Fred4322 -

Thanks for contacting Clear Admit for some insight about your candidacy for PT MBA programs. Generally, PT programs are going to assess your application in a similar way to FT programs - they're going to want to have confidence in your academic ability, that you've had robust pre-MBA work experiences to share with your classmates, clear and realistic goals, and that you're a well-rounded individual (frequently demonstrated through community and extracurricular experiences).

That said, the usual expectations for each of these areas are going to be a bit different for PT versus FT programs. For instance, you'll see that average GMATs and GPAs for a school's PT program are generally lower than for the FT program. However, years of work experience will usually be higher. For example, Michigan's FT program typically averages about a 700 GMAT w/5 years of work experience, while the PT programs are closer to a 650 GMAT with about 6 years of work experience. There's a similar pattern at many of your target and safety programs, too.

So getting back to you and your competitiveness . . . your academic dimension is within striking range of many of the programs you're considering, but from what I'm seeing about your profile, the main challenge with your profile is your limited work experience. The adcoms at all of the schools that you're considering are going to be skeptical that your experience is on par with what they want to see.

Will you be admitted to one of these programs? It's certainly possible - I'm looking at the same selectivity numbers that you are and it's easy to be convinced that you'd have a chance. That chance will hinge on how well you convey the significance of your work and your professional maturity. Your recommenders can also be of assistance on this front since hopefully they can speak to your accomplishments and management potential (this might be a difficult thing, too, though since you probably don't have a direct supervisor at your start-up company).

If you get admitted, then you'll have to decide how realistic it is that the program will be able to help you achieve your goals of being a financial analyst at a F500 company. PT programs and the associated career offices frequently aren't able to provide the support and/or opportunities to PT students the way they do for FT students.

My advice is to wait and focus your energy on making your company successful, building up your leadership experiences, and maximizing your performance on your GMAT. That will help to ensure that you're part of the 85% that are admitted!

Regards,
Jon

Jon Fuller
Clear Admit, LLC
215.568.2590

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