My undergrad is in the Social Sciences. My biggest concern is my gpa. I have a 2.7gpa. I don't think that reflects my intellegence in the least. My first 2 years were terrible. I was going through some family health issues and my mind was very far away from school. I plan on writing an optional essay to explain this. My gpa for my last 60 credit hours is 3.44 and I am currently in the process of taking business, accounting, and economics classes to prepare for mba course work.

I have worked in banking for the last 4 years. I started at an entry level and was promoted three times in my first 3 years to my current level. I now run a branch office with 12 employees reporting directly to me. I am the youngest person in my company at my current position. I have spoken with my department executive and company president and they have agreed to pay for my MBA on a part time basis. The president of the company graduated from the same program I plan to enroll in.

I will have 2 very good letters of recommendation from my professional experience. I need a third letter and I wanted to know if it should come from someone outside of my professional career? I don't think letters from former professors are normally preferred but could it be a benefit due to my gpa?

I am a member of a professional networking group and I am active on the Public Relations and Education committees with this group.

I also do volunteer work for the American Cancer Society and United Way.

The one school I need to get into is the University of Illinois because I would be able to attend on a part time basis and still work at my current position. I will need this degree to continue to advance in my company to the levels I am capable of.

I expect to score between 650-700 on the gmat based on practice tests.

How much will my gpa impact being accepted? Is there anything I can do to strengthen my application? What are my chances of getting in to the University of Illinois?

Thanks for any help.