Useful for: MBA applicants Read Time: 8 minutes Question: Does a non-traditional background impact MBA admission chances, and is it more difficult to get accepted with less than the traditional 4-6 years of experience? User Info: Engineer
User’s Opinions:
- An engineer responsible for handling large capital downstream project planning in a company in the energy sector, with two years of experience and a strong GMAT and GPA, is unsure whether their profile will be considered for admission to a top-10 MBA program. They are interested in entering consulting or investment banking upon graduation. Do you think this candidate has a strong profile?
All in Agreement:
- The candidate’s profile is not extremely non-traditional and, despite having only two years of experience, the quality is what matters.
- Summer internships are not considered as work experience, only full-time jobs. However, if you are young they might actually demonstrate your maturity.
Contradiction:
The number that goes into the stats is the experience at matriculation but when evaluating a candidate, admission’s officers are evaluating based on the person the candidate is today, at that moment. (They cannot assume what the next year will hold.) That's where having only two years of work experience at application can hurt. Hope that helps!
- One user stressed that the admission’s team focuses on a candidate’s experience up to the day of submitting their application. Although they might make a significant effort to predict a potential student’s success in their program, sticking to the facts and figures presented is the most important indicator when evaluating a profile.
Check Out: Career Development and Entering a New Field (Video)
Source: Wall Street Oasis
