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710 GMAT GPA 3.0 Please help!

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710 GMAT GPA 3.0 Please help!

by Rf224455 » Thu Jul 16, 2009 7:36 am
Hi,

My gpa is low, about a 3.0 from a decent state school (Finance degree) I recently scored a 710 on the gmat.

I have about 2.5 years of work experience with BearingPoint, Booz Allen Hamilton. In this period I managed the finances for 26 engagements, obtained 2 corporate awards and was promoted 2 times.

I was philanthropy chair for my fraternity and organized 2 campus wide philanthropy events, raising over $2000 for charities.

My target schools are as follows:

Columbia
Duke
Berkely
NYU
UVA
UNC
USC

Can you let me know what you think about these school selections?

Thanks,

Ryan
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by mbaMissionJessica » Thu Jul 16, 2009 8:54 am
Hi, thanks for your question.

While your GPA is lower than ideal, please remember that it is just one facet of your application. Admissions committees will weigh that factor against all of the other aspects of your application when viewing you as a whole.

That being said, there are a few things you can do.
First, look closely at your GPA. Are there internal stories that are more compelling than simply a 3.0? For example, did you do poorly your first year or two but then quite well in your last two years? Did you do well in your major but not in other classes? What about quantitative or business-oriented classes - did you do better there?

Your strong GMAT score should go far in helping schools feel more confident of your ability to thrive in a rigorous academic environment. Another way to do that is to build an "alternative transcript" - taking 2-3 business-oriented classes online or at a community college, and doing well in them, proving that you can excel academically while also juggling a demanding job.

Further, take a look at your work. Are there specific projects or tasks you take on that are more academic or that can prove to the admissions committee your academic rigor? Have you taken and done well at internal industry classes?

When you have worked through these questions, then I strongly recommend that you take advantage of the optional essay on the application to address any concerns the AdCom might have. Keep it brief (150 words) and don't make excuses for your poor GPA; simply address it and then focus on proving to the committee that you have the intellectual chops to do well in their environment by highlighting any examples from my questions above.

Without knowing the answers and the story you can tell in your optional essay, or more about your current community involvement or personal story, I can't offer specific advice on the school list except to say that with the little you have shared, it seems like a reasonable and well-balanced set of schools.

I hope that helps - best of luck!
Jessica Shklar
Senior Consultant
mbaMission (www.mbamission.com)
646-485-8844

Sign up for a free consultation with mbaMission, the only admissions consulting firm that leading GMAT prep companies, ManhattanGMAT and Kaplan, recommend.
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by Rf224455 » Thu Aug 06, 2009 10:02 am
hi Jessica,

My undergraduate record is spotty. I started off in engineering and struggled with a few courses. Afterwards I switched to business and earned a combination of good grades and mediocre on a semester to semester basis. Its not purely a downtrend or an uptrend. My quant grades are strong: Calculus 1 B+, Calculus 2 A, Quantitative Methods A, Advanced Finance B+, Investment Analysis A, Interest rates A, Intermediate Finance A, Economics B+, A few accounting courses I got Bs and Cs. My last semester didnt have challenging courses in it as I had to meet general requirements and wanted to dedicate more time to my philanthropy event planning.

I was pretty involved in college, as philanthropy chair of my fraternity. I planned a 150+ participant fundraising event and orchestrated our particpation in over 15 campus wide events. I also was captain of one of our softball teams, and played intermural soccer and ult frisbee :)

My WE: I spearheaded the financial management of a large consulting project. During my time, I proposed recommendations that resulted in 5% profitability increases. I also was recommended for a role analyzing the portfolios of several managing directors and evaluating the month to month corporate trending. I was promoted in my first year and received a Gold Beacon Award.

At Booz Allen, I've been involved in portfolio management for the past 7-8 months, and became the junior lead after 6 months.

At both institutions I was involved in extra curricular (however you spell that) activities (Led a mock proposal effort, am particating in a tech focus group)


My gmat is 74% Quant and 95% V. I'm also very concerned ab my gpa. I'm applying to Berkeley, Duke, UCLA, Darden and UNC. They are all competitive programs and the avg gpa is ab 3.5/

Please let me know if i should pad my school list a little bit.

Thanks!

Ryan
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Posts: 6
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by Rf224455 » Thu Aug 06, 2009 10:13 am
hi Jessica,

My undergraduate record is spotty. I started off in engineering and struggled with a few courses. Afterwards I switched to business and earned a combination of good grades and mediocre on a semester to semester basis. Its not purely a downtrend or an uptrend. My quant grades are strong: Calculus 1 B+, Calculus 2 A, Quantitative Methods A, Advanced Finance B+, Investment Analysis A, Interest rates A, Intermediate Finance A, Economics B+, A few accounting courses I got Bs and Cs. My last semester didnt have challenging courses in it as I had to meet general requirements and wanted to dedicate more time to my philanthropy event planning.

I was pretty involved in college, as philanthropy chair of my fraternity. I planned a 150+ participant fundraising event and orchestrated our particpation in over 15 campus wide events. I also was captain of one of our softball teams, and played intermural soccer and ult frisbee :)

My WE: I spearheaded the financial management of a large consulting project. During my time, I proposed recommendations that resulted in 5% profitability increases. I also was recommended for a role analyzing the portfolios of several managing directors and evaluating the month to month corporate trending. I was promoted in my first year and received a Gold Beacon Award.

At Booz Allen, I've been involved in portfolio management for the past 7-8 months, and became the junior lead after 6 months.

At both institutions I was involved in extra curricular (however you spell that) activities (Led a mock proposal effort, am particating in a tech focus group)


My gmat is 74% Quant and 95% V. I'm also very concerned ab my gpa. I'm applying to Berkeley, Duke, UCLA, Darden and UNC. They are all competitive programs and the avg gpa is ab 3.5/

Please let me know if i should pad my school list a little bit.

Thanks!

Ryan
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