HI! I am a soon to be retired Major League Baseball player, looking for insight regarding my B-school prospects.
Thanks for your question- I worked on the adcom side and I can tell you that your baseball experience-and particularly that you did make it to the majors even briefly will add what is called a "hook"- something that an admissions committee might want to grab hold of in building a class. If you can get the 720+ GMAT that's even better.
Your undergrad gpa, while not stellar, should not hurt you too much especially if you can get the the higher gpa. I think there is a way you can frame your professional baseball experience in the right light that it will be considered by adcom.
Think about your mental preparation for games- and how you approached research for games- not unlike what a sales person does for research when getting ready to meet a new prospect. There are definitely some things you can do to strengthen your profile to appeal to i-banking and finance post MBA. Would be happy to do a free consult to share more-
I do think you can present very well- and since you are used to the idea of a coach- I think you can appreciate that the right coach can help you present in the best light. One of our our MBA counselors played in the NFL and you might enjoy his perspective. To reach out for a free consult: go to this link: https://stratusadmissionscounseling.com ... b-visitor/ or pm me to learn more or ask more questions. I see a good path to B school for you!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
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.
Donna BaumanStratus Senior MBA Admissions Counselor
Kellogg MBA
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24 Jun 2017, 22:37
