profile evaluation

[perduepatel]

I am requesting a profile evaluation to see if I have a chance at the following schools for admittance in Fall 2010:

UVA, UNC, DUKE, UF, UT-Austin, EMORY, Indiana University, UMich, Cornell Real Estate Program (2 year masters)

Sex, Age:
Male, 26 at entry

Education:
Bachelors of Science in Management from Purdue University, minors in Finance, Econ and HR. Graduated in 2006
GPA: 3.39 / 4.0

GMAT:
-I took the exam during the summer of my junior year, 2005, and scored a 570.
-Took it again May 2009 and got a 530.
-Re-took in July 2009 and got a 680! I am extremely happy to get this as on my practice exams I was scoring 600s consistently. I am sure that I can't break 7 hundred based on the consistency of my practice test scores.

Work experience:
-> Month 0 - month 18: Hired into a highly selective 18 month credit training program at a Top US Bank. Graduated from program, now considered "credit trained" due to formal credit program.
-> Month 19 - month 28: After program was promoted to an AVP, Approval Officer working to approve loans to small business. Worked with CEOs, CFOs, etc to establish small business lending solutions.
-> Month 29 - month 40: horizontal move to Real Estate and Lodging group at the same bank. I wanted to work on larger, corporate loans to corporate clients; therefore, I started as a 2nd year analyst due to my previous work experience at the Bank and was promoted to a 3rd year analyst recently.
Job function: underwrite (analyze) the ability of a large corporate or private real estate lodging firm to pay back bank issued debt

Extra Activities:
-Young Risk Management Association 2007 - current: (this was in 2 different cities therefore I have only taken part as a member and participated in group events when available)
-Cultural Leadership Network at current Bank: Helped facilitate the start of a new organization, which has grown from 8 members to 200+. My position is on the core team as a Director of Community Outreach.
-Cultural Indian Organization: as a member only... help set up events, attend them, etc

Recommendations:
-college finance professor
-supervisor while in training program

Other questions:
-Does it look bad that I took the GMAT 3 times? Especially bombing it the 2nd time with a 530?
-A lot of school post average criteria of admitted students.. If you fall within the average or within a middle 80% range, is there a good chance of getting in?
-Do some schools require you go get a letter of recommendation from a "current" manager? I pretty much will not be able to ask a current manager due to job security reasons ie holding back promotions/raises because the manager might know I plan to attend a school soon....

Thank you in advance.

[mbamission]

I do think you're targeting the right schools, although Ross will probably be a reach for you. Do you have a broad range of leadership stories to speak of regarding your professional experiences? How would you measure your career progression compared to your peers? These factors will be important for writing strong essays and differentiating your application.

Congrats on the 680 on the GMAT!!! Schools will not look at your multiple attempts negatively. In fact, your progress shows discipline and determination. Most schools will look at your highest score, so the lower score on the second attempt should be a concern (double check your target schools' GMAT policy to confirm).

Regarding your recommendations, most schools don't want recommendations from college because they need to assess the strength of your professional experience. If you can get recommendations from other colleagues or clients, that will be best.

Hope this helps!

Monica Okrah
MBA Mission
646-485-8844
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