I talked to both UCLA and USC today. The answer was NO. I can only apply to one program a year. I applied already this year, FT, and was dinged by both schools. I did get some great feedback on my application from UCLA. So thanks UCLA admissions office! Getting my GMAT up (630, Q39, V38), is the goal going forward. I also received advice to discuss my low UG GPA in the optional essay. I didn't want to draw attention to it, because I have a high M.S. GPA. This seemed to be the first thing that stood out, and somehow my M.S. scores were overlooked.
Most importantly I heard that UCLA has a fairly strict school 3.0 GPA UG policy, and below that requires some administrative hoops to jump through.
Even if somehow I got my GMAT to say 690+, there is no way to know if I'd get in to either UCLA or USC. I am 32, and waiting after two rejections to apply part-time sounds silly. My gut tells me to apply to part-time program next admissions cycle, because my current GMAT should be good enough for USC (i hope, as it is above their average), and has a higher acceptance rate. However, I am trying to change careers, Engineering to Investment Mgmt and feel the full-time is the best way to go. I know that the UG GPA for the part-time programs are lower, but I still need to find out about the 3.0 policy for those programs.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Scott