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Target School: McCombs School of Business
See More Profiles For: McCombs School of Business
Application Status: Open
Undergrad School: Troy State University
Undergrad Major: Applied Computer Science
GPA: 2.31
GMAT: N/A
Age: 30, Ethnicity: Hispanic or Latino
Other Degree/Certification: MS
School Name: U
Extracurriculars:
Title: N
Industry: Accounting
Company: Navy
Length of Employment: 10 yrs, 3 mos
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Wharton with a 2.31 from Troy State and an unknown GMAT score? Sorry. This is not going to happen. Your background is interesting (thank you for your service) but Wharton has been over-indexing GMAT scores in recent years and just won’t bite unless you can get a GMAT score that is pretty close to their median or average. My best advice is to get that score and execute really well on your application to have a chance. But you really want to select a half dozen other schools where you may have greater opportunity. Think about Darden, Duke, Michigan for starters.
Hi, it’s Nisha from mbaMission! Congratulations on your career accomplishments, and thank you for your service to our country! The future role that you’ve identified for yourself, within the federal/public spaces of Microsoft, aligns very well with your experience to date, and the business acumen leadership skills you’ll gain in an MBA program would serve you well in this role.
However, from an admissions standpoint, you have some hurdles to overcome. Your GPA is very low – you’ll need to explain this in the applications’ optional essays. Even though your master’s GPA is higher, you’ll also want to offset your undergrad performance with a very high GMAT or GRE score (one that is above the average of the schools you target).
Even if you …
Even if you do these things, however, I think Wharton will be out of reach for you. Assuming you’re able to pull a strong test score, I’d aim for some other great programs that are known to be especially military-friendly: Duke, Tuck, Darden, and Cornell to name a few. Additionally, I’m not sure where you are based geographically, but Foster is a solid program not far from Microsoft’s headquarters. Or, if you need to be based in DC given your public-sector focus, Georgetown McDonough is another good option. They also have good part-time programs, which would allow you to stay employed at MSFT during it (and, part-time programs have lower GPA/GMAT averages, which could work in your favor).
Hope this helps a bit – best of luck!
Hi Mr. Microsoft consultant, this is Donna Bauman, Senior MBA Admissions Counselor with Stratus Admissions, and first of all thank you for your service! I think you have an interesting background and your MS in data science helps you both for showing a better gpa and also for having some strong tech skills – and given all the uncertainty in the world now it is not bad that you want to return to your pre MBA employer Microsoft. If your recommenders can address that you would be welcomed back post MBA that can be very helpful so consider having a conversation with your recommenders around this topic. Being first gen college and Hispanic are going to be helpful in the application process but it is …
Hi Mr. Microsoft consultant, this is Donna Bauman, Senior MBA Admissions Counselor with Stratus Admissions, and first of all thank you for your service! I think you have an interesting background and your MS in data science helps you both for showing a better gpa and also for having some strong tech skills – and given all the uncertainty in the world now it is not bad that you want to return to your pre MBA employer Microsoft. If your recommenders can address that you would be welcomed back post MBA that can be very helpful so consider having a conversation with your recommenders around this topic. Being first gen college and Hispanic are going to be helpful in the application process but it is hard to say too much without knowing your GMAT score. The good news is that both the GMAT and GRE are getting plans in place for you to be able to take this test online given the limitations of our Covid19 world. Unfortunately, that 2.3 GPA from undergrad is something that the schools will have to report and that is a painful hit to the gpa average. It might help to address in the optional essay some of the context around that score—don’t make excuses but do address what challenges might have been also going on during that time. I think that Wharton is one of the toughest programs for anyone so don’t be too discouraged if my odds percent seems low. Your best bet on Wharton is to do your research and shine in knowing how you will engage and why Wharton makes sense for you. Start doing that research now—you can still reach out to student ambassadors and speak to club leaders. I have had clients beat the odds to get into Wharton but a strong application and goals that are bigger than you will help. A few other schools to consider—since you want to work in federal sector consider programs somewhat nearby Washington DC with Georgetown and also UVA Darden. For tech depth consider Foster or maybe even Tepper or some of the MBA Tech programs such as NYU Stern or Cornell Johnson. I think you could have a shot at Cambridge Judge as well if you are interested in exploring European programs although this fall might not be the best year to do it. Wishing you well and reach out for a consult if you want to discuss further!
While Wharton will be tough, your timing could not be better as Wharton just announced a quant / tech program which would benefit from your graduate degree in the data science–which is much more demanding than data analysis or data analytics.
You need to apply to more MBA programs because some may reject you simply due to your low undergraduate GPA from a military friendly non-elite school.
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