Profile Review

Question

Demographics (nationality, gender): US, Minority Male, 26 Years old

· Education: United States Military Academy (West Point), 2.51 GPA, Systems Design and Analysis Major

· Other coursework or post-undergraduate education: Georgia Tech, M.S Computational Data Analytics, 3.5 GPA

· GMAT or GRE : GMAT 750 (V47 Q46 IR7)

· Work experience : 4 years in military (5 at matriculation). Chemical weapons defense specialty. 3+ years in special forces (SF) community. Multiple company command tenures. SF combat deployment working with intelligence agencies.

· Extracurricular activities : 3 year collegiate athlete (1 year boxing, 2 years cheer). Currently serving as an ambassador between my army unit and make-a-wish foundation, helping with fund raising and event coordination

· Post-MBA goals: Initially consulting for corporate experience. Then use business/tech background to bring futuristic problem solving approach to a non-profit org that I connect with

· Target schools: HBS, Kellogg, Booth, Columbia, Stanford GSB

· Other information relevant to your profile: Founded a start up to try to help serviceman from military academies link with vetted real estate agents to be able to purchase homes at duty stations. Company has kind of stagnated due to other requirements and lack of experience.

· Any specific questions you would like answered by our team: I'm confident in every aspect of my profile except for the GPA.. Is it too low to overcome?

mbaMissionKate · Answer

Hi  kieranhw23 , thanks for your post. I completely agree -- your profile looks great except for the GPA. A high GMAT, like you've attained, is the best strategy to mitigate a low GPA. The MS GPA should help a lot too. Also presenting evidence that you've matured and can handle a rigorous MBA program, which I have no doubt your special forces tenure and deployments will be able to show. Make sure your LOR writers are backing you up on these qualities.

As for the GPA itself, do go back and look at your transcript, reflect on the circumstances, and see if there's a story worth telling about why your GPA dropped. You'll for sure want to write an optional essay, at least to acknowledge that weakness and explain any relevant circumstances (without it sounding like you're making excuses!).

We have had some 2.x GPA clients get admitted to top programs, but I think it would be wise to have a wider range of schools. With all the strengths in your profile, some of the schools you've listed are possible, but I worry about some of them (especially HBS / GSB). A lot is going to depend on how well you execute and how compelling your essays are. I would add a couple backup programs -- e.g., Haas, Duke, NYU.

Hope that helps!
Kate

jn0r · Answer

Totally agree with  mbaMissionKate , it would be a wise decision to have some safe schools in the list + you can expect to receive some scholarship from them

kieranhw23 · Answer

mbaMissionKate

Thank you for your reply and analysis. It certainly makes sense. I have a pretty significant reason for why I struggled, especially in the early years, in my undergrad. I think the one silver lining is that my GPA actually improved every single year in undergrad. From a narrative perspective that improvement supports the growth I plan on expressing in my optional essays.

mbaMissionKate · Answer

Yes, that upward trend definitely helps!

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