Profile Evaluation - Unique Situation of GPA/GMAT/Exp

[blackhawk313]

Hi Stacy/Linda -

I wanted to get your opinion on my situation and whether my outlook is realistic:

I began college at a fairly respected state university and did very well that year (3.9 GPA) and then transferred to a top undergrad. There, I double majored and wrote a thesis, studied abroad, built great relationships with professors, and had phenomenal extracurriculars but have an odd transcript. I dropped a couple of classes resulting in Ws, failed one, and my GPA over 3 years was in the low 3s. I took the GMAT once for a scholarship program, and took it blind and got a score in the upper 600s. I recently retook it (about a year later) and got an 800 after studying for about a month. My hope is that this would offset my GPA woes and ugly transcript. The only other thing is that I suffered a major injury while in undergrad and some of my academic troubles came from that. I'm not sure how I would include that in any apps going forward.

In terms of experience though, I spent my summers interning at 2 different bulge bracket investment banks, got some great, live experience and then landed a full time gig at a top consulting firm (McK/BCG) and plan to spend 3 full years there with a 3rd year in a up and coming office abroad. I decided to take a year off as I felt very burned out and am going to be interning with a very large NGO in the Middle East/North Africa for a few months before beginning full time.

I feel very blessed to have gotten the opportunities that I have and with that, my expectations remain high. I would love to attend a school such as HBS, Stanford, MIT Sloan, or INSEAD. Is that going to be realistic for me? I know I'm at least 1 or 2 years away from applying, but I want to do whatever I can once I'm on that job to put myself in a strong position to attend a great business school and ideally have my firm pay the way.

Thank you for your help!

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear blackhawk313,

Based on the profile you posted, I don't think a top MBA program is inconceivable for you. How competitive you ultimately are will greatly depend on the work experience you gain prior to applying, the extracurriculars (i.e., community activities, hobbies, etc) you participate in during this time, and the strength of your overall application package (essays, recommendations, interview, resume). Your GMAT score is only good for 5 years, so be mindful of that in looking at the timing of your applications. If you want to use your current 800 and not have to retake, then you will want to be sure and apply within that 5 year window. Over the next 3 years or so, you will want to gain quality experience and seek out leadership opportunities when appropriate. You can also pursue leadership opportunities outside the office to boost that aspect of your application. When you are getting ready to apply, you do want to apply to a good mix of schools, not all top tier programs, to ensure you will be in business school. As for the firm paying, that is something you can certainly look into when the time is right, but never something to expect.

Good luck,
Lisa