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24 Jun 2017, 22:37
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HI! I am a soon to be retired Major League Baseball player, looking for insight regarding my B-school prospects.
I graduated from a top 20 undergrad business program with a B.S. in Finance. For the last 5 years i have been playing professional baseball, and in 2015 I pitched in the major leagues. My career was extremely promising (high draft pick, all star in the minor leagues, low ERA in the majors, etc...) , but sadly at the age of 26 injuries have completely ended my career.
I'm wondering how my unique life experience will be perceived by business school admissions. My dream is to work in either investment banking, PE or some sort of financial consulting. I have been told by numerous people that my experience as an athlete is a huge positive and carries significant weight on a resume. I hope this to be true, but am unsure. Baseball has been something I have completely dedicated my life to in the past 7 years or so. It has given me some amazing experiences and looking back I can say I wouldn't trade it for anything. Unfortunately my obsession with my possible baseball career distracted me from actually trying in college. I finished undergrad with a 3.1 GPA. Not good, but certainly not bad compared to my teammates and your average athlete. I am confident that with practice I can get my GMAT score to be 720+.
What kind of candidate am I for business school (assuming I can study my way to an elite GMAT score)? Will my sports career carry any weight? Will my lack of work experience kill me? How much will my mediocre GPA hurt me? Do I have a chance at getting into a top 10 MBA? top 20?
Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated. Be as harsh or encouraging as you like.
-TC
I graduated from a top 20 undergrad business program with a B.S. in Finance. For the last 5 years i have been playing professional baseball, and in 2015 I pitched in the major leagues. My career was extremely promising (high draft pick, all star in the minor leagues, low ERA in the majors, etc...) , but sadly at the age of 26 injuries have completely ended my career.
I'm wondering how my unique life experience will be perceived by business school admissions. My dream is to work in either investment banking, PE or some sort of financial consulting. I have been told by numerous people that my experience as an athlete is a huge positive and carries significant weight on a resume. I hope this to be true, but am unsure. Baseball has been something I have completely dedicated my life to in the past 7 years or so. It has given me some amazing experiences and looking back I can say I wouldn't trade it for anything. Unfortunately my obsession with my possible baseball career distracted me from actually trying in college. I finished undergrad with a 3.1 GPA. Not good, but certainly not bad compared to my teammates and your average athlete. I am confident that with practice I can get my GMAT score to be 720+.
What kind of candidate am I for business school (assuming I can study my way to an elite GMAT score)? Will my sports career carry any weight? Will my lack of work experience kill me? How much will my mediocre GPA hurt me? Do I have a chance at getting into a top 10 MBA? top 20?
Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated. Be as harsh or encouraging as you like.
-TC
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Expert reply
25 Jun 2017, 09:41
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Tcooney
TC,
Thank you for the post and welcome to the community! You actually have a very unique profile that can make you an attractive candidate. I have worked with former professional players before and most recently placed a former poker player into a top school. These applications are always fun to work on because we end up being very creative while telling the story.
Whether a top 10 would work or not depends on the rest of the profile since the 3.1 is low. Why don't you email me a resume if you have it (or since you may not, any info about what you do outside of work. We can then chat further.
[email protected]
Best,
Scott
25 Jun 2017, 22:56
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Hi Tcooney,
Your experience in baseball will surely carry weight, and it’s a plus from diversity perspective. However, you need to show how in those seven years you’ve progressed, displayed leadership skills (which isn’t necessarily captaining the side), found solutions to seemingly intractable problems, and so on. Basically, things one would face in the business world. Transferrable skills. You may find this article useful in this regard:
Non-Traditional Applicant? Here’s How You Can Strengthen Your Application
On GPA, you can mitigate your low GPA by explaining any accentuating reasons (say, building a sports career) and scoring high on GMAT.
On career goals, especially short term, think carefully if it can be feasibly achieved. For example, PE may not work out straight out of B-school, but IB could. You may find this answer useful in this regard.
Your experience in baseball will surely carry weight, and it’s a plus from diversity perspective. However, you need to show how in those seven years you’ve progressed, displayed leadership skills (which isn’t necessarily captaining the side), found solutions to seemingly intractable problems, and so on. Basically, things one would face in the business world. Transferrable skills. You may find this article useful in this regard:
Non-Traditional Applicant? Here’s How You Can Strengthen Your Application
On GPA, you can mitigate your low GPA by explaining any accentuating reasons (say, building a sports career) and scoring high on GMAT.
On career goals, especially short term, think carefully if it can be feasibly achieved. For example, PE may not work out straight out of B-school, but IB could. You may find this answer useful in this regard.
