Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant

Hello,
Thanks very much for reading my post.

I am a 32 yr old and work as a Business Systems Analyst/ Web Administrator for a medium size high-tech company in the SF Bay Area. I have been at this company for the last eight years (Aug, 2000 to present)

I have taken the GMAT exam twice already and got the following scores:
Jan, 2005: 560 total (Dont remember the breakup)
Feb, 2007: 680 total (89 Percentile) Quant: 44, Verbal: 39, AWA: 5.0

I completed my undergrad in 2000 (B.S) double majored in Physics and Computer Science (GPA: 3.2)

I am interested in getting an MBA because I would like to make a career change into either Product Management or Marketing Research after completing the degree.

I have already gotten admission and have taken 3 classes towards a part-time MBA degree at a local university in the SF Bay area but now I am thinking that the degree I am working towards is not going to give me a competitive edge in today's market. From what I have heard from others and seen around me, it takes a degree from a reputable full-time program to be able to change careers.

Towards that goal, I have enrolled to take the GMAT again and am hoping to get a better score than 680.

I am interested in the following MBA programs:
1) NYU - Stern (my second choice)
2) CMU - Tepper (my first choice)
3) USC - Marshall
4) UT Austin - McCombs
5) Indiana - Kelley

With my background (and without retaking the GMAT) which universities (from the list above) do I stand a chance of getting into? Are there Top 20 programs that I can get into which offer competitive programs and I have not considered?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks very much.

Hello,

It’s difficult to answer without knowing more about you. If you are in the Indian-IT demographic, it would make it hard with the current GMAT at all of those you mention except perhaps Kelley. On the other hand, if certain aspects of your application such as extracurriculars or specific details of your work are particularly engaging, you might have a shot at any of them, though most would certainly still be “reaches.” Finally, your age of 32 may be an issue depending on the recruiting trends in your post-MBA areas of interest (i.e., the adcoms will be looking at you through potential recruiters’ eyes as well as their own).

You might consider a stategy that involves applying to some of those schools you mention, and some in the very next tier (e.g., Maryland) that would be strong in your aeas of interest.

Cindy Tokumitsu
Senior Editor, Accepted.com
www.Accepted.com

Cindy,
Thank you very much for your reply.

Here are some more details about my profile:
I graduated from a 4-year college in Pennsylvania in 2000 (B.S) double majored in Physics and Computer Science (GPA: 3.2)

I came to the US in 1996 right after completing high school in India for college.

I have been working as a Program Manager/Web Systems Administrator for the last 8 years. Although I have been doing IT - related work, I am not sure if my job profile fits perfectly in IT or not since I have always reported upto Marketing/Sales or Services at my company.

Am I too old to apply to full-time programs?

Thanks very much for your comments.
Rakesh.