<p>7 years work experience full time, all management - I worked through school
Current Level: National Director w/ 150+ reporting to me
Most Previous Position: Director of Sales (80+ reporting)</p>
<p>Additional:</p>
<p>My recommendations are phenominal</p>
<p>Assume my essays are top notch.</p>
<p>Hobbies are stellar (Cage Fighting, Dog Breeding, Published Poetry)</p>
<p>Activities in school are a good mix of social and academic</p>
<hr>
<p>I am applying for the USC Part Time program</p>
<p>Average GPA = 3.1
GMAT Average = 620/629 (depends on who you ask)
80% Gmat = 570 - 680
Acceptance Rate = 67% (for the Part Time Program)</p>
<hr>
<p>Really, I have 3 weaknesses as I see it:</p>
<li><p>GMAT Quant score is laughable (I haven’t done any serious math since 11th grade!)</p></li>
<li><p>GMAT Total is below program average</p></li>
<li><p>I technically graduated from college this december because of the full time work load. I explained this in an optional essay however. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>I talked to USC about my application, and my low quant score and if I should take the GMAT again and apply during a later round. They encouraged me not to take it again and get the app in the second round. </p>
<p>What do you guys think my odds are here? I suppose it depends on if they want someone with a skyrocketing career and great work experience or just really high GMAT scores. </p>
<p>Such as? My GMAT score is so low ... I didn't think I could get into any school worth a damn with such a low quant score! If USC accepts me I am going to crap myself with joy.</p>
<p>So you think that Berkeley isn't a good fit for the (presumably) left-wing politics, but you're willing to entertain NYU, Columbia, Yale, and Harvard? Uh, what's wrong with this picture? Have you seen the politics at these 4 other schools?</p>
<p>I have to ask, what's wrong with UCLA and Wharton?</p>
<p>I am a die hard USC fan. We all know how loyalty runs with that school. </p>
<p>In my mind, Berkeley is the liberal capital of the world. NYU makes up for this with location, if I didn't live in LA, NY would do it for me. Colimbia, Yale, and Harvard speak for themselves. </p>
<p>U Penn has never done it for me. It is ridiculously subjective, I know, but it just carries very little weight out here in California and in my mind. Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Columbia, NYU, USC, Pepperdine</p>
<p>Those are my schools of choice. I think with a 680 + and my stats I would probably get in to at least one (Pepperdine I am already accepted to) and to get into any of those schools would THRILL me.</p>
<p>Yale speaks for itself? Yale is not exactly known for having a prestigious B-school. But maybe that's not what you care about...</p>
<p>Sports loyalty is all well and good, but not to the point where you're going to hurt yourself professionally. I like the New England Patriots, but if the Jets were to call me up to offer me a great front office job, I'd be a fool to turn it down.</p>
<p>Dude, I don't think you've done your homework if you think Yale is prestigious. And like sakky said, you'd be a fool to turn down UCLA just because you like USC for sports. There are a number of USC graduates who are in my class at UCLA Anderson. They still root for USC in sports, but they know that professionally it's a better move for them to be where they are for their MBA.</p>
<p>I second the observation that not enough research has been done. Cornell and Yale are good for the grandmother effect (also known as the picking-up-on-clueless-chicks-at-the-bar effect) but for b-schools, they are at the bottom of the top tier. Recruiters know this. You can't kid yourself about that. Pepperdine is useless out of state.
I can identify with (and almost admire) your school loyalty, however misguided it is. When I went through the application process, I refused to include USC as a safety school. It's up to you to stick to it though, even in the face of better programs. Good luck.</p>
<p>Then I am a fool. I won't set foot on the UCLA campus. Yale is a school I have always liked, and I would be happy to grad there. It is higher ranked than USC and I would be thrilled to go to USC. </p>
<p>Look at my quant scores - anything over USC is not an option for me as it is. I have all the skills in the world, but factoring quadratic trinomials isn't something I have done for 8 years, nor is it a part of my management experience. Until that quant score goes up, USC is my best bet, and I would be happy to go. </p>
<p>UCLA isn't an option, and again, the alumni network of USC in my opinion makes it a better option than Anderson. My loyalty to USC is more than sports loyalty.</p>
<p>From what I've seen in SoCal, the Trojan network, other than the common thread of having "Alumni USC" license plate frames, is not as strong as many portray it to be. Sure, there are people here and there who've had doors open to them because of it but that appears to be far from the norm.
Regardless, I admire your insistence on sticking it out. It seems as if the distaste we feel towards the "other" school is equally strong:) My brother is looking at the USC PT program as well so we'll see how long that lasts. Good luck!</p>
<p>And I appreciate your obnoxious cardinal and gold humor :)
As an aside, I think it's important to mention that the GMAT is just one data point in the entire applications process. While a low score will likely keep you out of the top schools, a high score definitely doesn't get you in. You may have an extremely strong professional background/history -- but then again, due to self selection at the top schools, so do the rest of the applicants.</p>
<p>Oh, on another crazy note. USC called me today (application deadline for round 2 was LAST friday, the 27th, which is the day I submitted). They didn't leave a message. I called back when I noticed the missed call on my cell and they were all in an adcom meeting. </p>
<p>The lady checked my app and said it was fine. Any idea what the call was about!? I'm freaking out over here. 1 business day seems to me to be way too soon to be calling with any sort of good news.</p>
<p>Biola University, which has a couple of dual degree programs with USC and FREQUENTLY sends phil majors over there. 2/3 of our phil department has Phd's from USC, so the two schools know each other very well.</p>