Unique Profile Eval

[jhighsmith]

Hey Everyone!

Thanks for your time, taking a looks and providing your 2 cents.

I graduated from UMass Amherst with a 2.8 overall and a 3.5 major GPA. I designed my own major Renewable Energy and Sustainable Design and took classes at Amherst, Hampshire, and Smith. Worked at the Renewable Energy Research Laboratory and for my undergrad thesis wrote feasibility study for an offshore wind farm I proposed. Designed custom software for the thesis, which became my current startup, an offshore wind farm analytics and virtualization company. We are currently 7th overall out of over 2,225 worldwide in the GE Challege.

My first company was a simple textbook trading website that had 2,500 users and was profitable in 12 months my sophomore year, I couldn’t afford a computer at the time so I used my roommates. I used the money to go paragliding (not buy a computer) in Santa Barbara and Mexico over my winter breaks. I also had to bartend during school to pay for everything as my parents, a dental hygienist and a carpenter, didn't have much.

It took me a little longer to finish school because I a) got muddled down in the thesis, b) took a motorcycle trip to the Panama Canal, and c) got a little sidetracked. I finally received my diploma in 2010, three years late...

For the past 30 months I have been working my way up the ranks of an amazing rope access company (skalagroup.com, we use big wall rock climbing techniques to work on industrial structures like bridges, dams, buildings and wind turbines) and I am now a team leader and safety supervisor doing blade inspections and repairs 250 feet off the ground. I have been in, on and around all major wind turbine manufactures and many wind farms around the USA from RI to AK.

I have not taken the GMAT yet, only done some initial studying. I am thinking of doing an alternative transcript this semester at NYU, Statistics for Business, Calculus for Business and Introduction to Accounting. All three of which I received either a C or C- in college. I am thinking applying in round 2. I took lots of economics, environmental economics, resource economics, and environmental policy courses at UMass and did ok.

I would like to get into a top 5 MBA program or top 10. Any chances? Alternative transcript? GMAT score? Any and all advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
James

[mbamission]

Hi James,

Thanks for writing in and sharing your extensive background details. It's definitely a unique background story and should provide for some good material for your essays.

You are most likely going to face an uphill battle with top-10 schools due to your academic background. There are a few ways to attack this. One is with a great GMAT score, especially on the quant side. You have the right idea by enrolling in some college-level quant classes. But since you'll need to overcome Cs on your transcript, you may want to wait until you have grades in those classes so you can show that you can succeed in advanced-level quant classes.

Your last weapon is your unique background. You can use your essays to clearly explain why you are seeking an MBA and how you will leverage your background and an MBA to achieve your career goals. Top programs will occasionally look past academic weaknesses for truly unique individuals, but your best chance will likely be to attack this weakness on the three fronts I described.

Good luck!

Daniel Richards
http://www.mbamission.com

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