Ms. Second Chances

Ms. Second Chances: Emily here, Master Consultant at The MBA Exchange. As someone who worked inside universities for many years, I did see colleagues move from university HR to for profit recruiting or diversity roles so I certainly think you have realistic goals. It will be important to talk specifically about why you need an MBA and what skills or perspectives you lack that an MBA can give you that will be pivotal to your future. I also think you want to be able to tell your compelling personal story as well as an aspirational future leadership story within the tight spaces provided in MBA admissions essays. I like your list of schools but wonder if you can explain the lower GPA as that will be an issue for just about any MBA program? Have you considered taking a rigorous online quant based course to show you are ready for the rigor of an MBA? You have some great strengths as an MBA applicant but these are some ideas to strengthen your profile. Feel free to contact us (emilyb@mbaexchange.com) if you want more guidance and best of luck!

Hi Ms. Second Chances,
This is Debbie Choy, Senior Consultant at mbaMission. From reading your brief profile, I can already tell you have a fire in your belly! Your drive is impressive – moving from assistant to Manager in 5 years, implementing a new payroll system for your department, and losing 100 pounds. That said, I worry that these achievements could be overshadowed by your GPA and GRE scores. They are below the average at McCombs, and the Admissions Committee (AdCom) could be concerned about your academic capabilities. I recommend aiming to build what we call an “alternative transcript” to alleviate this concern. If you can take some rigorous online quant courses and do well in them, that can demonstrate to AdCom your ability to keep up with your classmates. Look for fundamental quant classes that b-school classes build on, such as Statistics and Calculus. Also look to take classes from reputable sources/programs, and which have a grade that you can report to AdCom. My estimate of your odds are lower than the average acceptance rate at McCombs (typically around 34%) because of this concern. But if you can boost your academic track record before you apply, that would really improve your odds. Best of luck and keep that fire burning!