Profile Evaluation Request

[TDMcGraw]

Lisa,

I am new to the forums and am currently in the process of applying to Northwestern and Wharton. Will you please evaluate my profile and let me know if I have an outside shot of admittance into either program?

Thanks!

GMAT - 650 (46V, 35Q), Skipped AWA (reasons below)

Demographic -

Caucasian Male, 32 years old, U.S. Citizen, currently live in Jacksonville, FL

Undergraduate -

Graduate 12/08 from University of Florida (Go Gators!) - Warrington College of Business, 3.7 GPA, Cum Laude

Work Experience -

10.5 years at current employer, Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL, 3.5 years at other businesses (mostly I.T. related)

-Currently work in I.T. as a systems administrator
-Project management experience ranging from small month long implementations to multi-year multi-million dollar nationwide implementations
-Budgeting experience for planning and forecasting short and long term expenditures
-Management experience handling contract and vendor staff

Extracurricular -

Married, father of 2 children so not much free time after a full time job and going to school!
Tennis - play in local Men's A League
Krav Maga - Level 2 student at local Martial Arts academy

Goal -

My ultimate goal is to achieve my MBA (hopefully from a top tier business school, but I am currently pre-accepted to the University of Florida MBA program if my profile does not fit with one of the top schools) and then begin a fast track management program in a retail business (have been very impressed by presentations given to UF undergrads by executive's of Dick's Sporting Goods, Home Depot and Lowe's).

Target Schools-

I have completed the initial application to Northwestern and have begun the process of applying to Wharton. I am most interested in the former choice as the program is 12 months long and would limit my time of unemployment (my current salary is the $80's and I would prefer to minimize the lost income but fully expect to be out of work while pursuing my MBA).

GMAT Question-

My initial goal was to only apply to the UF MBA program and having met with a counselor I was told that the AWA portion was not even a consideration for acceptance to UF, so I skipped it. I don't know how much weight is placed on the AWA from other schools so I believe I will need to retake the GMAT in the near future. I am confident I can bring my Quantitative score up (I didn't study as much as I could have and still managed a 650 total) but I am afraid I will gain some there and lose some in Verbal.

Thanks in advance and please let me know if I missed any vital piece of information.

-Dave

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear Dave,

You will need to retake the GMAT as most schools do not waive the AWA. If you can increase your total score at least 30 points, you will be in a more competitive position for Northwestern and Wharton. A 650 is low for these schools as it is outside the mid-80% range. With a 700+ GMAT, you put yourself in the best position and will need to maximize the essays, resume and interview to sell your candidacy.

Best of luck,
Lisa