rosemont83 wrote:
Hello everyone,
I'm currently preparing for the Fall 2017 HAAS full-time MBA and will be taking the GMAT at the end of August.
By "odd stats" in my title, I obviously mean bad stats
Out of high school I had a 4.20 GPA and went to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for one year as an Electrical Engineering major. I hated the curriculum and they didn't allow changes of majors out of that program so I basically wasted my time there and left with about a 1.0 GPA (which actually had a much bigger effect than I thought it would at the time).
I switched schools (don't know if I got kicked out of CP or not but I didn't want to be at the school anyways so I never asked or checked) and went to community college, and then transferred to CSUS as an Economics Major. I raised my grades quite a bit but still had a horrible GPA of 2.85 CSU with a 2.60 cumulative GPA, but I was not the same person I was when I started my college career and I had grown quite a bit. I decided to attend my CSU's graduate program, the Master of Science in Accountancy, and I graduated this past December (2015) with a 3.70 GPA and was in an honors fraternity. I took the GMAT for that program but it was rather low as it was a last minute decision and I basically just signed up, walked in and took the GMAT so I am taking it again now.
I have purchased
Manhattan Prep's study materials and took a Manhattan practice CAT and achieved a low score of 570 Q37 V31. I am hoping/planning to score in the 710+ range in 2.5 months when I take the actual test.
I do have circumstances surrounding my life that are different than some; first person from the family that went to college, oldest child of the family, disabled parent, lived under the poverty line my whole life, worked full-time throughout college, both undergrad and grad.
I managed a store for 4 of the past 6 years and then I transitioned into the accounting industry and have been doing that for about 11 months. When I managed the store I hit some good numbers and I will be having the owner of that store write me a recommendation as well as my direct manager of the accounting firm that I currently work at.
I've also been volunteering for six months at a start-up asset management firm/investment bank, which is really tiny so I'm not sure that putting this on my resume would even do much.
There's more to my story, but I will save the details for the adcom
I really am going to put 100% into this application process, as HAAS is the only program that I want to attend. I've done much research and from what I can gather about the values, curriculum and alumni network, HAAS is perfect me. I want my MBA to be an inspiring, transformative experience, that will positively and directly influence my life and will indirectly benefit those around me.
I know that this is an uphill battle but I am determined and I know that the first step (besides getting my mind right for this chapter of my life) is to destroy the GMAT, which I am confident I will be able to do this time around. I really value all of the resources I've found so far on gmatclub and I look forward to continuing to read and learn from all of your experiences in order to be successful on this test and application.
I'm not going to lie, I feel intimidated by the great stats and work experience of the many who apply and the class profile is of course, top-notch, but I still have to give this my best shot.
If anyone has any tips, criticisms, or general advice that would help me out, I will be very appreciative of any comments, and if I can help out in any way I will do so
Good luck to everyone on here!
First off, best of luck! Haas is a phenomenal school -- amazing culture and values, great location, awesome people. Here's some advice from my own experiences applying to MBA programs:
- I see that you postponed your GMAT exam till September 17 and are looking to apply R1. One piece of advice is that if you can afford it, take the GMAT twice. Most people score better the second time around. I personally felt fully prepared but then found that my nerves got the best of me. I scored a 650 the first time I took the GMAT, but then scored a 730 (I was consistently scoring a 710 - 750 on the Manhatten Prep GMAT practice tests before taking the exam). I'm going out on a limb in saying I probably wouldn't be going to Harvard if I stuck with the first score
I also applied round 2 to give myself another go at the GMAT and more time to complete my applications (but R1 is preferable if you can get materials ready in time). If you score a 720+, then you don't need to retake the GMAT. Remember, schools really only look at your top GMAT score. Because of your low undergrad GPA, your GMAT score will be VERY important to demonstrate you can handle the course load and excel academically. With a few months of studying, I'm sure you'll be able to get a great score! Make sure to take regular full-length diagnostic tests to build up your endurance, and I also recommend focusing on your weaknesses first since that will give you the biggest initial score jump.
- Apply to more schools. Haas has an extremely small class size and is EXTREMELY competitive. Not saying you won't get in (they'd be lucky to have you!), but it helps to have a back-up plan. You don't need to go overboard and apply to 10 schools, but it might be wise to apply to a few schools R1 (your dream schools) and have some back-ups for R2 (schools outside the top 10 in rankings). Going into the process, I had a few schools I knew I wanted to apply to, but after doing research and visits, I fell in love with several other schools as well. Some people only want to get an MBA if they get into their dream school, but I personally think that approach is a little short-sighted. There are sooooo many amazing programs out there!!!
- Haas cares a lot about their core values. Work those into your essays and really demonstrate that you did your research and are a good fit for the program. I know this seems like obvious advice, but everyone I know who got interviews at Haas referenced these values in their essays or really showed their love for Haas' unique offerings (get specific -- what courses, professors, clubs, conferences, do you want to take advantage of, etc.). My impression is that the essays matter a lot for Haas. When I interviewed at Haas, I was asked three different ways why I wanted to come to Haas and why the school is a good fit for me.
- Business schools unfortunately care more about your undergrad GPA than masters GPA (average undergrad GPA is what is reported and factors in for rankings, so schools have an incentive to raise the average GPA to improve their school rankings). Rumor has it that Haas is a school that cares a lot about GPA. The good news is you have a quantitative masters degree and great GPA for the masters program, so you can show that you can handle the work. Just make sure to explain in a clear way the challenges you faced in undergrad and how you grew as a person, achieved success in your masters program. I think you have a really solid narrative. The best advice I got was connect all the dots in your essays -- do the work for the admissions team. Don't try to hid your weaknesses. Everyone has weaknesses, and it's much better to address them directly and explain the situation in your own words (so you control the narrative) than leave the admissions committee guessing what happened (and come across as less honest for hiding any perceived weaknesses). For me, I had a relatively weak quantitative score on the GMAT that I addressed directly. I also had a large gap in my work history searching for my next job. I pointed out these potential red flags and explained my situation. Nobody brought up either issue in any of my interviews. I'm not advising you focus all your essays on explaining away weaknesses -- in fact, limit that to one essay. Most essays should be stories demonstrating your leadership and accomplishments, or sharing more about who you are and what you hope to do in the future.
Best of luck during this process. It's a grueling and stressful time, but it will all be worth it when you get your acceptance letter. You're going to do great -- stay positive. Keep us all posted on how things are going!