Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant

Hi,

I'm absolutely new to the MBA/application process, and I have learned tons(!) from reading the other posts...but now, I'm curious about my own prospects...so I'd appreciate any & all comments/suggestions, good or bad.

First off, I'm soon to be 24 years old. Indian female, born & raised in the U.S. I have a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Florida...GPA was below 3.0 (due mainly to immaturity + 10 deaths in the family within 18 months...not making excuses, that's exactly what happened). Anyway, I worked for ~ 6 months at a psychiatric inpatient facility post-graduation, then decided to return to school to improve my academic history & get a degree in something I really wanted, Biology. Will be graduating w/ a second B.S. in Biology in Dec. '08 w/ a GPA of 3.7.

I really don't have any work experience (besides the hospital and a brief stint @ a college bkstore). I have plenty of extracurricular work though.

My interests and reasons for pursuing an MBA are still evolving, since I am new to to whole thing, but so far, here's what I've come up with: I'd be most interested in Biotechnology and/or Non-profit (two totally different things, I know). Columbia has a sub-specialty that I was glancing at...and it really struck my fancy: the Social Enterprise concentration. So, that's also a possibility...

As far as GMAT: I just took a practice version (very prematurely, just to see where I stand w/ no prep whatsoever) and pulled a 600...I'm not quite sure how to interpret that. It was from the Manhattan GMAT website.

As someone who has literally no business experience, but I'm very interested in developing it, is it reasonable to consider applying?

I've seen so many conflicting opinions on the necessity and duration of work experience prior to applying...could someone lend any advice that may be more particular to my situation? (I accept the fact that I probably will need to work for 1-2 years..?)

Thank you for any help that I have coming my way...I really appreciate having a forum like this to ask my questions!

-A.M.

Hi An,

Thanks for your post. First of all, I think its quite impressive that you scored a 600 on the GMAT without any preparation. Nice work!

There is definitely an MBA program out there that fits your interests, esp if you wanted to do a joint program in a science/health-related (MA, MPH, MS). I could see you working in healthcare, biotech, education which would incorporate both your science background and education from an MBA program.

I think it would be difficult for you to get into a top 25 MBA program without clear post-MBA goals. Simply stating you want to start a business is not enough. So I would encourage you to do more research and try to figure out what you might want to do post-MBA. Maybe consulting? Working for a company? If your interests are in entrepreneurship, what type of business? what industry?

If you start thinking about your post-MBA career interests, then you can work backwards and try to figure out what programs make sense. Also, talk to as many MBA students/alums as you can - they will be a great source of information and help you think about what about the MBA is/could be important for you.

Side note - I am a big fan of the Admissions books - they give you a great overview of the admissions process. My favorites are: How to Get Into Top MBA Programs by Richard Montauk; and Your MBA Game Plan by Omari Bouknight (full disclosure - I work with Veritas Prep, which is affilated with the book)

Good luck!

NP