Please review: Elite MBA without the elite GPA?

[speedyb09]

After thinking about this for a long time, I am just now starting the process, and I am a bit terrified to say the least! I would appreciate any help I can get on making this a believable dream. With the right work and advice, I might be able to get the subjective stuff down [essays, recommendations, etc]. I am incredibly worried about the objective scores [GPA, GMAT].

Firstly, I am attracted to Stanford GSB because of their dual degree program to get a MA in Education. I heard about this first in 2008 from an alum and have been dreaming about it ever since because I truly believe it combines my interests. There aren't many other schools out there who provide this dual degree, but there are other schools in which I would love to get an MBA at [Harvard, Booth, Wharton, Kellogg, Ross etc.] to get my career moving faster and because I have done enough research to see I can combine my interests there. I know I am aiming high based on my previous GPA and the impending doom of the GMAT.

Below is my profile -- again, I am in the very beginning of this process so there are missing pieces.
Demographics:
26 year old female, biracial (black/white), originally from southern California now living in Indiana. Started working at the age of 14 to fund education and entered college as a first-generation college student.

College:
Harvard University, A.B. Sociology, class of 2009. Spanish Language Citation. Rockefeller Fellowship Recipient. Phillips Brooks House Association Program Management Certificate. Additional coursework in psychology, government, and economics. Walked on to the Harvard track and field team and committed 25+ hours/week to the program, graduated with two school records and a number of awards. Worked 6-10 hours/week term-time to self-finance college education. President of a social community service club on campus and student head of two academic athletic committees. Summer experiences: volunteer English teacher in Indonesia, Assistant Director of Admissions at high school for struggling students, Harvard-Yale/Oxford-Cambridge track meet [and long jump champion], first class of BOLD interns at Google.

The numbers:
Undergrad GPA - 3.3, GMAT - haven't taken [well, I took it 5 years ago on a whim without really studying for it, and got a 540. I am not the best test-taker, but I do hope that I could at least get 100+ more points on it if I studied and prepared this time around]. Now you might be able to see why I am a bit terrified.

Post-College experience:
My senior year I received a job offer from Google, but declined because I also was the recipient of the Michael Rockefeller Fellowship, given to a handful of Harvard seniors every year. I used this to volunteer a year in South Africa, where I did community development work in rural townships with orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDs. While there I helped an NGO assess their community impact, created their marketing materials, and also assisted in the community development work on a day-to-day basis.
On my own, I created the Umhlaba Wami Photography Project to allow these children to tell their story through visual media while also acquiring English language skills, developing confidence, and learning life skills. Photos were exhibited in Pietermaritzburg National Museum and featured in the Natal Witness. Taught classes on a weekly basis to ten high school children, developed curriculum, negotiated with school and community administrators, and developed socialization plan for community awareness.

Work Experience:
Started at Google in 2010 as a People Operations Rotational Associate. Have worked in an HR generalist role for YouTube, an internal communications role, and a Benefits specialist role. In this time I have managed global projects, created marketing campaigns and managed external relationships. I have worked on both internal and external projects that are visible and impactful within the company, and graduated from the rotational program. Come next September, I will have been working full-time at Google for three years.
Along with my primary roles mentioned above, I have volunteered on projects on other teams that lie closer to my interests. I have worked with the YouTube EDU team [content curation], the Apps for EDU team [site development], University Programs [recruiting] and now a marketing team [PR/partnerships].
Unfortunately, due to a family situation I currently work remotely and that has greatly limited my ability to have internal mobility within the company and join other teams full-time. But, I will also say that the fact they let someone as junior as me work remotely, and also get promoted while remote, is a testament to my work ethic and ability to collaborate and lead teams even when not in an office.
Overall, I have had quite the range of experiences while working at Google, which has made me very flexible but also has not given me a focused skill set.

Extra-curricular:
Continued learning: I have recently started to appreciate the opportunities provided by MOOCs and have taken both a Behavioral Economics class from Duke and a Creativity class from Stanford in the last month just for fun. I passed both.
Public Speaking: Within the last two years I have done a few speaking engagements, from keynotes even most recently doing a TEDx talk.
Photography: I volunteer my photography passion to take family photos at local hospitals during the holiday seasons as well as in the NICU on fathers and mothers day.
Athletics: I miss being on the track team at school, so I have volunteered as a track coach at a local high school and will be an official assistant coach at a middle school next year to get young children engaged in safe and fun afterschool activities. I have also taken up CrossFit, and have done a few competitions.
Community Outreach: I started making healthy food bags for the homeless with local resource pamphlets to give out. I have gotten other church groups involved since, and it will progress into being able to give out hot foods along with weather-appropriate clothing in a monthly downtown event for homeless outreach. Also getting my church group to start making baskets of supplies for parents staying in the NICU with their children.
Education: Alongside my full-time job, I will start an internship that will give me exposure to local schools and other nonprofits, with a focus on communications such as blogging, media outreach, video production, infographics, marketing, and/or client relationships. Also contributing to a board in the community working towards building an educational outreach program that would bring Harvard alumni into local schools.

Why Business School:
I believe that there are aspects of the education industry that should be, and can be, run like a business and done successfully. From people management [which I have learned a lot from by being a part of the HR team and a company rated the best to work for] to being able to appropriately control finances and engage outside stakeholders. Also, this will open a flood gate of opportunity when it comes to changing careers. I currently work in HR, and I don't want to get stuck in a vertical that I am not interested in, and that might limit job opportunities in the future.

After business school goal: My long term goal is to come day open up a school/program, or a system of schools, that can provide the wonders of a private school education [personalized attention, mentors, field trips] to children no matter the social situation they were born into. I understand that knowing all facets of running an organization, from the marketing to the accounting to the negotiating, is important in this endeavor.
And on a more candid note, sometimes I am not sure what my direct next steps are due to the fact that I have a diverse set of interests and I am fascinated with the alignment of the corporate world with social responsibility. I would also love to come back to Google with a new set of refined skills [and therefore more mobility opportunities], but can also see myself working at Nike on the Better World Campaigns.

Sorry that this was long, and I have purged out all of my thoughts and ideas at you in a desperate plea for advice. I would love anything you have!

[MBAApply]

First of all, you have an incredibly interesting history. You have a strong profile (strong pedigree: Harvard + Google), and a ton of raw material to draw from that will make for compelling essays and interviews. I'm sure you know that, especially when a number of your Harvard classmates went and forged a more traditional if not cookie cutter path towards b-school (consultants/bankers, no full-time volunteer work like you have had in Africa).

So I sense that you're basically wondering whether the above can overcome your GPA?

With your profile, virtually any of the top b-schools will be forgiving of your GPA (and 3.3 isn't that bad) so long as your GMAT is in range. The only exceptions are HBS and Stanford -- they tend to put a premium on GPAs because they can.

Having said that, I think you should still apply to HBS and Stanford, because you have a strong enough profile that there's still a chance that even though they like higher GPAs, they will still give you a serious look. My hunch is that HBS will likely show you more love than Stanford for two reasons: Stanford puts a higher premium on raw stats (GMAT/GPA) than HBS does (and HBS tends to be more forgiving when it comes to GMAT/GPA, especially GMATs, if they find the applicant compelling in terms of leadership experience, which you have plenty of). Secondly, you're a Harvard alum. Schools like to keep it in the family.

Now, the ONE thing you really owe it to yourself to focus on is probably the one thing you dread the most: the GMAT.

Crush it. You can do it. Go into beast mode. I'm sure there's going to be a ton of admissions consultants clamoring to tell you that they can help you overcome low GMATs, low GPAs blah blah blah with compelling essays. However, you won't have to be in that position if your GMAT is strong.

Spend your time and effort on the GMAT, because my hunch is that is what will hold you back. Judging from your profile, I doubt you will write crappy essays. You have more than enough raw material that whether you work with a consultant or not, the quality of your applications will unlikely be the issue (and chances are, either way they're going to be strong). In plain English, it also comes down to money: if you have limited funds and/or are only willing to spend a certain amount on application prep, I think your money is better spent on GMAT prep because that's more likely to be your weakest link.

A 680 will likely put you in striking distance without huge concerns, but to be safe, shoot for a 720+. That may sound like a tall order if you hate standardized tests (I can sympathize), but do whatever you can, knowing that in your case it's likely to be the biggest hurdle for you.

In your case, spending money on GMAT prep to boost that score will improve your candidacy; spending money on consultants is more an insurance policy in your case (making sure that you don't screw up your essays).

Good luck!

[Jon@Admissionado]

You have soooooo much amazing stuff in your profile, and such a great story! Try not to fret tooooo much. Yes you do have to have more than a 550 to get into Stanford, but just take your time and keep hacking away at it to get the highest score you can. Maybe you can do it next month, maybe you can do it in time for R2, maybe it will take you until next year. But there is no rush. You really have a very fantastic and very complete profile with a great story, so you have a shot at the best schools. So just do what you can to get that GMAT score, and if it doesn't work out, just shrug your shoulders and have another go!

Eventually, you can also think of applying through the Consortium, given your background and community service: https://www.cgsm.org

Hopes this helps you dispel some of your worries!

[PrepMBA.AlexLeventhal]

First of all, a 3.3 gpa is far from a disaster, and I've had Harvard undergrad clients get into HBS and Wharton with that gpa. Stanford might be tougher. And perhaps there was a positive trend in your gpa as you finished your undergraduate?

But second, don't be so afraid of the GMAT as that will only add pressure. Take your time with the exam. Apply Round 2 if necessary. Get a personal tutor for the quant if a prep course is not helping you move the needle enough. And don't obsess on getting a 700 as so many do. Even a 680 could get you into a top 10 school.

Many folks out there applying go into the process believing that is must be H/S/W or bust. That is silly. The top 10-12 is filled with smart, passionate folks who will earn great money, lead organizations and be there as life long friends. You already have Harvard on your resume, so focus on educational fit over rankings. Yale hosts a great Education Leadership Conference every year:
https://mba.yale.edu/MBA/students/life_s ... nces.shtml

And Columbia has a fabulous ed school....

So don't worry!

Alex

[MBAPrepAdvantage]

You have such a strong background with a top undergraduate degree as well as coming from two underrepresented applicant segments that you would be accepted with a lower score than the average applicant would need.

So do the best you can on the GMAT. Leverage whatever resources necessary (test preparation company, online software, etc.) to get the best score possible and then prepare the best application.

Good luck,