osdihg wrote:
Thanks for the replies guys, I really appreciate it.
To answer coakleym's question above, I graduated in December of 2008. So when I apply this September, I'll only have had 1.5 yrs of experience and 2.5 yrs at matriculation. I feel that this amount of WE will do nothing to mitigate my GPA, however, I hope it doesn't hurt me. What do you guys think? I definitely have an interesting story to tell (interesting to me, at least) and I'm an international applicant and not Asian or European.
Oh, and my major was Economics, so not Engineering. That won't help me much in terms of my GPA other than the fact that Economics at my university is a math-intensive major (less so than Engineering, of course). I also hope to get a 700+ on my GMAT, so that should help. I should also add that I'm applying to the top 15 US universities + LBS, Oxford, and Insead, with Columbia as my top choice.
Anyways, my follow-up questions are:
1. Will 2.5 yrs of quality WE (not at blue-chip) hurt me?
2. Will 3.22 in Econ look bad since it's not as hard as Engineering (some would say)?
On 1 -> My personal opinion is that you should wait and gain some more experience before applying. Experience trumps GPA any day and if you have an interesting story right now, you have nothing to lose by waiting a year or two to make your application bullet proof and saving money to put towards your education. This will also help you figure out what your goals really are.
On 2 -> Econ does not look bad at all esp since it is a quant intensive field. What is more important is what you have learnt from this major and how this has helped you in your career choices and your future goals. so don't worry.
All this being said, there are exceptions to all rules (as an econ student you should know) and I haven't been admitted to any of my schools yet so my advice could be worthless. But given my experience completing applications this year, it was a lot easier to talk and write about my experiences with five years of WE under my belt than it would have been 3 years ago.