Laid off and wait or safety school?

[jchong8250]

I took the GMAT twice, with the higher score of 610 (Q47, V27, AWA:5.5). Before I took the test, I was planning on applying for the 2010 Fall semester (Top choices: NYU, Haas, UCLA, UCS, UC Irvine) but because my GMAT score wasnt competitive, I was heavily leaning towards waiting for the 2011 Fall semester and registered for the MGMAT course that starts February 3, 2010. I also decided to apply to Baruch, just in case the 3rd time I took the GMAT, I STILL didn't get my desired score of 700. (I really hope the course gives me some insight to what I was doing wrong on the test, verbal especially.)

Anyway, so thinking that I'd be applying for the 2010 season, I asked my boss to write me a recommendation to NYU a month ago. He submitted the recommendation, but today called me into his office and the basic gist of our conversation was that since the workload in our office is projected low for the year, come summer-fall time, if they have layoffs, I may be on top of that list. Just to clarify, I'd be on top of that list due to the fact that I'm planning on leaving the company, not due to my performance. He didn't explicitly say this, but that is what was implied. (I guess I'm not getting that promotion that I was expecting, either.)

My questions are these:
1. If I get laid off during the summer time and get an admit to Baruch, should I go there knowing that is not my top choice? Or do I collect unemployment and apply to the schools I really want to go to? I am not applying to any other schools for 2010.
2. Contradicting the above, if I consider applying to more schools in 2010, they would be USC and Irvine Merage. Merage's fourth and final deadline is April 1st and USC's third and final deadline is March 15th. I know people always say that the last deadline is the hardest to get into. How much of their class is already filled by then? Would it be beneficial for me to apply to the last round? Both the school's 80% median GMAT is around 640-730.

Here are my stats to help gauge my candidacy:
College:
The City College of New York, 2005
Bachelor in Electrical Engineering
GPA 3.25
Work Experience:
1 year - Systems Engineer - US defense company in Virginia
2.5 years - Environmental Consultant/Environmental Engineer - based in NYC
Leadership: (Mostly in college)
Senior Design team leader
Co-founded - Asian American Society of Engineers

I'd really appreciate some insight on my situation. Hope no one else has to go through something like this.

[jchong8250]

Can an admission's consultant give me some advice?

[mbamission]

Thank you for your questions! I have provided some thoughts below:

1. If I get laid off during the summer time and get an admit to Baruch, should I go there knowing that is not my top choice? Or do I collect unemployment and apply to the schools I really want to go to? I am not applying to any other schools for 2010.
You never want to just "collect unemployment" and apply to b-school. The schools will still want to know what you are doing. You should continue to look for opportunities to further your career or get involved in the community or organizations that interest you to demonstrate to the committee that you are ambitious. If you are not going to retake the GMAT, you are going to have a really tough time being admitted to some of the other schools on your list. If you decide to retake the GMAT and wait for next year, keep in mind that many people have been laid off and the schools are understanding of this. Like I said, the important thing to do is to remain active even when you are unemployed!
2. Contradicting the above, if I consider applying to more schools in 2010, they would be USC and Irvine Merage. Merage's fourth and final deadline is April 1st and USC's third and final deadline is March 15th. I know people always say that the last deadline is the hardest to get into. How much of their class is already filled by then? Would it be beneficial for me to apply to the last round? Both the school's 80% median GMAT is around 640-730.
Your GMAT score is below the 80% range for these schools so you will be at a disadvantage this year. There are not stats available on how many seats are left in the last round for these schools, but for the most part, schools outside of the top 20 are not as competitive in the final rounds.

I hope this helps!

Monica Okrah
Senior Consultant, mbaMission
www.mbamission.com