Hello,
I am hoping to have my profile reviewed. I recently took the GMAT and my quant was a bit lower than I hoped I am seeking an overview analysis of my target schools and how well I match to them. Also if I should do anything specific to improve chances.
I am unique from most applicant in that I am pursuing a JD/MBA degree.
Here is my background:
1) I have 8 years of retail store management experience with 5 as store manager with 2 companies. One of them being in the Fortune 10. (This experience is pre-Bachelors).
At these two companies I received five promotions in 6 years.
2)LSAT 167 (94.3 Percentile)
GMAT 710 (91st Percentile)- Q43 (55th percentile) V44 (98th Percentile).
I was ill the morning of my GMAT test and time ran out as I went to submit the last IR question. This left me out of sorts during the Quant portion of the test. A 55th percentile is much lower than my practice scores but I have solid quant support in recent classes and can have my recommenders focus on this. I was able to calm my anxiety and focus during the Verbal section.
3) College info: Pepperdine University, GPA 3.511 (Graduated Cum Luade), Major Business Administration, year of graduation 2015.
I struggled to balance work and classes during the first half of undergraduate courses. During this time I worked a job requiring an average of 65 hours per week and had to care for my terminally ill father in-law, who passed away from cancer.
4) During my time at Pepperdine I was president/founder of a student club which provided an arena for students to learn and develop from the influence of the unique skills of others. The club focused on connecting military and civilian students to foster a safe environment for networking, skills development and collaboration by leveraging each member's unique attributes. The club is officially recognized and acts as a resource for about 60 students in many areas of their academic and professional lives.
https://bravery2business.com/
I have also been volunteering my time at a local animal shelter for the last 4 years.
5) I possess a certificate from Oxford University for Global Management awarded for my succesful participation in an intensive study abroad program.
I also have a certificate from HarvardX for their Intro to Contracts mooc course.
6) My short-term post-MBA goal is to gain experience working for either a business law firm or consulting firm. I will apply this experience in my long-term goal which is to found a company that provides legal and business consulting services focusing on startup and entrepreneurial ventures.
I am a first-generation college student and have been lucky enough to be influenced by great mentors. I want to use my knowledge and power gained from an MBA to give back and help others find success similar to mine.
I am planning on applying to the respective JD/MBA programs at the following schools: Duke, University of Virginia, University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, Vanderbilt University, Washington University in St. Louis, and Michigan Ann Arbor.
I would appreciate and feedback or thoughts you have from this.
Thank You,
Travis McElmurry
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Travis-Mcelmurry
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mbaMissionKate
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Hi Travis,
Thanks for sharing your profile. Let me start by saying that I'm personally not an expert on JD admissions, I know a little bit, but the the process is very different from MBA programs. So my assessment is primarily based on that side of your application. Though if you'd like more info, you should check out our sister company JD Mission (https://www.jdmission.com/consult.php).
Your overall GPA is great. Especially given all you were balancing. Your overall GMAT is good too - though I agree that I would like to see your Quant score higher. Are you planning to retake? They will accept your highest score so I think it'd be worth another shot since it sounds like you left some points on the table there. But I also assume you took some Quant classes in college, so that will help too.
The student club you founded / led sounds really impressive too - great example of giving back and leadership. Schools will like that.
I'm not sure if you mentioned when you are applying? Reason I ask is because most MBA programs look for more experienced candidates, so something like 4-6 years post-college experience. I'm not exactly sure how schools would count your 8 years so you may want to double check that. Make sure you've put some thought into the skills you've built up in retail management and how that could transfer to consulting - while switching careers is very common, b-schools like to see that you're being realistic about it and have a good idea of what it takes to make such a switch.
With the potentially low-end of experience and low quant, I think Penn (Wharton) is going to be a stretch. They really value strong quant skills. After that, in terms of competitiveness, I'd put Northwestern as a slight reach (though I think it's a good option for you since it's very good for consulting and they have an accelerated JD-MBA), followed by Virginia / Duke / Michigan as pretty good targets, then Wash U / Vanderbilt as pretty safe options. I think you've got a nice spread and if you are able to increase that GMAT then some of the higher ranked programs become better targets.
Good luck and keep us posted if we can help!
Thanks for sharing your profile. Let me start by saying that I'm personally not an expert on JD admissions, I know a little bit, but the the process is very different from MBA programs. So my assessment is primarily based on that side of your application. Though if you'd like more info, you should check out our sister company JD Mission (https://www.jdmission.com/consult.php).
Your overall GPA is great. Especially given all you were balancing. Your overall GMAT is good too - though I agree that I would like to see your Quant score higher. Are you planning to retake? They will accept your highest score so I think it'd be worth another shot since it sounds like you left some points on the table there. But I also assume you took some Quant classes in college, so that will help too.
The student club you founded / led sounds really impressive too - great example of giving back and leadership. Schools will like that.
I'm not sure if you mentioned when you are applying? Reason I ask is because most MBA programs look for more experienced candidates, so something like 4-6 years post-college experience. I'm not exactly sure how schools would count your 8 years so you may want to double check that. Make sure you've put some thought into the skills you've built up in retail management and how that could transfer to consulting - while switching careers is very common, b-schools like to see that you're being realistic about it and have a good idea of what it takes to make such a switch.
With the potentially low-end of experience and low quant, I think Penn (Wharton) is going to be a stretch. They really value strong quant skills. After that, in terms of competitiveness, I'd put Northwestern as a slight reach (though I think it's a good option for you since it's very good for consulting and they have an accelerated JD-MBA), followed by Virginia / Duke / Michigan as pretty good targets, then Wash U / Vanderbilt as pretty safe options. I think you've got a nice spread and if you are able to increase that GMAT then some of the higher ranked programs become better targets.
Good luck and keep us posted if we can help!
