<p>I will be starting my junior year in Mechanical Engineering this upcoming fall semester, and I am starting to look at grad school for after I graduate. I am either going to go for my MBA or JD. I am still a little confused on the requirements for typical MBA students. My cumulative GPA is at a 3.2, so I was wondering if B-schools would compare that to someone with a higher GPA in an easier major? What are the requirements for the top B-school in the nation? What is a good GMAT score with my GPA to get into a good B-school? Any information would be appreciated</p>
<p>Although I am not familiar specifically with Engineering req’s or JD req’s, I can tell you that most B-schools will post some GMAT info (their threshold) on their webpage.
Also, your work experience and GMAT score will go a long way to improve upon your GPA, although if you are looking for top 25 B-schools, then it will need to come up.
The work experience is not as much of an issue if you attend a lower tiered school, as well as the GMAT score.
As for GMAT scores, most lower tiered schools will have a 600+ minimum, with most top 25 looking for that 675 to 735 range. It is not as hard as it seems at first… if I can get into the mid 600’s, anyone can.
There is a need for some work experience in my opinion. It really focuses you on your studies and helps you apply your material to your work, and vise versa.</p>
<p>You need post graduate work experience to get into a good MBA program. GPA is not as important for bschool as it is for law school. You will need a high GMAT score to make up for your low GPA. Work experience is the most important factor though.</p>
<p>ISUCyclone, my son is going to do a MS Engg/MBA program in the fall. He was thinking that would be good for management in a highly tech company. I am hoping that was a good decision. Only time will tell…</p>
<p>I am in the same situation as ISUCyclone, although I know I will work before applying to MBA programs. Based upon the replies, it seems that undergraduate degree doesn’t really weigh into admissions in the literal sense. Perhaps having a engineer degree will allow us to gain “better” work experience than a liberal arts major but they still treat the GPA the same. I really hate that I didn’t study like I should have my freshmen and sophomore years b/c it’s starting to come back and haunt me. I want to attend a top MBA program myself. I took a practice GMAT and did okay considering that I didn’t even know it was being offered at my school until 2 days before.</p>
<p>Good luck</p>
<p>I disagree that engineering gpas will be weighted the same as liberal arts gpas. They will look more in depth at your curriculum and how you college career advanced to give you the gpa you have. A lot of schools like to see high quantitative skills, engineering curriculum gives this and reflects well on the engineer.</p>
<p>In general, engineering+MBA is a good combo, despite any other nay-sayers you may run into. Go to LinkedIn and search that combo and see what they are doing, also note what they did before the MBA. An MBA is not a ticket to a free ride, in most cases. An MBA + experience seems to be to magic combination. For engineers that experience will be in technology related fields, which are sought after positions and most often given to ex-engineers.</p>
<p>Looking at these class statistics from some top schools. It seems that the average gpa is around 3.5/3.6 ish. Keep in mind that this could include many people with 4.0s but also people with 3.0s which averages out to 3.5/3.6. Most don’t post gpa ranges but Wharton’s profile did and it ranged from 3.1-3.9 (middle 80%). This is reassuring no doubt. </p>
<p>Surprising, Harvard’s gmat range said 490-800! I would love to know who that 490 student is.</p>
<p>[Stanford</a> MBA Program](<a href=“http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/mba/admission/class_profile-p.html]Stanford”>http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/mba/admission/class_profile-p.html)</p>
<p>[Wharton</a> MBA: Class Profile](<a href=“http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/mba/student_life/classprofile/index.cfm]Wharton”>http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/mba/student_life/classprofile/index.cfm)</p>
<p>[Class</a> Profiles - MBA - Harvard Business School](<a href=“http://www.hbs.edu/mba/profiles/classprofile.html]Class”>Class Profile - MBA - Harvard Business School)</p>
<p>[Kellogg</a> School of Management | Incoming Class Profile<a href=“man%20they%20need%20to%20revamp%20this%20site,%20lol”>/url</a></p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://mitsloan.mit.edu/mba/experience/classof10profile.php]Class”>http://mitsloan.mit.edu/mba/experience/classof10profile.php]Class</a> of 2010 Profile - MBA Program](<a href=“http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/Programs/FullTimeMBA/About_Our_Students/Incoming_Class_Profile.aspx]Kellogg”>Kellogg Full-Time MBA Admissions | Kellogg School of Management)</p>
<p>^^^ Maybe someone like W.</p>
<p>Since law schools always weigh GPA heavily, the OP has a better chance for a top degree by working several years, doing well and getting a high GMAT score.</p>