Looking for advice: Small state college to big school MBA?

<p>Hello everyone!</p>

<p>I am currently a senior attending a small state school: The University of West Georgia. About 12,000 students and typically ranked as a top 10 school in the state. Nothing special. </p>

<p>I am a double major student (Management and Marketing) and I would like to attend a larger and well-respected MBA program in the future. I love the small school atmosphere, but I am ready to move on to new experiences.</p>

<p>I currently have a 2.91 GPA (Goes up every semester) and I will graduate next Spring.</p>

<p>I was a pre-engineering student when I first attended college, and I failed pretty miserably. I honestly failed many things to my junior year. I was immature, had no direction, had a poor work-school balance, in a destructive relationship, and just not where I needed to be mentally to succeed. </p>

<p>Now, I am really trying to improve my overall profile to improve my chances at a solid MBA program.</p>

<p>I have a very positive GPA trend over the last year. Over my last 30 hours I have averaged a 3.78 GPA. I have also joined 3 clubs, and I am a board member on one. I am hopefully going to compete in an economics competition this December in India as well.</p>

<p>I know I will continue to make good grades as I advance toward graduation, and I have begun re-taking classes I had taken earlier and made D's in. (Finance, Statistics, and Calculus) These classes required dedication that I simply did not give them due to my immaturity. I know I can make an A or B in them now.</p>

<p>Have my past mistakes screwed my profile to the point where I am dreaming to enter a top 50 program? I am looking at a realistic 3.1-3.2 at graduation with an upward sloping GPA trend.</p>

<p>Do you guys have any advice on how I can improve my profile further?</p>

<p>Would studying abroad make me more attractive for MBA admission?</p>

<p>Potential MBA hopefuls are: </p>

<p>Hopefuls: University of Miami, University of Georgia</p>

<p>Stretch: USC (Marshall)</p>

<p>Dream: UCLA (Haas), UCLA (Anderson)</p>

<p>Thank you for reading!</p>