Profile Evaluation - low gpa candidate

[benjazz03]

Hi - I will be applying to bschool in the next year and am wondering if my low gpa is a deal breaker.

GMAT 710
88th pct V and 78th Q

CAIA charter member
CFA L 2 candidate

2.4ish gpa from a top 50 us school

7 yrs of work experience for investment banks, but mostly in a middle office capacity.

Member of a number of real estate groups orgs and some finance orgs.

I'm interested in schools abroad Insead, hec Paris, Cambridge, Oxford...

Does my gpa kill my chances? Should I retake the GMAT? I'm certain i can bump up to 730, but I'm not sure if 20pts will add much to my profile.

[mili]

Hello,

Thanks for sharing your profile. I think the low GPA is going to be tough to overcome, especially with a low quant score on the GMAT. In light of this, it might be worth retaking the GMAT (focusing specifically on boosting your quant score to be 80th percentile or above). It's always possible to overcome a low GPA, but everything else in your profile will be weighted more heavily. So, the more leadership you can display, extracurriculars, community activity, the better. Also, if there is some reason for your low GPA that you can explain, I would do so in an optional statement (even if the explanation is that you lacked the maturity to focus on school. You can also enroll in supplemental courses to create an alternate transcript.

Hope this helps,
Mili

Mili Mittal
Senior Consultant
http://www.mbamission.com
 
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