Ask Admissionado

As the title stated, I know I'm capable of top b-school admissions, and I also know that if I am to be lucky enough to get in somewhere, I'd be giving 110% to the school in all ways possible. So if I'm the AdCom...I'm in!!! Wouldn't it be great if it actually worked that way? This whole application process would be a breeze!

That being said, since the decision is up to professionals, I'm looking for some outside opinions on where I am, and where to improve prior to Fall 2013, Rd 1 app deadlines.

About Me:
- Male, White, 26
- 27 @ application, 28 @ matriculation
- GMAT:720
- Target Schools: HBS, Stanford, Wharton(Absolute #1 Choice), Booth, Kellogg, Fuqua, Darden, Tuck, Sloan, Columbia, Stern, Yale SOM

Education:
- Civil Engineering - Top 15 Engineering, Public US University. Cum GPA: 3.04, In Major: 3.5, Last 4 semester average: 3.7. Had the standard "maturity issues" in college.
- Vice President of Fraternity of 60 members. Responsible for overall representation to university, as well as head of alumni relations.
- University Charity for Children - Involved all 4 years. Was elected as Group Chair in Junior/Senior year. Led operations and fundraising efforts for 100+ participants. Exceeded previous years fundraising amounts and involvement level each year. ($200k total in 4 years, $130k as Lead)
- Elected as Construction Chair for major Fraternity house renovation taking place during my tenure. Was liaison between construction team and the financier (was an alum).
- Intramural Sports
- Alternative Transcript during College - UCLA Extension - Real Estate Principles - A

Licenses:
- Fundamentals of Engineering License (precursor to becoming a Professional Engineer); Certified Fraud Examiner.

Work Experience (at time of application):
- 3+ yrs in major project construction and real estate development ($10M - $1B+)
- 2 years as project engineer
- Promoted to Project Manager (Typically a 5+ yr. endeavor) - Single-handedly managed $30M+ of construction/development
- 2 yrs of Real Estate & Construction Consulting at Big4. Small niche group focusing in Mega-Projects ($100M minimum, frequently $1B+). Promoted after 1 yr. Responsible for management of all staff on engagements. Work to date has included integration with Australian and Japanese clients.

Extra-Curricular:
- Lead Volunteer for First Tee - Focuses on mentoring inner city children while teaching them golf.
- K-3 Volunteer teacher through Junior Achievement - Teach children about commerce, civics, and business

Other:
- Member of group responsible for the yearly issue of the "Global Construction Survey" whitepaper. Travel and meet the CEO's and Executives of major companies involved in the construction, development, and energy industries to get recap the year and offer advice and projections for the upcoming year. (Focuses on market trends, economies, and governmental proceedings).

MBA Goal:
- My goals include acquiring an MBA to segue into the finance market of real estate and construction to further my exposure and knowledge of business operations. Long-term goal is to be either entrepreneurial in the RE&C industry, or to get involved in government and public policy around RE&C. I'm a firm believer that the energy sector is a major highway of the future, and it can either hurt us or help us greatly if it isn't addresses.


1. How does my overall package look right now? Where are my weak points?
2. Do you recommend further alternative transcripts for classes due to my extremely low cumGPA?


Sorry for the length. Looking forward to all of the feedback!!!

Thanks so much.

Jon,

Fantastic Reply as always!

Yes Yes, i suffered from the freshman/sophomore slump due to "extracurricular" activities.

Since you mention its a "wink wink" to adcoms, how do I go about addressing this? Is it viewed extremely negative?

What is the best way to approach the low GPA/maturity thing in the supplemental essay?

what have you seen in the past that are the most successful ways of addressing this common flaw?

As always, look forward to the response.