Ask Clear Admit

Background: 30 year-old Asian American. (Was born in China, and immigrated to US at age 18). Currently locate in Upstate NY.

Academic(The biggest weakness):
One of the State University of NY, Computer science major. GPA 2.92.
What made it worse was that:
1. I didn't get my degree within the first four years, was 5 credits short. After working in a small company for two years, went back to school to finish those 2 courses. So it looks like i first admitted to college in 2001, and obtained my degree 2007.
2. In order to graduate, I took ONE course in a community college. I only needed a C to transfer the credit, and it did not affect my GPA at the university that i obtained my degree. So i got a C (2.0 GPA from one course). Most school required applicant listed all the school they attended and the GPA. so i have disclose my 2.0 GPA from this community college.

I used the optional essay to explain all the above - the 2.92 GPA, the one course with a C grade at the community college. I attributed my immaturity back then to these disappointing undergrad performance. But now i have a family, and became more mature. my GMAT score and work experience can prove that i am ready to take the challenge of the MBA.

On the plus side, i mentioned that i get A in calculous II, and i was a math tutor for calculous I.

GMAT:
Taken once in 2012. 740 - Q50/V39/AWA5.5/IR6

Work experience 6 years
first two years (after graduation): Team leader of technical support in a small IT company.
Next four years: worked in a small start-up retail - a Prepaid Cell Phone Retail Busienss. Start as IT Specialist, then Assistant General Manager, and then General Manager. Expanded the one local store to a retail chain with 5 stores in different city.
Some highlights of the contribution at work:
- Computerized and systematized the business routines.
- Improved the purchasing routine and established the merchandising department. Expanded the product and services variety to better meet customer's demand.
- Supervised the opening of new stores, from site selection to recruiting and training new employees.
- Obtained dealership status from 7 prepaid cellular companies (including some of the big names such as Boost mobile, Virgin Mobile, T-Mobile, etc).
- Marketed the cellular services from different companies to the right customer groups. Tasks including setting the selling strategy, price, special promotion, customized bundles, etc, for the different cellular service providers.

Extra Curriculum:
Interpreter and worship team member (guitarist) at Church.
Two years in a roll, band leader and guitarist of the Church's annual concert.

Why MBA:
The business owner is satisfied with the scale of the company, and wanted to slow down the development. However, I want to continue to grow my career. I had a great chance to polished many of my soft skills such as interpersonal and analytical skills while running this small business. However, because I lack a academic background in business administration, I really need to learn the hard skills in order to qualify a management position in a large company.

Why Round 3 at Duke:
I always know Duke, and its great reputation in general management and marketing. However, as a family man with two young kids, I first wanted to look for schools in places that me and my wife are more familiar with. So we looked around NY area, and Maryland / DC area. Didn't really think about moving to Durham NC.
However, I accidentally found out Duke has this "Fuqua Partners". I was impressed that the school cares not only its students, but also their significant others and family. So I started look into Durham, NC and Duke. I see that Durham is a great city for my family, and there are great school for my children. and I find how Duke's program fits my goal (i will have two pages in my essay to talk about this, lol).
I am turning 31 this year, already older than the average students at its MBA program. That is why i don't want to wait for the next year. I want to start 2013.

Career Goal:
I am a career changer. I am debating between a SCM career or a brand management career in Retail or Consumer Product industry. I kind of did a little bit of both at work.
Related experience for SCM: I focused on understanding customer's demand and the cell phone market, and actively built and maintained relationship with new suppliers and vendors to bring in a rich variety of product and services that meets the customer's need.
Related experience for brand management / marketing: our stores offers cellular services from 7 different companies (some of big names includes Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile, T-Mobile). I marketed these different service options to the right customer groups, setting selling strategy, pricing, and promotion, etc.

Long term Goal:
I want to continue advancing my career in SCM (or Brand management) in a multinational company's China division. Because i want to utilize my multicultural backgrounds (18 years in China and 12 years in US).


Sorry that it is very very long, thanks you very much if you get this far!

Questions:
1. Long story short - Duke, round 3, Yes? No?
2. I know Round 3 applicant needs a good reason. Does my reason make sense?
3. How badly is my undergrad performance hurting my application? the one course i took at the community college, do I need to disclose my 2.0 GPA from the one course (it is on my transcript anyway...)?
4. Career goal - Between SCM and brand management, i know i can only pick one. Any suggestion? Which one goes better with my work background, multi-cultural backgrounds, and duke?
5. any suggestion about enhancing my goals?
6. Long-term goal: If i say i want to be a Retail General Manager in the China division of a MNC, does it make sense? does it connect with a SCM or brand management career?



Thanks a million!!!!

Hi Tr1ckythe0ry,

Thanks for your post.

Regarding whether to apply to Duke R3 or not, it sounds like it would be worth submitting an application in your case. Since you have strong reasons for starting in the fall and have a couple compelling aspects to your application (namely your GMAT score and unique small retail business experience), it looks like it is worth a shot.

The GPA will be an obstacle, but the above average GMAT will help the adcom feel comfortable with your abilities. So the open question then is your dedication to coursework and education. One idea is to enroll in a quantitative business course in the spring or summer to show your dedication (and mention this enrollment in your application, optional essay section).

It will be very important to quantify the impact of your work experience. By what % and/or $ did sales grow? How many people did you directly manage? How many people did you hire? By what % were you able to improve key cost buckets? Etc.

Regarding your career goals, it is important to conduct further research and pick a side between supply chain management and marketing. They are very different career paths - for example, with SCM you are often working in a factory / distribution center and working with very quantitative models to optimize material flow. With marketing you are typically working in an office (generally corporate headquarters) working on consumer surveys, pricing, advertising budgets, etc. Do you know anyone who works in these roles? I suggest reaching out to ask for 15-30 minutes of their time to conduct an informational interview to learn more. If you decide to work with an admissions consultant this is something the two of you could discuss as well.

Best of luck with your application! Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] for a free detailed profile evaluation.

Best,
Heidi