Wait Listed at Carlson SOM: Advice needed!

[meeh1872]

This is my first time posting, although I've been a silent creeper for several months,

I got wait listed at the Carlson SOM (Minneapolis, MN) and asked the associate director of the adcom what their apprehensions were. 1) Undergrad GPA 2) GMAT 3) not as important, but possible long gap in work history from quitting my job (OCT16) to matriculation this fall (AUG17).

Me on paper: 25 years old, 2.8 undergrad GPA, 640 GMAT (38V/41Q/5.5AWA/5IR), 2.5 years work experience in finance, Officer in Army National Guard, 3 out of 6 years completed on my military contract, have received recognition and awards both in civilian job and military job for performance and leadership.

A quick narrative about myself: Went to a well known private catholic school in MN for undergrad and went through the U of M's Army ROTC program. My intent was to get selected for active duty and have a career in the military. Because of this, I spent almost all of my undergrad focusing my time/effort/focus on the ROTC program and neglected my undergrad GPA. My reasoning was that I'd be better suited to lead troops if I focused on the Army versus macro economics, theology, etc. The weighted selection criteria the Army uses in their decision to place you Active Duty vs Reserve/National Guard changed my senior year from lowish emphasis on academics and higher emphasis on actual Army stuff, to heavily favor undergrad GPA versus actual "warrior tasks". I was ranked very highly in the warrior tasks, but GPA was really weak, and suddenly I found myself needing to find a civilian job. My GPA isn't a reflection of my intellect, but a reflection of a calculated decision I made based on my desired military career goals (Although I probably could have focused on both, but that's 3 years ago and I can't change it).

I found finance, loved it. Worked as a personal financial planner for 2 years - found investment banking last October and knew I where I wanted to make my "career". Quit my job, devoted all of my time to MBA pursuit. Being 2.5 years out of school and with app deadlines rapidly approaching, I took about a month (Oct-Nov) of devoted time to self study for the GMAT. Raised initial practice score of 550 (31V/34Q/5IR) to a 640 (38V/41Q/5IR) in 17 days of studying around 7-8 hrs. I took another month (Nov-Dec) to complete all my essays (I applied to 9 schools, Carlson and the rest all top 10 schools - I knew it was a prayer). I got invited to interview late in Jan at Carlson, and did very well (36 out of 42, biggest ding was lower-than-average work experience), then I received notification I had been wait listed about a week ago. Carlson really values their service members which helps a lot, but apparently my GMAT is about 40 points below their average, and my GPA is on the cusp of acceptable to competitive. The associate director of the adcom at Carlson recommended I retake the GMAT; they won't review the wait listed folks until late April so I have another month of study time.

What I would appreciate feedback on: What would give me the most ROI for this month? Are 1 on 1 tutoring sessions worth it? Would I be better served self-studying solely quant for the next month? Note: I've always been good at the English language, I got my 38V/5.5AWA score with about 3 total hours of studying.

Thank you so much in advance, I apologize for writing a novel.

[Donna@Stratus]

This is my first time posting, although I've been a silent creeper for several months,
Other than telling Carlson that you would accept a spot (on the spot) if accepted (if that is true), then I think the next best thing ou can do is to study for the GMAT- and hope you can get a better score by April as I bet that might in fact move the needle. I'm not sure if 1 on 1 will be best for you- depends on what type of learner you are- but I would say that it likely won't hurt and if it helps you get in it will be well worth the investment. That's really the biggest thing you can change in a month or 2- you can't fix the work experience or the GPA but if you do study like crazy you may be able to make a dent in the GMAT and I bet that will help some. Good luck to you!
I got wait listed at the Carlson SOM (Minneapolis, MN) and asked the associate director of the adcom what their apprehensions were. 1) Undergrad GPA 2) GMAT 3) not as important, but possible long gap in work history from quitting my job (OCT16) to matriculation this fall (AUG17).

Me on paper: 25 years old, 2.8 undergrad GPA, 640 GMAT (38V/41Q/5.5AWA/5IR), 2.5 years work experience in finance, Officer in Army National Guard, 3 out of 6 years completed on my military contract, have received recognition and awards both in civilian job and military job for performance and leadership.

A quick narrative about myself: Went to a well known private catholic school in MN for undergrad and went through the U of M's Army ROTC program. My intent was to get selected for active duty and have a career in the military. Because of this, I spent almost all of my undergrad focusing my time/effort/focus on the ROTC program and neglected my undergrad GPA. My reasoning was that I'd be better suited to lead troops if I focused on the Army versus macro economics, theology, etc. The weighted selection criteria the Army uses in their decision to place you Active Duty vs Reserve/National Guard changed my senior year from lowish emphasis on academics and higher emphasis on actual Army stuff, to heavily favor undergrad GPA versus actual "warrior tasks". I was ranked very highly in the warrior tasks, but GPA was really weak, and suddenly I found myself needing to find a civilian job. My GPA isn't a reflection of my intellect, but a reflection of a calculated decision I made based on my desired military career goals (Although I probably could have focused on both, but that's 3 years ago and I can't change it).

I found finance, loved it. Worked as a personal financial planner for 2 years - found investment banking last October and knew I where I wanted to make my "career". Quit my job, devoted all of my time to MBA pursuit. Being 2.5 years out of school and with app deadlines rapidly approaching, I took about a month (Oct-Nov) of devoted time to self study for the GMAT. Raised initial practice score of 550 (31V/34Q/5IR) to a 640 (38V/41Q/5IR) in 17 days of studying around 7-8 hrs. I took another month (Nov-Dec) to complete all my essays (I applied to 9 schools, Carlson and the rest all top 10 schools - I knew it was a prayer). I got invited to interview late in Jan at Carlson, and did very well (36 out of 42, biggest ding was lower-than-average work experience), then I received notification I had been wait listed about a week ago. Carlson really values their service members which helps a lot, but apparently my GMAT is about 40 points below their average, and my GPA is on the cusp of acceptable to competitive. The associate director of the adcom at Carlson recommended I retake the GMAT; they won't review the wait listed folks until late April so I have another month of study time.

What I would appreciate feedback on: What would give me the most ROI for this month? Are 1 on 1 tutoring sessions worth it? Would I be better served self-studying solely quant for the next month? Note: I've always been good at the English language, I got my 38V/5.5AWA score with about 3 total hours of studying.

Thank you so much in advance, I apologize for writing a novel.