chickenz 04-17-2006, 10:03 PM hi there,
i want to see if any of you can help me out and point me into the right direction.
SCHOOL
----------
i'm a male, age 27, graduated from the university of florida with a bachelors in business admin around 2001. i had a low gpa (2.0)...i guess you can say i scraped by my last 2 years in college. i was not involved in any school activities or functions. there's no excuse in why i had such a low gpa..all i wanted to do was to graduate from college and never go back...i was depressed, distracted and unfocused at that time. school was the last thing on my mind! well now i have a change of heart and want to go back to school.
WORK EXP
------------
after college i focused on music, touring nationally/internationally almost full time with a rock band ...basically getting paid to play in a band...but after 8 years i decided to quit and get married.
I worked on other several non-career oriented jobs such as delivering magazines (3 yrs), field tech for the fire dept (1 yr), and working at a online computer sales company(1 yr). i also started a very small screenprinting operation (3 yr) with a friend which we run seasonally in a warehouse printing tshirts for bands and school clubs. I am currently a lab assistant at a pesticide lab at the University of Florida (1 yr).
i have recently begun studying for the GMAT test...and hope to score as high as I can to balance out the low GPA. i can also get excellent recommendations from my current supervisor and director.
the schools i have been looking at are UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA, DUKE, BOSTON U, NOTRE DAME.
will it be difficult to be accepted into a MBA school without having "real professional" business experience?
what do you suggest for someone like me who doesn't really know what they want to do with their lives and confused with career choices. :confused: :confused:
thank you and any help would be appreciated!!
Clear Admit 04-18-2006, 08:02 PM Dear Chickenz,
As far as academics, as you’ve mentioned yourself, your undergraduate GPA of a 2.0 will certainly weaken your academic record. Also, the fact that you attended the University of Florida will not hold as much weight as if you had attended a school with a stronger brand name.
However, these factors need not act as detriments that will bar you from acceptance to business school. There are other ways that you can prove to the admissions committee that you have the academic abilities necessary to succeed at business school. One chief way to do this, of course, is to score well on the GMAT test. Scoring well, particularly in the quantitative section, will show the admissions committee that you would be able to handle the quantitative rigors of business school classes. Another way to demonstrate your scholastic ability and work ethic to the adcom is to enroll in one or two graduate level courses in quantitatively rigorous subjects and ideally, to receive A’s in these.
You’ve had some diverse professional experiences over the years which should set you apart from more traditional applicants (few will have played in a rock group). That being said, you’ll have to be sure to present the main lessons you’ve learned over your career and to explain how these have led you to the career that you currently want to pursue.
In your applications, it’s essential that you present a clear career narrative and well-defined career goals. This last part is a crucial part to compiling a strong business school application. You should reflect on why you want to attend business school, how this choice fits with your past experiences and what this will help you to accomplish after you graduate.
It’s good that you’ve been thinking about this early. If you know that you definitely want to attend business school, you have the option of taking a year or two to get yourself ready. You could take this time to get involved in extracurricular activities in your community or, as I previously suggested, to take classes.
Regards,
Chelsea Ferrell
Clear Admit, LLC
chickenz 04-18-2006, 09:12 PM thanks chelsea,
i hope me not being a "traditional" applicant will work in my favor...perhaps I can include some of my expeirences with my essay. well right now i plan on busting my tail on the GMAT...working hard in the next few months to get a high score..since i'm horrible in math i plan on getting the kaplan math review and going over that....has anyone ever used the CAREERLEADER web program offered by mba.com? i wanted to buy it and see if it can steer me in the right direction as far as career choices that will work with me...is it worth it?
thanks for the help!
Rivera 04-24-2006, 12:42 AM I think Chelsea was sugarcoating it...I think you'd have a very hard time getting into a reputable b-school. A 2.0 GPA with no business work experience (I can't imagine them looking favorably on your years as a "rock star") will make it very hard for you to get in. I'm not saying give up, but you should absolutely take some community college classes in business and KICK BUTT in them and then get a real job where you can demonstrate leadership experience. Otherwise you are seriously a long shot and they won't take you seriously.
|
