Hi to everyone,

I'm planning to take GMAT and I'm around 650 in the simulation tests. I will apply for 2014 MBA when I'll be 28 years old and I'll have 3+ years of working experience in a Big Four (management consulting unit) working on Operational Risk and ICT Risk Management. I'm an Italian male and I hold a MSc with honours in Telecommunication Engineering, with 3.8 GPA.
I would like to apply for MBA in:
Copenhagen Business School, Rotterdam, Vlerick, Imperial College

With a 650 GMAT what chances do you think I'll have?
Can I try with school higher in ranking?

Thank you all for your answers!

Take a look at http://www.find-mba.com/board/27082 . With your background, you should be able to lift your GMAT substantially.

What are your career goals?

Why don't you aim to +700 instead of 650 ? :-)

I want to move from management consulting to strategy consulting. Yes I need a better score on GMAT and I'm currently trying to improve. I would aim to 700. But at present I'm around 650 and for this I would understand what are my chances with this current score :)

If you're looking at strategy consulting firms like MBBB, then I'd say you have little or no chance with those schools and that score unless you're a well-connected native speaker of that country's language.

Ok thanks! I'll try to improve substantially my score!
In the bad case, I hope the school I mentioned will be interested in my profile with 650..maybe Imperial college and Vlerick are a bit high.

"Copenhagen Business School, Rotterdam, Vlerick"
have you ever talked with them? (I think they will be in Milan next month for 1-2-1 connect event)
With 650 you shouldn't have much problems... Last year I talked with an italian guy who got into RSM with 600 (but his working experience was a bit more relevant, in term of number of years)

Yes, I believe that even with an higher GMAT, my weakness would be the "short" work experience. Minimum requirement is usually 3y but I see that the actual average is pretty higher in most programs.

No, the weakness is that the strategy consulting firms are less likely to hire from those schools, and even less likely to hire someone with a GMAT lower than the average candidate, and who doesn't speak the native language.

I was thinking to take a 12-18 months course of language, starting from the moment when they will communicate me the admission...I like to learn new languages!! Before, I'll try to push for 700 gmat taking into account another couple of month to preparare myself before taking the test :)

Ps: how about Mannheim?

Unless you study the language full-time, it's not likely that you will get from beginning to professional fluency in a year.

Mannheim's a better school.

So, in your opinion, the point is much more to work on gmat score than else..ok thank you very much Duncan, that will be my focus!
I can't see Mannheim in the list you linked before, entry requirements are harder than the other schools I listed?

I guess Vlerick will be a bit above Mannheim, since it has low fees and substantial financial aid it attracts a lot of competitive candidates. I would expect it to be between Vlerick and Rotterdam.

Thank you for your help Duncan, I really appreciated it!
I look forward to taking the gmat..let's hope well :)