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Apr 2909:00 AM PDT
-10:00 AM PDT
What’s in it for you- Live Profile Evaluation Chat Session with Jenifer Turtschanow, CEO, ARINGO. Come with your details prepared and ARINGO will share insights! Pre-MBA Role/Industry, YOE, Exam Score, C/GPA, ECs Post-MBA Role/ Industry & School List.
Apr 2908:00 PM EDT
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Join us for a live Ask Me Anything (AMA) session with Juno’s Co-Founder, where we’ll break down everything you need to know about financing your MBA in today’s rapidly changing landscape.
Apr 3010:00 AM EDT
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Applying to business school from a finance background? Personal MBA Coach is here to help with this quick tips video on how to set yourself apart during the MBA application process!
Apr 3010:00 AM EDT
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Sia Admissions Founder Susan Berishaj will walk through why reach/target/safety produces the wrong list for many specific profiles, how admissions committees at different programs read the same background differently, and more...
Apr 3012:00 PM EDT
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Starting at $975 and offering up to $545 of savings, our new Amplify Hourly Packages offer structure and support in certain high-value areas (story development, resume, essays, interviewing) to help get your applications across the finish line.
Apr 3009:00 PM IST
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Thinking about PE/VC? Most consultants are. Few actually make it. Learn how to position your profile, build the right skills, and break into Private Equity & Venture Capital.
May 0108:30 AM EDT
-09:15 AM EDT
Get the inside scoop on what makes Emory’s Goizueta Business School great, learn how you can present a strong MBA application, and connect with an Admissions Director to get your questions answered.- May 01
08:30 AM EDT
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Get the inside scoop on what makes Emory’s Goizueta Business School great and how you can present a strong MBA application. Explore the difference between our One-Year MBA and Two-Year MBA programs, talk to our admissions team, and meet students. 
May 0108:00 PM PDT
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Inquire for a free profile evaluation and guarantee statement for possible admits and scholarships!
16 Jan 2018, 16:10
Kudos
Bookmarks
Given an applicant who has a relatively non-traditional profile but an astonishingly low undergraduate GPA, what are reasonable target schools for MBA programs?
Of course, I'm speaking about myself. My profile is below:
Basic stats
GMAT: 710 - V38, Q49, IR8, AWA6
Undergraduate GPA: 2.34 from a top 25 (but not top 15) university
Graduate GPA: 3.67
Years WE: 4 years full-time with additional part-time/internship work experiences during my time in school
Industry: Biotech - Manager/Associate Director level in Clinical Development
Volunteer experience: Strong - several years of HIV outreach/community testing
Extracurriculars: Continual involvement in music ensembles/LGBT organizations
Anyway, my conundrum is this: no one cares about my graduate school grades, right? Thus my undergrad 2.34 is back to haunt me. My GMAT is good, not stellar. Same with the rest of my stats. How do I go about choosing the right schools? What can I reasonably say I'm competitive for? Would I even be considered for scholarships anywhere? (Grad school was NOT cheap.) I'm still unsure about whether a part-time or full-time program is right for me.
If you're interested in more context:
I'm 30 years old, and I graduated from University of Southern California with a 2.34 in Biochemistry. Being impassioned by drug discovery, I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in the sciences, but it's been a circuitous route to my current role. After graduating from undergrad, my first postgraduate role was as a research lab manager, where I conducted some research and managed the operations (think purchasing reagents, writing and submitting protocols for our research, managing grant funds, etc.) of a 25-person academic research lab. During my two years in the lab, I found that the people who asked the best research questions and had the best foresight were those who were both scientists and clinicians -- individuals who could understand the clinical relevance of their findings. Desiring to be able to see the forest and not just the trees, I decided to apply to PharmD programs where I could learn about the use of therapeutics in patients.
As I needed to complete several prerequisite courses for pharmacy school, I took several undergraduate-level post-bacc courses (in which I earned a 4.0) while working in the lab, and my post-bacc academic success coupled with a high standardized test (PCAT) score helped me gain admission into pharmacy school. Determined to never let my GPA limit my options again, I took a different approach to my academics in pharmacy school. I graduated with a 3.67; I was always on the Dean's List; I was inducted into the pharmacy academic honor society; and I was in the research honors pathway, limited to only 5 students (from a class of 160). I managed to do this while working part-time continually at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and the VA, while holding several student organization positions, and while earning scholarships and awards from national pharmacy organizations for academics and leadership. Thankfully, my more recent academic success allowed me to be competitive for postdoctoral fellowships, and I opted to serve as a postdoctoral fellow at a large pharmaceutical company.
Presently, I hold a manager/associate director-level position in oncology clinical development with this large pharmaceutical/biotech company, and I'm a part-time pharmacist with a Hopkins hospital. In my full-time role, I design, support, and analyze data from several global, first-in-human oncology studies. I love my job, and I love the sector I'm in. However, I want to do more than just the science. As a health care provider and as a drug developer, I recognize that bringing therapeutics to patients is much more than the science behind it, and making an impact on the costs of the drug development process and health care delivery requires skills and perspective I lack -- things that I believe an MBA can help with and things that will allow me to have a larger impact at a higher level.
Many thanks for your time and advice.
Of course, I'm speaking about myself. My profile is below:
Basic stats
GMAT: 710 - V38, Q49, IR8, AWA6
Undergraduate GPA: 2.34 from a top 25 (but not top 15) university
Graduate GPA: 3.67
Years WE: 4 years full-time with additional part-time/internship work experiences during my time in school
Industry: Biotech - Manager/Associate Director level in Clinical Development
Volunteer experience: Strong - several years of HIV outreach/community testing
Extracurriculars: Continual involvement in music ensembles/LGBT organizations
Anyway, my conundrum is this: no one cares about my graduate school grades, right? Thus my undergrad 2.34 is back to haunt me. My GMAT is good, not stellar. Same with the rest of my stats. How do I go about choosing the right schools? What can I reasonably say I'm competitive for? Would I even be considered for scholarships anywhere? (Grad school was NOT cheap.) I'm still unsure about whether a part-time or full-time program is right for me.
If you're interested in more context:
I'm 30 years old, and I graduated from University of Southern California with a 2.34 in Biochemistry. Being impassioned by drug discovery, I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in the sciences, but it's been a circuitous route to my current role. After graduating from undergrad, my first postgraduate role was as a research lab manager, where I conducted some research and managed the operations (think purchasing reagents, writing and submitting protocols for our research, managing grant funds, etc.) of a 25-person academic research lab. During my two years in the lab, I found that the people who asked the best research questions and had the best foresight were those who were both scientists and clinicians -- individuals who could understand the clinical relevance of their findings. Desiring to be able to see the forest and not just the trees, I decided to apply to PharmD programs where I could learn about the use of therapeutics in patients.
As I needed to complete several prerequisite courses for pharmacy school, I took several undergraduate-level post-bacc courses (in which I earned a 4.0) while working in the lab, and my post-bacc academic success coupled with a high standardized test (PCAT) score helped me gain admission into pharmacy school. Determined to never let my GPA limit my options again, I took a different approach to my academics in pharmacy school. I graduated with a 3.67; I was always on the Dean's List; I was inducted into the pharmacy academic honor society; and I was in the research honors pathway, limited to only 5 students (from a class of 160). I managed to do this while working part-time continually at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and the VA, while holding several student organization positions, and while earning scholarships and awards from national pharmacy organizations for academics and leadership. Thankfully, my more recent academic success allowed me to be competitive for postdoctoral fellowships, and I opted to serve as a postdoctoral fellow at a large pharmaceutical company.
Presently, I hold a manager/associate director-level position in oncology clinical development with this large pharmaceutical/biotech company, and I'm a part-time pharmacist with a Hopkins hospital. In my full-time role, I design, support, and analyze data from several global, first-in-human oncology studies. I love my job, and I love the sector I'm in. However, I want to do more than just the science. As a health care provider and as a drug developer, I recognize that bringing therapeutics to patients is much more than the science behind it, and making an impact on the costs of the drug development process and health care delivery requires skills and perspective I lack -- things that I believe an MBA can help with and things that will allow me to have a larger impact at a higher level.
Many thanks for your time and advice.
16 Jan 2018, 23:40
Kudos
Bookmarks
jmeyerrx
jmeyerrx
Quite impressed with your profile.
1) Please get a good consultant. Changing your weaknesses into major strengths for you is very doable, and you can actually target 10-20 ranks. With the right stories and some luck, you can even stretch to 5-10 schools.
2) For Scholarships, better GMAT scores, Round 1 applications and the blah blah will certainly help, as will lower rank schools (as their means to incentivize you to join them). Happy to talk more about this.
Hope this helps..
16 Jan 2018, 23:57
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Bookmarks
jmeyerrx
Well a few thoughts:
1. If there is room for improvement in your GMAT, do that. Having a high GMAT is the best way to mitigate a crappy GPA
2. If you have a good reason (you know, other than being stoned the whole time
) for low grades, tell the schools about it.3. Accept your GPA - The average GPA at HBS/Stanford is like 3.7. They accept only a handful people per year with a GPA lower than 3.0. So it might be that you have to compromise a bit on schools. But this is no way means you will have to compromise on your goals.
Other than that, your position and your industry will make you a very strong candidate. So even top 5-10 schools may be possible as long shots. For PT programs, they likely wouldn't care about your GPA as they aren't nearly as competitive as FT programs.
I hope this helps!!!
And feel free to follow up with any questions,
Best,
