Business School Recommendations
3.3 GPA
BBA in Finance from a Top 10 school
3 or 4 years of experience by start date
Fairly week extra curriculars at this point
Current Job: interesting company specific position, atypical applicant (colleagues with similar time at the firm after coming fresh out of college have gone to Top 20 and Top 10 MBA's,)
I am not particularly interested in working on the east or west coast (Shocker!!). I would prefer to work in Texas (Anywhere), Illinois (Chicago), and oddly Colorado (Denver).
I am interested in Management Consulting and Equities Analyst (Hedge Funds, Trading, etc.) positions (small or large).
I am interested to hear, given these interests and stats, what MBA Programs the forum would recommend and what gmat scores would be necessary for a "lock" or serious consideration.
Naturally, the things most people are concerned about are also valid concerns (reputation, cost, job skills, networking, recruiting, etc.)
Give this business world newbie some advice! Appreiciate the help.
GMAT?
I think with a 700+ gmat you look pretty competitive for McCombs, and given your Texas interest tht would be a good fit.
Can you tell us more about the type of work you do? A 3.3 undergrad gpa, assuming you're a white or asian male, is a dealbreaker at the M7 schools. If you get 700+ you could do mccombs, cornell, ross, duke, maybe stern.
I literally have no idea where I sit on the GMAT, haven't even taken a practice. I would rather not discuss my current job position but it is at a reputable company and is not any sort of back/mid office position.
forgive my newbness but I am not too clear on how difficult a 700+ is. I have just started research on the topic of B-School. I feel I am pretty smart and am a fast learner. Equating 700+ to another standardized test (LSAT, SAT, GRE) may give me an idea of if this is possible or not for me. Not even sure that is a reasonable request heh heh.
Without gmat score or more detail on your job, it will be very difficult to gauge your chances. A weak gpa from a non-wharton undergrad school means that you did not get an elite job at a top financial firm. Hence, that combined with a low gpa and weak extracurriculars, will rule you out of the M7 schools. Only chance would be if you got 750+ gmat, visited columbia business, clearly expressed your "passion" for that school, and apply early decision. Other than that scenario, stick with the top 15 programs.
Good luck.
I'm curious as to how you can be so confident in your information, given your position. Are you really any different from the college freshman advising people how to get a job in IB?
It seems the consensus from my research is that my best shot is for the the schools ranked 20-10 by USNWR with a GMAT of 700+
I am not sure how many of these schools place in the locations I listed. That is really my primary concern. Any other schools place well in the area that I should consider, perhaps in the instance I don't get 700+ (again not really sure how hard that is too achieve)
For management consulting, any of those schools will do the trick, although MBB will be very tough to get once you get outside of the top 12 or so.
If you're interested in hedge funds and trading, ruling out the east and west coast will greatly reduce your options. Chicago does have tons of prop trading of course but not too many hedge funds and investment management.
Again, not really interested in working anywhere other than Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Chicago, or Denver Offices. Looking for schools that place well there specifically. Ranking is great, but I feel local presence and the likely hood of a nice job in those areas is my primary objective. As in I feel if I graduate from NYU or UCLA, ending up in those offices is less likely than ending up in the NY, Boston, San Fran, LA, Atlanta, etc. offices since recruiting will likely be for those positions.
Could be dead wrong. Just some things rolling around the old noggin.
Ross Kellogg UT Duke Chicago
A good estimation is probably just cutting your reading+math SAT score in half.
I barely studied for SAT and GMAT, and my GMAT score was about 1/2 my (old) SAT score. The mean SAT is around 1000, the mean GMAT is around 540.
If you got above a 1400 on the SAT, can show strong performance, taking on more responsibility at work, and take the time to write a good application, Kellogg and Booth could be in reach. Otherwise McCombs seems good for you too.
I will re-iterate mccombs if you are that geographically restricted. They place extremely well in the state of Texas, but you need to overcome your mediocre gpa with good essays and a good gmat. The gmat is not hard and 700+ is acheivable if you are reasonably smart and work hard. If you knock the crap out of the gmat (750+), kill the essays, and have a really good job now with exciting or unique stories you should give Booth and Kellogg a shot too, but they may be reaches. If you are just exploring this now pick up some MBA admissions guides for ideas on how to boost and differentiate your application.
good luck
Thanks guys. I feel I am reasonably smart and I do work hard. So 700+ is the goal and Mccombs/Ross/Duke are the primary objectives.
750+ seems pretty tough from what I have read but depending on GMAT I may as well give Booth and Kellog a shot too as stretches. I certainly feel I have a very atypical interesting job that absolutely has some unique stories attached to it.
Any ideas on some fall back schools?
Rice and Texas A&M might be a good fall back? Next-best schools in Texas.
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