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2starm
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Joined: 13 Jan 2011
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Profile Eval (JD/MBA) - 3.65 GPA, 740 GMAT, 172 LSAT 14 Jan 2011, 18:23
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Hi - Thought I'd try out this forum to tap into all your collective wisdom. I'm mainly trying to understand my admissions chances at Columbia, Stern, Booth, Wharton, and Kellogg.

My Story:
Age: 24
UGPA: 3.65; B.S. in Finance (finance honors program); large private university (not particularly prestigious)
GMAT: 740
Ethnicity: Mixed - half asian, half mexican (does this have any bearing?)
W/E:
2 years - launched and now running a social enterprise; managing a team of 6 directors; currently establishing a non-profit segment
4 years - Army Reserves; last 2 years as a commissioned officer - platoon leader within a financial role; no deployments yet
UG Involvement: Army ROTC, financial internships at Morgan Stanley and the FDIC, VP of business fraternity chapter, investment club, scuba club, violinist in school orchestra, several other part-time jobs and awards

My Goals:
-I want to pursue a JD/MBA program; currently accepted to NYU, Michigan, Georgetown, and Cornell law schools for the fall (LSAT: 172). Other law schools in possible consideration for the near future are Columbia, Chicago, Penn, and Northwestern.
-Will apply to an MBA program during my 1L year.

I was wondering what you all think my chances are specifically at MBA programs such as Stern, Booth, Wharton, Columbia, and Kellogg. The lack of work experience is my main concern, and I am not sure how entrepreneurship and military experience is valued by these top schools relative to my peers. Also not sure how certain MBA admissions committees view law students - I've heard some schools actually give a slight admissions boost, while others (Wharton comes to mind) may not. Thanks in advance!
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bakfed
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Profile Eval (JD/MBA) - 3.65 GPA, 740 GMAT, 172 LSAT 15 Jan 2011, 19:43
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hey there! I think with your numbers and experience, you should have no problem at those target schools, with Wharton being the hardest to get in (pretty much true for anyone). Don't worry too much about your work experience because most business schools value military experience and consider it full-time experience anyway. The hardest thing for you to do will probably be why you want this MBA. As long as you're able to clearly state and convince the adcoms of your goal coming out with your JD and MBA, I wouldn't worry too much about it.
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Profile Eval (JD/MBA) - 3.65 GPA, 740 GMAT, 172 LSAT 16 Jan 2011, 20:17
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Make sure you know why you want to do a JD-MBA. For most applicants, it's a losing proposition (i.e. they would have been better off just getting either the JD or the MBA, but not both). One example is wanting to work in finance; banks do take JD applicants in addition to MBA applicants (in this scenario, taking finance electives during law school greatly helps).

If you're sure you want to do both, then you shouldn't have too many issues landing at least an interview at any of the schools you mentioned. From there on out, it all depends on how well you prepare for the interview.
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2starm
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Profile Eval (JD/MBA) - 3.65 GPA, 740 GMAT, 172 LSAT 04 Feb 2011, 17:48
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Thank you both for you insight - I assumed that my biggest challenge might be to explain why I need to pursue both a JD and MBA, but it's good to hear an affirmation. I was most worried about my lack of work experience, but it seems from both your responses that it might not be as much of a barrier as I originally thought. I have been looking through admitted students profiles and can't find too many comparable examples to myself to base off of, which makes it much harder to predict results.

As far as a reason to do a JD/MBA, would any of you be able to give me some feedback on if my reasoning is "strong" enough?

Basically I originally decided to pursue a JD in order to practice law, and decided to go into corporate law - bankruptcy specifically, but i have a strong interest in multiple areas of corporate law (transactional). The MBA would help put me in a very strong position in a firm to have that expertise behind me and put me ahead, while allowing me to be a valuable part of the team and to my clients. I hope to work in Biglaw for a period of time, but I also would like the opportunity to transition to a a different role - possibly in-counsel for a corporation, consulting, or banking. The MBA might not b necessary, but it would definitely allow me greater opportunities to pursue these interests. I also considered just getting the JD now and MBA later if need be, but with time/cost/availability factors considered, it just makes much more sense to me to complete it now. The one benefit to do the MBA later down the road is that i'll have a JD and a few years working in Biglaw (hopefully), which might make me more competitive during admissions. HOw much more, I have no idea.

Thanks again everyone, I def appreciate it.