I posted this in the general ask an MBA admissions consultant, but didn't get an expert reply and wanted to lower my goals, since I guess before they were too lofty.
I am looking to apply to top 30 ranked schools and am wondering if I even have a chance with no full time work experience and a lacking GPA.
::High School::
I was alright as a high school student (3.4 GPA), however I was unmotivated in my undergraduate career. Some things to note: I was the Vice President and Treasurer of my Associated Student Body in HS -- Junior, Senior years respectively. I was also a national commended scholar for the PSAT. I believe I can reference these strengths in a lot of my essays, as my college career is not as strong. The high school in which I attended is a strong private catholic preparatory school on the Peninsula in the Bay Area.
::College::
In college, I started my undergraduate career at a school I had a hard time adjusting to, which led to my transfer from that school halfway through my undergraduate career. Needless to say, my grades suffered and it was always hard to pull up my GPA. It is on the lower end (3.0), however, if given the option to interview as part of my application - I think I could really impress anyone. I am a personable guy and feel that my face to face skills is one of my strengths.
::Post-College::
Since I have been out of college, I have had one full time job that lasted a month in which I did customer service for a start-up company in Palo Alto, CA. I quit the job because it paid close to minimum wage with no benefits, and started to study for the GMAT instead. Another thing to note was that I went to Beijing, China after college graduation for 6 months to study at Peking University under their intensive language program - for international students wanting to learn/enhance Mandarin. I can speak Mandarin fluently, however, writing/reading is a bit tougher for me.
Currently, I am volunteering at my alma mater high school in my spare time, along with taking care of my 80 year old father who is in need of care these days.
::Profile::
Gender: Male
Age: 22 (23 in October)
Applying for: Class of 2011
GMAT: 680 (V35, Q48)
Undergraduate GPA: 3.0 / 4.0
School: Loyola Marymount University in LA (Transferred from Univ. of Washington)
Major: Finance (Business Administration)
I have no work experience other than the few internships I've done in college and the one month stint out of college. One internship was for the marketing team of a local bank in San Francisco. The other internship was a management internship for a non-profit, relatively large sized hospital / health group in the Bay Area, CA.
I would be able to get an excellent reference from my previous employer at the non-profit health group.
In terms of what I want to do with my MBA - I would like to get into investment banking or hedge funds. I believe that I am a person that can network well and keep relationships between my firm and my clients. I believe I can deliver the performance they are working for and I am extremely motivated to succeed in my career.
What are my chances at some schools such as:
USC
LMU
Santa Clara
Then of course the crazy competitive schools such as
Northwestern
Penn
UVA
Carnegie Mellon
UCLA
Berkeley
I am very flexible in where I go to school, just looking for the best program that I would be able to get into. The school doesn't have to be on this list, these were just some examples I was thinking of.
I feel that most of them will be reaches for me. I don't know for sure though. If they are all reaches, can someone recommend school(s) closer to what I am fit for? How badly do my chances go down that I have no work experience?
Would improving my GMAT to say, 700+ make me more competitive / put me into a position to be considered for these schools? What if I got a 750?
If I left anything out, please let me know. I wrote this quite quickly.
Thanks[/quote]
I am looking to apply to top 30 ranked schools and am wondering if I even have a chance with no full time work experience and a lacking GPA.
::High School::
I was alright as a high school student (3.4 GPA), however I was unmotivated in my undergraduate career. Some things to note: I was the Vice President and Treasurer of my Associated Student Body in HS -- Junior, Senior years respectively. I was also a national commended scholar for the PSAT. I believe I can reference these strengths in a lot of my essays, as my college career is not as strong. The high school in which I attended is a strong private catholic preparatory school on the Peninsula in the Bay Area.
::College::
In college, I started my undergraduate career at a school I had a hard time adjusting to, which led to my transfer from that school halfway through my undergraduate career. Needless to say, my grades suffered and it was always hard to pull up my GPA. It is on the lower end (3.0), however, if given the option to interview as part of my application - I think I could really impress anyone. I am a personable guy and feel that my face to face skills is one of my strengths.
::Post-College::
Since I have been out of college, I have had one full time job that lasted a month in which I did customer service for a start-up company in Palo Alto, CA. I quit the job because it paid close to minimum wage with no benefits, and started to study for the GMAT instead. Another thing to note was that I went to Beijing, China after college graduation for 6 months to study at Peking University under their intensive language program - for international students wanting to learn/enhance Mandarin. I can speak Mandarin fluently, however, writing/reading is a bit tougher for me.
Currently, I am volunteering at my alma mater high school in my spare time, along with taking care of my 80 year old father who is in need of care these days.
::Profile::
Gender: Male
Age: 22 (23 in October)
Applying for: Class of 2011
GMAT: 680 (V35, Q48)
Undergraduate GPA: 3.0 / 4.0
School: Loyola Marymount University in LA (Transferred from Univ. of Washington)
Major: Finance (Business Administration)
I have no work experience other than the few internships I've done in college and the one month stint out of college. One internship was for the marketing team of a local bank in San Francisco. The other internship was a management internship for a non-profit, relatively large sized hospital / health group in the Bay Area, CA.
I would be able to get an excellent reference from my previous employer at the non-profit health group.
In terms of what I want to do with my MBA - I would like to get into investment banking or hedge funds. I believe that I am a person that can network well and keep relationships between my firm and my clients. I believe I can deliver the performance they are working for and I am extremely motivated to succeed in my career.
What are my chances at some schools such as:
USC
LMU
Santa Clara
Then of course the crazy competitive schools such as
Northwestern
Penn
UVA
Carnegie Mellon
UCLA
Berkeley
I am very flexible in where I go to school, just looking for the best program that I would be able to get into. The school doesn't have to be on this list, these were just some examples I was thinking of.
I feel that most of them will be reaches for me. I don't know for sure though. If they are all reaches, can someone recommend school(s) closer to what I am fit for? How badly do my chances go down that I have no work experience?
Would improving my GMAT to say, 700+ make me more competitive / put me into a position to be considered for these schools? What if I got a 750?
If I left anything out, please let me know. I wrote this quite quickly.
Thanks[/quote]
