R3 applications-what are my chances?

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gmba2011: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 3; Joined: Thu Mar 12, 2009 3:32 am

by gmba2011 » Thu Mar 12, 2009 3:55 am

Hi, I am an entrepreneur in the textile industry. I have 5 years of work experience, attended a top 25 US undergrad school, GPA of 3.3, double majored in Economics and International Relations, and have extensive experience in international business, having dealt with leading retailers like JC Penney and Crate and Barrel for several years now. I also attended FIT for one year after I started working to get up to speed on my technical textile skills and graduated from there with a 3.8 GPA.
At college I was on student government and participated a lot in the community. I believe my essays are very strong and speak to my leadership record and my future vision of growing my company. At work I have launched a new business division and grown sales.
I took a late decision to apply to business school. I am 28 and dont want to delay attending. My problem is my GMAT score of 620. Will this be a total no-no for schools such as HBS, Columbia, NYU, Stanford, Yale, Tuck and INSEAD? Or is it possible that this score could be overlooked in light of the rest of the application?

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Linda Abraham: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 368; Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2008 3:18 pmFollowed by: 13 members; Location: Los Angeles CA; Thanked: 30 times

Re: R3 applications-what are my chances?

by Linda Abraham » Thu Mar 12, 2009 8:41 am

gmba2011 wrote:Hi, I am an entrepreneur in the textile industry. I have 5 years of work experience, attended a top 25 US undergrad school, GPA of 3.3, double majored in Economics and International Relations, and have extensive experience in international business, having dealt with leading retailers like JC Penney and Crate and Barrel for several years now. I also attended FIT for one year after I started working to get up to speed on my technical textile skills and graduated from there with a 3.8 GPA.
At college I was on student government and participated a lot in the community. I believe my essays are very strong and speak to my leadership record and my future vision of growing my company. At work I have launched a new business division and grown sales.
I took a late decision to apply to business school. I am 28 and dont want to delay attending. My problem is my GMAT score of 620. Will this be a total no-no for schools such as HBS, Columbia, NYU, Stanford, Yale, Tuck and INSEAD? Or is it possible that this score could be overlooked in light of the rest of the application?

I hate to be discouraging, but applying this late in the application cycle with a 620 to these schools is an almost certain rejection, despite the other compelling aspects of your application. While you can certainly try, a more effective approach would be to wait until fall, retake the GMAT after preparation, and apply then to your target schools. If you really don't want to wait, then apply now to programs with lower average GMATs at matriculation.

I think you should be prepared to choose between matriculating in September and possibly attending a higher-ranked program. Which is more important to you?

Best,
Linda

Linda Abraham
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gmba2011: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 3; Joined: Thu Mar 12, 2009 3:32 am

by gmba2011 » Thu Mar 12, 2009 10:46 am

Hi Linda,
Thanks for your assessment. If I do go ahead and apply and get rejected, will it hurt my chances for reapplication for R1 in October? At that point I will have re-taken the GMAT and will apply with a stronger score, and can add more work experience to my story. So, basically what I am asking is do I stand to lose anything by applying now?

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Linda Abraham: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 368; Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2008 3:18 pmFollowed by: 13 members; Location: Los Angeles CA; Thanked: 30 times

by Linda Abraham » Thu Mar 12, 2009 12:22 pm

gmba2011 wrote:Hi Linda,
Thanks for your assessment. If I do go ahead and apply and get rejected, will it hurt my chances for reapplication for R1 in October? At that point I will have re-taken the GMAT and will apply with a stronger score, and can add more work experience to my story. So, basically what I am asking is do I stand to lose anything by applying now?

For most schools you won't lose anything by applying now, because you will be able to show growth and change when you reapply. Harvard and INSEAD historically have set the growth bar higher (in my view -- they may disagree) for MBA reapplicants than other schools. Will your additional six months of work experience and higher GMAT provide enough growth? That depends on what you do during the next six months, how high you can take your GMAT, and what the applicant pool looks like next year.

Best,
Linda

Linda Abraham
Accepted.com -- Helping You Write Your Best!
310.815.9553
Accepted Blog
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