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09 Apr 2013, 23:46
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I had a bad undergrad GPA, and I doubt that my work experience will count for much since i'm in more of a sales position than anything else.. (Financial advisor at one of UBS/ML/MSSB/WF)
I got a 710 on the GMAT (44Q/44V) but I know that the quantitative part counts more.. and historically I've tested better in math (i got a 740 math and only a 720 verbal SAT, for comparison). I only studied a week before the exam and finished the exam with the final 3 questions in the quantitative section unanswered... should've practiced more but I guess that's why I took it early.
The downside is that I only have a 3.13 GPA from a state school. I majored in Finance and got the BBA rather than the B.S. and have As in all of my math classes but I came down with mono my senior year, was bedridden for over a month, and got all C's / D's in a lot of my major courses, including my capstone finance class (hence why i became a Financial Advisor instead of an investment banker.. although graduating in 2009 didn't help
).
Schools I'm looking at: Berkeley (yeah right...) Duke (maybe?) Emory (hopefully..) UCLA (only if i get rejected by Duke and Emory.. but it's doubtful i'll get rejected by both of them and accepted at UCLA) and Georgia Tech (fall back.. but at this level is it worth it?)
A friend told me I could prob get into a top 5... I highly doubt it and I don't really want to even spend the money to apply. I plan on taking CFA lvl 1 in December, though, so if I pass that I think it would go a LONG way to undoing my bad undergrad GPA and then maybe i'd have a chance... but only if I passed.
I make pretty decent money doing what I'm doing, and I legitimately enjoy the sales aspect of it, but it's intellectually boring and, more importantly, I hate the fact that I'm not on the front lines of the market. I don't want to go into PE or VC because I know i'd have a snowball's chance in hell of getting in, but I'd love to be a portfolio manager or even take a shot at corporate finance. I ran a small time web development company back in college and I'd love to refocus on technology / database management / programming as well and use that in either portfolio management or corporate finance.
I live in LA but I'm from Georgia... I can't go to a school in NYC because of my 110 lbs dog but I'm open to anything. Money isn't that much of an issue BUT I have to have to go to a school with a decent student health insurance program because of a condition that would otherwise cost me $20k/yr.
TL;DR?
710 GMAT (44q/44v) but 3.13 GPA from state school (BBA in Finance). Can I get into duke and/or Emory? Should I raise/lower my expectations?
Thanks! Sorry for the essay!
I got a 710 on the GMAT (44Q/44V) but I know that the quantitative part counts more.. and historically I've tested better in math (i got a 740 math and only a 720 verbal SAT, for comparison). I only studied a week before the exam and finished the exam with the final 3 questions in the quantitative section unanswered... should've practiced more but I guess that's why I took it early.
The downside is that I only have a 3.13 GPA from a state school. I majored in Finance and got the BBA rather than the B.S. and have As in all of my math classes but I came down with mono my senior year, was bedridden for over a month, and got all C's / D's in a lot of my major courses, including my capstone finance class (hence why i became a Financial Advisor instead of an investment banker.. although graduating in 2009 didn't help
). Schools I'm looking at: Berkeley (yeah right...) Duke (maybe?) Emory (hopefully..) UCLA (only if i get rejected by Duke and Emory.. but it's doubtful i'll get rejected by both of them and accepted at UCLA) and Georgia Tech (fall back.. but at this level is it worth it?)
A friend told me I could prob get into a top 5... I highly doubt it and I don't really want to even spend the money to apply. I plan on taking CFA lvl 1 in December, though, so if I pass that I think it would go a LONG way to undoing my bad undergrad GPA and then maybe i'd have a chance... but only if I passed.
I make pretty decent money doing what I'm doing, and I legitimately enjoy the sales aspect of it, but it's intellectually boring and, more importantly, I hate the fact that I'm not on the front lines of the market. I don't want to go into PE or VC because I know i'd have a snowball's chance in hell of getting in, but I'd love to be a portfolio manager or even take a shot at corporate finance. I ran a small time web development company back in college and I'd love to refocus on technology / database management / programming as well and use that in either portfolio management or corporate finance.
I live in LA but I'm from Georgia... I can't go to a school in NYC because of my 110 lbs dog but I'm open to anything. Money isn't that much of an issue BUT I have to have to go to a school with a decent student health insurance program because of a condition that would otherwise cost me $20k/yr.
TL;DR?
710 GMAT (44q/44v) but 3.13 GPA from state school (BBA in Finance). Can I get into duke and/or Emory? Should I raise/lower my expectations?
Thanks! Sorry for the essay!
10 Apr 2013, 07:57
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dave785
Hey Dave! I definitely think Duke/Emory is possible for you. If you look at the chart on duke-fuqua-2013-calling-all-applicants-134412.html you will see there are quite a few people with your stats who were accepted. The fact that you did well in math definitely helps, plus it sounds like you have a reason you can point to for your grade decline. I didn't even address my low GPA (lower than yours) because I didn't have a valid reason other than I preferred to focus on sports in college. Obviously your GPA and GMAT are only two pieces of the puzzle, so you'll need to make sure you put together strong applications that show you have a clear idea of your career goals (think it helps if they are feasible and somewhat backed up by your work/extracurricular experience to date) and why an MBA from that specific school is essential to achieving those goals. Your GPA is by no means going to exclude you from any school (that includes Haas), it might just mean you need to put together more solid essays.
10 Apr 2013, 08:23
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Concur with Dakells - your raw stats are fine. Now it's up to articulating why MBA, why Duke/Emory/Haas.
If you don't get into Haas, it's not your GPA, it's the fact that they admit around 12%-13% due to their small size and primo Bay area location. For context, HBS admits at the same rate.
If you have the time and know you can do better on the quant portion, I would take another stab at the GMAT. 3 questions unanswered is a lot, so it looks like you need to nail down the timing. A 44V is crazy good, while a 44Q leaves much to be desired. If you can raise your quant to a 47ish (while maintaining a verbal in the 40s) you'll be approaching that coveted 730-750 range which will further alleviate concerns about your undergrad GPA.
If you don't get into Haas, it's not your GPA, it's the fact that they admit around 12%-13% due to their small size and primo Bay area location. For context, HBS admits at the same rate.
If you have the time and know you can do better on the quant portion, I would take another stab at the GMAT. 3 questions unanswered is a lot, so it looks like you need to nail down the timing. A 44V is crazy good, while a 44Q leaves much to be desired. If you can raise your quant to a 47ish (while maintaining a verbal in the 40s) you'll be approaching that coveted 730-750 range which will further alleviate concerns about your undergrad GPA.
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