MBA 2011 - Planning Strategy? please help me reviewing this

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Hi,
I am planning to apply for MBA this fall 2011.
Quick Background about me:

1: College GPA: 3.0 from UCLA... (um, but there were personal family reason I will explain)
Q1: should I go take additional courses at UCLA extension to boost my GPA?
Q2: Would the fact I past the CPA (certified public accountant) test with only one try in 6 months while working fulltime helping much with my poor college GPA situation?


2: Work Experience: 4 years /5 counting internship but with little to none outstanding accomplishments

Since I don't have a great profile on GPA or Work, I am planning to focus on GMAT and Outside work services;

Choice A: go on a mission for 6 months; I will be visiting and meeting with different Chinese business people while teaching English in China. (I am a Chinese)

Choice B: Initiate a community service project that will benefit my local community
(I have been very involved with my undergrad community service committee and served as fundraising director on the committee. As for now, I also volunteer at a tutoring project associated with LAJCC (Los Angeles Junior Counsel Committee). However, I haven't hold any leadership position since college

Q3: Which choice would help me more with MBA admission ? (For choice A, I will have to quite my work)


Lastly, due to my poor GPA, how much works (how outstanding I need to be in other area) to still have a chance with top tier MBA schools?

Thank you so much for your help!
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by paulsbodine » Thu Jan 20, 2011 8:49 pm
MBAwannabe10,

Q1: Yes, you should consider doing that especially for courses in which you earned a D or lower grade or any quant type courses where you earned a C or lower.
Q2: It is one piece of evidence that together with several other pieces of evidence might offset your GPA. But the best way to offset your GPA is to totally destroy the GMAT.
Q3: The Chinese mission doesn't seem unusual or high-impact enough to justify quitting your job. Much better would be continuing your career and starting some community organization on your own that you grow by adding other volunteers and then achieving some real impact through the organization. If you start now you could have enough of a track record to impress.
Q4: Depends on what you mean by top-tier but your GPA and lack of "outstanding accomplishments" at work will make any top-tier school difficult unless you do something about them.

Good luck,
Paul Bodine
Author, "Great Applications for Business School," "Perfect Phrases for Business School Acceptance," "Perfect Phrases for Letters of Recommendation"
https://www.paulsbodine.com/
[email protected]
(858) 869-1959