Mr. DRM

Hi there Mr. DRM, you may have an uphill battle with an application to do your MBA in the city of gleaming spires. The first hurdle to overcome is your GPA; there may well be extenuating circumstances for the 2.9 and Oxford does have the optional essay that you can utilise to explain your grades, but I would have liked to see a stronger GRE to compensate. The adcom will be looking closely at your post-MBA goals and MBB is going to be a tough sell given the weight those recruiting teams put on academic prowess and test scores. You are also edging to the upper end of the experience range at 8 years, and given it’s all with one firm, Said will want to see clear evidence of progression (though while it’s hard to tell from the information provided here, you may well be able to showcase that through your resume). I’m guessing in your current role with a Fortune 500 you might well be leading a large team, and schools will value your Toastmaster contributions, so one thing you might consider is putting the FT MBA on hold for a couple of years. If you were able to transition to another company to get a bit more breadth or potentially work for an international secondment on your CV, you could then look at an EMBA. Just something to consider. If you are set on a FT programme, and on Said, then think about ways to address the points above and ensure you pull together a strong narrative and consider Warwick as a back up school. Best of luck and please do get in touch if you’d like to discuss further.