Am I worthy of a good school?

Question

Hi all, with recent events in the job sector and the economy recovering at a very slow pace I was really thinking about pursuing an MBA. I thinking about it more because it's so hard for me to get a decent job. I am a day trader for a local firm and basically a financial analyst after the markets close, all with horrible pay.

I don't know what I'm worth to these schools. I graduated with a 2.8 GPA from Michigan State University and I feel that I really screwed myself with my undergrad standing and getting accepted to a pretty good school would be possible. I'm interested in pursuing a Master's in Finance and I will be starting to study for my GMAT soon.

Does anyone have any insight or experience that they would be able to share that could potential help me out? Is all hope lost for me and good business schools will just tell me better luck in another life? Even if I get a score above a 700 on my GMAT will it potential out shadow my terrible GPA?

Thanks guys

clickitoff · Answer

of course you are worthy. :wink:

just need to get them to recognize that despite a low gpa. i am sure you can find examples all over of people with low gpa's getting in. I did have a very low gmat score, and an average gpa (i used gre score but still not a typical perfect background) and I have had success. now more than ever i am convinced decsions are not made just based on numbers. but you mention masters in finance as well as mba. you know they are different?

jordanhendrix · Answer

list some schools youre interested in......
you ca def get into some decent school with those numbers

check out this thread....inspirational to say the least:
low-undergrad-gpa-success-stories-79977.html

arkr · Answer

Yes, I do know the difference I was at work and in a rush to finish the post so no one saw me. Master's degree is not specified to what field and and MBA is a master's degree in business administration. Thank you for the post.

arkr · Answer

I really haven't really research the schools that I would like to apply to. But off the top of my head I would like to apply to Kellogg, Tuck, Ross, Fuqua, HBS and or Stern. UCLA, University of Virgina and or Texas would be my second batch of schools. What do you think?

ardk · Answer

The list seems logical based on the difficulty of getting admitted. But honestly, once you have your gmat score, and with all the details of w/e, xtra curricular, and other intangibles put together, you will be able to narrow down the schools more confidently.

StacyBlackman · Answer

Hi ardk,

Don't be so down on yourself for the GPA. There are ways to mitigate the damage. Here is an example of one applicant; you can use a similar strategy for your application.

We had a candidate from the University of Michigan who was fairly solid in many areas, but who had a below average GPA that could have derailed his entire application (Sub 3.0). In his application we decide that this client’s story was a personal one that chronicled how he developed and pursued an intense interest in martial arts. That interest actually took him away from school for two semesters and became a distraction that contributed to a very low GPA. But it also helped him develop certain characteristics and unique abilities that strengthened his character, and made him a much stronger leader and team player. We focused on his developed qualities that would enable him to excel in business school and in the business world.

In the end, he was admitted to Columbia and Chicago.

For your application, think back to your GPA and how you can frame the story differently. Particularly if you do well on the GMAT, there will be ways you can overcome this.

Hope this was of help. Please let me know if I can answer any other questions!

Cheers,

Conrad and the Stacy Blackman Team

redjam · Answer

You may want to consider taking some quant courses and demonstrate you can do well in them. I think most business schools use your undergrad transcript to determine if you'll be able to handle the quant. By taking the extra courses, you're demonstrating that

1) you recognize weakness in your application
2) you're taking initiative and doing something about it
3) you actually do have the quant skills to hack it at a top business school

I haven't paid much attention to extra courses but I'm quite positive I've seen some threads on gmatclub.com regarding well reputed institutions.

humphy · Answer

Like others have suggested here, it isn't the end of the world.

Perhaps enroll in a community college and get some technical classes under your belt with a 3.0+, and be sure to have a compelling reason as to your undergrad GPA (did you work part time? Family issues? Health? etc.). Your improvement and more recent CC GPA will show you are serious and can handle the MBA course work.

Am I worthy of a good school?

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