mialanhero

I am looking to apply to a few of the top 10 MBA schools in the U.S., but I have no post-undergrad work experience. How will this effect my chances of being accepted?

I will give you some background. I am a mature student (30 yrs. old) and I did have sales and purchasing background before going to university.I will graduate in May 2005. I am planning to take my GMAT this summer and I my goal is to score above 700. My GPA is just shy of 3.0 and I hope to improve upon that. I coach youth football in the university. I volounteer at the local food bank during the holidays and I will soon be a participant in the commerce society.

Will all of the above make me a strong candidate or is the work experience (lack there of) going to be too much of a factor to overcome?

The schools I am specifically looking at are Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, Duke, and Kellogg.

Thanks in advance.

hsWang

<B>以下是引用<I>mialanhero</I>在2004-9-6 11:43:00的发言：</B>

<P>I am looking to apply to a few of the top 10 MBA schools in the U.S., but I have no post-undergrad work experience.
How will this effect my chances of being accepted?
I will give you some background. I am a mature student (30 yrs. old) and I did have sales and purchasing background before going to university.I will graduate in May 2005. I am planning to take my GMAT this summer and I my goal is to score above 700. My GPA is just shy of 3.0 and I hope to improve upon that. I coach youth football in the university. I volounteer at the local food bank during the holidays and I will soon be a participant in the commerce society.
Will all of the above make me a strong candidate or is the work experience (lack there of) going to be too much of a factor to overcome?
The schools I am specifically looking at are Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, Duke, and Kellogg.</P>
<P>Thanks in advance. </P>
<P>
</P>

Thanks for your inquiry.

It is possible to be admitted into a top school without any work experience and certainly more probable to be admitted without post undergrad work experience. The key is to demonstrate the level of maturity, leadership skills, teamwork skills, etc. that someone with more experience would progress.

If your school is on the 4.0 scale and you score 700 or higher on the GMAT, your academic qualifications hurdle has been easily cleared at any school.

(On a separate but related note, despite what some may say about extremely high GMAT scores helping applicants, there is just no truth to this and any admissions officer will tell you as much. Each year good applicants with sub 600 GMATs will be admitted to top school and, this past year, 8 out of 8 Stanford applicants with perfect 800 GMAT scores were dinged. Enough said.)

Your extracurricular activities appear OK. In addition to a well-prepared application that includes, among other things, good reasons for why an MBA, why now, diversity, etc., your chances will largely come down to the exact level of responsibility you had in your previous sales and purchasing work.

Best of luck with your future applications!

Sincerely,
H.S.Wang

hsWang

<B>以下是引用<I>brilliance</I>在2004-9-6 19:25:00的发言：</B>
I have been working for a top software company as program Manager for 6 years.
Now, i want to attend MBA at stanford.
Though i surf the HBS website, i didn't like the school environments and surroundings.
I am still confused about whether i should dive for MBA.
1) Do you think stanford will fit for me?
2) i haven't sit for GMAT yet

Hope to hearing from You.
Thanks and regards

Thanks for your inquiry.

Harvard is a great school and it has produced a lot of satisfied alumni over the years. If you're on the fence about Harvard, the best thing to do would be to visit the campus in person or talk with some HBS alumni.  

I'd likely encourage you to wait until the second round. I'm not sure you can prep for the GMAT and submit a well-prepared application within the next 2 months.You may also want to take some time to carefully think through your future career goals and ensure you are confident of the best next steps to attain them.

I have no way of competently stating whether Stanford is a good fit for you with so little information. (Neither can any of the staff at Stanford.)  If you would like to discuss your school selection criteria as well as the pros and cons of an MBA versus MPA with one of our consultants, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.

Best of luck with your applications!

H.S.Wang

crossmoon

All throughout my undergraduate education, I never anticipated going to business school. Thus, I never really focused on grades. Instead, I started two companies - both of which failed, but generated sales of RMB 100k or so - and graduated in 3 years. In total, I earned a 3.0 from a not so famous university with a degree in Computer Science.

I worked as a software engineer for a while, but switched over to finance. I've worked my way up to a post where half of my peers and all my superiors have MBAs, so I believe the degree is essential for my growth. Also, since I don't have a business degree, I'm at a loss. I'm learning finance and accounting in my spare time. I will have 39 months of experience upon matriculation.

I took the GMAT just to get a sense of where I should apply. I got a 730 with an AWA of 5.0. I've painstakingly tweaked my essays and have support from management, who will write a strong recommendation.

A friend of mine was in a similar situation, but had a 3.2 from the same program and a 750 (4.5 AWA) on the GMAT. He was turned down from every school to which he applied. He aimed high and missed the mark. The top five schools on the west coast of US rejected him.

I'm trying not to make the same mistake as my friend.  Because of my GMAT score, I've started thinking I have a chance of getting into HBS - the stereotypical hail mary attempt. I know they focus on leadership, so I've gotten a book on leadership, outlined it, and taken notes. I draw my essays from reality, but frame my accomplishments using the keys to leadership.

Given that I have only a limited amount of space on the essays, what should I focus on? My companies failed, but they may have taught me a lesson. They aren't necessarily an indication of leadership. Also, do you think my GPA will be an issue? I have good GMATs, college-year entrepreneurship, and a 3-year work experience. Should I sweep this under the rug or hang it out as something to be proud of? Should I say, "I didn't let my schooling get in the way of my education?" (Mark Twain) I mention my GPA in the "weakest part of this application" essay.

If I had a 4.0, I'd be in a different boat. I just don't want to waste my time applying to a school that I have no chance of getting into.

Thanks in advance!

hsWang

<P>以下是引用<I>crossmoon</I>在2004-9-7 10:52:00的发言：
All throughout my undergraduate education, I never anticipated going to business school. Thus, I never really focused on grades. Instead, I started two companies - both of which failed, but generated sales of RMB 100k or so - and graduated in 3 years. In total, I earned a 3.0 from a not so famous university with a degree in Computer Science.
</P>

Thanks for your inquiry.

One of the biggest fallacies we see, whether we are conducting ding analyses or working with re-applicants, is overconfidence from high score GMAT applicants. I have discovered thei nformation about how Stanford rejected 8 out of 8 applicants last year with perfect 800 GMAT scores. Your academic qualifications, i.e. transcripts and GMAT, account for about 35% to 40% of the admissions decision at most top b-schools and you will find plenty of below average-GMAT test takers on their campuses.

If your friend had a good career progression and extracurricular involvement, then he was dinged because he had a weak story. A very large percentage of applicants are clearly qualified for a top MBA when GMAT scores, GPAs, career progression, and extracurriculars are considered. (Let's face it. No one with a 1.8 GPA, 380 GMAT, and one year flipping burgers at McD's is going to bother applying to a top b-school.) What differentiates those who are admitted from those who are dinged is their applicant stories.

We take a long phone consultation just to help determine the main themes for an applicant's story; I don't have nearly enough information to competently tell you what you should write and how you should write it here. However, you would be well advised to be very succinct when addressing your weaknesses and find some good, differentiating themes for your story. Leadership is important at all of the schools and, yes, even more so at HBS. Original introspection and acute analysis will differentiate those who are admitted from the many more who are dinged.

Best of luck with your HBS application!

Sincerely,

H.S.Wang

[此贴子已经被作者于2004-9-8 13:20:18编辑过]

sunnyrain

Hi, Wang,

I am new to this board, and hope this is the right way to ask a question: I have a question about MBA admission acceptance-deadline timing. If I receive an offer of admission from one school (my second choice), and my acceptance of that offer is due several days before I hear from the other schools I've applied to (one of which is my first choice). I am thinking of asking them if they could extend the acceptance date to a few business days after the date that I hear from the other schools, so that I have full info before making a commitment. What do you think/any suggestions? Also, should I contact the Admissions Director whose name is on the acceptance letter, or the general admissions email?

Thanks in advance!

hsWang

以下是引用sunnyrain在2004-9-8 12:49:00的发言：

Hi, Wang,

I am new to this board, and hope this is the right way to ask a question: I have a question about MBA admission acceptance-deadline timing. If I receive an offer of admission from one school (my second choice), and my acceptance of that offer is due several days before I hear from the other schools I've applied to (one of which is my first choice). I am thinking of asking them if they could extend the acceptance date to a few business days after the date that I hear from the other schools, so that I have full info before making a commitment. What do you think/any suggestions? Also, should I contact the Admissions Director whose name is on the acceptance letter, or the general admissions email?

Thanks in advance!

This is a good question. You certainly should contact the Admissions Director directly and request the extension. We have found that these are granted in 95% of the cases with no issues or hassles. Best of luck with your applications! Sincerely,

H.S.Wang

hsWang

以下是引用LANDER在2004-9-12 21:10:00的发言： Hello, Wang, I am highly interested in going to a top tier B-school, possible focusing on International Business. Though I am well traveled, I thought if my ultimate goal is a position at IMF or World Bank or Int''l Consulting firm, it might be a good idea to do some volunteering (maybe in business development) in an underpriveleged nation for a few months. My goal is a top school- harvard, Yale or Insead or london school of economics. I have excellent work experience- 4 years total, 2 years at a top financial service firm in a very unique quantitative position. I haven''t taken the GMAT yet but I am guessing with a lot of hard work I''ll get in the 680-700 range. The one thing holding me back is my GPA. It''s about a 3.1- because of 1 bad semester and 2 bad grades. I graduated from a Chinese Ivy university where made it very difficult for students to get straight A''s. Just wondering if the abroad volunteerism would help me (especially if I''ll be pitching in my essays that I want economic development to be my career path) and what my chances are for getting into the schools above that I mentioned. I''ve also heard that it helps your chances a bit if you are female...is this true? thanks! Thanks!

Thanks for your inquiry.

First of all, if you only have 2 bad grades and you achieve a GMAT score in the 680-700 range with some balance between your verbal and quant percentiles, your academic qualifications will not keep you out of b-school. Your work experience also appears to be very solid. With decent extracurricular activities and some differentiating factors in well-prepared applications, you should be competitive at all of these schools. Abroad volunteerism, particularly if it is related to your future economic development career goals would certainly help your chances if your stated long-term career goal is the same as described above. However, I think it is only fair to warn you that your future career goal could be a risky one *if* you can not adequately back up your sincerity and how your accomplishments and experiences to date have made that goal attainable. A lot of applicants state grandiose and altruistic goals and get dinged precisely because the admissions committees doubted their sincerity. Besides, there just are not going to be that many post-MBA opportunities in your desired field. Best of luck with your applications! Sincerely,

H.S.Wang

mialanhero

I graduated from a well-known university in China. I have strong work experience, but my GPA is only 2.5.

Some one told me to make a fake of m undergraduate transcript. Surly I don't want to do that. But my low undergraduate GPA is really a problem, would you please help me find a way to solve this problem?

Thanks!

hsWang

"I graduated from a well-known university in China. I have strong work experience, but my GPA is only 2.5.

Some one told me to make a fake of m undergraduate transcript. Surly I don't want to do that. But my low undergraduate GPA is really a problem, would you please help me find a way to solve this problem?

Thanks! "

Thanks for your inquiry. As for the low GPA, you can do two things to remedy them:

(1) Do you know WHY you had low GPA? If you do, explain why but don't over explain as it may give readers impression that you are not confident in your ability. If you don't know why, don't explain because it will sound you are looking for excuses.

(2) Get high GMAT scores. US schools have a formula that transfers your GMAT scores into GPA and average them with your undergraduate GPA.

In general, I don't think you should worry too much about your GPA. I respect you for not to cheat.

Best of luck with your application!

Sincerely,

H.S.Wang

[此贴子已经被作者于2004-9-13 15:09:57编辑过]