dsmba wrote:
Hi team,
I have a unique background with very poor undergraduate history, yet fairly strong post-graduate career experiences (still don't know how this happened) that would hopefully help offset my weaknesses from the college years. I'd love to get into a top 10 program, but am also open to good part-time programs that would still allow similar experience as full-time programs (e.g. OCR, networking, student clubs, etc.). That said, here are my stats:
Nationality: Asian-American, US Citizen
Gender: Male
Age: 28
Academics: 2.7 Economics major at a top 20 liberal arts college (unfortunately, my GPA is downward trending; struggled in most classes, especially in quantitative areas)
Reasons for poor performance:partially immaturity, partially lots of family/financial responsibilities, and depression after high school (when I started feeling lost about life after getting into a good college). I had loaded my coursework with anything that I found challenging - not realizing that college GPAs actually do follow you around for awhile even after graduating. My parents were going through a divorce/separation and my mother had gotten a stroke after my junior year, which made it all difficult. I also prioritized money and success over my job as a student (academic success) at the time, so my internship experiences were fancy but academic history was straight garbage.
Honors: I was awarded a full tuition through a leadership/diversity scholarship for all 4 years
Full-time work experience: I will have about 5 years in the health/tech industry by the time of application (2 years at a giant corporation, 1 year at a late-stage startup, then 2 years again at a corporation)
Role: I was very lucky to be offered a role in the strategy & operations role, where the job is very quantitative and strategic in nature, similar to most of the typical post-consulting gigs. Quite surprisingly, despite my poor academic performance particularly in quantitative subjects, I ended up doing pretty well on the job.
Extracurricular: I was a career mentor for unemployed/underemployed students and adults at a local non-profit organization - did this for about a year
Full-time target schools: Sloan, Haas, Booth, Kellogg, Stern (either 2-year or Tech MBA), Yale SOM
Part-time target schools: Haas, Kellogg, Booth (I'm exploring part-time programs for both financial reasons - I'm supporting myself and mother, so it just doesn't seem very feasible to not have a salary for 2 years)
Post-MBA goals: Two possible options: I want to continue to grow in my industry and role. At the same time, I want to give management consulting a shot to gain more experience across different functions and industries.
Here are some specific questions...
1. Given my previous academic performance, does it seem realistic for me to apply to any of the schools above and expect to get admitted?
2. Given my background (academic, financial, current position, post-grad goals), would it make sense for me to shoot for part-time programs?
3. I've done what I could do to offset the low GPA with high GMAT scores and strong work experience. Is there anything else I can do?
4. If you feel that none of the targeting schools are realistic, what would you recommend instead?
Thanks for your opinions in advance!
WHat's your GMAT score?
Although, a high GMAT score with an impressive application(Story) increases chances of admission, it's better to work with an admission consulting company and then decide the targets.
_________________
The Graceful
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