Ms. FANG Tech

Ms. FANG Tech: Emily here, Master Consultant at the MBA Exchange. Congratulations on the LBS interview! But as a former Associate Director of Admissions at CBS, it doesn’t shock me that you were not admitted there as a 321 was likely not strong enough for them. In your LBS interview, you will need to tell a cohesive story about where you’ve been and how that ties to where you’re going-sometimes that trips up career changers. Make sure you can clearly tie your past to your future and show that your goals are realistic but require the skill set of an MBA. Your role as a consultant for an environmental start up will really help. Good luck!

Hello Ms. FANG Tech, this is Jen Kedrowski, mbaMission Senior Consultant. Congrats on your LBS interview invite, and with your demonstrated passion for international experiences, I can see why LBS would be on your radar, as it is truly one of the most globally-focused programs and classes out there today. Side note—check out our free LBS Interview Primer, free download on our website, for extensive advice in prep for your interview!

So your experience launching and marketing global products sounds interesting, impressive, and valuable, and no doubt would enable you to contribute value to classroom discussions. Schools will appreciate that. Your international experiences should also be highlighted in your applications—not just that you have them, but how those shaped you!

It sounds like you have 2 things working against you at the moment— one is your GRE score, which is a real hurdle for top schools you are interested in. If you wind up needing to reapply next fall, I strongly encourage you to get a private tutor and work on improving your scores, and/or looking into the EA for schools which accept that if it helps. The second thing is your age/ later stage in your career… that does not have to be a deal-breaker, but you are (from what I can gather) at the state of your career where many consider EMBA options (many EMBA programs require 8+ years of experience, though that varies), and schools will want to ensure a full time, typical program is right for you.

Good luck on the LBS interview, fingers crossed for you! Since you listed GSB as your primary school choice, that is what I am meant to put odds on… remember that GSB only admits 5-6 % of applicants, so it is EXTREMELY difficult for even the most competitive applicants… and while you have strong experience, the exam score and the pure competitiveness of competing applicants may balance that out, and I’m only able to give you odds similar to other GSB applicants at this point. But hopeful something works out for you at some point as the MBA is a fantastic experience! If you ever need help in the future let us know.