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mbahopeful04
Joined: 09 May 2019
Last visit: 18 Apr 2021
Posts: 7
Location: United States (MN)
GRE 1: Q167 V165
GPA: 3.01
14 Aug 2019, 12:31
Kudos
Bookmarks
Planning to apply this fall. Would appreciate any thoughts, tips you're willing to provide!
Work experience:
3.75 years working in social media strategy and analytics (think: media planning and buying, not so much content creation / community management) at an independent advertising agency (~100 employees) in Minneapolis; promoted four times during my time there, ultimately managing two assistant account executives
CURRENT: 1.5 years in digital marketing strategy/operations (non-management position) at a large integrated healthcare system based in the Midwest, playing a lead role in enterprise digital media planning/buying/analytics in social, display, direct, native, etc.
Extra curriculars:
Spent the last 1.25 years on the Programming Committee and Associate/Junior Board (~8 hours/week) of a prominent inner-city youth sports organization; will continue to participate for as long as I can (even during/after MBA) – truly value my time here and the opportunity to have an impact
During my time at the agency, I was selected/sponsored by agency to participate in a three-month-long national case study competition
During undergrad, I was one of five students selected to represent my university in the Public Relations Student Society of America’s Bateman Case Study Competition – a year-long, national case study competition in which student teams create and implement a full public relations campaign
Multi-year member of two different ad/PR student orgs
Undergrad school/major:
Big10, Journalism – with an emphasis on Strategic Communication (i.e. Advertising/PR)
Race/nationality:
White; born in Northern Ireland, primarily raised in US
Sex:
Male
Stats:
GRE Score:
332 – 167Q, 165V (according to ETS’s conversion tool, that would be a 750 GMAT - hence the headline)
Undergrad GPA:
3.0 – I understand this is something I’ll need to overcome (more on that below).
Goal of MBA:
Transition into the marketing practice group of a Big 4/T2 consulting firm
Target schools:
Northwestern, Dartmouth, Michigan, Virginia, Duke, Cornell
Beyond my lower GPA, I have a checkered past academically. Due to lack of maturity more than anything else, I wasted my first two years post-high school bouncing out of a Pac12 party school and failing classes at a local community college. Then I enrolled in the Big10 school from which I graduated and began to take my academics more seriously. And since I’ve been in the workforce, I’ve been passionate and dedicated (which I hope is demonstrated by my history of promotions). Absolutely plan to address past failures in my essays and how I’ve benefitted from them.
Four big questions:
· Any thoughts on targets?
· Any guidance on framing up my lackluster academic history?
· Wondering about the value of completing MBAmath or HBX Core this fall to reinforce quant skills and demonstrate commitment?
Thanks in advance for your time and advice!
Work experience:
3.75 years working in social media strategy and analytics (think: media planning and buying, not so much content creation / community management) at an independent advertising agency (~100 employees) in Minneapolis; promoted four times during my time there, ultimately managing two assistant account executives
CURRENT: 1.5 years in digital marketing strategy/operations (non-management position) at a large integrated healthcare system based in the Midwest, playing a lead role in enterprise digital media planning/buying/analytics in social, display, direct, native, etc.
Extra curriculars:
Spent the last 1.25 years on the Programming Committee and Associate/Junior Board (~8 hours/week) of a prominent inner-city youth sports organization; will continue to participate for as long as I can (even during/after MBA) – truly value my time here and the opportunity to have an impact
During my time at the agency, I was selected/sponsored by agency to participate in a three-month-long national case study competition
During undergrad, I was one of five students selected to represent my university in the Public Relations Student Society of America’s Bateman Case Study Competition – a year-long, national case study competition in which student teams create and implement a full public relations campaign
Multi-year member of two different ad/PR student orgs
Undergrad school/major:
Big10, Journalism – with an emphasis on Strategic Communication (i.e. Advertising/PR)
Race/nationality:
White; born in Northern Ireland, primarily raised in US
Sex:
Male
Stats:
GRE Score:
332 – 167Q, 165V (according to ETS’s conversion tool, that would be a 750 GMAT - hence the headline)
Undergrad GPA:
3.0 – I understand this is something I’ll need to overcome (more on that below).
Goal of MBA:
Transition into the marketing practice group of a Big 4/T2 consulting firm
Target schools:
Northwestern, Dartmouth, Michigan, Virginia, Duke, Cornell
Beyond my lower GPA, I have a checkered past academically. Due to lack of maturity more than anything else, I wasted my first two years post-high school bouncing out of a Pac12 party school and failing classes at a local community college. Then I enrolled in the Big10 school from which I graduated and began to take my academics more seriously. And since I’ve been in the workforce, I’ve been passionate and dedicated (which I hope is demonstrated by my history of promotions). Absolutely plan to address past failures in my essays and how I’ve benefitted from them.
Four big questions:
· Any thoughts on targets?
· Any guidance on framing up my lackluster academic history?
· Wondering about the value of completing MBAmath or HBX Core this fall to reinforce quant skills and demonstrate commitment?
Thanks in advance for your time and advice!
14 Aug 2019, 19:54
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi and thanks for your post. You have a solid profile and I’m happy to give a very brief analysis and answer your questions. As you are aware, the application process is holistic, and committees will look at your stats (GPA and GRE), work experience, and extracurriculars.
Your GPA is below average so yes, you will need to compensate for that with the rest of your applications. Your GRE – and specifically your Quant score - is excellent and that will help make up for your GPA. You can further illustrate to the schools that you have the academic ability to succeed in the classroom by showcasing your quant ability in your resume, and your recommenders could do the same in their recommendations. It would not hurt to complete a course like MBA Math – it would certainly be viewed favorably – but if your time is limited, I suggest focusing on your applications instead. And making sure you have painted a picture that you are strong from a quant perspective. You have the potential to do that, and thus do not need the supplemental course.
It is hard to gauge your work experience without knowing your accomplishments and impact you have made there. It is nice to see you have already been promoted. And make sure to emphasize the lead roles you have played. Also, your general goal of transitioning into marketing makes sense, but do your best to be specific and to also illustrate the skills you already have which are transferable.
Regarding extracurriculars, make sure to really emphasize your leadership roles you have taken on. I am happy to see you are passionate about the youth sports organization.
As I mentioned, you have potential to create a strong application, even with a below average GPA, as long as you show through your resume, recommendations, and essays that you have the quant ability to succeed, and that your post-MBA goal makes sense. So you do have a chance at these schools, but they are extremely competitive, and each school simply does not have the room to admit all the world's qualified applicants, so keep that in mind. But hopefully they will see that you have a compelling story and are someone who will add value to the classroom and community.
If you would like to discuss your story or anything else in greater detail, please sign up for a free consultation.
Good luck!
Your GPA is below average so yes, you will need to compensate for that with the rest of your applications. Your GRE – and specifically your Quant score - is excellent and that will help make up for your GPA. You can further illustrate to the schools that you have the academic ability to succeed in the classroom by showcasing your quant ability in your resume, and your recommenders could do the same in their recommendations. It would not hurt to complete a course like MBA Math – it would certainly be viewed favorably – but if your time is limited, I suggest focusing on your applications instead. And making sure you have painted a picture that you are strong from a quant perspective. You have the potential to do that, and thus do not need the supplemental course.
It is hard to gauge your work experience without knowing your accomplishments and impact you have made there. It is nice to see you have already been promoted. And make sure to emphasize the lead roles you have played. Also, your general goal of transitioning into marketing makes sense, but do your best to be specific and to also illustrate the skills you already have which are transferable.
Regarding extracurriculars, make sure to really emphasize your leadership roles you have taken on. I am happy to see you are passionate about the youth sports organization.
As I mentioned, you have potential to create a strong application, even with a below average GPA, as long as you show through your resume, recommendations, and essays that you have the quant ability to succeed, and that your post-MBA goal makes sense. So you do have a chance at these schools, but they are extremely competitive, and each school simply does not have the room to admit all the world's qualified applicants, so keep that in mind. But hopefully they will see that you have a compelling story and are someone who will add value to the classroom and community.
If you would like to discuss your story or anything else in greater detail, please sign up for a free consultation.
Good luck!
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