Profile Evaluation

[mark983]

Hi Lisa,

I was hoping you could shed some light on my situation. My profile is a little different than most MBA hopefuls. I have 6-7 years experience in Operations Management and now I am in school full-time with one year remaining for my undergraduate degree in Supply Chain Management. My current GPA is 3.5 and I have been volunteering with a professional Operations Management organization for the past 3 years. The schools I am targeting for various reasons are: Stanford, MIT, Dartmouth, USC, UCLA, and Rice. My goal is a top 20 MBA program, but I live in the Houston area and Rice has always been of interest. The one possible negative I see is my age because I will turn 33 in a few months.

What are my chances of getting admitted to any of my target schools assuming I score between 680-700 on the GMAT? Also, if Rice is my best bet, how is the name recognition viewed outside of Texas? I have been told by a few people that Rice is internationally recognized, which is good because I have an interest international business. My goal after graduation is to live on the west coast (California, Oregon, or Washington). A friend of mine will be attending USC for his MBA this fall and he was saying USC "owns Southern California" (except for Stanford) as far as networking. If my chances are slim at the target schools I listed except Rice; would I be better off at a part-time program like USC's if I decide to work in Southern California?

Any advice or comments would be much appreciated!

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear mark983,

You pose an interesting question which shows you have done a good analysis on your profile versus the schools you are considering. You are correct that you will be on the higher end of the age range which could raise a question in the minds of some admissions committee members as the majority of students in full-time programs are between 25 and 30.

If you score a 680 or higher on your GMAT and maintain a GPA of 3.5 or higher, than you will present a strong academic profile and clear the first hurdle of any applicant. It is imperative you convey in your application and interview with each program the path of your career--what did you do prior to enrolling for your bachelor's degree? what has been your leadership experience and career progression? why do you want your MBA and how does it make sense for your future career path? how will you relate/work with classmates younger than you? and how will you add value to the program both during and post-graduation? In my experience, candidates who identify their potential weaknesses and address them directly in their application tend to fare better with the admissions committees as they do not leave questions unanswered in the minds of the committee members.

Since I do not have additional information on your background, it is hard to know your chances with the schools you mention. However, I do think that if you have the strong academic profile referenced above, believe your application will be solid (good recs, demonstrated leadership, well-written essays), and answer all of the questions I raised above, you should be a competitive applicant at those programs. As for who "owns" southern California, I think UCLA and many other CA programs would dispute that claim by USC.

Despite this already lengthy post, I do want you to think about one more issue when targeting schools. Because you will be a more seasoned professional and not fit the stereotypical MBA profile (28 yrs old & 5 yrs experience), your job search for your first position out of the MBA program will be different than most of your classmates. This means you may not utilize campus recruiting activities as much and spend more time networking to secure the opportunity you seek. This distinction is important because you should consider where you want to be geographically when you complete the program when you consider where to go to school. It is probably better for you to be in or near the west coast during your MBA to facilitate more face-to-face meetings with folks. That is not to say you can't get to the west coast from MIT/Dartmouth/Rice, but you will want to budget for trips to the west coast during your MBA program.

Hope that helps and good luck!
Lisa

[mark983]

Lisa,

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my post. I have my work cut out for me, but I look forward to the challenge.