grover wrote:
(I also posted this on MBA Game Plan... sorry for the redundancy)
I need some advice here. My undergraduate GPA was 3.3 at a top 30 university (liberal arts degree). After school, I worked for 2 years as a financial analyst at an investment bank and was promoted 4 times during that time. While I was working, my bank paid for me to take two accounting classes at Harvard Extention School (got 2 As).
But here is the kicker, for unexplainable purposes, I quit my job and decided to apply to law school. I got into a 2nd tier school and have just finished my 2nd year there. My GPA from each progressive semester is as follows: 2.4, 2.67, 3.0 and 3.18. Right now my average GPA is about 2.8 (for those of you who may use this to solve a GMAT question, I must let you know that some of my classes were P/F).
My professional experience during law school has not been oriented towards business (i.e. clerk for judge, pro bono experience, etc.). I have tried to weave myself back into the banking industry during school, but the top banks exclusively hire MBA students during the summer. I really want to get into a management consulting program, but am really distraught over my current law school GPA. How much will these grades impact my admission chances?
Further, I have yet to take a calculus class and wanted to know whether enrolling now would be "greatly" beneficial. Any insight into this situation and the weight of my GPA would be greatly appreciated.
It is hard to say how beneficial a calculus class would be, but I do think it would help you. I also recommend you take statistics. Obviously you need A's in both these classes and you also need to maintain or preferably raise your law school grades. Can you do all of this and apply?
How much will your law school grades affect you admissions chances?Hard to say. They certainly will affect your chances, but I don't think they will doom them. You may have to apply to more schools or more schools outside the top ten. Also, you will need to explain that you started law school and discovered it simply wasn't for you. Then provide concrete examples of what you prefer about business and point to whatever academic success you can to support your contention that your talents lie in business and not in law.
Finally, you will need a high GMAT to show that you have the raw talent for b-school.
The poster who commented that you will need to provide your rationale for pursuing law and changing your mind while showing that the legal experience is still a valuable one that makes you a better candidate and reinforces your interest in business is right. You don't want to just be fleeing a bad law school experience; you want to be going towards a desired and positive goal.
Good luck!
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24 Jun 2004, 10:29
