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Location: New York, NY
GMAT Score:710

Borderline candidate in need of an evaluation

by dubose » Thu Sep 16, 2010 5:28 pm
Background Info:
29yo. (as of last week)
White/Male

GMAT - 700 (48Q/38V)

Academic (most recent first):
Community College-05/2010:Accounting I (4.0) (just to get back into the classroom spirit and get a foundation for an MBA)
New York Univeristy-School of Professional Studies - 01/2004 - Income property valuation program (3 classes @ 4.0 GPA)
Unversity of North Carolina- Chapel Hill- 08/2001-06/2003 - BA Economics (2.5 GPA) YIKES!!!!!
- Division 1 Lacrosse Player
- Economics Club
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - Troy, NY - 08/1999-05/2000 - Business Administration (3.5 GPA) -transferred

Work Experience (most recent first):
A/R Manager - (01/2010-present) - Booming commercial construction, facility maintenance, environmental service company
Marketing Director - (2007-2010) - Property mgmt company specializing in Sr. residences owned by Lazard
Financial Services Representative - (2005-2007) - Managed a 4 office region on Long Island's Gold Coast, originating mortgages and being the in-house financial representative for major Realtor/Mortgage company
Property Manager - (2003-2005) - Managed multiple luxury apartment home communities including personnel management, budgeting, expenses, etc.

Extra-curricular:
JV Lacrosse coach
Flag Football player/coach
Member of 2 Senior advocate groups
Cancer walks/fundraisers, etc.

Rec's:
Chief Technology Officer at my current company. Former financial software engineer, and mechanical engineer (he will highlight my anaylitical side, we built a billing platform together, and he has witnessed my leadership ability in managing my dept.)
Executve Director at my old company- Licensed Social Worker (she will highlight my personality and versatility)

Essays:
I have some fantastic essay topics that not only will highlight why I would make a good MBA candidatem, but will also have some touching stories that have shaped who I am today (rather not get into detail on a public forum)

Target Schools:
MIT - My sister works there on an executive level
Columbia
UCLA (possible part-time)
USC (possible part-time)
NYU - Will my professional course work give me any leverage?
Northwestern (would probably have to be part-time to be admitted)
Chicago (would probably have to be part -time to be admitted)

QUESTIONS
1. Should I retake the GMAT to shoot for a 730+? (I really was fired up and finished both sections with 15min. left, so I feel like I probably could have been a lot more careful)
2. Do you think I have a chance at these schools' full-time programs given my demographic (not an under-represented minority), no brand name work experience (McKinsey, Goldman, etc....), and relatively average GMAT score?
3. My goal is to get into the best program possible, and ideally have it be a full-time program. I realize that with my application I am truly a borderline candidate if not a reach candidate, and just want your opinion on how different the experience and employment opportunities are for part-time students.
4. Do you know which of these programs allow part-time students to convert to full-time? I was under the impression that none of them really do, but I have a friend that is converting to full-time at Booth.
5. How does part-time status effect financing the MBA? I will have to borrow a considerable amount of money.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
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by Tani » Sun Sep 26, 2010 4:10 pm
Hi Dubose.

First your stats. The GMAT is good - no problem. If you are convinced you can beat your score, go ahead and retake, but no more than once. You don't want to give the impression that you are focusing on the wrong issue. try another practice test before committing the time and money to retake. The UNC GPA is not good. That will take some explaining. The fact that you started out strong at RPI and dropped is also not good. The more recent courses are helpful, but will not completely offset your undergrad record.

It's hard for me to judge your work experience with the little information here. It seems to jump around (finance, marketing...), which you will have to explain. Again, I can't tell much about your references, but they appear to be from appropriate sources.

Great essay topics could make a real difference if delicately, persuasively and relevantly handled. (A good admissions consultant can make a huge difference there.)

Part-time programs generally show somewhat lower GMAT scores than do their corresponding full-time programs - if only because of the more limited (i.e. local) market. The ones you mention are certainly solid. The key criterion is whether part and full-time programs use comparable faculty and offer comparable courses. Your schools should be able to provide employment and compensation statistic comparisons for their full and part time graduates.

Financing should be comparable for full and part time although expect to be offered primarily loans rather than scholarships. When evaluating financing, be sure to take into consideration any differences in graduating salaries between the schools. $10,000 more in debt becomes less motivating if the school routinely shows graduating salaries $20,000 a year higher.

Yes, you are a reach candidate. You will need to make a convincing case for why your particular skills and background will contribute to the school's program.

The part- to full-time conversion varies widely. As you have noted, the rules are not always cast in stone. For such questions you can always contact the admissions department directly. Consider looking for student blogs. Many schools have them and they are good sources for the sort of insider information you are seeking.

THe big question "will I get in" is unanswerable. THe programs you are considering are very competitive which means that no one is a shoo-in. You have a couple of strikes against you. If you are determined to go to school next year you may want to do some more research to identify schools whose student profiles are closer to your own stats. That doesn't mean you won't get in, simply that there are significant unknowns in the application process.

Good luck,
Tani Wolff
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