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Profile Evaluation

by coolsd20 » Thu Jul 14, 2011 1:17 pm
Hi,

I'm interested in going to business school in a few years(F2014 start @29), but would like my profile evaluated to see where I stand for top schools: HBS,Stanford,Kellog,etc. I would probably be looking at consulting/general management path.

Undergrad: 2.75/4 GPA
Graduate: 3.68/4 GPA
GMAT(practice): 740
Exp.: 3 yrs. in IT, and 6 months. in consulting (so when I apply, it will be 5+yrs.)
Extra Curricular: co-founder/coo of a nonprofit, board member of another nonprofit
LOR: I've managers lined up for this already.

Do I stand a good chance of getting in? What else can I do to improve my application? My weakest link is my undergrad GPA.

Thanks,

Sam
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by essaysnark » Thu Jul 14, 2011 4:23 pm
Hi coolsd20,

If you get your GMAT to the 740 level, then you should be OK with the graduate GPA even with the weakness of the undergrad record.

Some people may tell you that you'll be 'too old' to try for HBS at 29, however we've seen plenty of folks be successful there if they have a strong enough profile with powerful stories of accomplishment to demonstrate leadership.

GSB is the wildcard; you'll need to have more than just a standard profile to get in there. They care a lot more about you as a person than some other schools and they are obviously incredibly selective. Make sure you do a lot of research on all the schools, but Stanford in particular, so you honestly know what they're about. Nobody can tell you if your profile is going to work at Stanford (or any of these schools really, but especially not at Stanford) based only on a list of test scores and work experience. It does come down to how you present yourself in the essays, what your strengths are, why you want an MBA. The ECs of your nonprofit work are probably going to provide nice material for the essays so it sounds like you have a lot to work with.

All those schools are obviously great for consulting. "General management" is not a career path so just keep that in mind as you further define your goals. Not sure why you're delaying this for a few years; Stanford and Harvard would be open to your profile today, with the 3.5 years of work experience. If you're thinking that you need to work as a consultant for longer, then we're not sure we'd agree. If you've already been doing it for 6 months, then if you apply this fall to matriculate in Fall 2012, you'd have over 1.5 years in it in total. And if you want to stay in consulting as your post-MBA goal, why not go do the MBA sooner rather than later? Maybe there's something else going on for you with the timing of it all. The one caveat with what we just said is that Kellogg does prefer more work experience, though certainly 3.5+ (which you currently have, right?) puts you in the running there, too.

The good news is you've got eveyrthing lined up and the basic qualifications are there; provided the GMAT does turn out high enough, you certainly will have a ticket to play the game. How the game turns out cannot be predicted without more information (we'd need to know you better, learn your stories, etc. - probably out of scope for an exchange on an internet forum).

Sounds like you're on the right track!

Best of luck,
EssaySnark
EssaySnark has MBA application guides for HBS, Stanford, Booth, Wharton, NYU and pretty much any other school you can name - including a fully revised and expanded 2015 Columbia essay guide!
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by Stacy Blackman » Mon Jul 25, 2011 7:17 pm
Hi coolsd20,

Your undergraduate record will raise a red flag to some admissions teams. I recommend you read this case study about a candidate with a sub 3.0 GPA who was accepted into both Columbia and Chicago Booth:

https://www.stacyblackman.com/comprehens ... ies/case5/

I am not sure which graduate degree you received, but you will also need to answer "Why this MBA program", particularly after having already received a graduate level degree.

Regarding your leadership experience, this is an area that admissions teams will really focus on.

I hope this was of help.

Cheers,

Conrad and the Stacy Blackman Team
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by coolsd20 » Tue Jul 26, 2011 9:15 am
The reason for my low GPA is that I was very indecisive (naive as well) in what I wanted to do. I switched around my major a couple of times and then had to play catchup. In the end, I graduated with an undergrad major that I didn't really use at all. After working for a yr, I decided to do a Master's in what I actually want to do. Then I graduated and started working in consulting technology consulting practice early this yr. Now, I want to advance further, and the best way is through an MBA. Also, due to my non-profit obligations, I decided to push it out a bit. Hope this clears the picture a bit.
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