MBA student from very DIFFERENT background

[Peter284]

The majority of MBA applicants seem to be in the IT, Banking, Finance, etc.., work field. I, on the other hand, come from a Industrial design background. I attended the top design school in NYC and graduated in 2006 with a 3.7 GPA and BFA degree in Industrial design. I am currently a designer for a luxury products company with 2.5 years experience there. After working in Product Development at a corporate company, I grew interest in the business side of the process, specifically, marketing. Since I am a designer in Product development, I am in constant communication with , marketing, sales, and vendors overseas. I then began to feel that Design and business share many similar qualities and processes. Every day I at work my job consists of problem solving through design. I believe that business/marketing faces problems all the time that need to be solved. Since marketing is the closest thing to design as far as creative vision is concerned, I want to bring in problem solving skills from design into the business side. I recently took the GMAT and scored a depressing 590. I do have the confidence however in raising that score another 100 points.

Do you think that with my different background and a 690-800 GMAT score, makes me a qualified competitor against all the IT, Finance, etc. applicants?

I currently live in the Northeast and REALLY want to go to Columbia or Kellogg. I am shooting for Fall '09 admission. If I took the GMAT once again by the end of this year, can I still make it in time for the later rounds of admission?

It's very rare to find anybody from my background with an MBA so any feedback/advice/suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear Peter284,

Your industrial design background will set you apart and should be leveraged to your advantage. Schools do not want only the IT, finance people; they want a broad, diverse class with interesting backgrounds and the potential to be a business leader. I think you would be within range for Columbia and Kellogg if you could get your GMAT up to even a 650 (of course, higher is better). It appears you have defined career goals and a solid rationale for getting your MBA. Just be sure to write strong essays, submit great letters of recommendation, and be impressive in your interview.

Best of luck,
Lisa

[Peter284]

Thank you so much for your response. I did not think of my background can be used to my advantage. I will definitely try and take that approach.