Thanks in advance for your help, Alex and others!
GPA: 4.0/ 4.0 in Business Management at a large, Top 100 University in the US. Minors in English and French
GMAT: 690 (Q43, V41, AWA 6.0)
Resume: 2 years now (3 years at matriculation) as a business analyst/ underwriter for a commercial bank.
Caucasian/ Male/ 24, will be 25 at enrollment
Extracurricular Activities: Significant during college, less since then. Some highlights -- Publicity Co-Chair for Relay for Life, small role in student government, leadership roles in social fraternity, Eagle Scout, tutor for elementary school children. I also studied/ worked for a small family law firm abroad for one semester. I plan to start volunteering with a local Boy Scout troop in the next few months, provided that I do not decide to study and retake the GMAT during that time.
Awards: I attended college on a full-tuition/ expenses/ stipend scholarship and graduated as a valedictorian of college of business at my university.
In no particular order, the schools that I am most interested in applying to are: UVA (Darden), UNC (Kenan-Flagler), and Duke (Fuqua). Unfortunately, I scored on the lower end of my range for the GMAT. My range over the past two months on MGMAT and GMAT Prep tests was 670 - 730 (with most scores falling in the 700 - 710 range). I think that I could improve, but I wonder if retaking the exam is a better use of my time than preparing applications.
My questions:
- What do you think that my chances are at the schools referenced above?
- Which school(s) would you suggest that I consider adding to my list? I want a school with well-rounded career services (strong placement in all of the major post-MBA fields).
- Do you recommend that I retake the GMAT... or is it better to go ahead and get applications out during R1 with the score that I have now?
GMAT Forum
2 postsPage 1 of 1
- MBAApply
To answer your questions:
(1) You're a little on the younger side for these schools; some of the top schools like HBS, Wharton and Stanford having been going younger, but the other schools have yet to follow suit. Most of the folks outside these three are a little more experienced -- around 4-6 years experience, especially if they're not in investment banking analyst programs or management consulting. Having said that, if you're ready to apply this year, by all means go for it - you never know and with stellar execution on your application, you could be competitive for the schools you mentioned.
(2) First, career services doesn't provide you jobs. You do. Career services are simply one of many resources you need to draw upon. At most top schools, students use a combo of career services, alumni, current students, former employers/colleagues, other contacts, and so forth. As for schools, I really don't know. It's like asking "what kind of car do you suggest I buy? I want one that is pretty good all around."
(3) Go ahead and focus on the applications. Your GMAT is decent enough that it's not going to be a huge issue at all.
Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com
(1) You're a little on the younger side for these schools; some of the top schools like HBS, Wharton and Stanford having been going younger, but the other schools have yet to follow suit. Most of the folks outside these three are a little more experienced -- around 4-6 years experience, especially if they're not in investment banking analyst programs or management consulting. Having said that, if you're ready to apply this year, by all means go for it - you never know and with stellar execution on your application, you could be competitive for the schools you mentioned.
(2) First, career services doesn't provide you jobs. You do. Career services are simply one of many resources you need to draw upon. At most top schools, students use a combo of career services, alumni, current students, former employers/colleagues, other contacts, and so forth. As for schools, I really don't know. It's like asking "what kind of car do you suggest I buy? I want one that is pretty good all around."
(3) Go ahead and focus on the applications. Your GMAT is decent enough that it's not going to be a huge issue at all.
Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com
2 posts Page 1 of 1