Please evaluate my profile

[pchun008]

Dear Clear Admit,

Hello! If you can, please advise me on the strength of my MBA application, detailed below:

1. undergrad gpa (B.A. History): 3.1 (Cumulative) 3.4 (Major). (I did score almost all 4.0's my last year of college, you can see that there is a healthy upward incline in my grade performance)
2. Studied abroad one year in Scotland- for history. I thought this would at least make a unique point
3. Target school: UCLA
3. GMAT score: Have not taken yet, but have been scoring consistently around 700
4. Extra Curricular: help start a non-profit, several years of volunteer teaching in low-income areas, church volunteering.
5. Other mentionables: 3 years college and city club rugby.
6. working four years in project management in the tech industry. (3 promotions) hoping to use MBA to make career change into

Please let me know if you can advise me on my candidacy for UCLA's MBA program. Thank you!

[Eliot]

Hello pchun008,

Thank you for your post!

Looking at a "snapshot" of Anderson's admissions stats, the profile for the Class of 2014 included the following: a GMAT 80% range of 660-750, an average GPA of 3.56 and 5.8 average years of work experience. This means that your relatively low GPA of 3.1 (and likely lack of quantitative coursework, given your history major) will not help you stand out in the admissions process. This lends more importance to scoring well (700+) on the GMAT. Remember, MBA programs will be looking to see that you can handle their rigorous quantitative coursework.

As b-schools tend to value social activities over solitary ones, your involvement in rugby will speak well for you. Community involvement is also appreciated in the admissions process; hence, any leadership you can highlight from your non-profit/volunteer work would enrich your application. Promotions are always a positive sign in terms of work experience; however, you will need to consider your accomplishments and impact when relaying this portion of your profile. Accounting for your direct management experience (size of teams you have led, quantified results you have achieved, etc.) would give the adcom a better idea of your abilities, potential for success and potential to contribute to the student community.

It looks like your goals were cut off in the post, but these will also be vital to your application-you need to present a clear sense of direction. As UCLA / Anderson cut down to one essay topic (i.e., "What are your short-term and long-term career goals, and how will an MBA from UCLA Anderson specifically help you achieve these goals?"), your goals will be all the more important for their application.

If you'd like to discuss your background, goals and/or fit with Anderson further, please contact us at [email protected].

[pchun008]

Thanks!

Really appreciate the info. I apologize that my short/long term goals were cut off, however, I want to make the jump from tech. to finance.

My short term goal: Equity Research Analyst
My long term goal: University Endowment (Investment) Manager

I was also thinking of also providing an alternative transcript by taking a math class or two in precalc or calc/stats to bolster my quant abilities (in addition to scoring well on the GMATs), would that be a good idea?

Thanks again for your reply.