Columbia - 01-28-2024 | Clear Admit ApplyWire

January 28, 2024 6:47am ET

Applying: Columbia, Duke / Fuqua, Harvard Business School, London Business School, MIT Sloan, Northwestern / Kellogg, U. Chicago Booth, UPenn / Wharton, UVA / Darden

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: Education, Law, Military

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting Companies: Bain , BCG , McKinsey

GMAT: 740

GPA: 3.5

Years of Work Experience: 10

Location: Europe

Notes:

2 years teaching high school math with Teach For America before attending a T10 law school. Decided to wait on MBA to be sure I’d still need it down the line.
3 years as a biglaw associate focusing on complex commercial litigation.
5 years as an active duty Army JAG, currently managing a team of 18 attorneys specializing in sexual assault cases (high visibility due to congressional interest).

I’ve been straddling public and private sector, developing leadership skills. Want to leverage my experience at an MBA program to prepare for a leadership role down the road, after an initial stop in consulting.

ECs: (trickier now on active duty, was very involved in law school and look forward to doing the same in b school) running, traveling, reading, mentoring new Lieutenants, mentoring former students from teaching days.

Location likely east coast or Midwest, would be interested in whether this could all happen in UK (LBS)

Specific question: if I retake the GMAT, it’ll have to be the FE, which has a deflated score. Any concerns about having a score from each test? How will schools weigh that?

Thanks all!

PS- love the pod, been listening for years

Like (1)

Show Comments (4) Last: February 6, 2024

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1586 740 is a great GMAT score, so I’d be less concerned with a retake. But if you did, schools will do the appropriate conversion etc.

I’d think that overall, you’ll have a very strong profile. The one area to focus on is going to be “why now” and your overall fit, as an older candidate?

Love LBS, but not sure it fits your goals re geography? Make sure to reach out to the veterans’ clubs of the programs you’re targeting. Thanks for the kind words about our podcast, too!

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grichmond Verified User. Likes Earned: 1155 I'll echo Alex's thoughts here - no reason at all to retake the GMAT, a 740 is excellent. I'd spend any extra time working to develop your why now/why MBA arguments, and to think carefully about how you will contribute/get involved on campus. Make sure your target schools can envision you on their campus as a contributing member of their community.

The reason I am pushing this element is because at 10 years of experience, plus a law degree, there is the danger of looking like a 'degree collector', so you will need compelling goals and a clear plan to be a part of the student experience/student life on campus.

Best of luck and thanks so much for listening to the podcast!
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blink Likes Earned: 0 Thank you both for the feedback, much appreciated! (0)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1586 More details on this candidacy in this episode of Wire Taps: https://www.clearadmit.com/2024/02/mba-wire-taps-336/ (0)