fotobo wrote:
Hi all,
Been reading this forum for a while and have gotten quite a bit of great information. Anyways, I wanted to see if I could get a feel for what I should expect based on my profile.
I've been out of school for almost 3 years, finished my undergrad in Math & CS at Stanford. 3.1 GPA with several withdrawals and a year-long academic suspension for low GPA. I just lacked motivation in the beginning, wasn't sure what I wanted to study and it was hard to put one foot in front of the other when I had no direction. Finished strong with a 3.6 in my final year. Right now, debating taking an additional course or two to build on that alternative transcript before my MBA apps.
GMAT: 760 (50 Q, 44 V)
URM - African American
Only ECs were my fraternity and National Society of Black Engineers - leadership positions in both.
Work experience: Associate on interest rate products trading desk at a bulge bracket investment bank. Letter of recs will be very strong.
Looking to apply to HBS, Stanford GSB, MIT Sloan, Columbia, Duke and UT-Austin.
What are my chances? I'm hoping my low GPA won't completely screw me, given my strong GMATl. I've down well in a lot of pretty advanced math and statistics courses, so I figure I've demonstrated I can handle the rigors of b-school coursework. I don't have extensive work experience, and it's hard to get leadership experience early on a trading desk, but I have trained two analysts over the past year. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.
I think you're being too hard on yourself. a "low" GPA is below 3.0, and you have that beat. Plus, you went to Stanford, which gets your additional points. High GMAT and increasing grades will allay fears. AND you have great work experience.
HBS and Standford will be hard, but I'd be shocked if you got rejected from Columbia or Duke. Your profile is too strong to apply to UT-Austin.