Hello Stacy,
I originally was planning on applying this upcoming fall to be part of the 2009 MBA class but was recently laid off from my job. How does this affect my application? Here is a quick summary of my background.
Asian Male, 27
GPA: 3.4 (Dean’s list during the last 3 semesters).
Major: Business finance from a Top 20 university.
GMAT: In progress…testing +650, hoping to break +700 by next month.
Work experience
2 years of Private Equity experience focusing on Energy; Reason for the layoff was not due to personal performance - our satellite office was shut down.
3 years of Investment Banking experience at a bulge bracket investment bank.
Extracurricular Activities
Active mentor with local high school, some community service in coaching sports events.
My target school list comprises of Harvard, Stanford, Wharton and University of Chicago.
My questions are:
1) Can I still apply this year or do you recommend waiting until the following year (2009) to apply. Assuming I find a new job, I will have had only 3-4 months of work experience at the new job by the time I apply for 1st rounds. Will this be a problem for the adcoms?
2) If I can’t find a job, how do MBA schools feel about unemployed applicants? (I’m sure there will be plenty this year given the layoffs on Wall Street).
3) Given my background, what type of opportunity should I pursue next to boost my application? (i) Working at another PE fund, (ii) Working for an Energy company, (iii) Something totally different – small business or start-up.
4) Lastly, how competitive do you feel I will be at my target schools?
I originally was planning on applying this upcoming fall to be part of the 2009 MBA class but was recently laid off from my job. How does this affect my application? Here is a quick summary of my background.
Asian Male, 27
GPA: 3.4 (Dean’s list during the last 3 semesters).
Major: Business finance from a Top 20 university.
GMAT: In progress…testing +650, hoping to break +700 by next month.
Work experience
2 years of Private Equity experience focusing on Energy; Reason for the layoff was not due to personal performance - our satellite office was shut down.
3 years of Investment Banking experience at a bulge bracket investment bank.
Extracurricular Activities
Active mentor with local high school, some community service in coaching sports events.
My target school list comprises of Harvard, Stanford, Wharton and University of Chicago.
My questions are:
1) Can I still apply this year or do you recommend waiting until the following year (2009) to apply. Assuming I find a new job, I will have had only 3-4 months of work experience at the new job by the time I apply for 1st rounds. Will this be a problem for the adcoms?
2) If I can’t find a job, how do MBA schools feel about unemployed applicants? (I’m sure there will be plenty this year given the layoffs on Wall Street).
3) Given my background, what type of opportunity should I pursue next to boost my application? (i) Working at another PE fund, (ii) Working for an Energy company, (iii) Something totally different – small business or start-up.
4) Lastly, how competitive do you feel I will be at my target schools?
