JD MBA Admissions after IB

Hey dude, I'm no expert, but I have done an obsessive amount of reading on this and talked to a bunch of people so here's what I'll tell you... combination of fact and opinion.

1) "Assuming I get a good GMAT/LSAT" you should be okay with a 3.6 from a good school (although "top 20" is sort of vague... was it like Cornell/Duke/G-town/Williams level of was it like a random liberal arts school with a random high ranking?). That said, while the GMAT is pretty easy and also not a huge determinant of whether you get into these programs, the LSAT is a humongous component of the admissions process for all top law schools - the single most important factor by far (other than NW... no Lsat required there). So... unless you target the NW program, it's going to make a huge difference what you get on your LSAT, and the difference between like 168 and 175 (both decent scores) is going to make or break you without question. To "recover" from a 3.6 GPA (law school is nuts!) you're going to need a 170+ to get into a top jd/mba... regardless of work experience.

2) On the business school side, yes getting a GMAT score that's respectable is important, but it's not going to make or break you. Generally speaking, as most people will tell you on this forum, the work experience is the important thing (especially since your UG GPA is good for MBA programs... though bad for law school). As you're starting at a BB in London (and that's 'international' since you studied in the U.S.), you should be okay with those 2 years w/ the online company and a few years at a BB...

3) So basically, you should consider yourself as having a chance for good JD/MBA programs so long as your UG school isn't random, you actually CAN get those good LSAT/GMAT (say 720 and 170+) and you can tell your story correctly. That said, Harvard, Stanford and Yale are all 99% out of the question with a 3.6 unless you can get a 179-180 on your gmat (which is close to impossible.. trust me... it's a much harder exam than the others). Columbia is the next best program and is now doable in 3 years which is awesome... it's very hard to get into columbia law with a 3.6 though... unless you're a URM. The NW program is 3 years and great. Penn is great and now offers a 3 year... getting into wharton will be the tougher side of that equation. Cornell is solid and doable in 3 years + a lot less competitive on the admissions side. Michigan and NYU are tough to get into and require 4 years but are great programs. Duke is a solid program and I think you can do it in 7 semesters. University of Chicago is also one of the best but you'd need a very high LSAT with those grades. Berkeley is another good JD/MBA but you're pretty much sunk on the law school with a 3.6 (they're very particular about grades and usually don't mess around below 3.8). G-town and UT are another tier below but they're both pretty solid programs too... I think they require 4 years each.

4.) In summation I'd say the best thing for you is to do the best you can at the BB and try your hardest to get a good LSAT. If you can't hit a really high LSAT you'll have to set your sights lower, but if you can somehow pull off like a 175+ that'll pretty much open the door to anywhere.

hope that helps.