Mr. Retail Manager

Hi Mr. Retail Manager, Kristen from MBA Prep School here. It’s a bit hard for me to weigh your odds with the limited information you provided, but it sounds like you have had a solid career at Apple and applicants coming from management development programs tend to be viewed favorably by Admissions Committees. While getting into such a program is a success in and of itself, I would advise you to highlight major projects you have completed in your role, opportunities you have had to lead, and quantifiable impact you have had. I’d also love to know more about your cycling fundraising and why this cause is important to you. Is there a way to weave that passion into your career plans (do you have a preference for companies that support sustainability, for example)? Your essays will be immensely important so the Admissions Committee understands your successes, how your goals have evolved, and how an MBA at Marshall will get you there! Lastly, your GRE will certainly cause the Admissions Committee to question your quant abilities. Considering your undergrad institution isn’t as reputable and your major falls within arts and humanities, you will need to prove you can handle the rigor of the MBA program. I would highly recommend retaking the GRE and registering for MBA Math to fill this gap.

Hi Mr. Retail Manager, Jennifer Jackson here from Stratus Admissions. I think you have some solid experience and a good GPA but ad-coms will be worried about that lower GRE. I don’t see the breakout but they will particularly want to ensure that you are up to the quantitative rigor of the MBA curriculum. As a comm studies major, you may not have any quant classes to show in your transcript (I didn’t as a journalism major either), but perhaps in your job you can show that you manage budgets or are exhibiting quant skills in some way. I might advise enrolling in MBA Math to show them you can hit hit the ground running when you get there. I like the goal you’ve set out for yourself, but you need to clearly show the WHY behind the MBA. Why Now? What at Marshall? I’m not seeing any particular extracurriculars, but you’ll really want to nail those essays to mitigate the weaker GRE so be sure to do the upfront work of self-reflection to craft a compelling narrative in your essays. Good luck!