I would just like to know what my chances are getting into the 25 business schools being that I will be 22 when I graduate. Here is a little bit of information about myself:
Computer engineer major
Business administration minor
3.0 GPA
690 GMAT
African american
Male
1 year of work experience
My GPA is “low” because of sophomore year I was in a really bad car crash and suffered several broken bones. After months of recovering I back to normal and have since played multiple sports (soccer, lacrosse, tennis, etc) at club collegiate level.
Almost all of the top level MBA programs require or “strongly encourage” several years post-Bachelor’s work experience before applying for/entering business schools.
Is it still worth applying? It is highly highly preferred that I do not have to work as an engineer before getting my MBA. Do you have an suggestions? A little more information about myself is that I am 20 (march birthday) so I could get a job my second semester junior year and my senior year to add to my work experience.
Top MBA programs require a minimum of 2 years post bachelor’s work experience, period.
@spaidenbeta: No, it is not worth applying to the elite MBA programs that have work requirements. They (from generations of experiences) KNOW that your education – and, more important, your contribution to the education of your classmates – will be significantly enhanced by several years of post-Bachelor’s professional experiences. That is precisely why this REQUIREMENT exists. Were you to apply, your application would never be evaluated because you’d not meet the minimum prerequisites.
With this said, there are many other reputable MBA programs (although generally not in the top-tier) that one can enter directly from undergraduate school.
@TopTier Would I be correct in assuming that waiting to apply to a better school is worth the wait? How are my chances after a few years of work experience?
@spaidenbeta: I believe it is, however, the fundamental answer to your question is YOUR goals. To illustrate, if you want to be the CFO of a small (<1000 employees) local company, an MBA from any reputable university is probably sufficient. However, if you aspire to the most competitive MBA jobs (highly-prestigious and -compensated employment at internationally esteemed firms, iBanking, top-level consulting, and so forth), then the premier (perhaps twenty) MBA programs will provide a decided springboard. For example, most of the highly selective enterprises recruit at only a handful of universities (<10, often <5); if you’re not interviewed, obviously you can’t obtain that post-MBA entry level job.
Both you GMAT results and your especially GPA are somewhat below norms for the top-level MBA schools, but other factors – surperlative recommendations from employers, from example – could compensate for these deficiencies.
In addition, I recommend you do some research, since this is fairly elementary information.
@TopTier Thank you very much for your feedback. I will do more research but I did realize that my score and GPA were below average. I was wondering if my car crash or being a URM would have an affect if any on my chances of me getting in.
@spaidenbeta, you’re welcome.
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Re GMAT/GPA: Please understand, both are low for the first tier programs, but within reasonable range for the majority of MBAs.
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Re car crash and URM: The best MBA programs have plenty of URMs in attendance and virtually every student has far better than a 3.0 GPA. Therefore, the things you mention might marginally assist you (if you had a 3.5 GPA, they might effectively make it a 3.6), BUT they will not make that 3.0 competitive for top MBA program admission.
With this said, your essays – and especially your recommendations – can overcome your GPA and (to a lesser degree) your GMAT (as I indicated earlier).