Here is the result of the phone conversation I had with Linda in case your interested.
So I just got off the phone with a pre-consult with Linda at
Accepted.com. She gave me good honest info and didn't try to sugar coat my chances. Basically she said that my background was not-typical and that I had three issues to overcome.
1) My Age-Why now?
2) My 2 classes to complete my graduation requirements
3) My slightly lower than average GPA. 3.35 vs 3.5 average at top schools.
She gave me recommendations that if I wanted to stay in the top school range that my background was more better suited for Kellogg, Wharton, Michigan, Tuck, Darden and the 1 year program Sloan Fellowship. She suggested not to go for Chicago because of their stronger skew towards Finance and not to go for Stanford because of the age issue. Actually, Harvard is also an age issue too, but I'm still going to apply there.
From our discussion we came to the conclusion that I'm to focus on getting A's in the two classes and a 700 or higher GMAT score. B's in the classes would be ok, but would not do anything for me. C's would hurt my chances. If I'm to work myself into a good candidancy essay, getting A's in the two classes would give me the ammunition I need.
She also suggested the following motto to keep in mind. "Apply only if it's the best application I can submit without compromising things I need for a good application" I.e. the two classes and the GMAT. I completely agree.
So my focus for now is to Kick major butt in the classes and to do well on the GMAT and foregoe much prep on writing essays until these two priorities are completed.
BRING IT ON! Failure is not an option! So in 3 months, you're either going to be reading about a struggling MBA applicant hoping to get into a top 60 school or you'll be reading about someone that has an inspiring story. I vote for inspiring story!