Ancient Undergrad GPA vs Recent Graduate GPA & GMAT

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I received my bachelor's degree in 2001 and finished with a 3.2 GPA from Oklahoma State. My grade trend is the exact opposite of what anyone would want, it goes from a 3.5 to a 3.2 in my last two years.

I do have a story to explain the situation, and how the exact opposite is true today. I start grad school this fall to work on a Master of Accounting at UMKC while employed full-time, and I intend to apply next fall for admission to a MBA program. This schedule would dictate that I'll have 3 semesters of very recent graduate work when I apply to MBA programs.

If I can keep a 4.0 for these 3 upcoming semesters, would that eliminate my decade-old undergrad performance and trend as a consideration? Would it give my apps a considerable boost up?

For work experience I'll have 11 years at matriculation, 4 of them managing. I have a solid history of advancement and a history of salary raises that includes bumps of 25%, 10%, and 5% in the last three years. As for age, I'll be 31 at matriculation.

For extra-curriculars, I spent 6 hours a week for three years leading and serving high school youth in the area. Right now I'm focused on founding a student organization to work with a local KIPP Academy doing tutoring and other activities.

I'm currently targeting the University of Michigan's dual-degree program in education and business. My GMAT is 740 (Q47, V45), and I will have a very compelling story and future focus for my essays. I think I'm competitive for entrance now, but I'm really after a scholarship.

I've gone back and forth about re-taking the GMAT. The Q47 is below what I imagined as my floor since 5 of my 7 practice exams scored Q49 or above, and 1 scored a Q48. I believe if I retake that I have a chance to score 770+. But I also know that almost everyone says not to retake a 740. If recent graduate work could propel me into scholarship consideration, I'm resigned to stick with the 740. If not, I feel like I should re-up and gun for a 770+.

Thoughts?
MGMAT1: 720 (Q47, V41)
GMATPrep1: 750 (Q48, V44)
GMATPrep2: 770 (Q50, V47)

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by Bryant@VeritasPrep » Fri Jun 18, 2010 4:14 am
In short, you are a great candidate for a top ten business school. For starters, you shouldn't have to worry about your 3.2 GPA, which is not a bad GPA by any means and certainly not so far below any averages that it warrants explanation. People write explanations for 2.3GPAs not 3.2GPAs. Your doing well in the accounting program will more than certainly erradicate any questions about your ability to handle the academics of B-school not to mention your stellar GPA which could frankly even make up for a 2.3GPA if you had one, especially considering how long ago it was. If you do indeed have a compelling story (perhaps the strongest and most underrated portion of one's application), you will do fine, just make sure you are able to weave it all together in a compelling, cohesive and straightforward way which will appeal to an admissions committee. Good luck.
Bryant Michaels
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by m3th0d » Mon Jun 21, 2010 11:17 am
Cheers Bryant, I really appreciate the time you took to respond. Your words are encouraging, and I will definitely spend a lot of time on my story.
MGMAT1: 720 (Q47, V41)
GMATPrep1: 750 (Q48, V44)
GMATPrep2: 770 (Q50, V47)