anderson » Thu May 12, 2011 9:13 am
There are many good options in not only the 11-40 range, but also outside the top 40 for you. Prior to doing more research and narrowing down your list, I do think you should determine what you seek in your program and prioritize that list. That way, when researching options, you can determine which fit the bill, which don't, and which are the strongest matches. You might take a look at Indiana (Kelley), Vanderbilt, UNC, and Emory. For other options with smaller applicant pools, you might also look into Minnesota (Carlson), UC-Irvine, and Notre Dame (Mendoza). I could list schools all day, so please don't consider my suggestions to be the only options; attend forums and do your own research to identify other potential options as well.

I highly encourage you to do the research on the different programs you identify as some are stronger than others in specific areas of marketing (i.e., brand management, marketing research, product management, etc.). You will also find schools geographically near your industry of interest generally have stronger ties to that industry. For example, schools in the midwest usually have solid brand management curricula and ties to the CPG industry as numerous CPG companies are headquartered in the midwest.

Happy researching!
Lisa
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