Advise please!

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Advise please!

by MBAhunter » Fri Oct 23, 2009 12:24 am
Hi there,

I'm currently an undergraduate doing a double degree in Real Estate and Business from the National University of Singapore. I'm in my final year and I'll most likely be graduating with a second upper class honors, which should fall in the range of 3.3 to 3.4.

I have been rather active in my University as I stay in a hostel that houses about 500 residents. During my stay of 4 years, I have served a term as the president of the hostel that oversees 6 culture groups, 27 sporting teams and many other subcommittees. I used to be part of my national water polo youth team and I am now also part of my varsity's water polo team. Currently, I am doing an exchange programme in UCIrvine.

I do not have many work experience but I did serve 2 years of compulsory military service as an intelligence specialist. Also, I did 2 internships for a period of about 3 months each - one in a leading South East Asian marketing department and another in a real estate software consultation company.

I'll be graduating at the end of 2010 and I'm thinking of applying for my an MBA straight after graduation. There are some schools that I would really like to get into, like UC Berkeley, Columbia or USC.

I have yet to take my GMAT but would be preparing to do it during my summer holidays.

In addition, I aspire to be a private banker in future and felt that doing an MBA could help strengthen my knowledge in finance, interpersonal skills, portfolio management and team management.

Therefore, I was just wondering given my academic and extra curricular records, what are the schools in the US or UK that I can consider applying for given that I do not really have any working experience. Is it realistic to try out for the 3 schools that I mentioned above?

Regards.
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by Lisa Anderson » Fri Oct 23, 2009 8:51 pm
Dear MBAhunter,

With no professional work experience after you receive your bachelor's degree, you will need to have a solid rationale for why you want go directly into an MBA program. While most programs do not require experience, it is strongly preferred. To be competitive as an applicant with less than 2 years of experience, your GMAT score will need to be high (>700). The three schools you noted are highly competitive, so they are tough for any applicant to be admitted to regardless of GMAT score and experience. Once you have your GMAT score, you will have a better idea of your profile and be able to compare your profile to the schools' profiles.

Good luck,
Lisa
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Advise please!

by MBAhunter » Fri Oct 23, 2009 9:25 pm
Hi Lisa,

Thank you very much for your reply. I was wondering if during my 2 years of compulsory military training where I served as a specialist (sergeant), would it count as a form of working experience?

Thanks!

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by Lisa Anderson » Sat Oct 24, 2009 7:18 pm
Possibly. There are schools that will view it as work experience, but some will not.

Regards,
Lisa
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