Ms. Asian LGBT

Hi, it’s Nisha from mbaMission! What admissions committees look for in deferred MBA candidates: strong internships, excellent extracurricular involvement, outstanding academics, and recommendations that attest to the candidates’ early potential. From what I see, you’ve had amazing internships in consulting and technology/treasury, heavy leadership experience in student organizations at Berkeley, and a high GPA. Regarding GMAT: adcoms tend to weight this exam (or the GRE) heavily for deferred candidates since there isn’t a lot of professional experience, etc. to go by – the score I recommend achieving is 730+, so I recommend retaking to see if you can get closer to that target.

Also, you’ll want to make it clear in your application what you envision for your career as of now, why, and how an MBA fits into those plans. For CBS in particular, you’ll want to make it VERY clear why you want to be in NYC and the aspects of the program that appeal to you that are made possible by virtue of the school’s location.

One thing I always mention to deferred candidates is that admission is not only competitive but also unpredictable (over the years, my colleagues and I have seen that it’s hard to tell in advance who will ultimately make the cut). However, even if it doesn’t work out, it will in no way penalize any future MBA applications – in fact, we’ve seen that some clients who’ve gotten into top MBA programs the “regular” way (after a few years of work experience) were once deferred candidates. Hope that helps – best of luck!

Hi, it’s Jennifer Jackson from Stratus Admissions. There’s a lot to like about your profile — strong academics and solid internships plus strong extracurriculars. Your GMAT is on the softer side so it would be helpful to take it again to see if you can get a bit higher. Your great GPA from a top school will no doubt be very helpful and could help mitigate a GMAT that will be under the average at the top schools. You don’t mention what types of organizations you work at as a volunteer, but since your name is Ms. Asian LGBT I wonder if the organizations are related to LGBT issues and helping people in these groups. Schools are absolutely looking for all kinds of diversity so if you have a robust community involvement in something you’re passionate about it can really add to a story. Deferred programs are very competitive but I think you’ll have a good shot if you have a solid job lined up for after college and potentially can raise that GMAT up a bit. Good luck!