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Profile Evaluation (low GPA, 720 GMAT, attorney)

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hk0620
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Joined: 11 Aug 2013
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Concentration: Strategy
Schools: Marshall '16 (WA) Anderson FEMBA '17 (A)
GMAT 1: 720 Q49 V40
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Profile Evaluation (low GPA, 720 GMAT, attorney) [#permalink] New post   09 Sep 2013, 21:05
Hi Jon, could I get an evaluation on my background?

31 asian-american male
UG GPA: 2.86 (I'm pretty concerned about this), B.S. in managerial economics from UC Davis. Had an upward trend in GPA during my final two years of school due to a switch in majors (from bio-chem to manegerial econ).
Law School GPA: 3.25 from a decent, but not great regional school (ranked around 50 nationally)
GMAT: 720 (49Q, 40V), 6.0AWA, 8.0 IR
Target Schools: USC F/T, UCLA P/T, NYU P/T.

I worked in finance for a year after college and decided to go to law school. After graduating law school, I worked as in house counsel for 1 year at an online media company. Since then and for the past 3 years, I've been working as a regulatory compliance lawyer, assisting banks, lenders, and finance companies with issues in commercial and consumer lending. I'm planning on going to business school to begin a career in consulting, but would like to continue working in my current field, just on the business side rather than the legal side.

1. What do you think my chances are for getting into each of the schools I listed? Ideally, I'd like to attend USC F/T or UCLA P/T. However, if USC F/T is a stretch, I'd rather apply to the P/T program as a safety.

2. Will my experience as an attorney be a positive factor in admissions? I've heard mixed opinions on how adcoms view lawyers (eg: some are skeptical as to why they're going back to school, others feel they bring diversity to the classroom, etc.)

3. Nothing I can do about my UG GPA. Will my law school GPA help to counterbalance my UG GPA?

4. Anything you recommend that I do to help my chances? Any other schools you suggest I apply to?

Thanks in advance for your advice! It's much appreciated.
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Re: Profile Evaluation (low GPA, 720 GMAT, attorney) [#permalink] New post   11 Sep 2013, 00:34
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Hey man,
Good to hear from you. Let's have a look at your questions

1. What do you think my chances are for getting into each of the schools I listed? Ideally, I'd like to attend USC F/T or UCLA P/T. However, if USC F/T is a stretch, I'd rather apply to the P/T program as a safety.

Well, I think you should have a shot at USC F/T, from what I see here. The question is: what is your goal? And which sort of program will help you get there better? If Full-time is the answer, then apply only full-time, even at UCLA. You are at 31, a bit on the cusp this year, and this will be your strongest shot. The only other thing I can say is that you should be adding 2-3 more schools to your list. I think overall if you apply to the three programs on your list you should have a shot, but it would be better if you added a few, like I wrote.


2. Will my experience as an attorney be a positive factor in admissions? I've heard mixed opinions on how adcoms view lawyers (eg: some are skeptical as to why they're going back to school, others feel they bring diversity to the classroom, etc.)

In general, I have seen good things with attorneys who apply to B-school. The MOST important thing is that it make sense. It's totally okay for you to prefer a business career, but don't throw away your vast law experience and knowledge! Basically what I mean is that use your law experience to your advantage - fit them into your goals.

3. Nothing I can do about my UG GPA. Will my law school GPA help to counterbalance my UG GPA?

Not exactly "counterbalance" but that plus your GMAT does show that you are a clever person.

4. Anything you recommend that I do to help my chances? Any other schools you suggest I apply to?

I would definitely urge you to apply to a few more schools - but I don't yet know what your goals are (post-MBA) nor your thoughts/criteria for selecting an MBA are.... so if you can enlighten me there a bit, I may be able to help you out better.

Thanks in advance for your advice! It's much appreciated.
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hk0620
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Joined: 11 Aug 2013
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Location: United States
Concentration: Strategy
Schools: Marshall '16 (WA) Anderson FEMBA '17 (A)
GMAT 1: 720 Q49 V40
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Re: Profile Evaluation (low GPA, 720 GMAT, attorney) [#permalink] New post   11 Sep 2013, 11:08
Thanks for the response Jon!

To give you a better idea of my work experience and career goals, I currently work at one of the largest financial services law firms in the country. We advise clients on regulatory matters related to consumer and commercial lending.

My goal for going to business school is to transition to a career in consulting and still remain in the financial services industry, utilizing my legal knowledge of regulatory and compliance issues. Specifically, I'd like to continue assisting banks, lenders, and other financial institutions (except on the business side rather than the legal side) by working on creating and developing internal policy, analyzing growth strategy and corporate development, and helping with risk management. Both Navigant and Lek specialize in industries that I would like to break into. Navigant, specifically, assists clients in consumer protection, which is right up my alley (https://www.navigant.com/services/econom ... rotection/). Lek offers a broader range of consulting services, but that are still similarly related to banking and lending (https://www.lek.com/industries/financial-services).

Does that provide enough information on what my post-MBA goals are? Because that type of consulting is a bit more specialized, I'm not sure that certain schools would be better than other ones for what I'm trying to do, except based on their rankings for employability in consulting in general. As such, I'm applying to schools that I feel I have a reasonable chance at (not trying to overreach), but that are still ranked relatively high.

Ideally, I would rather attend a FT program, but in all honesty, I would probably apply to USC and UCLA's PT programs if I have much better shots of getting in. Because my firm has offices in LA and NY, I can continue working at my current firm while attending school. But would you say I have a pretty good shot at USC FT or is it closer to a long shot? If there's a good chance, I think I will take the plunge in applying FT.

Also, I think you're right in saying that I should apply to a couple more schools. Based on what I've said, are there any FT programs you feel I'd have a good shot at? I know McCombs has a good program for consulting so I'll probably apply there as well.

Thanks again for your help!
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Re: Profile Evaluation (low GPA, 720 GMAT, attorney) [#permalink] New post   11 Sep 2013, 23:55
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Hey you got it man,
Well I'd still wanna dig in deeper into your profile, but I feel like you can get into FT programs at USC, UCLA or NYU. And if you were to add two "lower-ranked" schools (full-time, part-time, whatever) then you would, I feel strategically round off your application. I mean the worst-case scenario (which is not bad) is that you take the risk, apply to these programs, don't get in, and apply next year to the PT programs. BUT, I'm not sure if you even WANT to do that. Actually it seems like you have a good job, with good flexibility, and that you should be able to smoothly transition into your goal... so maybe you even PREFER to go to a PT program???

But yes, you would have much better chances of getting in. You might as well also apply to Haas. It's not exactly close, but you have a lot of easy transportation options, so you should be able to swing it. Tepper also has a good part-time program that is not toooooo far from NYC (so maybe if you live somewhere in the middle...) Anyhow that's for part-times.

Let me know your thoughts about this PT vs. FT stuff. I think that you could make it in to USC, UCLA and NYU even FT. Yes, you have poor UG grades. But still your GMAT is great, your work experience seems excellent, you have good strong goals... So if it is better (and only you know that) then I think you could give it a shot.

Best,
JF
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hk0620
Intern
Intern
Joined: 11 Aug 2013
Posts: 20
Own Kudos [?]: 13 [0]
Given Kudos: 14
Location: United States
Concentration: Strategy
Schools: Marshall '16 (WA) Anderson FEMBA '17 (A)
GMAT 1: 720 Q49 V40
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Re: Profile Evaluation (low GPA, 720 GMAT, attorney) [#permalink] New post   21 Sep 2013, 12:05
JonAdmissionado wrote:
Hey you got it man,
Well I'd still wanna dig in deeper into your profile, but I feel like you can get into FT programs at USC, UCLA or NYU. And if you were to add two "lower-ranked" schools (full-time, part-time, whatever) then you would, I feel strategically round off your application. I mean the worst-case scenario (which is not bad) is that you take the risk, apply to these programs, don't get in, and apply next year to the PT programs. BUT, I'm not sure if you even WANT to do that. Actually it seems like you have a good job, with good flexibility, and that you should be able to smoothly transition into your goal... so maybe you even PREFER to go to a PT program???

But yes, you would have much better chances of getting in. You might as well also apply to Haas. It's not exactly close, but you have a lot of easy transportation options, so you should be able to swing it. Tepper also has a good part-time program that is not toooooo far from NYC (so maybe if you live somewhere in the middle...) Anyhow that's for part-times.

Let me know your thoughts about this PT vs. FT stuff. I think that you could make it in to USC, UCLA and NYU even FT. Yes, you have poor UG grades. But still your GMAT is great, your work experience seems excellent, you have good strong goals... So if it is better (and only you know that) then I think you could give it a shot.

Best,
JF


Ideally, I'd rather not work while attending school. I think I'll try applying to the FT programs at USC, UCLA, and possibly NYU (haven't made up my mind about that yet). Regarding lower ranked programs, to be honest, I probably wouldn't go, even if I got in. If I'm spending 100k+ to attend b-school, it'd only be worth it to me if I feel like I'm getting a positive return on my investment. I'm really not trying to be a snob, but I'm not sure that a lower ranked program would actually help me to achieve my career goals. I'll do some more research into other program, nevertheless.

Again, thanks so much for your great advice! It's given me some encouragement and optimism about my application into these programs.
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Re: Profile Evaluation (low GPA, 720 GMAT, attorney) [#permalink] New post   23 Sep 2013, 02:08
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Great!!! Sounds like a pretty good plan to me! I understand your point about lower-ranked programs, and it can be true. But make sure you look into the programs. People tend to make arbitrary cutoffs based on the decimal system (Top 10, Top 20, top 30), whereas the real criteria is "Can this school help me reach my goals?"

I wish you the best of luck dude, and if you have anything else, just drop a line.

Best,
JF
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