Hi,
I would like an evaluation of my profile (with a story so if this post needs to moved to another thread, I apologize in advance..), looking to get a brutally honest assessment in regards to go for a full-time MBA or not. I'm looking to get into Tech consulting but I would like to ability to have multiple options available as I'll focus my coursework on Finance/Tech/Strategy if possible.
Age: 29 at Matriculation,
GMAT: 680 (45 Q, 38 V)
Education: (biggest issue) 2.9 GPA from an Online College (think University of Phoenix..the harvard of online colleges..
Extracurricular (Not related to undergrad institution):
Religious Organization volunteer. Done a wide variety of volunteer work at this organization for decades (from teaching to generating awareness etc. etc..
Project Management Institute member
Work Experience
2 Years as an IT consultant at a large Insurance Firm.
2 Years + at a big bank supporting financial markets.
Certification: PMP (Pretty recognized certification in IT) along with a certification of Project management as a professional development course from a university to complete the education hours for PMP exam. (Got a 4.0 GPA..
I would hope this would help offset atleast 1% of my undergrad gpa..lol )
Story
I'll just be brief about it, I was an undergrad student at a top 100 state school where during my junior year i ran into family issues and alcohol problems. I was a 3.0 student who went on a tailspin that led to me getting kicked out after flunking 3-4 consecutive semesters. I completed my undergrad just so I can show it is done at an online college with a 2.9 gpa b/c I still didn't care at that time since I felt I would never be able to recover from my previous mistakes. I was headed down a dead end, till I was given a break and started working as a junior IT consultant on a project at a big firm. Since then, I have made in-roads in the IT industry and I work as a high level consultant in a big bank supporting financial markets. I have received great reviews from C-level executives in regards to the work that I have done and feel like I would be capable of doing great things moving forward.
The praise that I have received has also made me realize that I should make things right with my academic life. I feel ashamed about my undergraduate degree and I try to change the subject when it comes up. Anyways, I have taken the GMAT and gained a respectable score (IMO atleast) of 680.
I want to know if it is worth applying to the following schools in the top 25 list:
1. Carnegie Mellon
2. UNC
3. Emory
4. Georgetown.
I have researched these schools based on their class profiles and they seem to be a little more willing to accept students with lower gpa/GMAT scores. Additionally, UNC/Georgetown have high acceptance rates compared to other programs.
Please let me know if you have any other questions about my profile and I'll respond to them.