Mr. California Dreamin’

Hi Mr. California Dreamin’, this is Kristen from MBA Prep School. Congratulations on being a first generation college graduate and on your full tuition scholarship. While you are obviously aware that MBA feeder schools exist, having a strong reason why you pursued a non-feeder school as you do is helpful in explaining your academic decisions. It sounds as though you have had a solid career progression, though it is hard to gauge what your professional “big life wins” have been based on the limited info provided. I think you are targeting the correct range of programs based on your background. Your two biggest initial obstacles to overcome will be your GRE score and your age. You are teetering on the high end of the “work experience” scale and programs may be thinking that a) you’ve progressed beyond post-MBA roles or b) that you are behind the anticipated career trajectory and perhaps not as competitive. The burden is on you to prove that neither is true, given your desire to make a career change (and its wise you are targeting non-MBB which might be more open to your pivot at this point). Your overall GRE score is also lower than the average at UCLA but more aligned with some of the other target schools on your list. If you consider retaking the GRE, a higher score might increase your odds. I would be happy to chat with you in more detail about how to position your candidacy for success!