Mr. Musician To Consultant

Hi Mr. Musician to Consultant! This is JP, Senior Consultant at The MBA Exchange. Firstly, there is likely a misunderstanding by others on this site reading your GPA numbers, as they are assuming it’s on the US scale of 4.0. So don’t worry about that! More importantly, your profile is similar to many applicants with whom I’ve worked over the years, and I can tell you with confidence that there is a very specific strategy to achieve admissions success in your case. Much of it is about defining clearly where you ultimately want your career to lead you (impact, role, location, etc.) while identifying the right resources and programs that will get you there (with Fuqua, but also others). This is something we really love helping applicants do at The MBA Exchange, and which I can personally attest has a tremendous impact on the application results of individuals at your life stage. If you’d like to discuss this in greater detail, reach out to us via The MBA Exchange website, then ask for ‘JP’ and mention that you posted your profile here.

Hi there! Thanks for posting. This is Kate Richardson, Senior Admissions Consultant. I like that you have some creative talents, and hopefully you’ve kept up your musical interests outside of work still today. It’s a nice complement to your consulting work (which is a strong yet fairly common pre-MBA background). I do see a few challenges in your profile. First is your GPA – are you converting that from a different scale? 1.6 is very low, and I think the best way to mitigate that would be to have a GMAT that is well above (like 50 points over) a school’s average. I also noticed you’re a bit older than the typical applicant — that alone is not a dealbreaker but it does add an additional challenge. You’ll need to explain why now is the best time for you to get your MBA and have very concrete learning goals for the MBA program (especially since you don’t seem to be making a major career switch). Those challenges may prove too big at Duke — though if you’re applying next year, I would target their Early Action round and that may help a bit. I would also encourage you to widen your school choices, perhaps even looking at some alternate formats like part-time or Exec MBAs, where students are older and there tends to be less pressure on academic stats. Good luck!

Mr. Musician to Consultant – Susan Cera, Director of MBA Admissions at Stratus here! Having spent 10 years reading applications at Fuqua and 5-6 specifically evaluating candidates from India, I am intimately familiar with what Fuqua is looking for. You have some interesting tidbits that should make sharing 25 random things fun. I encourage you to showcase what you have learned from your time as a musician and how you have increased your perspective through global travel and work. Given the competitive demographic you come from, you will need to improve your GMAT in order to get serious consideration for the FTMBA program. Since you are further along in your career and looking to continue in consulting, you might take a look at Fuqua’s GEMBA program. I think your profile would make you a compelling candidate for that cohort. All the best!