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06 Apr 2021, 04:06
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi,
I'm planning to apply for MBA programs either this year or next and I'd love your advice on how to handle the weaknesses in my profile.
Nationality: Asian American (ethnically Korean)
Gender: Female
Undergraduate degree:
I attended a pretty well-known college in South Korea for 3 years and then transferred to the second school in the U.S.
1. English and Business double major, 4-year University in South Korea (GPA: 3.83/4.0)
2. BA in Economics from Top 20 Public School in the U.S. (GPA:3.67/4.0)
GMAT score: I've only taken mock exams and got 730 on average. I'm planning to take the real exam soon as they've reopened the test center in my region recently.
Work experience (2.3 years so far):
- I've been working at a global consulting firm (not MBB/Big4) in their data analytics practice. I started in their Chicago office and worked for 1.5 years and then recently transferred to their Hong Kong office.
- Basically, I'm working for the same company but in a different location.
- I recently got a promotion.
Target schools: M7 schools, Yale, Haas, etc. I'm only considering U.S. schools.
I think my biggest weakness is my undergraduate transcripts. I believe my GPA from both schools are about average, not necessarily a minus, but I have too many withdrawals on my transcripts from both schools.
They are not withdrawal fails but simply withdrawals, which indicates I dropped those courses after certain weeks. I have 3 Ws from the Korean school and 4 from the U.S. school. After completing my first semester in Korea, I realized that I wasn't a good fit there (e.g. different education system, lecture style) and decided to transfer after completing 60 credits. So I dropped a few classes when I found out the credits I earned from those classes were not really transferrable. Also, withdrawing was very common in Korea and nothing was bad about it.
Then, I transferred to the U.S. school and I ended up with 3.67 GPA but with 4 Ws. The main reason was that I was a business major in Korea and decided to take some business courses as electives in my U.S. school but I felt like I was doing what I had already done in Korea again and thought it'd give me more time to focus on my major(Economics) courses if I drop those courses. Back then, I wasn't really thinking about going to grad school and was short-sighted. To be honest, I think I used the withdrawal system to get a higher final GPA. I wasn't that struggling in those classes (Probably still would have got B- in the worst-case scenario) but I thought it'd be better to just drop and focus on major courses.
The 3 courses I dropped in Korea are just social sciences electives but my concern is that the 4 courses I dropped in my U.S. school are not my major courses but are still business/quant classes such as supply chain, business simulation, and data analytics. And they are spread throughout the entire 2 years in the U.S. school. I totally regret that I didn't stick with those classes and ended up with too many Ws on my both transcripts. And I know this is definitely going to raise a red flag to the admission committee in top schools.
If I really focus on GMAT and push myself to get something above average (740+), do you think I still have my chance for M7 schools? Or is it an absolute no when it comes to M7 and should I target other schools?
Plus, if I take some online courses, the business/quant ones I dropped, get As, and submit an alternative transcript, would it help? I will also try to give the admin committees a good explanation in my optional essay instead of saying "I just did it to get a higher gpa." I'd like to know if a great GMAT score and other factors such as the fact that I'm working well in the Data Analytics practice of a global consulting firm(backed with good rec letters, promotions) can compensate for this weakness on my transcript. Or should I just kill the hope?
I'm really regretting now and have my past self for making such a stupid decision to have so many withdrawals. I'd appreciate any realistic advice on this.
Thanks.
I'm planning to apply for MBA programs either this year or next and I'd love your advice on how to handle the weaknesses in my profile.
Nationality: Asian American (ethnically Korean)
Gender: Female
Undergraduate degree:
I attended a pretty well-known college in South Korea for 3 years and then transferred to the second school in the U.S.
1. English and Business double major, 4-year University in South Korea (GPA: 3.83/4.0)
2. BA in Economics from Top 20 Public School in the U.S. (GPA:3.67/4.0)
GMAT score: I've only taken mock exams and got 730 on average. I'm planning to take the real exam soon as they've reopened the test center in my region recently.
Work experience (2.3 years so far):
- I've been working at a global consulting firm (not MBB/Big4) in their data analytics practice. I started in their Chicago office and worked for 1.5 years and then recently transferred to their Hong Kong office.
- Basically, I'm working for the same company but in a different location.
- I recently got a promotion.
Target schools: M7 schools, Yale, Haas, etc. I'm only considering U.S. schools.
I think my biggest weakness is my undergraduate transcripts. I believe my GPA from both schools are about average, not necessarily a minus, but I have too many withdrawals on my transcripts from both schools.
They are not withdrawal fails but simply withdrawals, which indicates I dropped those courses after certain weeks. I have 3 Ws from the Korean school and 4 from the U.S. school. After completing my first semester in Korea, I realized that I wasn't a good fit there (e.g. different education system, lecture style) and decided to transfer after completing 60 credits. So I dropped a few classes when I found out the credits I earned from those classes were not really transferrable. Also, withdrawing was very common in Korea and nothing was bad about it.
Then, I transferred to the U.S. school and I ended up with 3.67 GPA but with 4 Ws. The main reason was that I was a business major in Korea and decided to take some business courses as electives in my U.S. school but I felt like I was doing what I had already done in Korea again and thought it'd give me more time to focus on my major(Economics) courses if I drop those courses. Back then, I wasn't really thinking about going to grad school and was short-sighted. To be honest, I think I used the withdrawal system to get a higher final GPA. I wasn't that struggling in those classes (Probably still would have got B- in the worst-case scenario) but I thought it'd be better to just drop and focus on major courses.
The 3 courses I dropped in Korea are just social sciences electives but my concern is that the 4 courses I dropped in my U.S. school are not my major courses but are still business/quant classes such as supply chain, business simulation, and data analytics. And they are spread throughout the entire 2 years in the U.S. school. I totally regret that I didn't stick with those classes and ended up with too many Ws on my both transcripts. And I know this is definitely going to raise a red flag to the admission committee in top schools.
If I really focus on GMAT and push myself to get something above average (740+), do you think I still have my chance for M7 schools? Or is it an absolute no when it comes to M7 and should I target other schools?
Plus, if I take some online courses, the business/quant ones I dropped, get As, and submit an alternative transcript, would it help? I will also try to give the admin committees a good explanation in my optional essay instead of saying "I just did it to get a higher gpa." I'd like to know if a great GMAT score and other factors such as the fact that I'm working well in the Data Analytics practice of a global consulting firm(backed with good rec letters, promotions) can compensate for this weakness on my transcript. Or should I just kill the hope?
I'm really regretting now and have my past self for making such a stupid decision to have so many withdrawals. I'd appreciate any realistic advice on this.
Thanks.
07 Apr 2021, 08:29
Kudos
Bookmarks
Katie0721
