Please help me set expectations

[kfink85]

I am just starting on my MBA journey, and I don't know what business schools will be a possibility for me. I have had a non-traditional college career. I graduated high school in 2003 and attended the University of Maryland Baltimore Country. A couple of years later, I transferred to the University of Maryland College Park. Between both schools, I didn't do a good job at all. I had some medical issues (Lyme disease), and college just wasn't for me at the time. I believe my GPA was around a 2.70 over 60-70 credits completed. My transcript at these schools is loaded with withdrawn courses and sub-par grades. The best thing I can say is that I never failed a class.

Inevitably, I quit school in 2006 and began working full-time as a licensed mortgage originator. I did this for a few years before realizing it wasn't the career path I wanted and eventually started trading stocks full-time. I enjoyed this very much but I was too inconsistent to make a living. So, I decided to go back to school to take care of unfinished business and give me a credential to land a Wall Street type job. I switched schools again but stayed within the University of Maryland again. This time it was the University of Maryland University College because it allowed me to complete my degree online.

Well, I did much better this time. I completed nearly 2 years' worth of credits in just over 1 year while working full-time. At UMUC, I achieved a 3.81 GPA, Cum Laude honors, received the school’s President Grant, and was named to the Dean's list. Relatively soon after graduating, I landed a job at Wells Fargo as a securities analyst. Now, I feel I am finally on my career path, and I have my degree completed.

However, it took me 8 years to finish school (including 3 years of solely working full-time and not enrolled at any school) and when considering my previous poor grades, my overall GPA is a 3.10. The poor grades were from 2003-2006. My UMUC tenure was 2010-2011. Also, I understand the school which I received my undergraduate degree from is not very prestigious. I also don’t really have any extra-curricular activities to list at the moment. How much will all of this hurt me in getting in to a top school? Will it still be possible? Will a 700+ GMAT score make up for it?

To give you a better idea of my plan moving forward, I will be buying the new Manhattan GMAT books when they come out in April, and I will be taking the GMAT for my first (and hopefully last) time in August. I'd prefer to go to the best possible school I get in to near NYC, LA, or San Francisco. My list of schools right now might be extremely ambitious so please knock me down a peg if I have no shot: Columbia, NYU, UCLA, USC, Stanford, Berkeley, or an online degree from Northeastern (fallback option). I’d also consider staying local and attending Georgetown or UMD (also fallback options in my book).

So again, my question is basically if a 700+ GMAT score can make up for my unique and spotty track record? Can I get in to one of these top schools if I work my ass off over the next year? Is there anything else I can possibly do to better my situation? Or should I be more realistic and start zeroing in on some lesser business schools.

Thanks for reading this novel. I felt I needed to tell the entire story to receive the best advice possible.

[rachel]

Hi!! A 700+ GMAT is a terrific score, and if you can achieve that, it does help your application. That being said, it's just one piece of the puzzle in the business school application process. AdComs are going to look at you holistically - which means they are going to assess everything you have to offer. That means you need to have lots of professional accomplishments to highlight, extra-curricular activities - especially those where you can show leadership - and strong recommendations. As for your undergrad journey, that will be something you will have to lay out to the AdCom, most likely in an optional essay. You also will need to show the AdCom that you have strong quant skills, and will have to be specific in laying those out.

Also, you have a very ambitious list of schools that get thousands of applicants a year who are qualified for admission. If your goal is to go to business school, you might want to add some schools to your list that are less competitive.

Best of luck,

Rachel Beck
http://www.mbamission.com

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[kfink85]

Thank you for your advice and your honesty. What about an online MBA? If I'm not going to go to a top school, I'd prefer for it to be at least be convenient. I noticed UNC has an online program. Also, Northeastern. Any thoughts on those programs?