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Joined: 22 Apr 2004
Posts: 1117
Given Kudos: 59
Location: Southern California
Schools:Kellogg MBA 2004
Re: Profile evaluation & advice please
[#permalink]
15 Jun 2010, 15:35
Hi ethen,
I love an underdog, too, but I have to tell you that your GPA may be a real deal breaker at top-ten schools. To put it in perspective, a client of ours got into Yale SOM (off of the waitlist) last year with that low of a GPA at probably the best public university in the country, and he says that Yale's dean of admissions told him that he had THE lowest GPA in the whole entering class. So, it's possible, but know that you are literally talking about no more than a few students in a class full of hundreds. I would estimate that, for a school like HBS with an acceptance rate of around 12%, the acceptance rate for applicants with sub-3.0 undergrad GPAs is more like 1% - 3%.
I don't tell you that to discourage you, but rather to help you go into this process with your eyes wide open! If you're going to ask the admissions office at any top program to look past an obvious weakness to take a chance on you, when it could instead go with any one of thousands of other applicants. Ask yourself: What about me (even if I score a 760+ on the GMAT) will make them want to take a chance on ME?
Of course, that's partly what we do for our admissions consulting clients at Veritas Prep. But, even with some professional help, I have to tell you that I think your chances of success at HBS or even NYU will be fairly low. So, spread your bets and consider at least a few more schools, including some lower-ranked ones.
Good luck!
Scott