Dear mage,
Kudos to you on thinking about your application so far in advance of your application! You ask many good questions; see my responses below:
1) Stanford and Harvard do not exclude applicants based on age. You will be a little older than their average age, but definitely in the range of the majority of a typical MBA class (24-30). Your profile appears to be a solid platform so your GMAT score will definitely give you an idea of how competitive you will be for top programs. You should target the 700s for top 20 and 650 or higher for top 40 programs.
2) In addition to a high GMAT score, you will want to gain some leadership or project management experience in your extracurricular activities if you can. This is more important if you have limited leadership in your professional experience. Perhaps there is a nonprofit you can work with or a leadership role in a salsa club?
3) Internship experience does not count in your years of work experience but is important to your profile. "Years of work experience" as reported in class profile statistics is only post-bachelor's degree, professional experience.
4) In terms of US schools, you will stand out because you are from Greece and have US work experience (both positive). I think your experience with the Olympics is also interesting. You are correct that your engineering background and work experience will be quite common, so find examples that might be unique or professional responsibilities you had earlier in your career than others.
5) It is best to have one of the professional services do a GPA translation for you. They can also translate your transcript from Greece if it is not in English.
6) Yes, being a PR does make a difference for both admissions and career placement. Since most schools keep their international population to 25-40% of the class and their applicant pools can be over 50% international, it can be harder to gain admission as an international applicant. However, if you have a green card application in process at the time of your application, you might be considered in the US citizen/PR pool but will want to check with the schools you apply to for clarification.
Best of luck,
Lisa
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Lisa Anderson
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GMAT/MBA Expert
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Lisa Anderson
- MBA Admissions Consultant
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Dear mage:
1) Many schools will do a GPA conversion themselves. However, it is best for you to get it done and submit it with your transcript for them. Not only will you know what your GPA equivalent is, but it will probably make the admissions staff happy that they don't have to do it themselves. WES is one of the services I would recommend.
2) While your internship was during your master's degree, it was not full-time so it still does not count in your amount of experience. The work you did there is important and something you should write about, it is just not part of the number of years.
3) Joining organizations like a Toastmasters can be helpful to you if you are interested in them. I think you should try to find one or two organizations you have a strong interest in and get involved as it would add another dimension to your application.
Good luck,
Lisa
1) Many schools will do a GPA conversion themselves. However, it is best for you to get it done and submit it with your transcript for them. Not only will you know what your GPA equivalent is, but it will probably make the admissions staff happy that they don't have to do it themselves. WES is one of the services I would recommend.
2) While your internship was during your master's degree, it was not full-time so it still does not count in your amount of experience. The work you did there is important and something you should write about, it is just not part of the number of years.
3) Joining organizations like a Toastmasters can be helpful to you if you are interested in them. I think you should try to find one or two organizations you have a strong interest in and get involved as it would add another dimension to your application.
Good luck,
Lisa
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egybs
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Interestingly, this has a lot to do with a question I've been thinking about.
I studied abroad for a semester in college and did very well at the extremely prestigious foreign institution. My university does not convert foreign grades and I just got 4 "Pass" credits appearing on my US transcript. Should/could I get the abroad grades converted through a service like wes.org and list those as part of my total GPA?
Thanks!
I studied abroad for a semester in college and did very well at the extremely prestigious foreign institution. My university does not convert foreign grades and I just got 4 "Pass" credits appearing on my US transcript. Should/could I get the abroad grades converted through a service like wes.org and list those as part of my total GPA?
Thanks!
GMAT/MBA Expert
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Lisa Anderson
- MBA Admissions Consultant
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Dear egybs,
Since it was part of a study abroad program at your institution, then you do not need to get a transcript from the foreign university translated. Those credits will be considered part of your transcript from your main university.
Regards,
Lisa
Since it was part of a study abroad program at your institution, then you do not need to get a transcript from the foreign university translated. Those credits will be considered part of your transcript from your main university.
Regards,
Lisa
