Hi Veritas Prep team,

I would like to ask for your opinion on my chances to be accepted into my preferred B-schools based on my profile below:

580 Q 42 (61%) / V 28 (47%) AWA 5.0 (56%)
660 Q 47 (77%) / V 35 (73%) AWA 5.5 (77%) (most recent, taken in Dec 2010)

Thanks to Veritas Prep, I managed to improve my overall GMAT score and the score in each segment of the test.

I am a Malaysian, male, 30 years old. I obtained a PhD (Chemistry) from a public university in Malaysia - Universiti Sains Malaysia in 2009. My Bachelor and Masters degrees are also in the field of Chemistry. My undergrad GPA is 2.84 out of 4.00. During my Masters, I received an award by the National Chemical Institute for my overall work. I published 7 international journal papers during my Masters and PhD candidatures.

After graduated with a PhD, I joined Philips Lumileds Lighting Company (Philips Lighting) as a lead engineer. After about 4 months into the job, I was presented a recognition award by the GM for an important technological discovery, of which I was the Project Technical Lead. As per now, I have 1.75 yrs of FT working experience.

I was fairly active during my university days. I was the Secretary of the Chemistry Alumni Society for more than 5 years. I was a committee member of several regional and international research conferences held in the university. In addition, I was also an emcee for a Silver Jubilee Dinner for the National Chemical Institute in 2006.

I am thinking to apply to these B-schools:
MIT Sloan
London Business School
Oxford Said
Cambridge Judge
Michigan Ross
INSEAD

I plan to apply once I have obtained 2-2.5 yrs of working experience. Kindly help me to rate my chances to get into the B-schools listed above. Feel free to let me know if I do not stand a good chance at any of the schools. BTW, to improve my chances, I plan to work with the Veritas Prep consultants to ensure that my application is near-perfect.

Thanks. Thanks so much in advance. I appreciate your comments.

Hello,

I do think you have a shot at those schools, but your undergraduate grades will be a weakness. Also, even though your years of experience look similar to what typical MBA applicants have, your age may raise some eyebrows. If you can piece together a good story as to why *now* is the right time for your to get an MBA ("Why didn't you decide on this path sooner?" admissions officers might ask), then you could have a decent shot.

Overall, I would saw it won't be easy for you at those schools, but you do have a shot.

Good luck!
Scott

Hi Scott,

Thanks a lot for your advice! I will make sure that I address the concern which you pointed out.