KananAzizli wrote:
Hello,
My name is Kanan. I am 22 years old. I would really appreciate if you guys could evaluate my profile. I am from Baku, Azerbaijan. I did my Bachelor's degree in the U.S at George Mason University. My UGPA is 2.76 due to some financial problems with my family. It was actually a great push for me to come up with a restaurant idea in Dec 2012 (Junior year) and distribution company in Aug 2013 that is focused on products for people with diabetes in Azerbaijan. My business let me pay for my school instead of dropping out and going back to my country without obtaining a degree. I am graduating soon from Georgetown University (Real Estate, 4.0 GPA) and I am doing very good at quant/qualitative courses. I have also completed HBS HBX Core program that consists of three courses. My GMAT score is 770.
In Dec 2015, I opened a school for pre-school kids and older people in Azerbaijan where they can learn different languages, math, and other subjects. In general, I am leading a team of 27 people in my businesses.
My goal in my life is to start building affordable green (cost-efficient) houses. It is so rare nowadays to combine these two qualities. Therefore, I am planning to work in a U.S. real estate company for 2-3 years after I obtain my master's degree to get as much experience and knowledge as possible.
My dream school is London Business School. The average age of a student is 29 and the average work experience is 5.5 years. I will be around 25 years old when I apply to a business school and I will have 8 years experience (starting from Dec 2012). Is it a good idea to apply in 2-3 years?
Do I have any chances at H/W/S Business Schools with the type of work and academic experience that I have? Will creating an alternative transcript with 4-5 courses and hopefully A's help me?
Thank you for your time.
Dear Kanan,
I really like your story and you truly sound like a sort of "Comeback Kid" which is something that will resonate with the adcoms. Another advantage you have is that coming from Azerbijan, you are going to be a rare candidate, which should work to your advantage.
That having been said, H/S/W will be very tough for you with your GPA. I remember a stat from about 2 years ago, in which HBS took 2 students out of 1000 with a GPA lower than 3.0. So it will be a long shot. It doesn't mean you shouldn't try, but t does mean you should spread yourself out over the Top 15 schools. As for LBS, I don't think you need to wait if you are ready to go next year. 26 (or will you be 27 by matriculation is old enough, and with your work experience you should be fine). You are also at the ideal age now for US MBAs and better that you apply to all programs you are interested in during the same year.
So if you are ready to go now from a career perspective and all, then you should go.
Best,
JF