QuarterLifeCrisis wrote:
Hello,
I am an Iranian male, no post-graduate WE.
I was a JC transfer, 3.5 GPA at JC, 2.66 at UC Berkeley (3.04 GPA overall undergraduate).
In my last year at UC Berkeley, I was working 30 hours a week and going to school half time (8 semester units per semester) and got a 3.8 my second to last semester and a 4.0 my last semester (3.9 avg last year). Graduated from Berkeley with a degree in Political Economy.
I was active on UC Berkeley's debate team.
I scored a 720 on the GMAT (48Q, 41V, 6AWA).
I would really like to know what schools I would be competitive at. My grades were very poor in school and towards the end of my school career I became a much more serious student. I feel I performed well, though not excellent, on the GMAT, and I have extra-curriculars. However, I don't know where I will be competitive. I would really like to get my MBA in Strategic Management or a similar field.
Should I focus on retaking the GMAT and getting a higher score? Will it significantly improve my options? Or should I hold off on MBA plans until I get more WE and my grades start to matter less.
I have European and American citizenship, I would prefer to get my MBA in Europe since it is cheaper there.
Thanks.
Your best bet right now is to probably get some work experience under your belt. I don't see any problem with your GMAT score and I don't see the benefit of retaking it unless you can shoot for 40 points more. With no real post-undergrad work experience, it puts you at a slim to none possibility of gaining admission into any b-school, whether it is in the States or in Europe. As you gain a few years of work experience, then it'll be easier to really determine where you're most likely competitive at.