Hello!
I am a Marine Officer hoping to transition to a top MBA program next fall, at which point I will have 6 years experience. In particular, I am interested in Wharton, Kellogg, Duke, and possibly some others including UVA and Columbia.
My stats:
-2.6 GPA from Service Academy in International Relations (I know, terrible, but I am capable of explaining myself in the optional essay: had 3.5 before sudden death of parent, basically lost motivation, I do not plan to whine but I can detail how my perspective and outlook on my life goals have changed)
-750 GMAT on first attempt (Q47, V47...do I need to retake to improve quant? I think Q50 would be my ceiling, and I think getting a V47 again would be very difficult)
-Marine Infantry Officer: have been selected ahead of peers to assume more demanding assignments, I commanded and enhanced the performance of company of 280 Marines despite 70%+ personnel turnover, deployed to Europe and Africa, et al.)
-Despite a busy schedule, I attend graduate classes one night a week at an extension campus on base in an attempt to mitigate my poor GPA (wanted to prove I could succeed in a classroom environment vs. online programs, have completed 7 classes including one on finance for managers, 4.0 GPA thus far)
I am interested in applying R1/R2 this year.
Would appreciate any and all advice. I understand the importance of crafting a compelling narrative devoid of military jargon in my essays. It would be helpful to get some feedback to gauge whether I can realistically hope to get into a top-10 program with good execution of the application (not taking this for granted by any means).
I am a Marine Officer hoping to transition to a top MBA program next fall, at which point I will have 6 years experience. In particular, I am interested in Wharton, Kellogg, Duke, and possibly some others including UVA and Columbia.
My stats:
-2.6 GPA from Service Academy in International Relations (I know, terrible, but I am capable of explaining myself in the optional essay: had 3.5 before sudden death of parent, basically lost motivation, I do not plan to whine but I can detail how my perspective and outlook on my life goals have changed)
-750 GMAT on first attempt (Q47, V47...do I need to retake to improve quant? I think Q50 would be my ceiling, and I think getting a V47 again would be very difficult)
-Marine Infantry Officer: have been selected ahead of peers to assume more demanding assignments, I commanded and enhanced the performance of company of 280 Marines despite 70%+ personnel turnover, deployed to Europe and Africa, et al.)
-Despite a busy schedule, I attend graduate classes one night a week at an extension campus on base in an attempt to mitigate my poor GPA (wanted to prove I could succeed in a classroom environment vs. online programs, have completed 7 classes including one on finance for managers, 4.0 GPA thus far)
I am interested in applying R1/R2 this year.
Would appreciate any and all advice. I understand the importance of crafting a compelling narrative devoid of military jargon in my essays. It would be helpful to get some feedback to gauge whether I can realistically hope to get into a top-10 program with good execution of the application (not taking this for granted by any means).
