I majored in Applied Mathematics from a top 25 undergrad, but with only a 2.8 GPA

I scored very well on GMATs, 770, 93% quantitative and 99% verbal

after graduation I earned a certificate in accounting from the the extension program of my undergraduate university and earned a 3.5+ gpa in the intermediate/advanced accounting courses i was required to take

i've since passed the CPA exam and should be licensed by the fall.

I'm 27 now, and am considering full time schools such as UCLA, Carnegie Mellon, NYU, and other top 20 schools or the top part-time programs. should i wait to apply next year? or try for round 3's this year? and given the information above, what are my chances at top 10-15 MBA programs?

thanks in advance

Hello,

Unless you have something really unique in background background that is likely to jump out at admissions officers and make them say, "Wow, we MUST have this person in our class!" I do think you're more likely to be admitted in Round 1 next fall. At many programs there just aren't a lot of seats left. That doesn't mean that you DEFINITELY can't get in -- rather, you just had better have something very unique in your profile to help you stand out.

Check out this post from the HBS admissions blog from just last week. I know you're not thinking about HBS necessarily, but this sums it up pretty well:

http://www.hbs.edu/mba/admissions/blog. ... 2011-02-28

Give us a call (800-925-7737) if you want to speak with someone about this some more!

Scott