Profile Eval: 700 Practice 3.1 top from 5 lib arts college

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Hello everyone, I'm new to this forum and would greatly appreciate an evaluation of my profile and any advice on crafting the best possible application. Thank you very much in advance! My apologies if this comes across as long winded. Here is my profile:

College:
-3.11 GPA from a top 5 Liberal Arts College.
-Major in Philosophy, Politics & Economics with a focus in Economics.
-6 NCAA Varsity Letters, 4 in football 2 in track and field. 3 year starter on football team.
-Vice President of Fraternity

GMAT Prep:
-Taken 2 Practice Exams. Got a 650 on the 1st, a 700 on the 2nd. (Q40:V44) Intensive study, particularly with quant, and taking GMAT in January. I feel that a 730 is within reach if I can improve my math (I know that nothing counts until the real test results are in!)

Work Experience:
- 1 year at a selective Health Care Financial Consulting Firm
- Left consulting position to join family business (an independently owned regional distributor for a privately held billion $ plus global manufacturer of high tech industrial fluid handling components and instrumentation)
- Managed all business development and sales activity for a new division. Expanded this division's sales and grew customer base in the semi-conductor, ship building, oil & gas, bio-pharm, alternative fuels, and power generation markets.
- Achieved year over year growth, doubled division's sales within two years and profiled by corporate as a top sales person in North America.
- Promoted to Operations Manager after 3 years.
-Currently taking semester long Lean 6-Sigma Black Belt Certification program and managing 6-Sigma process improvement projects. Will take ASQ Black-Belt Certification Exam at completion of course.

EC:
- 2 years plus of Junior Achievement Volunteering. Will continue to volunteer until my first semester in an MBA Program.

The Bad News:
Low GPA, completely slacked off senior year after I accepted a job offer. GPA dropped from 3.4 to a 3.1, and lower grades in quant classes. Taking 6-sigma course. I'm planning on taking 1-2 Junior College math classes to help alleviate this problem.

Goal: I wish to pursue an MBA to gain a thorough understanding of finance, strategy and entrepreneurship to help one day(hopefully!) take over, own and operate the family business. I will be applying to Part Time/Femba Programs at Haas, Anderson, USC-Marshall, and UCSD. I'd like to know chances of admission (maybe I'm dreaming for some of these?)and anything I can add or change on my application that would help. Thank you very much in advance!

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by essaysnark » Fri Nov 04, 2011 11:31 pm
Hey SurferNerd -- it sounds like you've actually already done a self-assessment!! You seem to be doing everything right here, from the GMAT retest to the plans to take a class.

The GPA is a blemish but probably not a showstopper. EssaySnark gets worried when the GPA dips below 3.0; you're not in happy territory at 3.11 but it's not horrible, either. The unfortunate part is that it went down over time - typically the adcoms look to see for improvement from the beginning to end, and that's a bummer that you enjoyed yourself so much there in the final stage. :-) But, this won't be the kiss of death for you in the bschool app process, PARTICULARLY if you will be able to tell the adcom about a class you've taken recently (with an A!).

Dude... *6* varsity letters?

This is kind cool.

And, the work experience is impressive, too. It seems that you've done a lot in the last few years!

You clearly have a strong NEED for the MBA -- we don't always see that in profiles -- and so we are feeling rather optimistic about your chances overall. Also, those P/T programs that you've listed are somewhat looser on their admissionns standards, thus the GPA again is less of a concern.

We think you should go for the Anderson FEMBA first. Our gut is saying you'll have an easier time there - or try for Haas EWMBA but that makes for a looong commute!!! :-) You should be able to do better than UCSD, is what we're tryin' to say.

ANYWAY... this was a little rambling... hope we answered your questions but if not, just shoot them back at us again!
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by SurferNerd » Sat Nov 05, 2011 9:11 am
Thank you for the great evaluation!

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by essaysnark » Sat Nov 05, 2011 9:19 am
Yup - and please keep us posted, we like to see where people end up!!!

EssaySnark
EssaySnark has MBA application guides for HBS, Stanford, Booth, Wharton, NYU and pretty much any other school you can name - including a fully revised and expanded 2015 Columbia essay guide!
https://essaysnark.com/bookstore/
* * * * * * *
The Indians' Guide to Getting In maps out everything you need to evaluate your own profile and select your schools. https://essaysnark.com/ssguide/quicksnar ... ans-guide/
* * * * * * *
MILITARY CANDIDATES! We've got some pro bono offers just for you: https://essaysnark.com/military-mba/
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Follow EssaySnark on Twitter!