The Application Process

Ok I hope I am doing this forum thing right.

I am planning to apply to begin applying to grad schools by the end of this year.

1. I just graduated with Bachelors was in Communications with a Minor in Business in Fall 2014
2. 3.088/4 GPA or 77%
3. I want to go to school in either Miami, New York or California.
4. I want to get a Masters in Business with a concentration in Marketing.

Any suggestions for A)schools and B)necessary GMAT scores to get into those schools??
I am just starting out and am looking for ways to go about this. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

You certainly can get into a MBA program with a lower GPA. Whether or not it is one that you think is good enough will be up to you. You'll need to knock the GMAT out of the ballpark obviously. However, I think the biggest weakness in your profile might be your lack of work experience? That coupled with a low GPA and just a pedestrian GMAT could spell your doom at many top 20 programs. Think about waiting a few years and beefing that up.

Hi all,

I am new here. Just joined. First I would like to thank everyone for sharing their experience and anurag for guidance.
Well I am an petroleum engineer, graduated in 2004, Pune university India.
Work experience 11 years
Field oil and gas sector well engineering specialisation.
Studies diploma and degree and avg percentage of 57% or 2.8-2.9 GPA approx l guess. Failed twice during education due to own mistakes.
GMAT date 27/03/2015
Target score 650-700.
Plan admission year is 2016 July or august
Target university
Imperial college London
Nanyang business school Singapore
NUS, Singapore
HKUST,
Tsinghua China
University of Edinburgh
If I miss July 2016, then I will try Rotterdam school in jan 2017 or EMBA.

Weakness : no GMAT yet, need to write correct essay, time, weak GPA,
Strong: different experience than usual business stream, self funded, ready to spend hrs studies for GMAT as reqd.

Can I achieve any of the above unis.
Regards, Narendra

Hi Narendra,

I'm not sure how it is internationally, but in Amercia, the GMAT has less weight than it used to be, ESPECIALLY if you have the 11 years work experience. I got mine at the University of Denver (top 100 in US?) and I know they had been waiving GMATs entirely for people working 6-8+ experience.

Another thing going for you is the fact you got a "STEM" degree. I know also that business schools give you a little bit of slack since you were in a hard subject. Typically I've heard if a school demands a "3.0 GPA" minimum, then its really "2.7+" for STEM careers.

Your target score might be too ambitious however. While yes, a high score makes up for low GPA, it could be disappointing when you finally take a practice exam. I had aimed for 650-700, but my first practice exam, no studying, was a 470! 550 is about 50% of the candidate pool, so if you can get above that, that's good!

If you are still worried, I'd also take the advantage of the "optional" essay most universities provide in the application process. They always come up with the topic of "immaturity" when you were in undergrad. That's expected from most admissions reviews. It's just HOW you word it is important. No excuses, take responsibility, that's what they want to hear.

I don't know how strict Imperial College London is in admissions, but take my advice, an MBA is an MBA. While the top 10 MBA schools will lead to six figure salaries, if you are all about having that business edge in your career (and not all about money) then any MBA program will do. Also, don't spend a ton of money to get that knowledge (I kinda feel that firsthand now...)

If you are wondering my admissions situation and how I ended up doing, in hindsight, I had wished I did not prepare for the GMAT as much as I did. In the end, I got in with a 2.3 GPA undergrad Mechanical Engineering, a GMAT of 600 (63% percentile) and I left with my MBA with a 3.7 GPA. Wasn't super challenging.

Good luck!

I'm almost less concerned with the low gpa. With only one year of work experience, that will probably rule you out. If I were an admissions committee member, I would combine that with the low gpa and really question your focus. I would recommend you spend a few more years working, score really highly on the GMAT and then you could put together a more compelling story. Good luck!