Do I have a chance at entering Columbia?

[Seongbae]

Hi, I am a Korean American who has an undergraduate degree in education. My Undergrad GPA is 2.9. I also have a Masters in Education with a 3.8 GPA. I have over 10 years teaching experience in Korea, including working at a national university. I desire to get into investment banking. I want to use my experience and knowledge of Korean and Chinese languages and cultures in Corporate Finance, maybe M&A. I would love to go to Columbia or NYU. I am preparing to take the GMAT and expect to get about 700. Am I the king of fantasyland? Do I have a chance? I am a very ambitious person so I would love to go to a top tier school. If I can't go to either of those schools, what would be another option? My other top choices are UCLA, Berkeley, MIT or Cornell.

I am 35 years old this year, but since I have been studying full on for the past couple of years, I believe I am in prime shape to study even at a top program. Please give me any advice that you can. Thanks.

Bob

[medea66]

Bob,

That's great experience and international experience is definitely a plus. The only other pieces that you need to work on are doing well on the GMAT and getting nice letters of reccomendation.

[Scottie@VeritasPrep]

Your profile looks good. You are not the "typical" applicant which is good since schools like to have unique individuals in their classes. If you can get a 700+ on the GMAT then you should be competitive for top programs. Remember to spend a considerable amount of time on your essays, LORs, and interview prep. Best of luck!

[Seongbae]

Thank you to both of you for all of your info and support. I have been studying about 40 hours a week on the GMAT. I am currently studying the Veritas Online materials and I have the Manhattan GMAT books as well. I have been supplementing that with the OG and the supplemental Verbal and Math review books. I am looking to take the exam at the end of September to apply for early decision. I guess it depends on my GMAT score. Does anyone have any other thougths or suggestions of other books or methods that I could use to prepare for the GMAT? Let me know. All of your advice is greatly appreciated.

Bob

[Linda Abraham]

Thank you to both of you for all of your info and support. I have been studying about 40 hours a week on the GMAT. I am currently studying the Veritas Online materials and I have the Manhattan GMAT books as well. I have been supplementing that with the OG and the supplemental Verbal and Math review books. I am looking to take the exam at the end of September to apply for early decision. I guess it depends on my GMAT score. Does anyone have any other thougths or suggestions of other books or methods that I could use to prepare for the GMAT? Let me know. All of your advice is greatly appreciated.

Bob

Bob,

Certainly a high GMAT will help you but you will face considerable hurdles because you have above average experience and are a career changer. In general, it is important for career changers to build on their past experience. It is also critical for older applicants to seek out programs that are "friendly" to older applicants and to have crystal clear, feasible goals.

My concern is that if you say your goal is an entry level IB position in an area unrelated to your previous work, you won't have a chance. You will have to show that your previous experience is relevant to your goals and will benefit a future employer.

For more information, please see:

* MBA Admissions: Application Advice for Career Changers
* Applying to Regular MBA Programs as an Older Applicant

I also encourage you to consider Chicago, London Business School, INSEAD, and London Business School's Sloan Fellows Program.

Best,
Linda