Please advise.......

[ghong14]

I took the GMAT exam mid November 2013 and finally was able to score a 750 (49Q 44 V). I am currently a lawyer working in San Francisco and has been thinking about going to business school for some time now as a way to transition out of the legal profession. However, there are several considerations that I would like to point out. The opportunity cost of business school for me is significant. Looking at a pure financial incentive is simply not enough. Therefore there are only a few schools I will interested in making the transition. I would be very happy to stay in the west coast and attend Berkeley or Stanford (although those are the schools that everyone wants to get into). On the east coast I would be interested in Harvard, UPenn, and Columbia.

How realistic is my expectation here?

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi there,

Congrats on the strong GMAT score. At this point it is difficult to assess your chances, though the 750 certainly is a big plus and helps. But all we know right now is GMAT and that you are a lawyer. Business school admissions looks at the whole picture of your profile and what you'll bring to the class, for example....

-what experiences you've had, professionally & personally, that would help you contribute to classroom discussions and group work etc
-leadership experience & potential
-people & project management skills
-quantitative and analytical skills
-communication skills
-extracurricular involvement
-community involvement
-past academics & scores
-WHY you want this degree
-what your short and long term post MBA goals are
-why you are interested in that particular school

All of the above, combined with your overall application and recommendations etc, and GMAT, influences the admissions decision. Much of the above is conveyed through the essays, as well as resume.

You've definitely listed some of the top programs in the world, so generally I would say it will always be challenging to get in. Stanford and Berkeley's class sizes are smaller than the east coast programs so are particularly selective, especially Stanford.

If you'd like to speak through things more, we do offer a free 30 min consult, if you are interested you can sign up at http://www.mbamission.com/consult.php, or let us know if you have further q's. Good luck!