<p>GPA: 2.93 Major: Engineering; from Purdue</p>
<p>I have 10 years of work experience and currently manage a manufacturing division with 100+ employees including 5 engineers and 100+ operators.</p>
<p>What are my chances to get admitted to a strong program? I am assuming I would need GMAT scores in the range of 700-720 to even be considered, but can my work experience as an engineering manager compensate for lackluster grades as an undergraduate?</p>
<p>Advice as well as where I can get additional resources would be most welcome.</p>
<p>Best Regards</p>
<p>Depends on the B school. When I applied, w-a-y back in the day, some schools only wanted applicants who had prior work experience. Although my undergrad GPA was higher than yours, my GMAT's were OK, not exceptional. But, I had 6 years work experience. Read up on the admissions requirements for the schools you're interested in.</p>
<p>I think it is hard to tell without knowing your experience and the schools you are interested in. Experience in some cases could do it, but it would have to be really something in the eyes of the school. On the face of it, Wharton, Northwestern, Harvard, etc are probably out.</p>
<p>There is an MBA forum that you may want to take this question to. Click on "Discussion Home" and then scroll down.</p>
<p>MBA admission depends a lot on your work experience, your letters of reference from your supervisors, and your GMAT. After 10 years out of college, your grades won't be as big a factor, but you should do some research to find out the profiles of the students who are admitted to the MBA programs that you are interested in. Some places will be a lot more interested in your undergraduate GPA than others.</p>
<p>Financial aid is a whole other problem. If you need some support, you need to look at programs where there is a decent chance that you can become a teaching or research assistant in your second year.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Your need as a MBA applicant is to show a level of academic aptitude that shows you are capable of handling the work that you will encounter at the school. Either a college transcript can show this and/or a GMAT can show this. I</p>
<p>f you have 10 years of work experience, this is FAR more important than anything you did as an undergraduate. Score well on the GMAT and then you'll be a competitive applicant to most of the top schools if you have done consequential work in the real world. </p>
<p>In many cases, your application's chances will be materially impacted by the nature of the class that is being assembled at ABC MBA program. They don't want too many Wall Street types or management consulting types so applications from those fields can be very competitive at top MBA programs. For someone coming with your background, you will need to explain how differentiated you are from others with engineering backgrounds. And you will also find that letters of recommendation that can support your "story" can be very helpful. </p>
<p>Like colleges, MBA programs want to enroll high achieving students from a variety of backgrounds who will be good students, good post-graduate citizens and good post-graduate achievers in a diversity of fields.</p>