Case III

Post date: Apr 20, 2009 9:15:15 AM

Q. I just finished my undergrad degree last spring and I have about one year of working experience. My gmat score is 710 and I was just wondering whether this score combined with my little working experience would be a weakness for my application to INSEAD 2008 intake. Could you please give me some advise on the application process and what I should be aware of when writing my essay?

A. Without passing judgment or assessing your admissability, I'd say there's a difference being admissable and employable.

Having said this, people of all ages enter business school. I think if you put together a compelling application, then schools will certainly take a look at you. And in some cases, you can even be admitted without meeting the avg work experience.

But, I'd urge you to think a bit longer term. What happens once you graduate? Without work experience can you really leverage your MBA and advance to better opportunities?

The answer is usually no. In general, Taiwanese students tend to enter MBA with less work experience and less understanding of their career choices. As a result, Taiwanese graduates of top MBA programs in general perform worse than other international students in their post-MBA job search.

Anyway, just something to think about. The MBA is always going to be there. You can apply this yr, next yr, in 2-3 yrs, etc.