Profile Evaluation Request 620 Gmat 3.93 GPA

[d_monosiet]

Hi I was wondering if I should even bother applying to a top 15 MBA program.

I graduated from a mid-tier school with an accounting undergrad. I had a 3.93 overall GPA and a 620 GMAT. I was president of our school's accounting club and worked as a teacher's assistant in Finance during my last two years of my degree. I've completed an internship at a big 4 accounting firm and received an offer to start full time in Fall 2013. I have worked during school as a teller in a bank and have trained new hires as well. I scored in the 97 percentile in the Southeast’s business school exit exam. I am 29 years old mixed race of hispanic and african-american What are my chances?

[mili]

Hello,

I'm just a bit confused on your timeline. Would you mind clarifying? Sounds like maybe you took a couple years after high school to do something else, then enrolled in college and you're now finishing up and about to start a career at a top accounting firm?

If that's the case, the answer to your question will depend a lot on what you did before undergrad and the path you took to get where you are today. Unfortunately, your GMAT score is not very competitive for a top 15 school at this point in time and I don't see a lot of mention of extra curricular leadership or community involvement outside of undergrad.

From what I can see, a top 15 school is probably not so realistic, but it really depends on your story. It could be that your personal story and things you've overcome are incredibly compelling and could help you overcome anomalies in your profile. I would recommend retaking the GMAT though, if that's an option.

Let me know if you have more detail for me and I can try to clarify.

Best,

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

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[d_monosiet]

Well that's pretty much what I thought. Right now I am trying to weigh my options. I have a pretty good job offer in my field but I was seeing if there was any chance of me maybe being able to work in consulting, private equity or a hedge fund with an mba. I was looking for a good school because I do not know if it would be worth it to get an mba at a lower ranked school seeing that I all ready have a job offer at a good accounting firm.
As far as extra curriculars go I have done a bit of community service in the past by volunteering at a hospital, the boys and girls club and at a zoo. I also received the outstanding student award for my graduating class in accounting.
As far as my story and the gap in schooling, I was never a good student before I had a low GPA in high school and an even worse one when I went to college after high school. In fact I failed out. I had some health issues that were unexplained for awhile ie. insomnia, stomach pains. In the following years I had mediocre jobs. It wasn't until I was diagnosed with clinical deppression and went on medication that things got better. I felt very motivated and went back to school and had my gpa cleared. I retook classes starting in my freshman year and made all As except for one B.

It pretty much comes down to the question is it worth it to get an mba in my possision if it isn't in a top 15 school?

[mili]

Thanks for the additional info.

As to whether an MBA is 'worth it' - the answer really depends on you and your goals and your constraints. Is it worth what? The money? The time? The application process? Not sure what you mean by that. If I am understanding correctly though, the question is more accurately phrased as: do i need an mba from a top 15 school to transition into consulting or PE?

The answer is not really. You can definitely go to a lower tier school and use that to transition into this field (maybe you won't start out at Bain or McKinsey, but you could work your way up to that). Alternatively, you could probably transition (more slowly) into those fields w/o an MBA (somewhat harder). For example, let's say you're starting at PWC - you can do the accounting thing for a while and then try to transition into a consulting company from there. Jumping to PE or hedge fund would be a bit harder, for sure, and business school would be a good way to make that transition, but it seems to me that you really need to show the ad com that you are capable of being a professional leader in the first place. There is little evidence of that in your background, so unless you have 3+ years in a professional environment, demonstrating leadership and exceptional talent, it will be a hard sell.

My advice would be to take your job offer, put in a couple years, and during that time position yourself for a top MBA (take on leadership activities in the community/extra curriculars, etc.). Even though you'll be on the older side in a few years, you'd have a stronger application than what you have now.

I hope this helps!
Mili