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04 Aug 2015, 02:11
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi - I am Faisal and looking to apply for MBA in schools ranging from 30-50. I am looking to apply in two years time.
Profile :
I have just started to consider MBA as an option in future , but i want to move in a right direction from here , I have started preparing for GMAT , i aim to get at least 700 in GMAT but will try to get more than that.
Clearly my weakest point so far is my low undergraduate GPA and particularly low grades in Calculus and Probability ( two math courses ). My school was hard but that is not an excuse , i honestly paid more attention to learning the skills and didn't knew the importance of having GPA above 3 so i didn't work towards it. Secondly i was overly involved in extra and co-curricular activities. I was Vice President of largest student run I.T event in Pakistan and also on executive committees of other student societies.
My second weak point is not so stellar work experience of 3 years, much of that i can relate to the opportunities a fresh graduate in Pakistan has, i tried to make best of what i could , i was top performer for 3 years at my company , We had a quarterly performance evaluation and i received A+ grade in all 12 evaluations i had which was rare for my company. I lead a small team of 4 people on small projects and that is it.
I looked at average work experiences for MBA programs and decided that i need to work for at least 1.5 - 2 years from here.
My only concern is my low gpa and grades , Does the post graduate degree help to any extent and compensate for low undergrad GPA , i know grades are pretty easy to come at grad school and most of my batch mates are in range of 82-85 but does being at 4.00 helps to show that i have potential and i have matured and i am able to put in effort and i did get the maximum possible grade by doing that. Secondly with 2.84 UG , 4.00 G and GMAT b/w 680-720 do i need to build an alternate transcript as well and if yes which courses shall i take. and can i take these from CourseEra as it is cheap.
I would want some advice on how much more work experience shall i get ? if i need to build an alternate transcript ? what range of schools shall i apply to ? i am not looking for top 20 ( what range shall i aim for , i can apply to schools in Europe and Asia as well) and what do i do from now onwards to strengthen my profile.
Thank You
Profile :
- Undergraduate in computer science from Pakistan : 2.84/4.00 which is 74 % my school used both grading schemes. My last year GPA is 3.33/4.00
Masters in computer from University of Western Ontario : 95 % which is 4.00/4.00 ( currently in last semester )
Work Experience : 3 years as an Analyst Software Engineer and then software engineer ( nothing very significant so far except for leading a small team for 4 people on two small projects and having worked with clients like AT&T, Bell, Verizon.
GRE : 318 (Q163,V155) didn't prepare much just spent some time and went to give the test to get into a post grad degree as i knew i would get into Post grad program with this much GRE
I have just started to consider MBA as an option in future , but i want to move in a right direction from here , I have started preparing for GMAT , i aim to get at least 700 in GMAT but will try to get more than that.
Clearly my weakest point so far is my low undergraduate GPA and particularly low grades in Calculus and Probability ( two math courses ). My school was hard but that is not an excuse , i honestly paid more attention to learning the skills and didn't knew the importance of having GPA above 3 so i didn't work towards it. Secondly i was overly involved in extra and co-curricular activities. I was Vice President of largest student run I.T event in Pakistan and also on executive committees of other student societies.
My second weak point is not so stellar work experience of 3 years, much of that i can relate to the opportunities a fresh graduate in Pakistan has, i tried to make best of what i could , i was top performer for 3 years at my company , We had a quarterly performance evaluation and i received A+ grade in all 12 evaluations i had which was rare for my company. I lead a small team of 4 people on small projects and that is it.
I looked at average work experiences for MBA programs and decided that i need to work for at least 1.5 - 2 years from here.
My only concern is my low gpa and grades , Does the post graduate degree help to any extent and compensate for low undergrad GPA , i know grades are pretty easy to come at grad school and most of my batch mates are in range of 82-85 but does being at 4.00 helps to show that i have potential and i have matured and i am able to put in effort and i did get the maximum possible grade by doing that. Secondly with 2.84 UG , 4.00 G and GMAT b/w 680-720 do i need to build an alternate transcript as well and if yes which courses shall i take. and can i take these from CourseEra as it is cheap.
I would want some advice on how much more work experience shall i get ? if i need to build an alternate transcript ? what range of schools shall i apply to ? i am not looking for top 20 ( what range shall i aim for , i can apply to schools in Europe and Asia as well) and what do i do from now onwards to strengthen my profile.
Thank You
04 Aug 2015, 05:48
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi Faisal - lots of great questions! So first off, the low undergrad GPA is going to be a bit of a concern...but good news is it's further in your past. The postgraduate GPA will definitely help, it shows you've matured, but it won't be weighted quite the same. A high GMAT score will really help you, and I agree that both your Quant & Verbal GRE scores were just a bit below the targets we typically recommend, so I think taking the GMAT and aiming for a 700+ is a smart strategy. Plan to write an Optional Essay too, when it comes time to apply, to explain the low undergrad GPA. So I'd say focus on GMAT now and then depending on how much time you have, it could be smart to take 1 or 2 supplemental courses in Calculus or Stats. Schools generally prefer these courses to come from accredited universities where they can see a transcript and grade, but if that's not in your budget, then using Coursera is totally fine.
Where you apply also depends on your post-MBA career goals...so do some research on different schools and career placements. I think aiming in the 20-40 range for US programs is smart, perhaps with one school above that as a reach school if you do well on the GMAT. And then mixing in some schools in Europe too.
If you have 3 years now of experience, I think you could wait just one more year and apply then. I'm not sure that the extra year would make a significant difference, unless you end up needing more GMAT prep or are up for a promotion at that time or something. Try to get more project management and team experience under your belt in the next year. Also, if you haven't kept up your extracurriculars since college, then now would be a great time to get involved in some activities outside work, ideally ones that allow you to take a leadership role.
Good luck and keep us posted if we can help you down the road!
Where you apply also depends on your post-MBA career goals...so do some research on different schools and career placements. I think aiming in the 20-40 range for US programs is smart, perhaps with one school above that as a reach school if you do well on the GMAT. And then mixing in some schools in Europe too.
If you have 3 years now of experience, I think you could wait just one more year and apply then. I'm not sure that the extra year would make a significant difference, unless you end up needing more GMAT prep or are up for a promotion at that time or something. Try to get more project management and team experience under your belt in the next year. Also, if you haven't kept up your extracurriculars since college, then now would be a great time to get involved in some activities outside work, ideally ones that allow you to take a leadership role.
Good luck and keep us posted if we can help you down the road!
04 Aug 2015, 06:57
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi Kate - Thanks a lot for taking out the time for a detailed reply i appreciate that a lot. It helps answering most of my questions , and i will take the advice and start working on GMAT and then going for other parts one after another , i don't have any volunteer experience since i graduate , but as i am still in school for my Masters degree i will try to start working on something =)
As for work experience is considered , all of my work experience is in Pakistan, I wanted to get some experience in Canada to make international work experience part of my profile and also to look for an opportunity where i can work in a leadership role.
One last question would be Canadian business schools like Rotman, I am at Western so Ivey has a good business school and so is Schulich. I looked at these schools and there averages for GMAT were around 640-660 , If i manage to get 700+ and apply to these schools would i make a good candidate specially at Richard Ivey as my Masters degree where i have 4.0/4.0 is from Western and i aced two project management courses ( 99 % ) and studied them from a professor who teaches at the Ivey business school as well , i would try to get a recommendation from him as well if it helps.
As for work experience is considered , all of my work experience is in Pakistan, I wanted to get some experience in Canada to make international work experience part of my profile and also to look for an opportunity where i can work in a leadership role.
One last question would be Canadian business schools like Rotman, I am at Western so Ivey has a good business school and so is Schulich. I looked at these schools and there averages for GMAT were around 640-660 , If i manage to get 700+ and apply to these schools would i make a good candidate specially at Richard Ivey as my Masters degree where i have 4.0/4.0 is from Western and i aced two project management courses ( 99 % ) and studied them from a professor who teaches at the Ivey business school as well , i would try to get a recommendation from him as well if it helps.
