Hey billy1982:
sorry for the delay in response, but I wanted to make sure that answers this thoroughly given the sincerity and depth to which you described your current experiences. Also, I figured that if you were two or three years away from applying to business school, a slightly tardy reply would not affect your critical path.
Question one -- I really do not think that this is going to be a huge issue. Part-time and executive MBA programs are a lot more forgiving when it comes to your pedigree, GPA and GMAT score. The reason for this is basically economic. Let us face it, business school is a business and like any other moneymaker, the more a product or services utilize the more cash rules everything around me. The same goes with business school. The more seats a compact and the more their facilities can be utilized, the more the school can say and I quote "dollar dollar bills y'all."
So while top business schools like to brag about their ranking, there was always a backdoor. That backdoor is gaining admittance to a top MBA program via their part-time program (which has a lower bar, but provides the exact same MBA degree.) In fact, executive MBA programs are the ultimate backdoor in my opinion. They offer a more expensive and catered MBA experience, but the exact same MBA degree (on paper).
So to be clear -- if you elect to go the route that you desire and apply to a non-full-time program, your GPA an undergraduate citation will not be a huge negative factor in anyway.
Question two -- Maybe I jumped the gun with respect to assuming that you would only be applying to part-time or executive MBA programs. At age 31 or 32, you really will not be competitive at any top US MBA program -- strictly based on age. You may have a better reason than most, should you still choose to apply to a full-time program, but the fact of the matter is that this excuse (that you have a nontraditional undergraduate experience) is still not enough to enroll in a full-time program successfully. In fact the excuse could introduce more question marks and liabilities in the mind of the admissions committee reader.
Question three -- you do have excellent work experience. I mean it is really impressive. The switch you made to go work at the Booz Allen is something that I would have recommended for an applicant applying to business school with your military background. Instead, you did post military and pre-MBA. So my point is that you are slightly ahead of the curve in this really is your justification for your eventual goals (when you apply to business school.) That is, you will be able to say that you know without a doubt that you want to stain consulting but moved into more of a strategic planning capacity. This is perhaps why you want some go work for a McKinsey or Bain, as opposed working in the public services group of Booz Allen Hamilton.
I would love to work with you once you decide to make the jump. When you are ready, please drop me a line at
MBA@amerasiaconsulting.com.
Respectfully,
Paul Lanzillotti