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Hey there! Two things set me apart from everyone sitting at the b-school days at Campus X, I’m 49 and lived in Asia (Seoul, Bangkok) for 19 years. After 9 years as Associate Professor with Sejong University, in 2013 I moved to Bangkok and started a guest house. In 2019 my mother was hospitalized quite frequently so we moved to America in December 2019.
Target School: Rice Business
Considering: Darden, Chicago Booth, McCombs School of Business
See More Profiles For: Rice Business
Application Status: Open
Undergrad School: Michigan State University
Undergrad Major: Sociology
GPA: 3.0
GRE: 315
Age: 49, Ethnicity: White
Other Degree/Certification: MA in Asian Studies certificate
School Name: Sejong University
Extracurriculars: Docent with Houston Museum of Natural Science, Disaster Action Team volunteer with American Red Cross
Title: Owner
Industry: Hospitality
Company: Boutique hotel and restaurant
Length of Employment: 6 yrs
My tiny guest house was such a success that I expanded the occupancy of the house and eventually acquired two more houses and opened a restaurant.
Short term, I’d like to take advantage of the CDO on campus to find a great job here in America, but eventually, 10-15 years from now, I anticipate moving back to SE Asia. My current idea is to take advantage of my age, experience in Asia, great MBA degree, and limited US work experience to get a job as a consultant in Asia.
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HI! This is JP, I’m a Senior Consultant at The MBA Exchange. I’ve been living in Asia for more than a decade, including half of that in Southeast Asia, and I’ve been an expat for more than twenty years. So everything you described is very clear to me. Furthermore, having worked with many advanced career applicants and “returnees” over the years, I think I can offer some informed insights. Program fit is going to be a key success factor – not just you knowing you found the right MBA program, but demonstrating it to the Admissions Committee in tangible terms. There are also the usual implementation targets, such as getting the right test score, showing that you’ve willing …
HI! This is JP, I’m a Senior Consultant at The MBA Exchange. I’ve been living in Asia for more than a decade, including half of that in Southeast Asia, and I’ve been an expat for more than twenty years. So everything you described is very clear to me. Furthermore, having worked with many advanced career applicants and “returnees” over the years, I think I can offer some informed insights. Program fit is going to be a key success factor – not just you knowing you found the right MBA program, but demonstrating it to the Admissions Committee in tangible terms. There are also the usual implementation targets, such as getting the right test score, showing that you’ve willing to teach AND learn, and connecting with the right people. But all this is definitely feasible. I can advise further and share more details, just email me at jpo@mbaexchange.com so that we can connect directly.
Hi, it’s Nisha from mbaMission. You’re right that the factors in your profile that you mentioned do set you apart from the average applicant. You’ve had such an intriguing path – professor, hospitality entrepreneur, community volunteer.
What I’m not quite clear on from what you have written – why are you seeking an MBA at this point? You mentioned becoming a consultant, but I’m not sure if you mean that you want to enter this role post-MBA or if you want to become a consultant in the long-term after returning to Asia. If the former, be aware that the average # of years of work experience that full-time MBA students have is 5 years, and consulting firms are used to hiring candidates in this general …
What I’m not quite clear on from what you have written – why are you seeking an MBA at this point? You mentioned becoming a consultant, but I’m not sure if you mean that you want to enter this role post-MBA or if you want to become a consultant in the long-term after returning to Asia. If the former, be aware that the average # of years of work experience that full-time MBA students have is 5 years, and consulting firms are used to hiring candidates in this general age/experience range – they would really hesitate to bring someone on with your level of experience and life stage.
One alternative path I see for you: joining a large hotel/hospitality company in the U.S. after school, then transitioning to a company in Asia (or becoming a hospitality consultant in that region) in the long-term. Cornell Johnson is an MBA program that comes to mind for this because the university is known for its strong ties to the hospitality industry. To be a competitive candidate for this program and other programs in its range, you’ll want to ramp up your GRE score to be more in line with the average (160+ in Q and V).
Overall, before you decide to pursue an MBA, I’d do some more thinking about potential post-program paths and which ones would lend themselves to the skills you’ve acquired in your teaching and entrepreneurshop roles to date. Hope that helps a bit – best of luck!
Hi, it’s Jennifer Jackson from Stratus Admissions. You definitely are an untraditional candidate! I assume that you will apply to PT and/or executive MBA programs? I can’t tell from your profile what type of job you’d like to have right after the MBA (you say consulting but in Asia even though you want to work in US for 10-15 years). It will be critical to explain WHY you need the MBA? What skills are you missing to reach your goals that only an MBA can get you? Could you work during an MBA program as most executive programs entail continuing work and taking classes alongside your job. MBA programs don’t want to have the feeling that you’re just trying out the idea of an MBA …
Hi, it’s Jennifer Jackson from Stratus Admissions. You definitely are an untraditional candidate! I assume that you will apply to PT and/or executive MBA programs? I can’t tell from your profile what type of job you’d like to have right after the MBA (you say consulting but in Asia even though you want to work in US for 10-15 years). It will be critical to explain WHY you need the MBA? What skills are you missing to reach your goals that only an MBA can get you? Could you work during an MBA program as most executive programs entail continuing work and taking classes alongside your job. MBA programs don’t want to have the feeling that you’re just trying out the idea of an MBA because you’ve exhausted other options. You’ll need to tell a tight story of what you’ve done, what you want to do, and why you must have the MBA to get there. Be very clear what your ST and LT goals are as well. Good luck!
Age, GPA, GRE score, lack of meaningful work experience, and lack of well defined post-MBA goals are areas of concern.
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