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26 May 2015, 03:50
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I am a rising senior who has been on the political science - law school track for three years. I was very unmotivated, hated my classes and professors and therefore have a lackluster track record. however, during my junior year, i developed a keen interest in business, and after some soul searching, have decided to do an MBA. I would like to apply in 3 or 4 years, and so I wanted to ask what you recommend I do to strengthen my profile in the meantime since my record so far has been bleh. Here's a breakdown of my current candidacy:
US citizen but born and raised in Ghana.
3.6+ GPA at Yale
Research and Internship experience in government/international affairs.
Leadership experience organizing large scale conferences on African development.
Things that may go against me:
No quantitative coursework (dropped three math related classes because i was failing)
Scattered coursework without unifying theme (hated each class so tried something new each new semester, but hated that too)
Recommendation letters will come from liberal artsy people who can't quite evaluate me in a business light
No special awards (unmotivated throughout first three years of college. perhaps senior year will be different).
What do you think I should do in my senior year and post-graduation to make me a super strong candidate? My main goal is to work in management consulting, and despite going to an Ivy league school i'm not crazy about prestige (i'll happily pick, say, Darden over HBS if Darden serves my goals better). however my biggest concern is I kind of NEED a full-ride, because i'm from a low-income background. All advice will be much appreciated
US citizen but born and raised in Ghana.
3.6+ GPA at Yale
Research and Internship experience in government/international affairs.
Leadership experience organizing large scale conferences on African development.
Things that may go against me:
No quantitative coursework (dropped three math related classes because i was failing)
Scattered coursework without unifying theme (hated each class so tried something new each new semester, but hated that too)
Recommendation letters will come from liberal artsy people who can't quite evaluate me in a business light
No special awards (unmotivated throughout first three years of college. perhaps senior year will be different).
What do you think I should do in my senior year and post-graduation to make me a super strong candidate? My main goal is to work in management consulting, and despite going to an Ivy league school i'm not crazy about prestige (i'll happily pick, say, Darden over HBS if Darden serves my goals better). however my biggest concern is I kind of NEED a full-ride, because i'm from a low-income background. All advice will be much appreciated
16 Jun 2015, 19:01
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Hi Lyndonz,
I've organized my response to your inquiries into a few distinct categories to ensure I answer your inquiry in full.
Academic Profile
Thank you for your inquiry. It’s fortunate that you discovered in undergrad (rather than post-grad) that business rather than law was your passion. While you may feel off-put by some of the flip-flopping you did as an undergrad, a 3.6 from Yale is nothing to scoff at. MBA programs offer optional essays designed to address situations like the one you’ve described, and you can easily address the 3.6 (really, the weaker marks that lowered your average) and the “randomness” that you believe belies your transcript.
However, don’t make the mistake of representing your non-traditional academic background as a negative. It actually allows you to bring something new, fresh, and different to your MBA community (see the new required HBS essay question as an example of what I mean--if you were introducing yourself to your community, some of what brought you to those early interests would allow you to be unique and exceptional at HBS).
Other: Next Steps
Here is what I recommend you do to prepare for eventually pursuing the MBA:
1) After you’ve started your career, take a calculus course on your own outside of work and earn an A in that course. It’s ok that you won’t have taken calculus in college, but you’re right that beefing up your quantitative rigor matters.
2) Your recommendation letters would come now from “liberal artsy” people like your Yale professions; however, after approximately five years in the work world, you’ll have potential recommenders who have been your direct supervisors. Those letters matter—the adcoms at any top program will want to see an objective evaluation of how you compare to peers at your same level/occupation. They want letters from direct supervisors.
3) Involve yourself in extracurricular activities that either extend from current interests or are ones you develop post-grad. Top MBA programs want applicants who are leaders in their communities as well as their work places.
4) To get the scholarships you’re seeking, obviously prepare aggressively and systematically for the GMAT, but also consider networking earlier than other applicants. If you like Darden, for example, visit the campus a year or even two years before you plan to attend. Connect with the schools’ communities online as well. Many networking/informational events take place entirely online, and the programs will file away your attendance, keeping it in mind when later reviewing your application.
5) Chart your career course carefully by seeking out guidance from contacts working in your target industry. Also, don’t forget to mine the Yale’s career resources to assist you in this important piece of the puzzle.
In the interest of not being overly prescriptive, I’ll leave it at that, but it’s great that you’re thinking several years in advance.
Best of luck!
The MBA Prep School Team
I've organized my response to your inquiries into a few distinct categories to ensure I answer your inquiry in full.
Academic Profile
Thank you for your inquiry. It’s fortunate that you discovered in undergrad (rather than post-grad) that business rather than law was your passion. While you may feel off-put by some of the flip-flopping you did as an undergrad, a 3.6 from Yale is nothing to scoff at. MBA programs offer optional essays designed to address situations like the one you’ve described, and you can easily address the 3.6 (really, the weaker marks that lowered your average) and the “randomness” that you believe belies your transcript.
However, don’t make the mistake of representing your non-traditional academic background as a negative. It actually allows you to bring something new, fresh, and different to your MBA community (see the new required HBS essay question as an example of what I mean--if you were introducing yourself to your community, some of what brought you to those early interests would allow you to be unique and exceptional at HBS).
Other: Next Steps
Here is what I recommend you do to prepare for eventually pursuing the MBA:
1) After you’ve started your career, take a calculus course on your own outside of work and earn an A in that course. It’s ok that you won’t have taken calculus in college, but you’re right that beefing up your quantitative rigor matters.
2) Your recommendation letters would come now from “liberal artsy” people like your Yale professions; however, after approximately five years in the work world, you’ll have potential recommenders who have been your direct supervisors. Those letters matter—the adcoms at any top program will want to see an objective evaluation of how you compare to peers at your same level/occupation. They want letters from direct supervisors.
3) Involve yourself in extracurricular activities that either extend from current interests or are ones you develop post-grad. Top MBA programs want applicants who are leaders in their communities as well as their work places.
4) To get the scholarships you’re seeking, obviously prepare aggressively and systematically for the GMAT, but also consider networking earlier than other applicants. If you like Darden, for example, visit the campus a year or even two years before you plan to attend. Connect with the schools’ communities online as well. Many networking/informational events take place entirely online, and the programs will file away your attendance, keeping it in mind when later reviewing your application.
5) Chart your career course carefully by seeking out guidance from contacts working in your target industry. Also, don’t forget to mine the Yale’s career resources to assist you in this important piece of the puzzle.
In the interest of not being overly prescriptive, I’ll leave it at that, but it’s great that you’re thinking several years in advance.
Best of luck!
The MBA Prep School Team
