Profile evaluation please

[richs_ca]

Hi Lisa,

I appreciate you taking the time to offer guidance. My situation is a little out of the ordinary. I am currently a lawyer in Canada and have been practicing commerical litigation and management-side labour law for about 4 years. My spouse just got a goog job in the U.S. so we will be moving in August. I had been thinking about doing an MBA for the last year or so, and the upcoming move makes for a good opportunity to go for it.

I will be writing the GMAT in a few weeks, so I'm not sure what my score will be but in practicing so far my verbal scores have been very high, while my quant scores have been only mediocre; ultimately, I expect to score around 630 if I can't get my quant scores as high as I would like (haven't done any math in 13 years!). We'll have to wait and see, though.

Because I'm moving with my spouse, my plan is to apply to only one MBA program - the one in the city that we are moving to. It is not a top 20 school, but is second-tier, and it advertises a mean GMAT score of 615. I am a few years older than the average student in this school's program, and I graduated in the top 15% of my law school class with around a 3.60 GPA. I had a GPA of 3.3 in undergrad.

My post-MBA goal is to either go in-house and ultimately become general counsel with a large company, or to work on the business side in a senior management capacity. Working with senior management as a litigator and labour/employment lawyer, I am left out of the strategic busienss decisions and am called in to clean up mistakes made by managers. I've realized that I would really like to transition onto the business side of things in order to be a part of the strategic decision-making, but without a business background (I have an arts undergrad) that is difficult.

As I don't have any "backup" schools, any advice on how to maximize my chances at this one school would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help!

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear richs_ca:

If you want to enroll in the program for this fall (Aug or Sept start), then the first thing you should do is contact the school now. Perhaps you already have? If not, then call them and explain you will be submitting your application in May as you will be moving to the city in August due to the recent job change of your wife. Make sure this will not be too late and let them know what your GMAT test date is. It would also be good to ask if they prefer you submit all of your application materials sooner and just wait on your GMAT score. This would be a great way of getting on the school's "radar screen" and ensure that you will be considered for fall entry.

Depending on how your GMAT score comes out, you will either be a strong applicant for the school or a competitive one. As long as you score in the 600s, you should be competitive with your GPA and work experience. Additionally, you will want to make sure you convey a solid rationale for why a MBA and how it makes sense with your career path.

Lastly, if you will be going to the city between now and your move, you might try to arrange a visit to the campus. It would be good for you to see the school and meet with any admissions folks there. If you have already done this, good work!

Best of luck to you,
Lisa

[richs_ca]

Thanks so much, Lisa.

I have already spoken to the school and explained my situation, and they have told me that an early May application will be fine. Unfortunately, though, given my work schedule it is highly unlikely I'll be able to travel to the school on a weekday for a visit. That said, if the opportunity were to arise, would I just want to email the folks and ask if I could meet with someone?

As for having a solid rationale for why I want the MBA: obviously, my explanation would be fleshed out in my essay, but is the reasoning that I explained in my first post (wanting to work in-house, involved in the strategic business decision) something that adcoms will look favourably upon?

One more question - the school asks for 2 references. Right now I have 3; one from a former supervisor (she left a few months ago), one from a current partner and one from a client. Should I send all three? If not, would it be better to send the two from supervisors or one from a supervisor and one from the client?

Thanks again!

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear richs_ca:

I think you desired career path makes sense; it is just something you will definitely want to communicate in your essays. I'm glad to hear you did speak with the school already. Yes, if you do end up getting to the city and could go by the school on a weekday, just call or email and ask if you can come by the office and possibly get a tour. Most admissions offices get these types of requests all the time with little notice, so it should be fine.

You can always submit more than 2 references, but schools do not want you to submit more than 3 or 4. So, if you want to use all three, than you should do so. Otherwise, I would suggest using a supervisor (either the former or the current) and the client.

Good luck!
Lisa

[richs_ca]

Hi Lisa,

So I wrote the GMAT this week and scored a 630. The problem is that i scored a 97th percentile (44) on the verbal but a 36th (32) on the quant. There was a computer network problem during the quant portion of the exam and GMAC has offered me a free rewrite, but not until next month; but given that I'm applying to start this fall, there really isn't time for that. Plus, my quant scores have been pretty weak on all of my practice exams - 40-45th percentiles at best, so my score isn't likely to improve too much.

Given the average score for entering students is 615, and the fact that I think my essays are good and pretty sure that my references are solid, is there anything I should/could do to deal with the low quant score?

Thanks!

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear richs_ca,

I agree with your assessment on the retake, especially since you do not have much time. I think the best way to counteract the quant score is to highlight your quantitative aptitude in other parts of your application. Perhaps you got good grades in quant courses in college? Is there any quantitative aspect to your current or previous jobs? While your quant score is not ideal, I do think you have demonstrated a high enough level to succeed in the classroom; you just might have to work harder than others to achieve the same grade.

Good luck,
Lisa