Ms. Classical Singer

Hi Ms. Classical Singer,
It’s fantastic that you have been able to combine your life’s passion with an impactful career! This is Debbie Choy, Senior Consultant at mbaMission. I like that you come from a non-traditional industry – this will help you stand out from the crowd. Of course, AdCom will be curious as to why you’re pursuing an MBA. Be sure to be specific about what skills you want to learn from business school that will help you achieve your career goals in the Entertainment industry. For example, what business skills do you want to beef up – finance? strategy? This level of specificity will help reassure AdCom that you have done your homework and know what you’re getting into with an MBA program. I also like that you’re actively engaged with your community – mentoring and coaching others shows leadership, which is a quality AdCom is looking for as well. All that said, I am worried that your GRE might be on the softer side for Yale. Do consider re-taking it. If that’s not possible, consider taking some graded Quant classes online that can help prepare you for business school – as well as reassure AdCom that you can keep up with tough Quant classes at b-school. Wishing you the best in your MBA journey!

Ms. Classical Singer, Melisa here from Stratus Admissions. I think you have a really interesting profile, combining arts with business. While I’ve worked with clients who want to transition into entertainment, few of them have a tie to the arts coming in. Sounds like you were super involved in undergrad and post-grad. I am sure you have seen a lot through Covid in arts and in education. My biggest concern is your limited work experience. Most programs are looking for at least 3 years of work experience so that you get the most out of the program and can contribute to the classroom discussions as wholly as possible. On top of the limited experience, your test scores are lower than Yale’s average. While you are to be commended for your stellar undergrad GPA, I’d want to know if you took any math classes with your music major? If not, schools may need some convincing that you can handle the academic rigor of the program. You could take a UCLA or UC Berkeley Extension course, to have a more recent example of your academic aptitude. Also, you could ask your recommenders to talk about the quantitative nature of your job. At a school like Yale, none of these by themselves is going to be a big issue, one can overcome another. But right now looking at lower work experience and lower GRE feel like they would be a tough combo to overcome. Suggest you try taking the test again and see if you can raise that quant side. For entertainmnet – you are on the mark with your school list. Best of luck to you!