Am I rushing into this?

[JamesDarden13]

Hello everyone,

First post here so please bare with me. I've recently graduated with an UG degree in Biomedical Engineering. GPA 3.3 and overall not happy with what I actually studied. I'll be starting work for Accenture's Federal Sector in about two months. I'm looking forward to consulting and would like to get into strategy/MC as opposed to the IT side I'll be in. I told myself I would take the GMAT before I start just to get it out of the way thinking that the score is valid for 5 years and I won't really have time to study when I start work. Three weeks ago I started the 3 month Advanced Magoosh study schedule and have scored around 640 on the two practice tests I took so far. My goal is obviously to get above the 700 threshold, so that after a couple years of work experience, I can begin to apply to some good schools (Columbia, Stern, Haas, etc.) This leads me to my question however: am I rushing into this? It seems that a lot of the test takers on these forums are taking the GMAT after a couple years of working. I appreciate the advice.

[[email protected]]

Hi JamesDarden13,

Your question can be broken down into 2 pieces:

1) What "path" do most Test Takers follow on the way to their MBA?
2) What kind of work experience do most MBA programs expect from applicants?

A sizeable percentage of MBA applicants are in their mid-to-late 20s, but the pool also includes plenty of applicants in their 30s and 40s. Certain programs (e.g. executive MBA) are clearly geared towards older applicants with far more work (and higher level) experience. This means that some of the applicants who you will be in competition with will have more work experience than you, but that's not necessarily a big deal.

Most MBA programs expect 2-5 years of work experience from their applicants, although there are always exceptions. Some applicants "get the GMAT out of the way" early on, with the plan to go off and work for a few years, build up their resumes and then apply later (before the 5 year date passes).

There really isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to go about ordering your steps, although there's something to be said for focusing on one piece of the application at a time. Your current plan/timeline is fine. Focus on the GMAT now, nail it, then you'll be free and clear to work on the other aspects of your application when decide to apply.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

[shrivats]

JamesDarden13,

Your approach is fine. In fact, I'd say in most cases its preferable. It may be a good idea to take the GMAT immediately after UG, before starting work. For one, like you said, you may b busy and not find time for studying later once you start working and also immediately after UG, you'll still be in academic mode, with a mindset to face exams.. so you can finish the GMAT when you are still in student mode.. Once you start working and work for a couple of years, it gets difficult and takes time to get into exam mode.

As long as you are clear in what you are doing, you can go ahead.