FEMBA: USC or UCLA.. Importance of GMAT/GPA vs Wk Experience

[geckoutca]

I am planning to apply to both Fully Employed programs at USC and UCLA and recently took my first GMAT. I scored a 610 and have an undergraduate B.S. in Chemistry GPA of 2.95. However what I do have is a PhD in organic chemistry and a Post-Doc from UPENN. After school I have been in industry now for 6 + years in pharmaceuticals/biotech. When I look at the FEMBA program scores vs full time I noticed that the GMAT score ranges are quite a bit different. I am curious if more emphasis is placed on ones work experience and success after undergrad instead of GPA and GMAT score. Basically do I need to retake the exam and hope to gain 30-40 points having only a few weeks to do so as the application is due in Jan? I have never been a strong test taker and excel more in work than I do on standardized tests and I am not all that confident that I can raise my score much in a few short weeks. All things considered I did score better in verbal than I did in math which is quite rare so I probably made a few dumb errors that cost me quite a few points.

Any advice (as blunt and honest as possible) would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

geckoutca

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear geckoutca,

The evaluation for fully employed/part-time/executive programs is different from traditional/daytime programs. All of the application components are still important, but the perspective in which they are assessed changes. Work experience, rationale for the MBA and career goals are scrutinized with a more critical eye in the fully employed programs to ensure it is the right program for your overall career plan. At this point in the application cycle, I think your essays and resume are a priority as you need them to make a compelling case for your admission. If you will sacrifice the quality of these items for a GMAT retake, then I would say not to retake the GMAT at this point in time. A higher GMAT score would be better for you, but your PhD and postdoc do help demonstrate your academic ability. If you do have time for both, then a higher score will not hurt.

Good luck,
Lisa