Applying Early in Career

[NYCMBA0210]

First, my stats:

Undergrad Record: Construction Management GPA 3.3, Minor Business Administration, Minor Sustainability
Experience: 1 Year Full-Time Post-Degree, 2 Years combined internship across all construction markets
GMAT/GRE: Yet to take, should be able to come close to 700 GMAT, 1400+ GRE
LOR: Supervisor (SVP Level), Executive Director of Non-Profit, NYU Adjunct Professor
ECs: High-Involvement with Construction-relevant Non-Profit, 3 Industry Professional Credentials, Student Academic Team Involvement

I am eager to start a part-time MBA program early in my career. I live and work in NYC, so my first choice is NYU. Fordham, Pace, and Baruch are possibly on the table. In researching class profiles for these schools, it seems that my application could be competitive, even with 1 year of post-degree experience.

My question is, would I be wasting my time applying, specifically to NYU? The last thing I want to do is have to explain myself as a reapplicant.

Also, is there anything I could do to bolster my current application, short of gaining more experience?

Thanks!

[essaysnark]

Compared with some other schools, Stern seems a little reluctant to go with early-career candidates. The rest of your profile looks absolutely fine for Stern however, and they may be more inclined to accept a 'younger' applicant to the P/T program (this is just a hunch, EssaySnark has no data on this). And, with a profile that strong - GMAT in the 700s, decent GPA, relevant work experience, good extracurrics - EssaySnark would discourage you from going the Fordham etc. route. Those other schools simply do not offer the same opportunities. And, as you probably know, NYU has a strong Master's in Construction Management, so you could possibly access resources/classes/faculty from that professional school as part of your MBA education. No harm in trying for Stern P/T and see what happens and can always try again.

Also, unless you may end up going for a different type of graduate program, probably better to do the GMAT over the GRE. Even if schools take either test, they do still favor the GMAT and there's some bias in some adcoms that the GMAT is a superior test (also they just have more data on how GMAT correlates to outcomes, little or no data yet on GRE candidates so they aren't as comfortable with that yet and can't really do apples-to-apples across the candidate pool with the different tests).


Good luck with it!
EssaySnark

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[Jessica@VeritasPrep]

My question for you would be "why" do you want an MBA early in your career and why do you want it to be part-time? If you have compelling answers to these questions then I think you have a shot at getting admitted. However, I'd ask that you consider these questions carefully. Generally students have a little more experience for a reason - they are able to get much more out of the program (and contribute more in the classroom and on projects).

However, I wouldn't worry about explaining yourself as a reapplicant. If you are a good fit but simply have too little experience then this shouldn't be an issue at all. And, again, all you will need to do is talk about how much you learned in the subsequent year (or two years) that make you more ready to go back to school at that time.

Keep in mind there can be a very big difference in terms of ROI when discussing a degree from Stern versus a degree from one of the other schools you mentioned. If you can break 700 and if your extracurriculars and recommendations are strong, I would seriously consider waiting a year or two and attending NYU.

[aveekguha]

Agree with above, but also I would play up the construction management angle. Real estate, in the form of REITs/private equity/hedge funds, is a topic of interest with huge upside/downside to asset holders. Very few will have your background and potential operational insights -- i would emphasize how this would benefit the diversity of learning for the student body at large interested in careers in this field. B-schools like to know what students bring to the table, this is something unique that you have.

Best of luck!
Aveek Guha, President, www.mbadaycamp.com

[Jessica@VeritasPrep]

Aveek makes a great point - this should absolutely be your angle! Of course, this should be your angle whether you apply now or whether you apply in another year or two with some additional expertise!

[NYCMBA0210]

These responses are fantastic! Thank you all so much, looks likes I have some thinking to do.