Hi Apollo,

Thanks for your post.

Congratulations on almost completing your B.Sc. at LSE. A high GPA in this second degree plus your strong GMAT score should help offset your weak GPA at University of Hamburg. But a 2.0 GPA is significant enough to warrant using the 'optional essay' section to explain the circumstances, what you learned from the experience, and your changed behavior.

Your work experience should be a strength in your application. The admissions committees will typically be looking for a promotion after 2-3 years as a consultant, so be sure to clearly show any promotions on your resume. To your specific question on the HBS essay, I generally recommend these stories come from the past 3-4 years so if you have something there to leverage that would be a stronger approach.

Regarding your extracurricular involvement, you generally don't want to mention involvement before college or family commitments (father/husband/etc.).

I believe it is important to have refined career goals. Admissions committees want to be sure that you are clear on what you will gain from an MBA and that you have realistic career goals. Working with an admissions consultant can be an excellent way to help refine these goals. Please feel free to forward your resume to [email protected] for a detailed and free profile evaluation.

Your undergraduate GPA will be a difficult section of your application to overcome and it will be critical that the rest of your application dimensions be very strong. I recommend applying to a mix of 'top 10' and 'top 20' schools if you are strongly focused on your MBA this year.

Best,
Heidi
_________________
Heidi Granner
Clear Admit, LLC
[email protected]
215.568.2590