imajin wrote:
Hello all,
I am currently studying for my GMAT with plans on attending buisness school. I attended a Canadian university from 2004-2008 while working full time; earning an Honors degree in Economics. At the time, my goal was to get that diploma, with less focus on my actual grades. Needless to say, my GPA definitely took a hit and I ended up with a 2.95. At the time I was working for the government as a network administrator in charge of all Blackberry and Email (exchange server) administration. Essentialy, I did not have great attendance and basically taught myself much of the material. Moving on, shortly after graduating, I was hired to work one of the big Canadian banks (top 10 largest banks in North America) in sales & trading - specificaly Capital Markets - Foreign Exchange Sales. In my 4 year tenure I worked my way up from an Associate to a Vice President with his own portfolio of clients. Many would call me crazy to leave this position to pursue an MBA; I am compensated very well and I enjoy what I do, but my ultimate goal is to one day work for myself. I have had the opportunity to work in Toronto & Chicago (International experience) and know this can be seen as an asset when applying to an MBA program.
My question is, with a solid GMAT score (ie. 700), what are my chances of being accepted in a good school (booth, berkeley, wharton, IE, IESE)? I'm thinking ahead towards the 2014 intake. Any advice? I don't have that many extra curriculars.
Thanks ahead of time!
Imajin,
You're welcome.
For Booth and Berkeley, given your
so-so grades, I think you would need above a 700, but you could try with a 700 too. You need to tell them you were working full time while going to school. The best way to overcome a low GPA is to take business-related classes and earn A's in them. I realize your undergrad degree is in economics, so you may want to retake a class or two that you did poorly in and ace it.
Your chances of acceptance are much better at IE and IESE, given your background and assuming a 700 balanced GMAT than at Wharton, Booth or Berkeley.
If you feel your
exra-curriculars are weak, you have the time to improve them, and you should do so.
Best,
Linda