edreamer2000

01-31-2006, 01:51 PM

Dear EDreamer,

As you’ve pointed out, your undergraduate GPA will be a weakness in your record, but should not prove as detrimental to your application as it would have if you had not taken more courses in postgraduate study in Egypt and your Masters program in the United States. You should be able to point to these as evidence of the upward trajectory of your grades and use them to highlight your intellectual abilities and discuss your renewed work ethic. The fact that you’re from Egypt will make you a unique candidate and you should draw upon your cultural background in your essays.

Your travel and international experience should be a solid point in your application. The fact that you did undergraduate internships in France and Germany will further prove that you are able to interact with and succeed in a variety of cultural and linguistic contexts ?experiences that should help you in your business school classes. You haven’t given enough information about your interests and your career for me to assess how you’d stand out when compared to more traditional applicants from Egypt.

However, keep in mind that part of compiling a strong application is ensuring your future goals are aligned with your career to date so that you can explain how the formal training you’ll receive will build on the informal skills you’ve already gained throughout your career. This will be an especially crucial part for you, given that you already went back to school to get a Master’s of Science degree (you’ll have to explain to the adcom how this degree along with an MBA fits into your overall career plan).

Also, you should have extracurricular activities that you can point out in your applications and mention in at least one essay. Schools are looking for evidence that you’ve been extensively involved outside of work and have taken steps to formally engage in interests aside from your professional ones.

Below, I’ve provided you with information on the three schools you’ve mentioned:

Oxford (Said):
At Said, the middle 80% of students have GMAT scores between 640 and 720. Your score of 660 will be on the lower side of this spectrum, but will still allow you to be a competitive candidate. Of the 43% of students who applied for financial aid last year, 38% of them received financial aid (in the form of loans, assistantships or scholarships).

ESADE:
ESADE is ranked higher than Said, according to BusinessWeek rankings, but students have GMAT scores that are lower, on average. Last year, the middle 80% of GMAT scores among applicants fell between 600 and 700, with an average GMAT score of 650. 80% of students applied for financial aid last year but only 36% received it.

British Columbia (Sauder):
You should be the most competitive at Sauder. The average GMAT Score here is 623 with the middle 80% of students scoring between 560 and 710. As far as financial aid, however, last year 100% of the incoming class applied for financial aid but only 35% of these students received some form of it.

If it’s important for you to receive some type of funding, you may want to explore your options in further depth, both by conducting outside research and by calling the financial aid department of each school of interest to discuss your options with them. Good luck in the application process!


Regards,

Chelsea Ferrell
Clear Admit, LLC

Thanks for such detailed review and comments.

Well, my career goals are mainly to work in international management (in the short term). I am building on Varity of experiences, and true belief in the university of business, and the human civilization.

My long term career goal is to return to Egypt after I secure a sound experience on the international management to help and lead my country, and my region to a better future

As for my activates, I do not have major community involvement but have ,I believe, above the average Egyptian or even anyone from the middle east (used to be a member of more than one team in handball, soccer, and other competitive sports), I gained weight, then when I lost it, I am back on track with sports (tennis, and soccer). My main activity is reading, I read, and I read, and I read, just love to read.

As I already applied at Schulich School of Business (York), what do you think of my chances there?

I am thinking to send a letter asking for the financial aid from them when considering my application, and to send my financial situation in details (Although the largest company in Egypt the compensation is nothing like the US or Europe)
I have been through hard times and I can show why I can not support my MBA.

Finally, I know I can get the 700 on the GMAT but I know that my natural limit is 680 ~ 720 , do u think I should retake it? considering the time limit (I want to do the MBA this year)

What other good schools do u think I might have a good chance at?

Thanks for the comments

Dear Edreamer,

Ideally, your goals would be more concrete than the ones that you’ve specified here. Simply saying that you aim to lead your country to a better future in the long-term will not be specific enough for admissions committees to get a sense of how you will actually go about doing this or how your short-term experience will help you to accomplish this long-term goal.

Because applicants vary so greatly, it’s difficult for me to compare you with the average Middle Eastern business school applicant. However, you should work on bulking up your extracurricular activity section, getting involved in more formal activities, such as volunteering, or at least work at drawing on some more informal activities and hobbies. The problem with activities such as reading is that they don’t make you sound unique or different from other applicants.

Below, I’ve provided you with some basic statistics about York:

York (Schulich):
York may be a better bet than the other schools as far as receiving some type of financial aid; more students received financial aid here than the schools you mentioned in your last inquiry. Out of the 90% that applied for financial aid last year, 83% received some form of scholarships, assistantships or loans. As far as your competitiveness at this school, the average GMAT score last year was 660. The middle 80% of scores from last year fell in between 610 and 710. Your score of 660 should help you to be a competitive candidate at this school. You could also consider a stretch school (especially with an improved GMAT) such as LBS.

I would usually advise an applicant such as yourself, who believes that he has the potential to score much higher, to retake the GMAT. That being said, you should keep in mind the time it takes to register, take the test and receive your score. Admissions policies vary across schools; while some may be willing to take your new score into account if they have not already reviewed your application, others may not. Given that you’re still in the process of applying to a few schools (some with GMAT averages higher than your current score), it would be a good idea to register as soon as possible so you can submit your new score along with your applications.

If you’re interested in more specific information, please e-mail info@clearadmit.com.

Regards,

Chelsea Ferrell
Clear Admit, LLC