Dear irashaughnessy,
Thanks for your post!
It sounds like you have an interesting background as a Peace Corps volunteer applying from Ghana - this is clearly a plus. I presume that by the time you matriculate you will have served two years with Peace Corps, plus the 1.5 years of work at the IT recruiting firm - for a total of 3.5 years of full-time experience? If so, I think this element of your profile shows some real promise.
From an academic standpoint, however, things are clearly less than stellar at the moment. It sounds like you went to a decent public university, but a GPA of 2.6 is well below the average GPA for students who are admitted to top b-schools (often closer to 3.3-3.6). While I'd need to know what you studied and where you attended, I suspect that in all cases there will be some serious reservations on the part of the adcom in light of this GPA.
Despite the negatives surrounding your GPA, there are a few steps you might investigate to remedy the situation:
1) Score very highly on the GMAT (e.g. 720+). This will allow you to paint a "that was then, this is now" picture with the adcom - stressing that while you didn't perform as well as you could have in college, your recent GMAT result is a better predictor of your academic aptitude and readiness for a return to the classroom. Just to be clear on this point, I should state that in order to compensate for your below-average GPA you will need an
above-average GMAT (the numbers may vary between Duke and USC, so be sure you are familiar with each programs averages in this regard).
2) Consider taking some outside coursework in business foundations courses like calculus, statistics, accounting and economics (via the web is fine) to build an alternative transcript. Get A's in these classes. The UCLA Extension School offers most of these online. Of course, the nature of courses you take will depend on the details of your ugrad track record (what you studied, where you struggled, etc), but that's something I can't advise you on with the limited information you've provided. The key with building an alternative transcript is to be able to make the argument that you are a better student today (straight A's) than you were in college.
3) Craft an optional essay for each of the schools that you can include in your applications. Use the essay to explain your poor performance in ugrad (the fact that you worked part-time throughout, over-extended yourself, etc). Again, I'd need to know more about your ugrad history to help guide you here.
As to your specific question about whether or not a 680/690 will cut it at schools like Duke, UNC, Georgetown et al - it's hard to say definitively without knowing the other variables at play here (quality of recommendations you will have, type of work experience/leadership you'll exhibit in the essays, extent of XCs, etc). On the surface, however, I'd say the odds of making the cut at Duke with a 2.60 GPA and a 680 on the GMAT are indeeed rather slim. While those odds may improve as you move down your list, I still would strongly advise that you consider taking the steps I've outlined above to ensure that you are effectively addressing the GPA weakness.
Contact Clear Admit directly if you'd like to speak about this issue further with one of our counselors. (
[email protected])
Best of luck,
Graham
