Application woes & the best time to take the GMAT

[MBAhunter]

Hi there,

I notice that most MBA round 1 applications are mostly in the month of october to december. I intend to apply during that period as well; however, the only problem I face is that I am only graduating in december next year due to the completion of my 2nd degree and hence, may not have my transcript available. I was wondering if it is still appropriate to apply for an MBA school given that I would not have my full transcript?

Secondly, I was wondering when would be a good time to start taking my GMAT to coincide with my application? I have already started studying for it and I am looking forward to completing it by the summer.

Looking forward to replies.
Thanks

[Bryant@VeritasPrep]

It would be considered unusual to apply to b-school while still an undergrad, unless you are getting your degree part time. B-schools typically like to see at least 3-5 years of full time work experience post baccalaurate, so if you have a job while getting your degree, it might be discounted as non-postbaccalaureate. As for taking the GMAT, the scores are good for five years, so you should take it when you are ready for the test and know that you will be going to school within five years. Hope this helps.

[MBAhunter]

Hi Bryant,

Thanks for your reply. I am not doing my degree part time. In fact, with such a scenario, I may consider doing my GMAT at the end of next year and apply for Grad schools 2 years later. I understand that we have to name 5 business schools to which we have to send our GMAT scores to when we take the test, but since I am only applying about 2 years later, would it be too foolhardy to immediately decide which 5 schools to apply to on the spot? Also, in my country, it is compulsory to serve the military for 2 years, of which, I have served at the rank of a sergeant and under the intelligence vocation. Would that count as job experience for Universities like Columbia, Haas or USC?

I notice that you are from Veritas Prep and I am contemplating taking up classes with the school. Currently, I'm in the States and would be returning to Singapore soon... I know that there is a brunch in Singapore; however, they haven't responded to my email about the courses sadly.

[Bryant@VeritasPrep]

While i work on the consultancy side of Veritas, helping applicants craft their essays in a memorable way, I can highly recommend the prep courses for the GMAT as well. Just because you send your scores to schools now does not mean you can't request to re-send them to other schools later. Selecting schools to send your scores to is simply an easy and convenient way to do it without going back and requesting them later, so no harm done in sending now whether or not you end up applying to those schools.