2 yrs WE in Corp Fin, GMAT 710, Need advice

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Hi,

I need some opinions on school selection.
Here is my background:

Age: 25
Gender: Female
Race: Asian
Work Experience: 2 full year as a financial analyst in corporate finance ( I worked at a nation wide company that is about to go public, but not fortune 500)
Education:private university ranked around 80
GPA: 3.30 major in accounting
GMAT: 710
Volunteer: teach refugee English for about four months now

I was an international student who came to the US for college, and then obtained permanent residency.

My question is with my background (which i feel is pretty represented), what tier of school should i target?
Do I need to retake my GMAT if i want have a better chance for the Top 20?
Is my work experience a little bit short for MBA program?

Thank you in advance for evaluating and answering my questions.

Jolene
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by jolenewjy » Fri Jun 20, 2014 7:16 pm
To add more information about my work achievements: I have led a major project that involves the whole finance team. I have also discovered one system error that resulted an 12-months internal audit in which I played a major role. I was promoted once when I was with the company for 11 months.

This is all I can think of for now.

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by MBAApply » Sat Jun 21, 2014 9:14 am
jolenewjy wrote:Hi,

I need some opinions on school selection.
Here is my background:

Age: 25
Gender: Female
Race: Asian
Work Experience: 2 full year as a financial analyst in corporate finance ( I worked at a nation wide company that is about to go public, but not fortune 500)
Education:private university ranked around 80
GPA: 3.30 major in accounting
GMAT: 710
Volunteer: teach refugee English for about four months now

I was an international student who came to the US for college, and then obtained permanent residency.

My question is with my background (which i feel is pretty represented), what tier of school should i target?
Do I need to retake my GMAT if i want have a better chance for the Top 20?
Is my work experience a little bit short for MBA program?

Thank you in advance for evaluating and answering my questions.

Jolene
If you can, you should work for one more year before applying, as you will be more competitive with 3 years experience (not just for school, but also when recruiting for post-MBA positions).

With that said, overall here's where you stand:

Stretch: top 16 schools like Ross, Duke, Darden, Cornell, Yale, UCLA and NYU (choose 3-4)

Sweet spot: top 30 schools like Georgetown, Rochester, Maryland, Tepper, Emory, UNC, Texas, USC, Indiana, Purdue (choose 3-4).

Lottery: choose 1 from the top 8 (Columbia, Booth, Kellogg, Sloan, Tuck).

As for your GMAT, it's not going to be much of a concern, as it's already above 700. Only retake it if you are confident you can score a 730+ without much additional effort.

Note that the range of schools you should apply to won't change with an additional year of experience - it's just that with 3 years of experience, your chances are better.

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by jolenewjy » Mon Jun 23, 2014 7:09 am
MBAApply wrote:
jolenewjy wrote:Hi,

I need some opinions on school selection.
Here is my background:

Age: 25
Gender: Female
Race: Asian
Work Experience: 2 full year as a financial analyst in corporate finance ( I worked at a nation wide company that is about to go public, but not fortune 500)
Education:private university ranked around 80
GPA: 3.30 major in accounting
GMAT: 710
Volunteer: teach refugee English for about four months now

I was an international student who came to the US for college, and then obtained permanent residency.

My question is with my background (which i feel is pretty represented), what tier of school should i target?
Do I need to retake my GMAT if i want have a better chance for the Top 20?
Is my work experience a little bit short for MBA program?

Thank you in advance for evaluating and answering my questions.

Jolene
If you can, you should work for one more year before applying, as you will be more competitive with 3 years experience (not just for school, but also when recruiting for post-MBA positions).

With that said, overall here's where you stand:

Stretch: top 16 schools like Ross, Duke, Darden, Cornell, Yale, UCLA and NYU (choose 3-4)

Sweet spot: top 30 schools like Georgetown, Rochester, Maryland, Tepper, Emory, UNC, Texas, USC, Indiana, Purdue (choose 3-4).

Lottery: choose 1 from the top 8 (Columbia, Booth, Kellogg, Sloan, Tuck).

As for your GMAT, it's not going to be much of a concern, as it's already above 700. Only retake it if you are confident you can score a 730+ without much additional effort.

Note that the range of schools you should apply to won't change with an additional year of experience - it's just that with 3 years of experience, your chances are better.
Thank you Alex! Your opinion confirms my own self evaluation of where I stand.