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Reality Check?

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3dacr
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Reality Check? [#permalink] New post   23 Jan 2011, 14:54
Hi,

Could you please evaluate my profile?

Aiming for MBA class of 2013.

Age: 28
Gender: Male
Nationality: white/non-hispanic

GPA : 2.3, Texas A&M University. BS Political Science.
GMAT : 540 (First attempt)

Work experience:

Served 7 years in U.S. Army as an officer making the Rank of Captain. Served two tours in Iraq, totaling 27 months of leadership experience in combat and earning two bronze stars. While deployed to Iraq, I commanded a Battery of 142 men and stayed in command for a total of 18 months. While deployed, I executed over 214 patrols and was responsible for stimulating the economies of two major cities in southern iraq through targeted business grants resulting in a peaceful security situation and quantifiably reduced unemployment rate.

MAJOR area of concern:

Both my GMAT score and dismal GPA are the areas of concern. I'm at a crossroads where I need to know if attending a top 100 MBA program is in the realm of possibility for me. I wish to know so I can swallow it and move on instead of wasting countless hours preparing applications in hopes of a impossible outcome.

Career goals:

Immediately after B school, I'd like to work in general management for a fortune 500 company, using my problem solving and decision making skills to add value to the company.

School choices:

Is there even a school out there that would give me a shot?

Any incite no matter how frank would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.
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bpengage
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Re: Reality Check? [#permalink] New post   Updated on: 24 Jan 2011, 16:42
I think most people on this board are only familiar with the top 20 bschools (myself included) and based on your stats, I don't think you would get in those schools... i would definitely work on your GMAT score (read the GMAT forum for advice and retake it) and essays if you're interested in bschool. Good luck!

Edit: One more thing - based on your career goals, I'm not sure how likely you could get such a position if you attended a school in the bottom top 100 bschools. Also, I've heard from numerous sources that the cost of bschool is not worth it if you're not attending a top school. I would definitely consider those things before you take the plunge.

Originally posted by bpengage on 24 Jan 2011, 16:25.
Last edited by bpengage on 24 Jan 2011, 16:42, edited 1 time in total.
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bakfed
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Re: Reality Check? [#permalink] New post   24 Jan 2011, 16:32
Hi there, I have to second bpengage's thoughts. To go beyond the top 25 or 30 schools most likely you'll find better bet just by going to the school's website directly and look at the average GPA and GMAT score. You can easily find the rankings by googling US News business school ranking. If you're interested in the top 30 programs, your GMAT is definitely hindering your chances right now.
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lagomez
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Re: Reality Check? [#permalink] New post   24 Jan 2011, 19:10
3dacr wrote:
Hi,

Could you please evaluate my profile?

Aiming for MBA class of 2013.

Age: 28
Gender: Male
Nationality: white/non-hispanic

GPA : 2.3, Texas A&M University. BS Political Science.
GMAT : 540 (First attempt)

Work experience:

Served 7 years in U.S. Army as an officer making the Rank of Captain. Served two tours in Iraq, totaling 27 months of leadership experience in combat and earning two bronze stars. While deployed to Iraq, I commanded a Battery of 142 men and stayed in command for a total of 18 months. While deployed, I executed over 214 patrols and was responsible for stimulating the economies of two major cities in southern iraq through targeted business grants resulting in a peaceful security situation and quantifiably reduced unemployment rate.

MAJOR area of concern:

Both my GMAT score and dismal GPA are the areas of concern. I'm at a crossroads where I need to know if attending a top 100 MBA program is in the realm of possibility for me. I wish to know so I can swallow it and move on instead of wasting countless hours preparing applications in hopes of a impossible outcome.

Career goals:

Immediately after B school, I'd like to work in general management for a fortune 500 company, using my problem solving and decision making skills to add value to the company.

School choices:

Is there even a school out there that would give me a shot?

Any incite no matter how frank would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.


My guess you could get in to schools ranked 60-100. Look at the businessweek rankings and schools near 50 have a 80% gmat range 560 or so for the low end.
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Sailorette
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Joined: 20 Mar 2010
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Schools:Chicago Booth
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WE 2: Senior Consultant: Big Four Taipei
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Re: Reality Check? [#permalink] New post   24 Jan 2011, 20:24
I think you need to target large state schools that are feeders into specific local markets with large corporations. For example, my undergraduate school was the University of Kansas- it doesn't show up very high in the rankings, but it had great partner programs with Sprint Nextel, Hallmark, YRC Worldwide, Waddell and Reed, State Street, and the other large Kansas City-based companies. Your 540 would probably be high enough for admission to a similar program when combined with your stellar military experience.

If you target a similar caliber of program, you'll need to knock the socks off your GPA in your first semester, then pursue an internship with one of the school's partner companies. If you have a good idea of where you want to live post-degree, start your search by back tracking from some of the companies you would be interested in working for, then find out where they pull students for their management programs. Linked-in is particularly useful for this kind of analysis!

Good luck in your search!
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3dacr
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Re: Reality Check? [#permalink] New post   25 Jan 2011, 10:20
Bpengage, Bakfed, thank you for your response. I am currently deployed in Iraq for another 6 months however, upon redeployment and up to the 1st round applications windown 2012, I will be taking your advice, doing whatever it takes to get a score in the 600s. Your words gave me much needed confidence that I still have the potential to get into a decent program. Thank you.
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method
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Schools: Michigan (Ross) - Class of 2015
GRE 1: Q170 V166
GPA: 3.22
WE:Management Consulting (Non-Profit and Government)
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Re: Reality Check? [#permalink] New post   25 Jan 2011, 13:10
I think a lot is within the realm of possibility, but it hinges on a GMAT retake because of the GPA. You can have one of those numbers low, but not both.

Your military experience is so badass that I think you're a stellar candidate at a 10-25 school if you can climb to a 650 GMAT. Study hard and see where you stand after your next test score.
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enkie
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Re: Reality Check? [#permalink] New post   28 Feb 2011, 18:00
method wrote:
I think a lot is within the realm of possibility, but it hinges on a GMAT retake because of the GPA. You can have one of those numbers low, but not both.

Your military experience is so badass that I think you're a stellar candidate at a 10-25 school if you can climb to a 650 GMAT. Study hard and see where you stand after your next test score.


I totally agree. His military exp is BADASS!

With that said, I think if you raised your GMAT score, you have a good chance at the better schools...
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sniperssk
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Re: Reality Check? [#permalink] New post   28 Feb 2011, 18:54
I think you should raise your GMAT. Your GPA will be an area of concern, but if you come up with a good story about it and get a good GMAT, I think you could aim for the top 15-20 schools. Why not even higher? The process is all about selling yourself. The GMAT is not that hard and getting 700+ doesn't require being a genius. You just need to be persistent and study the concepts. I'm not the smartest person I know, and I have never considered myself good at math, but I got a pretty balanced and respectable 700+ score just because I really applied myself. I was getting even higher scores in math and verbal on my gmatprep mocks. I think you could do better and you should postpone your apps if needed. Don't sell yourself short with your profile.
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Re: Reality Check? [#permalink]
28 Feb 2011, 18:54

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