Nationality: Czech
Gender: Male, Caucasian
Age: 28
GMAT: 690 (Q46/40)
Education:
Undergrad Psychology / Political Science, finished 2004
MSc. in Psychology (finished 2007)
MSc. in Political Science (finished 2008)
GPA:
Weighted average undergrad: 2.36 (all GPA given on czech scale 1.00-4.00; 1 being best)
State exam undergrad: 1.57; psychology part 1.00
Weighted average psychology MSc.: 1.98
Un-weighted average psychology MSc.: 1.68
State exam MSc.Psychology: 1.7
Political science MSc.: even worse (2.5 roughly)
GPA explanation:
• Was a professional athlete all the way through school (ballroom dancing), represented the country for over 6 years; this was very time-demanding, as it included up to 8 hours a day of practicing and traveling around the world for both competitions and training.
• Another factor of the bad GPA is that most subjects at the school were just Pass/Fail, and for example for the MSc. in Psychology the curriculum consists of 21 Pass/Fail vs 11 A-F courses. The Political science curriculum only had 6 A-F courses overall.
• Was working full time when studying the MSc. in Political science, alongside with dance teaching in the evenings and self-studying value investing / financial markets.
• Frankly, I just didn’t regard the GPA as important back at school. The scholarships are not worth mentioning in my country and employers don’t care about your GPA either. Had no idea that I’d end up craving for a b-school title abroad, hence I only devoted enough time to studying just to pass the exam. Sad story, I know. I could’ve easily had something like 3.8-3.9 if I tried hard.
• Am considering improving my chances by taking some courses related to the b-school needs and focusing on good grades from those.
Work-Experience:
• 3.5 years at matriculation; present position: head of marketing department in a top 5 construction company in the country - youngest manager in the company;
• former position in the same company in public relations department;
• taught dancers of various ages both in Czech republic and abroad
Extracurricular:
• Strong interest in value investing, both theoretical and practical (profits from investing during the credit crunch have allowed me to pursue the MBA goal now and with no need for scholarship)
• Ten times Czech professional ballroom champion, former top 10 world ranked couple (retired); 16 years of active carreer
• Co-founded and organized 5 years of a major international dance competition –
https://www.brnoopen.cz• Took part in a charitable project with a Czech renowned Oncology institute
• Realized a charity project “English for the youngest” – including finding sponsors - English studybook for underpriviliged young children
• Organized trips for a group of backpackers to various destinations in Africa, Asia, South America, USA
• Languages spoken: Czech (native), English, German, considering Russian
Target B-schools:
Top of the list: CBS (specifically Value investing or Leadership and ethics), NYU Stern
Other top schools: Chicago Booth, Wharton
Backup schools: Any other Top 20 where I’d be a good fit.
Questions:1. I only have a GMAT Score of 690 (Q46, V40). In the prep tests I was consistently scoring 700+. Should I retake and try to get a 720+ score, given my bad GPA?
2. How do reapplicants look to the adcoms? I mean, do I actually lower/raise my chances if I give it a shot now in R2 and if I get rejected then perhaps reapply for CBS ED, with a better GMAT and more focus on polishing my essays, CV? Or should I just skip the application now and focus fully on next year?
3. Is it completely unrealistic to apply to CBS / NYU with my current profile? I know it is a long shot, but I assume I am not the usual “Indian IT” or “Stock analyst” type.