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04 Jun 2021, 06:51
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I graduated from Georgetown University in 2018 with a 3.71 GPA (3.87 GPA since end of sophomore year) in a humanities course of study. Since graduation, I have worked as a financial analyst at a small real estate firm for just over a year and a half and as a data analyst (focusing mostly on digital marketing) at a 50-person startup for close to a year. Unfortunately, a combination of covid and bad luck with high turnover and inexperienced managers led me to be let go from both jobs. As a result, I know that the recommendations I would receive from my former employers would be lukewarm at best.
To give a bit more background on my resume, I have not yet finalized a GMAT score, but I have been studying for several months, and the practice exams I have taken suggest that I should expect a score around 690 - 750, so for the purpose of this exercise, let's assume that I achieve a GMAT score of 720. Outside of work, my main extracurriculars since graduation have been the completion of a six-month intensive data analytics boot camp at Harvard Extension School (a 25 hours per week commitment on top of working full time), two real estate finance certificates from Boston University, and several Coursera courses on the intersection of finance and programming. I am also looking to volunteer in a community service role now that things in my city are starting to reopen.
Anyway, I would not expect to be accepted to an M7 school right now given my lack of prestigious work experience and the likely mediocre-at-best recommendations I would receive from my former employers. However, I feel that I have a strong record of academic accomplishment. Based on my profile, do you think it would be possible to get into a top-25 business program along the lines of UCLA Anderson, USC Marshall, or UT McCombs? Or do you think my lack of great recommendations would tank my application?
To give a bit more background on my resume, I have not yet finalized a GMAT score, but I have been studying for several months, and the practice exams I have taken suggest that I should expect a score around 690 - 750, so for the purpose of this exercise, let's assume that I achieve a GMAT score of 720. Outside of work, my main extracurriculars since graduation have been the completion of a six-month intensive data analytics boot camp at Harvard Extension School (a 25 hours per week commitment on top of working full time), two real estate finance certificates from Boston University, and several Coursera courses on the intersection of finance and programming. I am also looking to volunteer in a community service role now that things in my city are starting to reopen.
Anyway, I would not expect to be accepted to an M7 school right now given my lack of prestigious work experience and the likely mediocre-at-best recommendations I would receive from my former employers. However, I feel that I have a strong record of academic accomplishment. Based on my profile, do you think it would be possible to get into a top-25 business program along the lines of UCLA Anderson, USC Marshall, or UT McCombs? Or do you think my lack of great recommendations would tank my application?
04 Jun 2021, 08:48
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Hello, pah799. Your query sounds like one that would better be answered in the admissions consultants forum. For my part, I would think there would be at least one person who could speak to your abilities or work ethic in a positive way. You did not burn all your bridges, right? A lukewarm letter of recommendation in which the recommender more or less goes through the motions or barely remembers your name will do your application no favors, it is true. If you could drum up a list of positive points you might bring up about yourself on a professional level, with specific examples to back up such points, it might help a recommender to get the ball rolling.
I would try that other forum as well and see what type of feedback I received. Good luck.
- Andrew
I would try that other forum as well and see what type of feedback I received. Good luck.
- Andrew
