Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant

deleted

Hello Imran,

You have assessed your strengths and weaknesses well. Your undergraduate GPA will be a barrier, and you will have to explain it thoroughly.

Your work experience, while interesting, is also light. You will have to carefully explain why you didn't enter the corporate world immediately after graduation. Also, you will need to convince the schools that you have good reasons for changing your career focus and that you understand what you are aiming for and why your goals are logical given your background and skills.

As a developer, you will have to be explicit about your leadership responsibilities. The assumption is that most developers are sole contributors and do not have responsibility for the work of others.

In summary, while your GMAT score shows substantial ability, the admissions committee will question other areas in your application. Unfortunately, you will be competing against literally thousands of people who do not have areas that need to be explained. That will definitely lower your chances of acceptance. The schools you are targeting reject nearly 90% of their applicants. They do not need to take risks, and in fact won't, unless they see a powerful reason to do so.

If you are determined to enter business school in the next year, you should include several safety schools on your list. Those would be schools for which your experience and GMAT are strong enough to offset a problematic GPA. An experienced admissions consultant could be a great help in positioning your strengths whatever schools you apply to.

Good luck,

HI Tani,

Thank you for your candid advice. It is much appreciated. I will definitely apply to some safety schools as well.

I knew my GPA was an issue. But I did not consider my experience to be that weak. I will definitely try to focus on my leadership skills.

Thank You

I did not mean to say your work experience was weak, simply that it looks like a typical technical position without direct management responsibility or leadership. If that is incorrect, you will have to be very precise in letting the admissions committee know how your position differed from a typical developer's position. Think about the degree to which you are responsible for the work of others and not just your own. Management is getting work done through others. You should be very clear about the extent to which that applies to your job.

Thank you for clarifying your position. Its very kind of you to do so. I understand what your saying now, and I will do my best to differentiate my technical experience using specific leadership examples.

Tani I would like to ask you how personal I can get when explaining my undergraduate record? You have already dedicated time to me, so if you cannot respond, then I do understand.

Thank you for your advice and encouragement.