Mr. Deferred Admit

Hi, it’s Nisha with mbaMission. You have a lot going for you in the areas that admissions officers pay most attention to when evaluating deferred MBA candidates: excellent extracurricular leadership, a perfect GPA, and high-quality internships (and on top of that, a tortoise business – how fascinating!!). While you’re right that the GMAT is below the average for deferred MBA applicants, your profile strengths will help offset it to a degree. However, are you willing to retake the exam – or if not, give the GRE a shot? Both exams are viewed equally, and I’ve seen some people fare better on the GRE vs. the GMAT. This way, you’ll be able to tell yourself that you did everything possible to maximize your chances of success.

The other key to your success will be to secure outstanding recommendations that attest to your performance, growth, and early potential – it doesn’t sound like this will be an issue at all, since you’ve done so well in your internships (and can use 1-2 supervisors from them) and have served as a TA and extracurricular leader.

One thing I tell all deferred candidates regarding chances of admission: for deferred programs, we’ve seen that this can be somewhat unpredictable. However, do know that if it doesn’t work out, it will not adversely affect your chance for full-time MBA admission via the regular path down the road. We’ve seen many a candidate who was once a deferred applicant, apply the “regular way” a few years later and achieve success.

I hope that helps – on the mbaMission website, be sure to check out the free 2+2/Deferred Admissions Guide. Very best of luck to you!