Entrepreneurial Activity, Low GPA Top School / Profile Eval

Launched September 22, 2008
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Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2009 8:20 pm
Location: Greece
GMAT Score:700
Hi all,

My name is Galinos Giaglis and I am from Greece (25 yrs old). Currently, I am planning to apply to 3 Top US MBA programs for matriculation in 2013. I am looking to pursue an MBA because I have been in the family business running operations for the last 3 years (growing within the group) and am I very interested into getting the social network in addition to a true management experience that will help me excel in the venture capital world. My experience in VC and entrepreneurship lies already in operating 2 companies that are providing the cash in our group and have also started 2 small companies, for which I sold 50% and I am on the board directors as member.

Unfortunately, my low GPA (due to unfortunate family reasons that had me back and forth in Greece) has always been something that scared me and discouraged me from applying, but finally I built up the courage to face it and try to pursue my dream to attend one of the three top schools. My goal is to attend either Harvard Business School, Mit Sloan, or Yale SOM. Below you will find my profile in an easy to ready format

Profile:
GMAT - 700 (90%), Q49 (83%), V36 (79%), AWA 5.0 (57%) (dated on 7/8/2009)
UGrad - BSc in Engineering, Systems Science & Engineering, Minor Economics - University of Pennsylvania, GPA 2.46 (Class 2008)
Work Experience - 48 months (by September 2013) includes CEO in Advertising Agency with (3.5 mil turnover) (12 months), Senior VP of Proj Development (Renewable Energy investor), BoD in #3 retail watch e-shop in Greece, BoD in Couponcity - leading coupons provider for Greece

Extra Curricular

Active participant in OpenCoffee in Greece (young entrepreneur club), Paralaxi (a non-profit organization for changing Thessaloniki), YMCA sponsor (used to be a camper long time ago), Squash player, programming (python, obj-c) for fun.

I do have a lot of stories to tell about my experiences in the past 3 years of work, since I have been through a lot of hardships, including Greece financial situations, embezzlement from withint our company, accounting & legal lessons I had to get to be able to help and understand what is happening.

It might seem to one that all of this is not true, but believe me it is. I am active in almost every hour of the day that I am not sleeping, and I don't sleep a lot! I am looking for a legitimate way out of Greece and a legitimate way in to the US in order to get to the top school and get a chance to be with the best there are.

Looking forward to your replies!
Thanks a lot!
Galinos
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by Stacey Oyler » Wed Aug 22, 2012 1:09 pm
Hi Galinos,

Thanks for your post. You've done a nice job outlining your profile, and it's easy to see that there are some real strengths. Your professional experience is solid and right on par with the expectations of the schools on your list. You also have a few extracurricular activities that might work for essay topics, in particular if you have examples of leadership or teamwork.

I would agree that your GPA is a bit of a concern. While your GMAT score of 700 is only slightly below average for the schools on your list, your GPA is nearly 1 full point below thus raising some red flags. You'll want to be sure to find ways to help mitigate the concerns that adcom might have about your academic ability. I would suggest that you write a brief optional essay fully explaining the circumstances surrounding your personal life while in undergrad so that they can have the full picture and gain a better understanding of your situation. Some schools might be able to look beyond the GPA, but others may not do the same. You might want to think about taking some classes (like accounting or econ) and earning A's. Building and alternate transcript is a great way to demonstrate academic ability.

All you can do is try your best and see what happens.

Regards,

Stacey
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Stacey Oyler
Clear Admit, LLC
[email protected]
215.568.2590

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