Profile Evaluation / Advice

[slcarmen]

Jeremy and Akiba-

I am hoping that you can provide me with a profile evaluation and some guidance. I graduated from Florida State in 2007 with a below GPA (2.8), but have worked as an investment banking analyst for the past two years. I am currently working for a middle market firm and have had significan cross border exposure (not sure if that matters, but figured I would add it in). Unfortunately, I don't have any extra curricular activities due to the awful lifestyle of working 80 - 100 weeks. I have one year left in my analyst program and am debating applying to business school for the Fall of 2010 or taking another job (either strategy or finance related) for two years and then heading back to school. I have not taken the GMAT yet, but am taking a self pace class and have been scoring consistently in the 650 - 660 range. My questions for you are:
- What range school would accept me? My guess is somewhere in the 15 - 25 rank, but not really sure.
- Do you think getting an extra two years experience will improve my chances and help me get into a better school or are schools more geared on bringing in younger students?
- Do you think MBA admissions will decline over the next few years?

Thank you in advance for your help - everyone really appreciates your guidance.

[mbamission]

Hi - Thanks for the inquiry.

I have tried to answer all of your questions. Please feel free to follow-up with any further questions or with responses to those questions I have posed below.

(1) It is hard to direct you toward a range of schools without knowing a bit more about your background; however, you are right in that your GPA is on the low side (even for most schools in the 15-25 ranking); Question for you in terms of your academic performance....was your performance strong in certain subjects but weaker in others? Did you have an upward trajectory over the course of your academic career? Any extenuating circumstances? The reason I ask is because you may think about ways in which you can show the Admissions Committee(s) that you are indeed capable of the academic rigor of a program. Do you have time now to enroll in classes that may booster your academic credentials? In addition, a strong GMAT score (80% or above in both quant and verbal) can compensate somewhat for weak academics.

(2) In terms of taking a new job for 2 years, it is not the quantity of years but the quality of the experience that counts. If you believe that you can demonstrate that you are ready for an MBA program based on your existing work experience, then there is no need for another position. With that said, you did mention that you aren’t able to participate in many community volunteer activities given your current workload, so perhaps the new role would allow you more time to booster that portion of your profile. Lastly, there has been a trend toward accepting younger students for some schools (i.e. HBS) but this is not the case for all schools.

(3) It is hard to say what will happen regarding application trends going forward. For the most recent year, most schools saw a significant increase in R1 applications but a drop in R2 applications, so the overall year was slightly up versus the year prior. The decrease in R2 was in part driven by a decrease in international applications in part due to issues in the credit markets that affected the accessibility of student loans, particularly for internationals. It is hard to see this year being up materially versus the 2008-2009 application year but we expect it will continue to be competitive.

Sincerely,
Erin Schuhmacher
MBA Mission

646-485-8844

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