Need some advice

[takeiteasy9]

I took my gmat yesterday and I am little disappointed with my score. Granted I only prepared for like 30-40 days mainly over the weekend I feel I can do better if I attend some coaching classes to improve my verbal, which I am really weak at.

I got 660 (Q:49/V:30).

My profile:
GMAT: 660
Undergrad GPA: 3.6 (from top school in India)
Grad GPA: 3.45 (did a double M.S in Mech Engineering and Computer Science)
Work experience: 7 yrs in Microsoft. (3 years as a lead managing around 5-6 people)
Age: Early 30's.
Extra curicular activity: I Ski and play badminton regularly. I am not involved or associated with non-profit organization/activities

Target schools: top 10 business schools. (MIT, NYU, Columbia, CMU, Yale, Wharton)

What are my chances at these top b-schools? Any advise or suggestion is greatly appreciated.

[Jessica@VeritasPrep]

I'm sorry that you are disappointed with your score. It is very possible that you can improve your score by 50 points (or even more) with a good prep course and additional time to study.

However, even if you do improve your score, there is no guarantee of being admitted to a top 10 US school (although some of the schools you named are not really considered top-10 - Yale, for instance, could be a possibility for you as it is generally ranked in the next tier of schools and I'm not familiar with CMU). The top 10 (and even top 20) schools are very challenging.

From the information you have provided (your GPA and work experience) you will definitely have your work cut out for you. You are also slightly older than the average applicant which will mean you need a compelling reason as to why a full-time MBA program is right for you (as opposed to a part time or executive program). With seven years of work experience, your recommendations will be a very important component as well. If you have fantastic recommenders, a great story and can get your score up to 700, you may have a shot!

Good luck to you!

[takeiteasy9]

Thanks Jessica for your response. I understand my GMAT score is little less than what is expected for top 10-15 U.S schools and with proper prep for verbal I can definitely improve my score to 700's, but I am little confused after reading your response about my chances even if I ended scoring in 700's - are you saying my GPA, work exp and age will work against me when I apply for full time MBA in these top 10-15 schools?

Appreciate if you could clarify...

[Jessica@VeritasPrep]

Sorry if my answer wasn't clear - I'll try to clarify! First of all, my main point was just to say that there are no guarantees (even with a higher GMAT).

There are some elements of your profile that could serve as assets OR work "against" you. I just wanted you to be aware of how the rest of your profile could stack up (GMAT aside). Your GPA is good (but not perfect) but your undergraduate GPA will not be very important given that it was a while ago. For a slightly older applicant with more work experience, it is the experience itself that will be most important. You may be expected to have stronger leadership and managerial skills, to have a clearer picture of how an organization operates and to have a better understanding of what you want to get out of an MBA. You can convey this through your essays and letters of recommendation. I just wanted you to be aware that your work experience is not particularly unique (neither are your extracurriculars or community involvement) and to be aware of this challenge.

Sometimes we see applicants with amazing work experience, amazing undergraduate experience, community involvement, etc. and in those cases a slightly lower GMAT wouldn't be much of an issue. I think that was the only point I was trying to make. I hope this helps. Feel free to ask me to clarify further!

[essaysnark]

I got 660 (Q:49/V:30).
Undergrad GPA: 3.6 (from top school in India)
Grad GPA: 3.45 (did a double M.S in Mech Engineering and Computer Science)
Work experience: 7 yrs in Microsoft. (3 years as a lead managing around 5-6 people)
Age: Early 30's.
Extra curicular activity: I Ski and play badminton regularly. I am not involved or associated with non-profit organization/activities

Target schools: top 10 business schools. (MIT, NYU, Columbia, CMU, Yale, Wharton)

EssaySnark's opinion is, this profile should play well at Tepper even with the GMAT -- a 660 is well within range for them and the quant score is impressive. MIT could also be open to this candidate. Columbia will appreciate the GPA as they put a high value on strong academics, and again, though the 660 total is low, the quant is great, so they might be fine with this. Columbia, Wharton, and NYU have in the past preferred slightly older candidates, though you're even a little bit older than what they normally get. EssaySnark doesn't feel you're "too old" but as already stated, you will need to explain why you need an MBA now. The career goals are going to matter a lot. Doing a career change at this point in your life might be seen as more difficult, and there's bigger opportunity cost; the adcom might be reluctant. As the other consultant said, the schools may feel you're more appropriate to an EMBA program, but again this will depend on your goals and your current employment situation. Wharton is obviously the top-ranked program on this list and so standing out from all the other candidates with a similar profile will be the challenge for you there.

Good luck with it!

[analyst218]

Sorry if my answer wasn't clear - I'll try to clarify! First of all, my main point was just to say that there are no guarantees (even with a higher GMAT).

There are some elements of your profile that could serve as assets OR work "against" you. I just wanted you to be aware of how the rest of your profile could stack up (GMAT aside). Your GPA is good (but not perfect) but your undergraduate GPA will not be very important given that it was a while ago. For a slightly older applicant with more work experience, it is the experience itself that will be most important. You may be expected to have stronger leadership and managerial skills, to have a clearer picture of how an organization operates and to have a better understanding of what you want to get out of an MBA. You can convey this through your essays and letters of recommendation. I just wanted you to be aware that your work experience is not particularly unique (neither are your extracurriculars or community involvement) and to be aware of this challenge.

Sometimes we see applicants with amazing work experience, amazing undergraduate experience, community involvement, etc. and in those cases a slightly lower GMAT wouldn't be much of an issue. I think that was the only point I was trying to make. I hope this helps. Feel free to ask me to clarify further!

Hello Jessica,

I'm 25
undergrad GPA 3.9
GMAT 700
graduated in 08
finance/accounting analyst function for 2 years
running an e-commerce business/trading stocks [$1,000/month profit]
fluent in three languages

My job is reactive and somewhat mundane but I have been managing to produce great results for my company.
I want to break into Finance(Investment)/Consulting post MBA as an associate, gain a more dynamic experience, widen my network, and start my own company.

I'm under the mean age and mean work experience. Do you have any suggestions as to how to convince adcoms that I know what I'm doing at an early age and why I need a MBA? Perhaps write out my plans in the essays, i.e. mention the reason why getting a consulting job would help me start my own company, the industry and company that I'm interested in?

please advise!