Hello,

Wanted to get your feedback on my profile and whether I'm competitive at my listed schools:

GMAT
-2nd Time (took in fall 2011)
680- (47Q, 36V)

-1st Time (took in summer 2010)
660- (42Q, 39V)


Education
-BA in Accounting at Michigan State University- 3.9 GPA
-MS in Accounting at Michigan State University- 3.9 GPA


Work Experience
-CPA at PricewaterhouseCoopers (accounting firm)- would have 3 years of experience upon entering school


Other Activities
-Board Member, Non-Profit Organization
-Board Member, Michigan State University NYC Alumni Group
-Volunteer, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of NY
-Graduate Assistant, Michigan State University Financial Accounting Course (I know this was from college but I feel like it might be good leadership experience to talk about as I was responsible for over 1,000 business students and 20 teaching assistants each semester)


Target Schools
-Reach/Challenge- Northwestern, Yale
-Competitive- Notre Dame, Indiana


Reason for MBA
-I want to build upon my accounting background and move into a corporate finance/strategic management position where I'm using financial information to make business decisions.


What are your thoughts on my profile? Strengths/Weaknesses? Are my target schools reasonable? How beneficial would it be to wait another year before applying? Would it be good for me to retake the GMAT? I was a disappointed with my last score as I was consistently scoring in the 720s and above on my last four Manhattan Practice tests. I didn't have any nerves during the exam and managed my time well so I was shocked when I saw the 680 pop up. Would it be wise to give it one more crack? It would be my third time and I realize I shouldn't take it any more after that.


Thank you for all your help!

Best,

Kyle

Hi Kyle,

Thanks for all that information. Let's break down your questions:

What are your thoughts on my profile? Strengths/Weaknesses?

I think you have a very realistic assessment of where you stand. You have name-brand experience in a traditional business field and community involvement. You'll need to flesh out your goals some more -- what does "using financial information to make business decisions" mean? What department might you be in? What kind of decisions would you make, and how will an MBA help you get to that point?

Are my target schools reasonable? How beneficial would it be to wait another year before applying?

Indiana and Notre Dame are certainly competitive. I would rate Kellogg and Yale as "reach/far reach" -- your GMAT is a bit low for those and 3 years of experience is going to put you 1-2 years below the media experience for those schools. If it's important to you to attend business school ASAP then you can definitely apply and be competitive at IU/ND. But your chances should improve at the more competitive schools with an extra year of work experience.

Would it be wise to give it one more crack?

If you think a 720 is feasible then I would advise giving it one more try. 40 points is a sizable jump and puts you in a different competitive bracket when it comes to GMAT.

Best of luck,

Daniel Richards
http://www.mbamission.com

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Thank you for your help Daniel. I definitely agree with your assessment. I'm going to take the exam again in 30 days and I'll re-evaluate things after that. I'll have to reach out to MBA Mission after that.

Sincerely,

Kyle

Sounds good Kyle -- we look forward to hearing from you!