Profile evaluation for an engineer please :)

[muqing]

Now that I've taken the GMAT, I can finally join the cool crowd and put together a profile to evaluate what schools I have a reasonable chance to get into.

Work Exp 3-4 years as a software engineer at your run-of-the-mill tech company
GMAT 750
GPA 3.1 Computer Science @ UC Berkeley

My GMATs and years of experience seems to be OK, but my GPA is definitely on the lower side. Unfortunately, I spent a little too much time working during school (practically full time in the IT dept year-round) instead of studying...but hindsight is 20/20.

The last couple years I've been working as a software engineer, serving as a technical lead on a couple projects and taking the role of a pseudo-project manager for another. I've had experience in a previous capacity leading a team of programmers and working with clients and customers to hammer out requirements and solutions. I don't know how relevant that is for traditional business school admissions, but I guess it's better than nothing.

My main concern at this point is the lowish GPA. I know with these numbers it's probably very generous to say I have an outside shot, if even that, at a top tier school (HBS, Booth, Wharton, etc). I've heard some people say it's worth taking a few extension classes to help boost that GPA a bit, but I wasn't sure if it's actually worth it at this point (or if doing so reflects poorly).

What kind of schools can I reasonably expect to have a good shot of making it into with just these scores alone? I'd certainly love to head back to my Alma mater, but Haas is a tough school to break into to even with good scores...

My fiancee is currently a PhD student at USC (I don't know if their AC cares about that at all), so part of me would rather go to Marshall or Anderson over some of the better schools out-of-state, but that's assuming I can even get into those too...

P.S.: I'm sure this has been discussed ad naseum, but do business school admissions give any brownie points if a sibling is currently attending the same school (like some do with undergrad admissions). I have a brother at Dartmouth and after going through the tours and orientation weekend with him, the culture and atmosphere feels like a great fit. Alas, a school like Tuck might be a pipe dream (even after doing a ton of research I honestly don't really know which schools I have a good shot at).

[mbamission]

Hi there,

Thanks for writing in and sharing those details. I parsed out a few questions from your post that I think I can help you with.

1) Team leadership experience in the work environment is definitely relevant, especially as it sheds some detail into your "run of the mill" job.

2) A 3.1 at a school like Berkeley is definitely not a deal-breaker on its own for top schools. In fact no GPA in a vacuum is considered a "deal breaker." It's probably high enough to pass the initial gut-check from the school, and then they're going to want to know "what else does he offer?" This is where you'll have to wow them with your essays and goals. You can also use the optional essay to comment that you worked full-time hours through 4 years of college, which does show entrepreneurial support.

3) If you think there is a deficiency in your academic record (finance, statistics, etc), then additional coursework could be beneficial. But it should be in courses directly applicable to an MBA.

4) It's really all going to depend on your "why MBA" story, but with a 750 GMAT I believe you can still apply to top-tier schools.

5) Schools will likely ask if you have any relatives who are at that university or are alums. Here is where you can indicate your brother and wife. It's unknown how much weight that carries with the schools, but it certainly doesn't hurt to mark it down.

Best of luck!

Daniel Richards
daniel@mbamission.com