If you don't mind I would appreciate some brutally honest feed back on my chances of getting into a few MBA programs. In particular, I plan on applying to McCombs, Indiana, UNC, Emory and Georgetown. I have a goal industry to get back into which is Energy Finance - Risk MGMT/ Strat.
26 Years Old - White Male
BBA. GPA 3.0 (Jr. Sr Year 3.5)
M.S. Finance GPA 3.7 3.0
1 year Retail/ Customer Service
2 yrs exp. Banking (BOA) - Mortgage/ Commercial Banking
2 yrs exp. Constellation Energy Group - Corporate Finance - Commodities Division/ Trading Floor ( quit before I was fired by) - 2 Solid /Director Level References - 70+ Hours work week plus purchased a second home (limited extra circ)
6 months exp w/ BoozAllenHamilton - Government Consulting - Finance/ Cost Accounting
GMAT 510 - 540 - 560 (Kaplan Round 1) - retaking GMAT in Nov. and Kaplan A second time.
Verbal 20 29 27
Quant 40 36 39
AWA 5.5 5.5 5.5
Total 510 540 560
I will be retaking the GMAT in 6 weeks. I am hoping that I will be able to over come this little test issue and score over 630.
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mbaMissionJessica
- MBA Admissions Consultant
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Hi, and thanks for your inquiry.
I see a few red flags in your profile. The easiest to address of course is the GMAT. If you can pull that up, that concern goes away. Your grades are an issue worth discussing in the optional essay but I'm not sure how much of a barrier they'll be. The 3.0 is low, but a 3.5 in your last two years is very good. I'm a bit confused on your MS GPA - is it a 3.7 or a 3.0? (HUGE difference!!)
Your extracurriculars you say are weak; that may be an issue, but remember that in addition to your community experience and work experience, you can delve into your personal journey for stories that highlight different parts of your character, like informally helping someone, or accomplishing a milestone, or overcoming an obstacle.
The final concern is your work experience. 4 jobs in 5.5 years...could make them very curious about your focus, ability to work in teams, etc. Are you still at Booz or was that 6 months total, not 6 months so far?
With that work history, the committee may think of you as undirected. You'll have to explain that you want to return to a field you were in before, and that the Booz was testing something out, or gaining more specific experience. The challenge will be showing a logical progression.
So all that being said...if you can address the concerns, and write amazing essays, these are stretches but not impossible. If you can't, you may want to wait another year to beef up the community experience and become more directed on the goal, while pulling up your scores.
Good luck.
I see a few red flags in your profile. The easiest to address of course is the GMAT. If you can pull that up, that concern goes away. Your grades are an issue worth discussing in the optional essay but I'm not sure how much of a barrier they'll be. The 3.0 is low, but a 3.5 in your last two years is very good. I'm a bit confused on your MS GPA - is it a 3.7 or a 3.0? (HUGE difference!!)
Your extracurriculars you say are weak; that may be an issue, but remember that in addition to your community experience and work experience, you can delve into your personal journey for stories that highlight different parts of your character, like informally helping someone, or accomplishing a milestone, or overcoming an obstacle.
The final concern is your work experience. 4 jobs in 5.5 years...could make them very curious about your focus, ability to work in teams, etc. Are you still at Booz or was that 6 months total, not 6 months so far?
With that work history, the committee may think of you as undirected. You'll have to explain that you want to return to a field you were in before, and that the Booz was testing something out, or gaining more specific experience. The challenge will be showing a logical progression.
So all that being said...if you can address the concerns, and write amazing essays, these are stretches but not impossible. If you can't, you may want to wait another year to beef up the community experience and become more directed on the goal, while pulling up your scores.
Good luck.
Jessica Shklar
Senior Consultant
mbaMission (www.mbamission.com)
646-485-8844
Sign up for a free consultation with mbaMission, the only admissions consulting firm that leading GMAT prep companies, ManhattanGMAT and Kaplan, recommend.
www.mbamission.com/consult.php
Senior Consultant
mbaMission (www.mbamission.com)
646-485-8844
Sign up for a free consultation with mbaMission, the only admissions consulting firm that leading GMAT prep companies, ManhattanGMAT and Kaplan, recommend.
www.mbamission.com/consult.php
