Hello everyone,

My question for the fourm is wether or not I dare apply to a top 25 school with my application how it looks. Let me give you a little more background on what my application will look like. (1)First lets look at undergrad activities and GPA. I graduated this May from a good four year university with a 2.75. LOW I know! Although, I was very active with the school and its programs. (2) Next, lets look at work and experience. Most grad schools are looking for a minimum of 3 years of post grad work, usually 3-5 lets say thats a good average. Now as I have mentioned earlier I have just graduated from college so right off the bat that 3-5 year average is not possible. What I do have is 4 years of work during school with the family business. After graduation I decided instead of going into the family business I wanted to get into finance. So during this awsome recession I applied to a bunch of finance jobs, and to make a long story short only got an offer to be an intern at large mutal company. I have worked here for a month now and still will be by the time the apps are in. (3) The GMAT maybe the most important thing to admissions. I have not taken the official test, but through practice exams and study I feel good in staying that I should score between a 650 and 700. Okay lets sum this up I feel I come up short in GPA and work experience, and come in the target range for GMAT. So my question to all of you is, if you had this application would you apply for admissions this year? or would you maybe wait some time and build on the work experience? I am excited to hear from you guys about this, and thanks in advance for posting in reply.

Hi bartletta1--

There are a few dimensions missing from your profile - what schools are you interested in? what was the nature of your work with the family business? - but even without that, I can offer some points to consider.

The first is post-MBA employablility. Most bschools factor in how easy it would be for an applicant to land a job upon graduation. I see some obstacles for you here. Without having a real track record of professional experiences that demonstrates leadership, future employers may be reluctant to take a chance on you, especially when we don't know how fast the economy will recover and how many finance jobs will be available in 2012 when you would graduate (I assume that we'll be well into an upswing by then and there will be lots of hiring, but you never know). Your internship is a good start but is not yet significant. Finance is just so competitive, I don't know if a bschool would be willing to take this risk and have you come out of their program without a job.

Next is diversity of experience and the contribution you can make in the classroom. One reason bschools want students to have some years in the workforce is so they can contribute unique insights to class discussions and team projects. You'd need to really demonstrate that you have a range of experiences to pull on from the family business and your new internship that will give you something to offer to your peers in grad school.

Also, which round are we talking? For a candidate with significant weaknesses, an R1 app is highly recommended. Are your essays ready to go? Most top schools' R1 deadlines are hitting right about now.

As you know, that GPA is really low. The adcom may not believe you've changed your ways and fixed whatever habits contributed to that poor academic performance from just a few months back. Bschool is *very* challenging, and they just won't admit someone if they doubt he or she can hack it. If your undergrad studies were in exceptionally difficult subjects, or if you went to the very best school, or if you were working full-time through college, these can offset the GPA a little, but truly, this GPA is a problem for you if you're looking to head straight to grad school. The adcom may want to see more evidence of maturity before being willing to overlook that.

Some schools are open to less work experience. Harvard's 2+2 program caters to college juniors, and they encourage qualified seniors and recent grads to apply (see http://www.hbs.edu/mba/admissions/collegestudents.html ). However, the recently-admitted class profile for 2+2 is astounding: average GMAT 727; average GPA 3.75. It doesn't appear you'd be competitive against a pool like that.

So my assessment is that for a top 25 bschool, you'd benefit from building up your profile and applying in a year or two. Make a contribution at work and show initiative; volunteer for projects; absorb everything; exceed expectations. Focus hard on that GMAT - you need to break 700 if possible for the best schools. Get involved with a community organization you feel passionate about and make an impact in that context, too. You seem to have a good awareness of what makes for a strong applicant, so focus in on those elements that you can control now, and you'll be in a better position for the GPA issue to be less of an issue in a future year's application.

Hope this helps!
--Lisa