Profile Evaluation / Questions

[cavalier88]

Hello -

First off thank you for this service, it is very helpful to have folks who are experts in this area provide this guidance.

I am a 28 (29 this coming summer) Male living in NYC, working for a large telecommunications company. I am currently a Sr. Manager in the Pricing Strategy group. I have about 6.5 years work experience, of which the last 3 have been in a management capacity. I'm looking towards an MBA to gain some more experience and knowledge in Marketing Strategy - an area that I have interest, but unfortunately not the background yet.

I have an undergrad degree in Operations Research & Industrial Engineering from a top 5 Engineering program, but unfortunately I graduated with a 2.1 GPA. Basically my lack of maturity made college more social than academic for me.

I've been rather successful in my career since then, but it is without a doubt a huge red flag. I have taken the GMAT and scored a 740 (49 Q, 42 V).

I've gathered a small set of target schools, which i'm hoping to get some feedback on both if the programs fit what i'm looking for in terms of Mkting Strategy, as well as if I'm a realistic candidate. My second question is just tied to the timing. Because of my age, i'm being increasingly told I should consider applying in R3 simply because my schools look down upon folks who are 30+ at the time of matric unless they have some extraordinary circumstances. So what would be my chances on the listed schools given a R3 application?

School list: Michigan, Duke, USC, Texas, Emory, Rice.


Thanks in advance for your time.

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear cavalier88,

Gaining admission in R3 is tough for any applicant, no matter the profile. However, it does happen. I think you have a choice here and need to determine which route is best for you. First, you could apply R3 and see what happens. While your GPA is low, your GMAT is high and mitigates it to some degree. To really compete for a seat in R3 though, you must have a stellar application where the only potential weakness is the GPA. If you don't get in, you can re-apply in R1 of the next cycle. Second option: apply R1 next year. While you will be 29 at the time you apply and 30 upon matriculation, you will not be "over the hill" or even the oldest in the class by any stretch. You will be on the high end of the mid-80% range for many programs, but you will find many folks entering business school at 29-31. The downside of waiting is that in the even you don't get in, you will have to wait another year to apply.

Thus you need to ask yourself: 1) are you ready to go this fall? 2) can you put together a stellar, competitive package for R3? and 3) or do you need more time to research the programs and career paths to strengthen your applications?

These schools are all good choices for you and a good mix of reach and reasonable options. You just need to determine if you want to take the risk of R3 or take the risk of applying in R1 in Oct 2011.

Good luck,
Lisa