Real Estate Story to get in top B-School for Investment Banking/Consulting


I have a low UG GPA in Civil Engineering from India(2.6/4.0), decent Masters GPA in Construction Management (3.56/4.00) in the US, 326/340 on the GRE, 5 years of construction industry experience in the US and 1 year of experience in India. 

Can having a strong construction background help getting into a top ranked MBA university if I show Real Estate as my interest in the essay and do a couple of real estate courses here and there? Can I offset my low gpa by using real estate as my interest and intent for an MBA purely to get into the university and crack the interviews?

Idea is, once I am admitted into the university, I can pursue whatever the f*** I want a\nd not necessarily real estate. Does that seem like a legit plan to break in?

Thoughts? Comments? Cheapshots?

 
Most Helpful
aalap911

 Can I offset my low gpa by using real estate as my interest and intent for an MBA purely to get into the university and crack the interviews?

Idea is, once I am admitted into the university, I can pursue whatever the f*** I want a\nd not necessarily real estate.

Are you suggesting that if you state your career ambitions for real estate, then a lower standard will be applied than if you said i-banking or consulting?? 

I really doubt that will be the case, as I can't imagine admissions officers thinking that way. I know engineering GPAs can be lower than UG b-school or lib arts GPAs (ridiculously subject to grade inflation in the US), and I am not sure if the standard for grading in India differs from the US (EU is harder, less inflated than US I think).

So, if you can explain that (if true...), then they may just treat your UG gpa as higher... or just use your CM GPA (which is very likely regardless). 

I'm sure you will get into some good MBA programs, not sure about Harvard or Wharton, but you will probably get legit offers so just apply! 

 

I tried applying with this profile for fall 2021 and got rejected from NYU and Ross, the top tier ones that I had applied to and got into other mediocre ones so I just deferred my plan of getting into college this year. I showed my interest as getting into consulting to which their feedback was that my goals were not clear enough and how I was going to make that switch. With real estate, I atleast have a legit background to back me to start with. Do you think that would be a smart move and universities would then want to accept me with my scores and credentials since my goals now align with my background in some way and I stand in a good position to make that switch?

 

Okay, that all makes more sense. I would recommend you actually hire one of these "admission consultants" who can review your essays and overall profile. Some programs will like your engineering/construction background more than others (i.e. the "STEM" to business types). Not sure about Ross, but Stern is not that type (think more the Stanford, Haas, MIT types). 

To be honest, the "goals not aligned" is probably more of a comment of just a poorly framed essay (at least in the view of the reviewer). Could framing for real estate make more sense? Sure, I mean yea, your background does align for real estate/development/etc. But, I would really focus on getting well written essays, solid LORs, etc. 

 

People have done much worse than that to get into schools. Stop being a pussy.

 

Magni ut praesentium in ea distinctio voluptatem consequatur nam. Et ipsam ut tenetur sed magni consectetur aut. Laudantium tenetur ratione laboriosam dolores voluptatem quo sit. Fugit culpa fuga dolor cumque dolorum. Voluptatem excepturi distinctio officia error. Voluptatem omnis quam id recusandae nesciunt. Soluta rerum voluptates sit eos quo.

Adipisci omnis provident laborum autem odit. Aut dolorem et iste et quisquam in. Quis sunt sed qui consequatur. Voluptatum minus voluptas voluptas quidem molestiae.

Ut consectetur consequatur fugit consequuntur labore fugit. Delectus nemo quasi qui quia sequi similique iste. Ad repellendus expedita illum quidem ut. Eaque corrupti sit sunt iusto. Sit laboriosam aut aut expedita neque nam rem. Et qui rerum labore laboriosam.

Sit voluptatum error facere amet. Fugiat commodi enim voluptas rem ab qui. Tempora quae assumenda est tempora omnis voluptas. Aut nihil dolor ullam saepe quis qui. Molestiae delectus dicta deserunt perferendis soluta. Quas iste enim tempora sed suscipit doloremque qui.

Career Advancement Opportunities

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Lazard Freres No 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 18 98.3%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 04 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (20) $385
  • Associates (90) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (67) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (146) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.8
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”