Profile Evaluation IT consultant with the life-story

Question

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.. :-D

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.

Hopeful86 · Answer

Any insight guys? I know it was a rather lengthy post, just wanted to know if it would be worth pursuing a full-time MBA with my profile posted above?

Hopeful86 · Answer

Any insight guys? I know it was a rather lengthy post, just wanted to know if it would be worth pursuing a full-time MBA with my profile posted above?

bryantmichaels · Answer

Thanks for posting your profile. Very interesting backstory, and clearly not the typical applicant background to be sure. There are good points and bad points about your profile, and identifying them likely won't take you by surprise. Some of the positives include four years of work experience, a good GMAT score and what appears to be a deep and longstanding commitment to organizations outside of work. I will speak more to the negatives, since these will more likely be what will guide you in the application process. There are some schools who will not like at all yr academic background. While it is commendable to go back and complete your degree after failing out, most schools in the top tier will not like the fact you finished it online nor that your GPA was low compared to the average applicant. Some schools will definitely take issue with your failing out in the first place and there are simply too many applicants out there with degrees from better schools and having had a more "traditional" preparation for b-school. Still, if you communicate your story in a compelling way and make it very personal, with a mature reflection on why you made your past choices and how you have grown from them, your story might just be interesting enough to compel some admissions compassion. One key will be in your work experience and how much progression and leadership you can demonstrate. Will your recommenders say you are among the top performers? have you been promoted? Are you a leader among peers? Have you had a significant impact on your organizations? Your recommenders will be a key component of your application since you are trying to convince them you are truly reformed academically and are now ready to take b-school by the horns. It certainly can't hurt to go for a top tier school and your core profile attributes should qualify you "on paper" for these schools, so spend some time organizing your story and consider getting a consultant or someone who has been through the process to help you pull your story together in the best possible way and you should have a shot.

Profile Evaluation IT consultant with the life-story

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