Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant

Hi everyone,

I was hoping to get some advice, although my application is still a while away. I am an undergraduate student in Melbourne, Australia doing a double-degree in Law and Commerce (majoring in Finance). This degree goes for 6 years.

I am interested in transitioning to an MBA program directly from my undergraduate studies and have heard that this is possible in some colleges for 'exceptional' candidates.

I have not yet undertaken the GMAT and would like to ask these questions assuming that I will succeed in the GMAT and score 750+... (nice assumption but I have done a couple of practice tests and believe that with some study I can do very well)

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My GPA is about 3.1, which for my university is quite strong. We use a different system based on weighted averages. I will most likely graduate with "First Class Honours" in Law - awarded to the top 5% of graduates by grade.

I will not receive honours in Finance because it requires an extra year of study, I am not particularly interested.

Whilst university I have been very active in extra-curricular activities - I am President of the Law Students' Society (2000 members, $400k budget, committee of 36), have been Secretary & Treasurer of the Snowsports Club (500 members, $300k budget, committee of 22) and have competed in numerous law competitions with success (State Champion in Mooting - a legal competition, National Semi-Finalist in Client-Interviewing, University Champion in Negotiation and Debating.

I have undertaken vacation work at a couple of the top Australian law firms over the summer and work part time for the university in a computer lab (unimpressive casual role one day/week to support myself).

I founded a not-for-profit organisation called Embrace Education that provides free tuition to refugees, particularly from war-torn regions like the Sudan. We have over 100 tutor/mentor relationships established. I interview, train and manage 30 tutors who each tutor for 2 hours/week (I also tutor myself).

I have run a university-based mentor program for 600 first year law students by training and grouping up 100 later-year student volunteers.

--- End snapshot

So basically, I'm interested in undertaking an MBA programme at an institution that is recognisable in Australia - i.e. a top 10 school.

Post-MBA I intend to work in management consulting in Australia or abroad.

Do I have a chance at this (before I go and study for the GMAT)?

Are there any major deficiencies in my application (other than my GPA which I hope can be explained in my favour based on my university's grading scheme)?

I still have another year before I would seek to apply, so there is time for me to improve my application - can you suggest anything that might help my chances as an undergraduate?

Thanks in advance!

Hi Lisa,

Thank you for taking the time to read and respond to my post.

I suppose what I am particularly interested in determining is how my grades in undergraduate compare with US Schools.

If my grades place me in the top 5% of my degree of over 500 (which only accepts the top 1% of high school leavers by entrance ranking) - is that comparative to a 3.6 GPA or not?

Admissions consultants obviously consider the school that the applicant has come from, and a 4.0 GPA can't be the same as every other 4.0 GPA. Is there any rough guide of percentile ranking used for the sake of comparison?

I am confident that I can get a high GMAT score over 720.

I agree with Lisa. Your academics look fine. The main problem you'll have is in convincing adcom that 1) you need an MBA right now, especially since you just graduated with a degree in business and chose not to pursue honors in that, and instead chose law honors. 2) your corporate work experience is entirely comprised of law internships, as opposed to for instance a general management programme which would indicate interest in business.

On an aside, you can also consider masters programmes in law. If what you want is to become a management consultant, these programmes may also afford you the opportunities to go down that route.

Thanks for the reply Jelt.

I am taking on board what you have both said and will have the opportunity to undertake a 10-week vacation internship at a commercial services firm such as Deloitte / PWC.
Unfortunately MC firms in Australia do not offer internships at all.

With regard to my studies, Honours in Law is awarded by GPA (so I automatically qualify based on grades) because Law is a 4-year professional degree in Australia.

Finance, on the other hand, is a 3-year degree at undergraduate level and to obtain the degree with Honours we must undertake a further year of study. I would be eligible to undertake this program if I applied.

Having already completed a combined degree (at 6 year duration) and having an interest in undertaking further study towards an MBA, I do not think it would be worthwhile to invest a further year of study towards Honours in Finance.

In any case, thank you both again for taking the time to read of my circumstances and respond. I intend to study towards the GMAT over the next few months. As I said, I will look towards improving the commercial side of my resume as thankfully I still have time to do so.

Hi MichaelB,

I'm an alumnus of Melb Uni myself and am wondering how I should go about converting my overall grade (H2A) to a GPA figure.

What was your approach?

Thanks!

GSN003.

MichaelB wrote:Hi everyone,

I was hoping to get some advice, although my application is still a while away. I am an undergraduate student in Melbourne, Australia doing a double-degree in Law and Commerce (majoring in Finance). This degree goes for 6 years.

I am interested in transitioning to an MBA program directly from my undergraduate studies and have heard that this is possible in some colleges for 'exceptional' candidates.

I have not yet undertaken the GMAT and would like to ask these questions assuming that I will succeed in the GMAT and score 750+... (nice assumption but I have done a couple of practice tests and believe that with some study I can do very well)

--- Start snapshot

My GPA is about 3.1, which for my university is quite strong. We use a different system based on weighted averages. I will most likely graduate with "First Class Honours" in Law - awarded to the top 5% of graduates by grade.

I will not receive honours in Finance because it requires an extra year of study, I am not particularly interested.

Whilst university I have been very active in extra-curricular activities - I am President of the Law Students' Society (2000 members, $400k budget, committee of 36), have been Secretary & Treasurer of the Snowsports Club (500 members, $300k budget, committee of 22) and have competed in numerous law competitions with success (State Champion in Mooting - a legal competition, National Semi-Finalist in Client-Interviewing, University Champion in Negotiation and Debating.

I have undertaken vacation work at a couple of the top Australian law firms over the summer and work part time for the university in a computer lab (unimpressive casual role one day/week to support myself).

I founded a not-for-profit organisation called Embrace Education that provides free tuition to refugees, particularly from war-torn regions like the Sudan. We have over 100 tutor/mentor relationships established. I interview, train and manage 30 tutors who each tutor for 2 hours/week (I also tutor myself).

I have run a university-based mentor program for 600 first year law students by training and grouping up 100 later-year student volunteers.

--- End snapshot

So basically, I'm interested in undertaking an MBA programme at an institution that is recognisable in Australia - i.e. a top 10 school.

Post-MBA I intend to work in management consulting in Australia or abroad.

Do I have a chance at this (before I go and study for the GMAT)?

Are there any major deficiencies in my application (other than my GPA which I hope can be explained in my favour based on my university's grading scheme)?

I still have another year before I would seek to apply, so there is time for me to improve my application - can you suggest anything that might help my chances as an undergraduate?

Thanks in advance!