Should I even write my GMAT ? Please advise

[savithav]

Hi, I have been discouraged a lot during my Preparation for my GMAT scheduled Dec 9th 2010.

I am Indian Female 26 years of age

Did my undergrad in a top 20 engineerg school in India (Bachelors in Computer Science Engg) with a very low gpa or 5.65 on a scale of 10.(Reason being my mom passed away during my first year)

I later on joined a business school which awards post graduation diploma in business administration (PGDBA - most schools in India offer this and not MBA's) with specialization in telecom management with a gpa of 72 on a scale of 100 ...

I got placed through my business school in a telecom organisation and worked for 2 years as Senior Executive Product Management with a recognition award for excellence.

I later got married to a guy living in USA and came over to USA in June 2010. I cannot work here as I am on dependent visa. So I thought I should do a MBA here in supply chain to improvise my skills and get a work visa of my own ... hence started preparing for GMAT and scheduled the same for Dec 9th 2010. In the course of my preparation I have been meeting ppl and everyone seem to think that I have a very tough chance in getting into a good school due to my Low GPA and also the fact that I already have a Graduate degree in Business, low experience(2 years) and presently jobless(because I cannot work on a dependent visa)

I am looking at the following schools and my GMAT is in the range of 670-720 in my practice exams.
1) UC Davis
2) USC MArshall
3) ASU
4) Thunderbird
5) UC Irvine
6) UW - Foster

Can you please Advise me as to what my chances are in getting into one of the above schools. Will my existing business degree and low undergrad gpa(was depressed due to my mom's demise) and low experience(2 years) and presently jobless(because I cannot work on a dependant visa) hamper my prospect of getting into a good school ?


Should I even put any efforts to write my GMAT ?


Your frank reply would be greatly appreciated.

[jkhousto]

Savithav -
Thanks for your posting. Your situation poses quite a few questions.

First of all, my feeling is that you have nothing to lose by taking the GMAT. If you do as expected and score between a 670 and 720, you will have a good score to add to your resume.

As for your choppy work history, you probably should research the schools and explore their essay questions first. See how you can make your other life experiences and limited work history work in the context of their essays. Also, research their programs in Supply Chain Management and really figure out where you would fit best and why. This can help a candidate show that they belong at a particular school.

Lastly, can you volunteer in the US while you are not employed? If so, I would suggest you do so. If done full-time, this can provide additional relevant experience. For example, could you work in operations for a large food bank?

Granted, I am an optimist and truly believe there is a business school for almost everyone who is desirous of an MBA, so I encourage you to go for it!
Best of luck,
Jennifer