Low GPA/Work Experience. Overwhelmed. Help please?

[jstrasen1]

My situation is as follows: BS in MGMT from an AACSB accredited state school in Illinois. LOW GPA (2.3). Last 30 credit hours of coursework, however, was a 3.6 GPA. GMAT score of 630. Military experience, but no post-grad work experience. I have the GI Bill, which should pay for nearly all of my MBA. I am open to move to any area in the United States to get my MBA. I am very very realistic and realize that due to my poor GPA, many schools will be ruled out. I am basically trying to get some help from some people that may be knowledgeable in this area in regards to what schools would potentially take me in. I obviously realize that the application process is a case by case basis, however I just wanted some insight as to which programs would be remotely feasible for my situation. Anybody that could help would be greatly appreciated, and if you have any further questions, please let me know and I'll do my best to fill you in on what I'm currently dealing with. Thanks for the help!

[money9111]

I think this is a question for the experts.... I've seen people be admitted with an incredibly high GMAT and a 2.3 GPA, but they also had work experience. I wonder what PrecisionEssay has to say. His advice is usually spot on.

[jstrasen1]

Thanks, I will continue to do research and see what I can come up with. Also, I am retaking the GMAT and actually studying this time. I am realistic and know I'm not going to get in a top 50 program or anything like that.I would just prefer any school that has AACSB accreditation. I'm lucky that I have the GI Bill, because cost/location of the school is really not an issue at this point.

[FutureWorks]

Hi,


The Application has a section that allows students to elaborate on anything that you feel is important for the admission committee to know while evaluating your candidature. It could be relating to academics or even your personal history. For example if standardized testing is not one of your strongest due to some factor then please use this place wisely to explain that. You might need to prove to the admission committee that your GPA won't be an issue. If you can tell in your application about any extra classes or courses you undertook in the subjects that you did not do well. This would highlight your zeal to learn and improve and in turn improve your low GPA situation.
One of the prerequisites is having significant work experience. Generally candidates have around 4-5 years of full time experience in spite of several term time projects or jobs; so you may be competing with other candidates who have 4-5 years of full time experience and have started significant initiatives at college.
Hence, we would advise you to gain some full time work experience before you decide to apply for an MBA.
All the very best!

[Jon@Admissionado]

Well, like everything, it depends
Depends mainly first of all what you actually DID in the Military. Military candidates do preeetty darn well, and better I would say than the normal population, but still, the more interesting and difficult tasks you had, especially in leadership, the more it will help you out.

My advice to you: Work as hard as you can for a higher GMAT. I mean here is your chance to really show them that you can work hard and kick butt academically, so take it! I mean if you can pull a 700 or more, you can reasonably apply to basically any school out of the top five.

PS - Military experience IS work experience.

[sunman]

Well, like everything, it depends
Depends mainly first of all what you actually DID in the Military. Military candidates do preeetty darn well, and better I would say than the normal population, but still, the more interesting and difficult tasks you had, especially in leadership, the more it will help you out.

My advice to you: Work as hard as you can for a higher GMAT. I mean here is your chance to really show them that you can work hard and kick butt academically, so take it! I mean if you can pull a 700 or more, you can reasonably apply to basically any school out of the top five.

PS - Military experience IS work experience.

Jon, you're saying a 700+ and a 2.3 from a state school with military experience is a reasonable profile for any school in the top 5?

I'm not challenging you, you're the expert, not me, but I have a 730, a 2.84 from a Public Ivy (University of Illinois), and 3 years of Marine Officer experience (recently selected for Captain), including a deployment in Afghanistan leading a team of Army soldiers and civilian contractors.

I'm not even thinking about the Big 3 (Stanford/HBS/Wharton), and I feel like a real underdog for my dream school - Northwestern Kellogg.

[Jon@Admissionado]

I am. It depends of course a bit on the military experience you are talking about, but in your case yes, you can apply to Kellogg with hopes of getting in. Also keep in mind, that you probably have a heck of a lot better stories than most of the other folks out there. Despite your 2.3 from a state school, you have an amazing GMAT and lots of other things going for you. Nobody has a "perfect profile" and neither do you. But you do have a strong one. So now, just choose a few other schools to apply to and go for it!

[sunman]

I am. It depends of course a bit on the military experience you are talking about, but in your case yes, you can apply to Kellogg with hopes of getting in. Also keep in mind, that you probably have a heck of a lot better stories than most of the other folks out there. Despite your 2.3 from a state school, you have an amazing GMAT and lots of other things going for you. Nobody has a "perfect profile" and neither do you. But you do have a strong one. So now, just choose a few other schools to apply to and go for it!

2.3 was the original poster. To be fair, I have a GPA that rounds up to a 2.9 (I heard it's acceptable to round up to the tenth haha) and it's from a upper tier state school

But I really feel that 2.84 is a pretty atrocious GPA. I'm retaking the GMAT to make up some more ground for it.

[Jon@Admissionado]

You see. You just gained .6 on your GPA!!!