Profile evaluation

[MCM]

Age: 28
College: Endicott College-Beverly, MA
Graduate: May 2010
Major: B.S. Business Administration
GPA: 3.65(see note below)

GMAT: 710


Work:

2001-Present: Military. I am enlisted in the Coast Guard and am in charge of the engineering department at my unit. Have been in leadership position for several years.


Strengths:

Analytical skills, leadership. Have received several prestigious awards in the service for my leadership and management ability.


Career Goals:

Interested in pursuing my MBA in finance. Ultimately would like to work for the government on the civilian side.


Leadership:

2004-06: Assistant Engineering Petty Officer at my previous unit.
2007-09: Assistant Engineering Petty Officer at my current unit. In charge of 14 person Engineering department
2009: Recognized as Engineer of the Year for all Coast Guard land units throughout the entire U.S.
2004: First non-Air Force member in history to receive Levitow Award as outstanding leader in Airman Leadership School.


additional:
extensive volunteer background-clean up projects, big brothers big sisters, etc.



Issues:

My main issue is my GPA. The GPA posted above is only from my current school. I originally attended classes 11 years ago and did horrible. Since entering the military in 2001 I have attended three different schools while on Active Duty(and dealing with transfers). My GPA during this time is around a 3.4-3.5 cumulative. Adding in my first year GPA i'd be lucky to be at a 3.0.

I believe I have a fair amount of management experience and have repeatedly shown proficiency as a leader. Even though I have a decent GMAT score do I have a shot at any of the top programs with my GPA? My first year was horrible(1.1 GPA) but i've done well ever since while working full-time. Can this be explained away or am I just screwed?

thanks,

Carter

[Scottie@VeritasPrep]

Even if your overall GPA is a little low, your high GMAT and strong leadership experience will be assets. It helps that your grades have trended up because that will be easier to explain in your application. My only concern is work experience. Has your military experience been mostly full-time? If so, you should be fine. Most schools like to see at least a couple of years of full-time work experience before students begin a top level MBA program.

[MCM]

Good morning,

Thank you very much for the feedback. My entire time in the Coast Guard has been full-time. My other question is concerning my graduation time. While I have plenty of leadership experience at work I have been completing my degree while working. As such I will have approximately one year of work experience after graduation when I'd start my MBA even though I will have had over 9 years experience in the Coast Guard at that time. Is this an issue?

Carter