Profile Review Please? (Odd GPA Situation)

[hmmmidk220]

Questions:

What's the highest tier school that I have a decent shot at?

Post MBA Career Goals- Most likely Corp Finance, but flexible

GMAT
HAVE NOT TAKEN

Gender- Male
Age-28 Not a Minority

Went to a state school right out of high school and failed horribly for a few semesters, very low GPA (highest grade B+, lots of F's).

Worked in a restaurant after that , went from bus boy to manager, worked for about 7-8 years. While in the later years of work, went to community college for nine classes, then UNC - Greensboro for 18 more classes.
Those 27 classes after I went back to school were all straight A's, so technically I graduated form UNC-Greensboro with a 4.0 GPA in Economics, which is what employers see and what is on my resume. I assume that any Bizz School will want to see all transcripts from any school I went (it seems to be the case), so there is no hiding the old bad grades.

Since graduating, I've worked in a corp finance job for about a year. Have NOT taken GMAT, I'm in the early process of thinking about an MBA.

Thanks for any thoughts!

[MargaretStrother]

Hi there "Hmmm IDK" (love that name...)
Interesting challenge you're posing for us! The key, in my opinion, will be that GMAT -- 720 and up should be your target, and from what I'm seeing here, that's probably realistic for you. The thing about a low GPA: it either results from maturity problems or from lower analytical ability. A high GMAT will narrow the schools' concern to the first option, maturity.

You have done excellent coursework since your shaky undergraduate start, and built an upward arc in your grades, so you can make a strong case for improved maturity. A super-high GMAT, both verbal and quant, will provide the support your case needs. That frees you up to focus your application essays and recommendations on showcasing your other assets: job growth, leadership, goals, etc.

What top b-schools can you target, assuming a best-case scenario GMAT? Many top programs are forgiving of slow starts, although Harvard is probably off your list, and Wharton tends to do what Harvard does. So once you have a GMAT score, you can start exploring schools using that as your basis. Visit each school, visit the admissions office, talk to them about your GPA issues. No admissions representative is likely to say "forget about it" in so many words, but you'll sense that some admissions representatives are giving you more tangible advice than others. This will help you get a sense of who's interested and what you might need to do to win them over.

So, not a lot of concrete feedback at this stage -- get that GMAT out of the way! Then we'll have a better idea of where you stand. Feel free to reach out for a free consultation, by the way, where we can go into these issues in more depth. https://www.stacyblackman.com/contact/

Good luck!
Margaret Strother