Chances at Columbia or NYU B-School

<p>Hello,</p>

<p>I'm an upper junior attending CUNY Baruch College, majoring in Finance. I'll graduate next spring with a 3.5 or 3.6 GPA (more likely 3.6). I currently have a part-time internship. I've also done various community service work, although they've mostly been volunteering through events held by Golden Key Society. One regret I have is not having a significant leadership position such as being a club officer, and I doubt I'll be able to obtain an officer position during my senior year.</p>

<p>I've grown up in NYC and so would hope to make either NYU Stern or Columbia Business School for an MBA. Basically what type of GMAT score would I need to get, and what are my chances at these two b-schools with my current qualifications? If these aren't adequate, then what would I still need to do to boost my chances?</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>I would say you have very minimal chances with current qualifications. 80% of the Columbia B-school class will have 3-6 years of work experience and most of the other 20% will have more than six years. While NYU may have more varied backgrounds, I would surmise very few have less than three years of work experience. The essays describing your work experience, how it relates to your future plans and why you hope to obtain an MBA is the most important part of your application. This is why even if you had four years of work experience and a 700+ GMAT, it is very difficult to assess MBA chances (even in comparison to UG chances).</p>

<p>Chances right now are next to none. Zilch. Nada. Consider yourself lucky though. With no work experience you really couldn't derive the full value out of an MBA anyways. So, go get a few years of post-graduate work experience and then come back and ask this question.</p>