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dwalker0219
Joined: 11 Aug 2013
Last visit: 25 Mar 2014
Posts: 18
Own Kudos:
Concentration: Strategy
Schools: Foster '16 (II)
GMAT 1: 720 Q47 V42
GPA: 3.47
02 Dec 2013, 12:54
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi, I was hoping to get an assessment of my profile. I'm considering applying to UW Foster, UM Ross, CM Tepper, Duke Fuqua, UV Darden. I'm starting to doubt whether I have a shot at any of those schools.
age - 30
undergrad - University of Washington
degree - chemical engineering
gpa - 3.5
Gmat 720 (1st attempt)
Work experience:
4 years as a process engineer for SNC-Lavalin (Canada's largest engineering firm).
Here's where things get tricky. I quit my job 4 years ago to play professional poker. I paid my way through college with poker winnings, continued to play after graduation and was making a higher hourly rate playing poker on the side while woking as an engineer and decided to just go for it. Online play was eventually shut down in the US. Tried to wait it out for online to come back to the US by playing poker "live" in casinos, but decided I didn't enjoy the lifestyle. The long term goal however was always to get back into the workforce via an mba and pursue a career on the business side of things, and I plan to have my essays reflect that.
Questions:
How bad does the poker playing look? I've received mix feedback from non experts. Some have told me it actually looks good, others have told me I need to lower my expectations (as well as my target schools).
Do I have a shot at the schools listed? Should I retake my gmat to overcompensate for other weaknesses in my profile (with a month or so I feel like I could get 750)?
thank you for any and all feedback.
age - 30
undergrad - University of Washington
degree - chemical engineering
gpa - 3.5
Gmat 720 (1st attempt)
Work experience:
4 years as a process engineer for SNC-Lavalin (Canada's largest engineering firm).
Here's where things get tricky. I quit my job 4 years ago to play professional poker. I paid my way through college with poker winnings, continued to play after graduation and was making a higher hourly rate playing poker on the side while woking as an engineer and decided to just go for it. Online play was eventually shut down in the US. Tried to wait it out for online to come back to the US by playing poker "live" in casinos, but decided I didn't enjoy the lifestyle. The long term goal however was always to get back into the workforce via an mba and pursue a career on the business side of things, and I plan to have my essays reflect that.
Questions:
How bad does the poker playing look? I've received mix feedback from non experts. Some have told me it actually looks good, others have told me I need to lower my expectations (as well as my target schools).
Do I have a shot at the schools listed? Should I retake my gmat to overcompensate for other weaknesses in my profile (with a month or so I feel like I could get 750)?
thank you for any and all feedback.
03 Dec 2013, 23:36
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Bookmarks
dwalker0219
Hey dude,
I remember answering someone with a similar profile last week. Either there are a lot of poker players out there, or somehow I am answering this again (but I couldn't find a previous post). No matter! On to our business at hand.
First of all GMAT Retake - totally unnecessary waste of time. You have a 720, i.e.a score better than every MBA program's average. Any more points would be superfluous. Also it is not the issue at hand.
The "issue" as you are totally aware of is what to do with your poker experience. The first challenge is one of: career advancement. What did you dow ith your time? what usefull skills did you pick up? What did you learn? How did you develop and change? It needs to be more than making money. The second challenge is: How does this fit into a goal? Do you want to go back to your previous profession? Are you considering going into the management side of poker? Want a total change of life becuase it wasn't that satisfactory?
I don't know what other folks have been telling you, but let's be honest, this is more of a difficulty to overcome than an advantage. Even if you made millions, it still doesn't chalk up as professional experience, and does not make you more hireable when you leave the program (which IS something they will be worried about). So your job is to EASE those worries. Show them how you are clever, hard working and professional.
I think you do have a shot at those schools you listed, but you may want to add one or two safe schools cause this poker career thing is a bit of an Xfactor, and you want to make sure you are hedging your bets.
Hope this helps!!!
