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Hi, my name is Sonny. I'm a Marine Officer looking to apply to several top 25 MBA programs next year. I recently took the GMAT and scored a 700, but I have my retake in two weeks, where I'll hopefully do a little better.

Based on several articles that I've read where analysts estimate the probability of applicants earning admission into top MBA programs, of course I can't help but notice that the "brand name" of an applicant's undergraduate alma mater seems to hold significant weight in his/her MBA application.

I understand that being a graduate of the most prestigious Ivy-caliber universities such as Penn, Princeton, Stanford or UChicago would set an applicant significantly ahead of his/her peers, followed by top Public Ivies such as UC-Berkeley, UCLA, UVA and Michigan.

My question is - how about the University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign (Non-Engineering)?

I understand Illinois most likely would rank behind a Michigan, Berkeley and UVA, but is it looked fairly favorably upon by admissions officers?

Just wondering. Trying to present the most complete and well rounded MBA application possible when I apply next year.

Thanks!

Very Respectfully,

Sonny

Let's put it this way - What you studied and how you performed in your undergrad is going to matter more than where you studied. Yes, if you have an Ivy League pedigree, it will highlight the competitive process you have gone through, and successfully, for which you will get some points. However, that's where it ends and the next document in the hands of adcom member is probably going to be your transcripts!

PrecisionEssay wrote:It's a good school, and known to be one. The question is: how did you do??

But anyhow, being a Marine officer is gonna help you out a LOT on your application. Exploit those Marine leadership stories to the max. Many school totally LOVE military leaders.

I'm pretty embarrassed about it, but I finished with a GPA slightly under a 3.0.

I literally spent 4 years of my life chasing the improbable dream of playing Big Ten football, meeting girls, and seizing every opportunity to expand my social horizons on a Big Ten campus.

And now I deeply regret it, because it's going to be an uphill battle to get into a graduate business program of my choice.

I know I only scored a 700 on the GMAT, but I know I'm capable of a 750+, hopefully it will mitigate the low GPA somewhat if I obtain such a score.

Hoping that a strong GMAT combined with a unique life story (raised by single mom in South Africa after father passed away), fluency in Mandarin + working proficiency in French, and experience as a Marine Officer will lead to a top MBA program taking a chance on me.