Low GPA Eval for 2020 application

Question

I'm looking for insight on my profile and perhaps tips to help strengthen it.

Personal: 25 Year old, mixed male (African American, Caucasian, Native American)

Fields of Interest: Real Estate, Finance, General Management

Programs of Interest: 1) Kenan-Flagler (UNC), 2) Darden (UVA), 3) McCombs (UT Austin)

Undergrad Specs: 2.78 GPA Leadership Major w/ Business Minor from top 25 Liberal Arts University (University of Richmond), D1 Football Captain (2 years), Senior Class Legacy Committee

GMAT 1st attempt: 640 Total, Quant 41 (41%), Verbal 36 (80%), AWA 3.5 (11%), IR 7 (82%)

GMAT 2nd attempt: 740 Total, Quant 47 (61%), Verbal 46 (99%), AWA 4 (17%), IR 3 (24%)

Work Experience: 2 month Internship with No. 1 Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Firm followed by 10 month Part-time marketing assistant position during Senior Year. 18 Months part-time at Commonwealth of Virginia, Division of Real Estate. 14 months working on the side as partner of a start up.

Recommendations: Director of the Virginia Department of General Services’ Division of Real Estate and Facilities Management (Current Supervisor), Senior Vice President of Colliers International (Former Supervisor), Chair in Leadership Studies at University of Richmond (Former Adviser and Professor), Head Coach of University of Delaware Football Team (Former Head Coach)

I recognize that my weakest points are my low GPA, lack of full-time experience and perhaps the slip in IR/low AWA. What are my chances for getting accepted to my preferred programs with my profile and what are some things I could do now to increase those chances?

mangamma · Answer

Congrats on your great GMAT score. Your can compensate the low GPA via GMAT Score, LOR, Essays, Expenrience, Volunteering experinece and Interview. No need to worry about Low GPA. all the best for application process.

Admissionado · Answer

Based on what you shared here it sounds like you have around 14-18 months of post-college work experience? And you were working at the Commonwealth of VA at the same time that you were working on the start up? I wasn't 100% sure from what you wrote here. As you point out, the adcom does like to see full time work experience -- ideally 3-5 years at matriculation. So your best bet may be to gain at least 1-2 more years of full-time experience before applying. The problem with part time experience is it's often difficult to really show quantifiable results or drive meaningful impact (e.g. increasing revenue, decreasing costs, launching a new initiative, etc) -- and it's also more difficult to gain higher levels of responsibility. Although your GPA is low, I think your GMAT outweighs it. But at this point the lack of 3-5 years of full time work experience is going to still be a big challenge in your candidacy. B-schools want to see that experience because the accomplishments you rack up show what you are capable of, the experience allows you to contribute to class discussions, and it also serves as a foundation for your post-MBA goals. If you are still just working part time, I'd do what you can to transition to a full time role asap & consider applying two years from now before that GMAT score expires!

delmoneyy · Answer

Hi SpiderGuy,

I was wondering if you wouldn't mind briefly telling me a bit about your Verbal strategies for the GMAT? Your score is very impressive and as a native speaker I am hoping to score similarly.

Thanks,
Michael

Low GPA Eval for 2020 application

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