your opinon please?

Question

Thanks for all your help on this wonderful sight. I am finishing up applications for fall '06. What do you think my chances look like for the schools listed below? I have a decent GMAT and good work exp but my undergrad GPA is lacking. 

Age - 27 
GMAT 670 (45Q 37V) 
Experience 50+ months - Vice President, Equity Sales 
2 Promotions and then later developed a large producing territory from the ground up. 
GPA - 2.7 BBA - Business, Finance (clearly my biggest weakness)
Worked and played sport in college (+ summer semester study abroad) 
Very active in sports, some volunteer work/comm serv (political volunteer, boys club volunteer, and little league baseball coach). 
Rec's from former supervisor and current colleague. 

I know I am pursuing this a bit late in the game but hopefully I have a chance at some of these...

Schools applying to: 
UVA, UNC, UT, SMU, Rice, Vandy

Hjort · Answer

Have you considered waiting until next year?

brutus · Answer

I would prefer not to if possible. I know what I want to do so now is the time to take the steps towards doing it. Does applying this late really impact my chances or are you more concerned about the amount of experience I have? I understand that more experience offsets a poor undergrad track record but unfortunately given my desire to move forward in my career and my personal situation, next year is much more suitable for me personally.

Hjort · Answer

I am mainly concerned that you are applying in the third round. Of course, it is still very possible to be admitted but it is more difficult relative to an earlier application. Nonetheless, if time is of the essenence, it still makes sense to apply this year.

brutus · Answer

Thanks for the feedback Hjort...I wish that was the case. I would feel much better about my chances had I applied back in November. 

I am getting mixed feedback on the whole matter. Some people say that it is overblown, some say it depends on the school or whether it is rolling admission or rounds. Hopefully it will work out. What are you hearing about applications this year? Are they are up, down or flat? Once again, thanks for you advice.

Hjort · Answer

I view this as a simple dichot choice:

1] Do not apply this year but apply next year

OR

2] Apply this year AND next year

If you go with choice 1] your chance of acceptance for your portfolio this year is 0 and your chance next year is X

If you take choice 2] your chance of acceptance for your portfolio this year is meaningful greater than 0 and your chance next year is probably greater than X (you will almost certainly learn for the process of applying this year). 

Since you will apply to a small subset of schools in the top clusters each year(say 5 or so), there need not any overlap even if you apply in three consecutive years

your opinon please?

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