Thanks for reaching out and thanks for your service.
Here are the two most critical questions to ask in this case:
1. Can you improve your GMAT score 120 points?
2. If not, why go?
Now, let me work through this. Your 2.3 GPA is, well, not good. But it is also mitigated by your service record. A low GPA indicates a lack of discipline, focus, and maturity in most applicants - you won't have that problem. Therefore, your GPA will exist as a numerical hurdle (a school will have to swallow that score and put it on the ledger), but also might call into question your intellectual horsepower (problem solving, innovation, ability to tackle complex academic material, etc.). Again, we can deal with some of that in essays, by drawing upon your experience. But that is why the GMAT becomes super critical. If that 2.3 is coupled with a 540, the assumption will be that for all your tactical experience, leadership, etc., the academic component will be out of your grasp. Fair or unfair, that is what that profile will suggest. Whereas a 660+ gets rid of that assumption and now you are just working with two low numbers, but not with a resulting narrative that spells trouble.
If you are down below that 660, that is going to take top 20-30 programs out of play completely.
Which leads to question #2 - are you sure the investment is worth it if you have to drop down too low? Perhaps, especially if you can get assistance with $$$ and maybe if you can do a part-time program, but many MBA programs outside the top 30 or so loose their value and ROI pretty quickly. You might have more luck just networking and interviewing with Fortune 500 and building a career that way, rather than going to a potentially mediocre business school.
That's my take at first blush. Feel free to PM me with any follow up questions.
Respectfully,
Paul Lanzillotti
_________________
Paul Lanzillotti | Founder|
About | mba@amerasiaconsulting.com | 877.866.9251
Schedule a Consultation |
Twitter |
BlogDownload "How To Apply" Guides |
INSEAD |
Columbia |
Harvard |
Wharton