<p>I know that a lot of the answers to some of my problems have been addressed in other threads, but my case is a little more lopsided.
I want to do my MBA from ideally a top 10ish school (stanford is my number one choice), but I really don't know what I am to expect or if I am aiming too high.</p>
<p>I study Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (one major) from Berkeley. My GPA is dreadfully dismal (2.5), though the department's average is 2.7. I know this is extremely low by top business school standards.</p>
<p>On the other side, I cofounded an international IT business that is currently worth around $5-6 million, and manage a team IT peeps. I spend a lot of my time on this, which is why my grades suck as **** and I lack in other activities/extracurrics. </p>
<p>There's no clear-cut path for me, which makes me nervous. I don't know how exactly I should plan my way into one of those MBA programs. I'm planning on:
1) doing research under some professors
2) continue to work on and expand my business
3) get a good gre/gmat score</p>
<p>Any sort of clarifying light to ease my anxiety? Even saying "you don't stand a chance" would be welcomed.
Thanks guys.</p>
<p>Getting into a highly-desired school is a competition, the short answer is that you have to beat out other candidates who also want to go to the school. So, you have to present your application in a way that highlights your strengths and minimizes your deficiencies.</p>
<p>From my own experience, a school wants three things from their students - proof that they can handle the courses, experience relevant to their field, and a personality that is aligned with the school’s values. For the first part, a school focuses on grades and the GMAT; if your grades appear weak you can do two things to compensate. You want to absolutely nail the GMAT <a href=“aim%20for%20760+%20by%20heavy%20studying%20on%20the%20GMAT%20and%20the%20adaptive%20test%20format,%20although%20anything%20above%20700%20will%20look%20good”>i</a>* and you may want to take a couple business courses at a college that will show you can handle the work. Obviously you need to get A’s in those classes. </p>
<p>Work experience is very important to a lot of good schools, if you can possibly do so you want to work in a business environment. Your post said you want to expand your business, so one thing you should really do, is write up a short description of your business, what do you do and how you got started and what you’d like your business to become. This sets you apart from the average student.</p>
<p>Finally, ask around and see if you can find someone from Stanford or another school you like who can tell you how they do things. The school will have an official stance, of course, but the best source is from real students.</p>
<p>I can’t promise it will be easy, and you should apply to a range of schools, from your dream school down to schools you would like less but still consider worth your time. But there’s no reason not to apply to the school you most want to attend.</p>
<p>Sounds like you have a pretty successful business. That should certainly look impressive to MBA admissions. I’d say forget the MBA and continue to grow your business - unless you want an MBA for the networking benefits. I doubt an MBA could teach you more than you already know and will continue to learn from experience. </p>
<p>MBA Grad, you mentioned having views that are similar to the schools themselves. I was thinking about this yesterday and I am more politically/socially conservative. Probably right leaning moderate to be more precise. Are those the type of values you are referring to when you said having similar views? I read yesterday that U of Chicago is allowing co-ed rooms, not dorms, but actually allowing male and female roommates. This is something I definitely don’t support/condone so I immediately checked them off my MBA schools to aim for.</p>
<p>Not so much, ua prophet, unless your political views are strong. I meant more that your philosophy is in sync with the way the school does things. Is sustainability a different focus from operations, for example, or does the school consider one part of the other? Does the accounting department stress the harmonization of regulations, or just focus on FASB for teh most part? That sort of thing.</p>
<p>MBA Grad:
Thanks for all the advice. Breaking the process down into three things is helping me a lot.
-I’ll study hard for the GMAT (same strategy got me a 2370 on my SAT, so hopefully I can pull it off). I plan on taking the GRE as well.
-You said that I should take some business classes at “a” college. Does that mean it doesn’t have to be at the school I go to? Would online business courses from respected universities help too? I’m not sure how many business courses i can fit into my undergrad schedule.
-I was also thinking about pursuing a more technical masters (engineering) before my MBA. Would a high GPA from a decent (but not top) grad school somewhat makeup for my poor undergrad gpa when I apply to a B-school? I would be less inclined to spend the time pursuing this master if it wouldn’t help all that much (esp because it would take time away from my work experience)</p>
<p>The online class route might be the most productive. Graduate engineering studies would help, but any high grades in a business-related course from a school that’s not U of Phoenix can help. The reason I said “a” school is that most schools look at your last 60 hours of work no matter where they are. If you took more classes at berkely that would make sense, but so would taking business courses to establish a business foundation for your MBA. There are a lot of good business schools in California, anything AACSB-accredited would be acceptable even at Stanford for the purpose of GPA.</p>
<p>Oh okay I gotcha. And taking business classes after graduation does sound like a great idea. Taking a night class or two while working would not only strengthen an application but also help me stay in “student” mode. I’m trying to decide if I want to take the GMAT now (I’ll graduate undergrad dec 2010) or if I want to wait until I start working when I’ll have more time to study for it.</p>