6 Free Financial Modeling Lessons...and More.

(Almost Human, 9,197

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 8:30am

As a UIUC engineer myself, I think the GPA is forgiveable given that our courses are typically curved to a C+/B-. In any case, it is from five years ago and is significantly less relevant than your industry experience.

Boeing is a name-brand company and a good start, but I think the recs are what will really make the difference here.

State schools like Haas and Ross tend to put a little more emphasis on test scores, and I think you should be able to break a 750 on the GMATs. Retake the test, get a 750, submit some good references, and I think Haas/Ross/McCombs should be doable. Columbia might even be possible, too, depending on how strong the references are.

Be sure you frame your achievements effectively in your personal statement.

Work hard, play hard.

well actually I havent even

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 8:42am

well actually I havent even taken the GMAT yet i'm just throwing an estimate out there, so i think 740 could be doable.

As far as letters of recommendation go, I guess another question I have is what exactly is a good letter of recommendation?

Is it from someone high up? Someone basically saying that they highly recommend you? That you helped the company greatly?

So far these are the recs I see myself getting..
1. ) I think I can get someone who is VP-level at the company i'm working at in China to write me a good letter. VP-level at a manufacturing company like this is probably in charge of ~ 500 people. In CHina, basically everybody is chill as hell and they don't really care if they lie or break rules or anything. I can probably convince him to let me write my own letter and have him sign off.

2. ) A professor at one of my classes. I am on good terms with him. I audited his classes voluntarily and always performed well and showed an interest in all the material. Met up with him personally 1:1 several times for happy hour. He himself is a part-time professor and manages several billion $$ as a private wealth manager. Keep in touch with him.

I guess, what can i do NOW that will improve my chances at a top bschool? I've got lets say 1 year left. Do something extracurricular? Up the GMAT from 720 to 740? Any higher than that i dont know if i can achieve.

I definitely think I can do better than top 25/30 though, as my brother got wailisted at top 15, and is at a ~ 15-20 bschool, and his work experience /gmat were worse than mine.

by the way, does anyone have

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 8:48am

by the way, does anyone have some sort of database where i can read personal statement essays or essays for business school? I think it will give me some inspiration and ideas to write about?

In all honesty, you can get

(Almost Human, 9,197

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 9:01am

In all honesty, you can get all of your recs from industry if you would like at this point- certainly for an MBA program. You don't have to go scrounging around the engineering department for professors who probably barely remember their current students, let alone ones from five years ago if you can do better in industry.

I would look for references from your mentors at work and maybe one from Boeing if you're not at the firm anymore- it's more important to find people who like you (and you kind of report to in some way) than it is to find someone who's 2-3 levels up. They need to talk about your personal skills, strengths as an engineer, highlights of your experience, and everything else. You typically need three strong references for most programs written in excellent English.

Work hard, play hard.

Well actually the thing is, i

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 9:08am

Well actually the thing is, i switch managers so damn often that i've had 5 managers in the past 3 years. So, I don't know, the site leader likes me, but he isn't even a manager. How much does it matter their title?

These professors are recent professors, i've been taking real estate classes. These are professors i've met in the past year or so.

Title matters much less than

(Almost Human, 9,197

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 9:17am

Title matters much less than function. If you provide a service for them and they have some sort of credential that indicates you report to them in the hierarchy and they're a good person to evaluate your candidacy for B-school, they make a good reference.

Does the site leader have a college degree? How long has he been in industry? If he's got a bachelor's and has been in industry for five more years than you and you work with him pretty closely, he could be a good candidate.

At some point, there is a bit of a balancing act between credentials and strength of reference. But in general, it's better to get a strong reference from someone with weaker credentials than a weak reference from someone with strong credentials.

Work hard, play hard.

Yea he has a bachelor's and

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 9:20am

Yea he has a bachelor's and has been in china for 11 years, boeing for about 30. Its not rare whatsoever to work with people who've been with Boeing their entire life.

Also, a pretty stupid question.. How does one go about asking for a letter of recommendation. You ask him, and he provides it to you via ?? sealed envelope? emails it to you? Prints it on letterhead?

Typically, he'll submit it

(Almost Human, 9,197

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 9:25am

Typically, he'll submit it directly to the school using a link you provide him with.

It's kind of an awkward process to say, "Uhh, I'm leaving. Can I get a rec?" You have to start dropping minor hints to your immediate manager and close friends that you're thinking about grad school. At some point, asking for a rec will feel a little less uncomfortable, and, assuming you're in the window where he can go ahead and submit the reference, that's probably the time for you to ask.

Work hard, play hard.

IlliniProgrammer

Cmoss

(Senior Orangutan, 482

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 9:29am

IlliniProgrammer:

Typically, he'll submit it directly to the school using a link you provide him with.

So if you are applying to several schools do you give them several links?

So at no point do you get to

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 9:36am

So at no point do you get to proofread the letter to make sure he's not badmouthing you? Haha, man i guess you have to be pretty careful with who you choose.

Yes. They will have to log

(Almost Human, 9,197

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 9:38am

Yes. They will have to log into each site, copy and paste the reference in, and often answer other questions.

Your job is to make this as easy and painless as possible for them. Ideally, you want to give them a month or two before your first reference is due.

So at no point do you get to proofread the letter to make sure he's not badmouthing you? Haha, man i guess you have to be pretty careful with who you choose.

Yup, that's the point of a reference. :D You don't have 100% control over what gets said about you. References basically signal to schools that you can line up three people who won't blackball you and, ideally, really want to help your career.

Work hard, play hard.

You have absolutely no chance

New Yorker

(Gorilla, 704

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 11:15am

You have absolutely no chance whatsoever at a top 10. To be honest, you are actually below what one would consider a "mediocre" candidate.

Find a good school close

(Human, 13,499

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 11:21am

Find a good school close enough to drive to and take some grad classes to offset that low GPA. Get involved with some local groups or charities and get on their board. I would give yourself at least a year of two to revamp your resume. Look into a mini MBA or a certification program. This is your chance to really increase your GPA.

Since you are an engineer you might want to look at MFE programs. They are only 1 year long, focus more on your quant scores and can place you on WS. This might be a more viable option since I agree with most everyone in saying you are a so so candidate for even 20-30 schools.

On what basis are you saying

(Almost Human, 9,197

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 11:25am

On what basis are you saying that NY?

If he were an MS candidate straight out of school, yes, he'd be a weak candidate because of the GPA. However, GPA really stops being a big deal about five or six years out of school. My classmate from UIUC who managed to squeak by with a 2.1 GPA and wound up at Microsoft will probably be a very competitive candidate at Wharton or Northwestern in a few years if he gets the test scores and references.

It's hard to wrap your head around at first, but GPA is typically a more minor consideration than you would think.

Agree with Anthony on getting involved in some sort of extracurricular activity. I still think that Haas or a similar public Ivy is a strong possibility with outstanding references, essays, and a GMAT of 750, however.

Work hard, play hard.

I am curious to know how much

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 11:40am

anthony, i have taken about 7

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on 9/9/10 at 11:43am

Hmmmm, maybe you should call

(Human, 13,499

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 11:46am

I haven't looked at a MS in

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 11:50am

What city is close to you?

(Human, 13,499

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 11:53am

Seattle will be the city

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on 9/9/10 at 11:55am

http://www.foster.washington.

(Human, 13,499

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 12:02pm

that would be an option to

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on 9/9/10 at 12:04pm

Ok, so you are in WA, but

(Human, 13,499

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 12:09pm

right, berkeley is really the

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on 9/9/10 at 12:10pm

Ok, good, get on the board of

(Human, 13,499

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 12:13pm

How much can one exaggerate

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 12:16pm

You can find services that

(Human, 13,499

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 12:23pm

Isn't USC's RE program a top

ThaVanBurenBoyz

(King Kong, 1,516

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 1:17pm

http://www.usc.edu/schools/sp

(Human, 13,499

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 1:36pm

^ Yeah, I'm not a RE guy, but

ThaVanBurenBoyz

(King Kong, 1,516

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 2:25pm

Don't be afraid to shoot for

MPG

(King Kong, 1,224

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 4:19pm

These questions are damn near

PossumBelly

(King Kong, 1,689

Points)

on 9/9/10 at 11:06pm

It really depends on the

(Almost Human, 9,197

Points)

on 9/10/10 at 1:00am

Work hard, play hard.

Cartwright wrote: These

monty09

(Senior Neanderthal, 5,398

Points)

on 9/11/10 at 8:27pm

WSO Conf - June 29, 2013

monty09 wrote: Cartwright

PossumBelly

(King Kong, 1,689

Points)

on 9/12/10 at 1:07am

Cartwright wrote: monty09

monty09

(Senior Neanderthal, 5,398

Points)

on 9/12/10 at 2:12am

WSO Conf - June 29, 2013

Well, this is 25 year-old