Lost in the dark. What is my potential?

[aturpening]

I just took the GMAT a week ago and I scored a 710 (92nd %) with a 38V (83rd %), a 48Q (83rd %), and a 6.0 AWA (90th %). It was the first time I took the test, and I studied for about 6 months to get it, so I don't imagine I could get much higher.

My undergrad was at Western Michigan University in Electrical Engineering with a GPA of 2.8.

I've got 5 years of experience in engineering, where I've worked my way up to become a Design Manager with the Department of Defense. I've gone to get my license in Electrical Engineering as well as many sustainable certifications. I also have a security clearance.

I volunteer extensively for Engineers Without Borders, where I'm project lead designing a water distribution project in El Salvador, and ACE mentoring, where I help high school students develop architectural and engineering projects. I'm 27 years old.

I'm looking at going to UCLA for my MBA, and it's been my #1 choice for some time.

I'm wondering if I'm looking in the right level of MBA programs, or if I should be looking higher or lower. The only thing that I can see holding me back is my GPA, but I'm wondering how much it may hold me back. I've been out of school for a while, so will it not have as much of an impact? Also, I was looking at Harvard, or Wharton, and noticed their average GMAT scores are right around 710 also.

Any advice for someone in the dark right now?

[Bryant@VeritasPrep]

Your profile is definitely top 10 material, and you should be competitive at Anderson. As for Harvard and Wharton, I agree that your undergrad performance may come into play and moreso, your undergrad institution. Western Michigan is a top 100 school and has a very high acceptance rate, whereas Harvard and Wharton generally want to see undergraduate prep from a highly selective top-tiered school. Having said that, they also love leadership experience, so if you can spin a fascinating story around what you have done at the DOD and how you have been a top performer, who's to say? Perhaps it will resonate with the committee. You have been out of school for awhile, which generally makes your undergrad record less important to the adcom. Hope you are encouraged by all this.

[Trojan4Life]

Conrgrats on the 710! I also took the GMAT last week and got the exact same split; 48Q (83rd %) and 38V (83rd %), but got a 700 (90th %)....go figure. Also got a 6.0 on the AWA. I'm also curious to see where this score would be competitive. Are you applying for this fall? From what I've read, our scores should be competitive and in the range of all the top schools.

Bryant, if you don't mind me asking, what do you think my chances are at UCLA, Chicago, Northwestern or NYU part-time programs? Those are the schools I'm thinking about applying to this fall. Qualifications:

- 3.4 GPA from USC (business major with emphasis in corporate finance)
- 3 years work experience as a senior consultant at a CPA/public accounting firm
- Minimal volunteer/extracurriculars during and post-college
- Two good letters of recommendation from my current employer

Thanks!

[aturpening]

Bryant,

That's very encouraging news. I plan on applying for the Fall of 2011, so I hopefully will have some time to pull together some good personal essays.

Here are a couple of points I was thinking about emphasizing:

1. I graduated in four years from WMU, where the average graduation rate in engineering was 4.5 to 5.
2. My core curriculum GPA is much higher than my overall GPA. I did much better in my engineering classes than I did in my general education classes, go figure.

Do you think I should spend my time on justifying how I did in the past with these points, or should I instead concentrate on how far I've come from that foundation?

Also, I'm currently looking at the part-time program at UCLA. I've heard from various sources that the part-time programs don't offer as many perks (Corporate executive face-time, seminars, career consulting) as full-time programs. Based on these perks, and keeping everything else aside such as financial obligations and location, which type of program would you recommend?


Trojan4Life,

As I mention above, I'll be applying for fall of 2011. I'm hoping I've got a shot. Sounds like we both do.

[aveekguha]

Agree with the above. I would really push the Engineers without Borders angle. Lot of engineers, lot of people that do volunteer work, but I've not seen that many candidates that have applied their craft to pro-bono work -- I think this can be a point of differentiation for you. B-schools are always looking for candidates that are interesting to other candidates as well -- this fits the bill for me.

Good luck!
Aveek Guha, President, www.mbadaycamp.com