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I am looking to apply in 2010 for admission to an MBA program in the Fall 2011 semester and am in the process of planning my application approach. Some relevant profile info is as follows:

GMAT:
I recently took the GMAT and received a composite score of 780 (Q: 50; V: 48) and an AWA score of 6.0.

GPA:
I graduated in May 2004 from a fairly small private liberal arts school in the Midwest with a B.S. in Finance and a GPA of 3.99. I immediately proceeded to a reputable, but not elite, state law school (also in the Midwest) and graduated with a J.D. in May 2007 with a GPA of 3.25. As might be expected, my undergraduate transcript bears a range of business-oriented quantitative coursework, while my law school record does not.

Experience:
In addition to having logged some part-time employment during law school, I anticipate having about 59 months of full-time work experience under my belt by MBA matriculation. I expect that about forty of those months will have been spent working for my current law firm in a tenure that will likely conclude around July 2010. As an associate attorney in my particular current firm, short-term opportunities for substantive advancement in responsibility and title are limited. However, due to some personal circumstances, I think it best to stay the course for about another year.

I have also worked two short-term (one-month) clerkships in Beijing with an unrelated (to my U.S. firm) Chinese law firm. I am still affiliated with that firm as outside U.S. legal counsel (requiring fairly occasional project work) and anticipate that I may further participate in a full-time one-year fellowship arrangement with that firm from July 2010 to July 2011. I am by no means fluent in Mandarin but have studied it for about a year and intend to continue doing so.

Extracurricular:
Over the course of my undergraduate, law school, and subsequent years, I have been fairly extensively involved in faith-based and other community extracurricular organizations and activities, and I have held a handful of leadership positions related to the same. I also participated in some intercollegiate academic competitions during my last two years of college. I didn’t play any varsity sports in undergrad, but I am an avid basketball fan/player. I received several academic scholarships in college and law school and was given a handful of other named awards. I am a fellow in a national legal organization and have published one small research-based work in the course of my involvement therein.

Objectives:
I am hoping to eventually move from traditional legal practice to a more entrepreneurial path. It is my post-MBA desire to create and develop a services-oriented business tailored to internationals (with an initial primary Chinese emphasis).

One of my highest priorities with respect to business school, however, is to complete a program without any debt. I recognize that this will likely narrow the range of schools on my radar, and I understand counter-arguments that might be presented with respect to return on investment at elite schools, student loans notwithstanding, but the debt-free objective is an important one for me. It is my anticipation that I will have sufficient funds to cover living expenses during both years of an MBA program, but essentially none left to allocate to tuition. Thus, a primary goal is to elicit at least one financial aid offer sufficient to cover tuition through non-repayable (grant, scholarship, fellowship, assistantship) aid only.

Questions:
I'm in the process of asking a few admissions consultants their thoughts on these two questions and would appreciate any feedback you might have:

(1) Assuming solid essays, recommendations, interviews, and other pieces of the application not quantified by the information given, at what sorts of programs do you think I might be competitive for both admission and financial aid offers that would fit my financial criteria?

(2) Would you suggest that I address my law school GPA or let it stand without explanation? At 3.25, it is substantially lower than my undergraduate GPA, and while I believe the disparity does not imply a low set of standards at my undergraduate institution, I think a full discussion of the same would have potential to prove dicey. I also think the similarity in both substance and structure is greater between my business-oriented undergraduate coursework and most MBA coursework than between law school coursework and most MBA coursework. I’m certainly willing to engage a short but tactful dialogue in my application if appropriate, but I think I’d prefer to avoid it unless doing so leaves a gap. What do you think?

Thanks so much for all of your help,

A Grateful Prospective Applicant

Dear Righton12252000,

Thanks for your post. My answers to your questions are as follows:

Admissions Odds/Fellowships
On the surface, you should be competitive for admission to top-tier MBA programs. Your numbers (GMAT, GPA) add up nicely and your work experience and XCs seem strong enough to help you stand apart. I'm not so sure I agree with your timing (since you are likely waiting too long to apply), but that's a discussion for another time.

As to whether or not you will be competitive for fellowships, that's a bit of a different ballgame. For starters, there are actually very few full-tuition awards made at MBA programs - most students pay their tuition using loans. This is largely due to the fact that MBA graduates typically go on to earn a lot of money and usually encounter little difficulty paying off the debt in the years that follow graduation. But getting back to your query, fellowships/scholarships are typically handed out at the discretion of the admissions staff - not automatically for merit or need, etc. As such, you are rolling the dice somewhat when applying if you are counting on scholarship funding. Having said that, the factors that I've seen contribute to the size of an award are typically as follows:

1) How unique you are in the schools' pool (e.g. how badly they need you in their class).

2) The caliber of the application essays and overall presentation (interview, etc) to the school.

3) Strong grades and GMAT results.

For example, assuming that items #2 and #3 are sound, women typically are awarded more funds then men, due to the fact that they are under-represented in the pool. As you haven't offered me any information about your own status (gender, ethnicity, bootstrapper, etc), it's hard for me to peg your odds in this area.

Of course, one important question I'd pose to you is as follows:

If you are only willing to get an MBA if it is for free, do you truly value the degree? Is it a necessary step for you?

Law School GPA
I see no reason to address this. First, your GMAT score should go a long way towards settling any concerns about your academic aptitude. Second, your undergraduate GPA is superb. Third, your law school GPA is going to be the least important of the three metrics here anyway (ugrad GPA, GMAT, law GPA). I'd leave it alone.

Feel free to send your resume to Clear Admit ([email protected]) if you'd like to discuss your plans in greater detail. There is no charge for a free session with one of our counselors to review your background.

Best of luck,

Graham

Graham,

Thank you very much for your feedback. With respect to the personal variables you mentioned, I am a white male, which I recognize doesn't lend much support in the way of bolstering my desirability in the eyes of most admissions committees. I do come from a fairly modest socioeconomic background (which has largely contributed to my financial values and my extreme debt aversion).

My own self-analysis is that I do place quite a bit of value on getting an MBA; there are just very few things in life - including things that I value fairly highly - that could motivate me to go into debt (I got through college without any loans; I owe nothing on my relatively older (1995) car; and I hope to eventually purchase a modest house outright rather than take a mortgage sooner or on a larger house).

It's not my intention at all either (1) to sound like a prima donna or (2) to appear nonchalant about my commitment to pursuing an MBA. It's not that I have a sense of entitlement to a full ride at an elite school or that I'm merely testing the waters on whether or not business school would be of any benefit to me. I would just prefer to find the best academic scenario that would afford me an opportunity to stay aligned with my core financial values. I've made sacrifices in the past to stay debt-free, and attending a somewhat underlauded school (perhaps one in the 25-50 rankings range) in order to do so now is within my range of acceptable options (again, recognizing that the popular opinion would hold that my judgment may be lacking and that I'm blinding myself to principals of return on investment).

So I guess I mostly want to make sure that I'm selecting the best pool of (about ten) MBA programs that will still enable me to maintain a reasonable hope of meeting that goal. I didn't intend to go on a personal rabbit trail here, but hopefully that frames my circumstances a little more clearly (even if you question the basis of my paradigm). If you have any more thoughts given that context, I'd be glad to field your feedback.

As to the timing, I would also be happy to hear the factors in your thought process. As I mentioned, my tentative intention is to continue working for my current law firm for another year. This would enable me to also obtain an additional certification that will be directly relevant to my post-MBA goals. Working the subsequent 2010-2011 year for the law firm in China would give me (from my perception) two additional benefits: first, it would allow me to be immersed in China's business culture and language for a full twelve months (rather than the periodic exposure I've received thus far), and in that way prepare me better to hit the ground running with marketing services to Chinese internationals immediately after business school; and second, I think it would pave a clearer path in the minds of admissions committees for my two reference letters to be from the two senior partners in the Chinese firm (they already are better-acquainted with my skill set and accomplishments than most of my U.S. firm colleagues, but that notion seems better justified for admissions committees in light of a more sustained work experience). The first point is certainly the more important one in my mind, but I think the second is also worth some consideration. I also wonder if that one-year international experience could provide some strong anecdotes for essays that could further distinguish me from the competition. As I said, though, I'd be interested in your input.

Thank you for the feedback on the law school GPA. Your thought process resonates with me.

I also appreciate the opportunity for a background consultation with Clear Admit. I may just take you up on that offer!