Help with my situation.

[ignasha1]

Hello,

Thank you for viewing my post. My name is Andrew and I am 24 years old (turning 25 in Dec.). I have just recently decided to take the GMAT and apply to a business school. I have the following concerns for my situation.

1) Work experience- I am currently teaching English in Seoul, Korea. When I am finished with my current contract, I will have two years of teaching experience. I am extremely worried because teaching exemplifies leadership and responsibility but it doesn't translate into business experience. Is this something I can address in my essay writing and use to my advantage or is my job experience useless?

2) I am studying for the test now and obviously want to score as high as possible. What do you think is a good amount of time to spend studying? Obviously, the more you study and the more you practice the more beneficial it will be, but is it possible to spend to much time studying and spacing it over too long of a span.

3) I am sure you get this question a lot but I have to ask. What type of score would I need to be considered to a top 20 b-school with the following:

White male, 24
Undergraduate degree- Michigan State University, 3.3 gpa (General Mgt.), also a study abroad for advertising in Japan, Korea, and China.
Work experience- two years teaching English abroad
Activities in College- 4 year member of General Mgt. association, 1 year on executive board as future events planner, and one year as president of the organization.
Volunteer activities-free English to foreign exchange students while in University, Church volunteer work (U.S. and Korea), Habitat for humanity work, walk for hope volunteer, animal shelter volunteer while in Korea.

Also, I have one solid recommendation from the founder and owner of CrossCom National. It is a publicly traded telecommunications company and he mentored me for 3 years during my university studies. He graduated from MSU, MBA from DePaul, and executive MBA from Harvard. I am not sure how much his recommendation will help, but I am curtain he will speak very highly of my body of work since he has known me.

Again thank you for viewing and I appreciate any advice you can give me.

Andrew

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear Andrew,

Without knowing your GMAT score, it is hard to say whether or not you will be competitive for a top 20. In addition to having a high GMAT, your application must provide a compelling case for admission and convey a solid rationale for going to business school in relation to your past experience and future career goals. Ideally, you want to score close to/above the average GMAT for your target schools to be in a competitive position on that measure. How much time to prepare and study is really based on you; everyone is different in terms of study habits, ability, and previous exposure to the material. Once you have spent some time and taken a few practice tests, then you should have an idea of when you will be ready.

Based on your post, there are some interesting experiences in your background that you can leverage to your advantage. While your teaching experience is not a traditional route, it is certainly not viewed as useless or less valuable. It is important for you to identify the transferable skills and highlight those in your resume--there are some there.

Best of luck,
Lisa