Profile Eval Plz =)

[mtchao08]

Hi all,

Thanks so much for helping all of us MBA candidates assess our profiles. Much appreciated

The following schools are my ideal list thus far:

Reach Schools:
Cornell, Duke, NYU

Target Schools:
UT Austin, Emory

Safety Schools:
Rice University, Georgetown

My #1 pref is UT Austin, but am curious about my chances at top mba #10-20 schools.

GMAT: 690 (q49 v35)
GPA: 3.0 (didn't take school very seriously GPA on a decline trend)
Undergrad: Emory BBA class of 2008

Work Exp:
- 3 yrs as a consultant to senior consultant at Navigant Consulting (middle market) in the financial/transaction advisory services
- 1.5+ yr at a Dallas based real estate development firm as senior transaction/investment associate (current job)

Reason for MBA:
- Strong desire to gain a more well rounded business knowledge foundation (regret that i didn't in my undergrad. would be helpful in any long term career)
- Since background is in financial/investment valuation, I'm looking to either advance my career/foundation knowledge in real estate investment and maybe manage a fund. Also looking at a potential switch to a corporate strategy planning. Both are great opportunities that I'd like to evaluate while getting MBA.

Other Info:
-No current extracurricular activities since of the long hours @ work + travel
-Asian american (not sure if this helps/hurts/neutral)

[MBAPrepAdvantage]

What was your major? A major in an engineering, science or other subject with lower GPA's would make your 3.0 less of a weakness. Although graduating from a quality school like Emory already helps.

The Asian American does not help (as opposed to applying from an underrepresented group at MBA school).

Your 690 GMAT is close to the average for Cornell and Duke, but low for NYU Stern. I would recommend you retake the test since (1) any improvement in the middle of a binomial distribution represents a substantial percentage increase and (2) you are trying to show that your undergraduate academic performance is not indicative of your potential at MBA school. The higher your GMAT score, the more you corroborate this.

Your work experience is fine, but I would try to focus your goals even more.

Even with your present GMAT score, Cornell and Duke are doable with NYU Stern more of a reach. Given your real estate focus, you might also consider adding Michigan Ross and UCLA Anderson to your list.

Best of luck,

[mtchao08]

Thanks Michael. Very helpful.

Majored in finance.

Do you think my GMAT is good enough for the UT Austin/Emory bucket?

I have a chance to push up GMAT to 710'ish, but I'm only about 50% confident. Been maxing out at 700, and my range of reasonableness is 10 plus/minus. 690 was my second attempt.

[MBAPrepAdvantage]

Your GMAT is sufficient to apply to those schools, but any improvement would help your chances.