Ms. Well-Designed Real Estate

Hi Ms. Well-designed Real Estate,
Paying your way through college and a Harvard Real Estate Masters degree is no small feat! This is Debbie Choy from mbaMission. I think your background and passion for architecture, design and real estate will serve you well in real estate development. That said, the Admissions Committee will be curious to understand why MBA and why now. What specific skills or knowledge would a MBA give you that you cannot learn on the job, especially given your industry background? Apart from this, I think your soft GMAT could be a concern, especially for HBS, where the average is closer to 730. If retaking the GMAT is not productive, have you looked into the GRE? Some candidates find the GRE format to be more appropriate for their testing style. Finally, although you had many student leadership activities, do you have any more recent community activities? Community engagement could (1) demonstrate leadership experiences, and (2) show AdCom a different side of you. The latter helps AdCom understand what community issues you may be personally interested in, eg. animal welfare, food security, etc. As you put your application together, be sure to weave in your personal stories. For example, where did your passion for design and real estate come from? I think if you can beef up your standardized test score and weave a compelling narrative that shows AdCom more sides of you, you’d have a solid chance at HBS. If you’d like to discuss your profile in more detail, feel free to schedule a consultation with us. Wishing you the best in your MBA journey!