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8
May 7, 2024 3:36pm ET
Applying: Berkeley / Haas, Columbia, Duke / Fuqua, Michigan / Ross, Northwestern / Kellogg, NYU Stern, U. Chicago Booth, UCLA Anderson
Intake Year: 2024
Pre-MBA Career: Marketing and Advertising
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Consumer Goods
GMAT: 695
GPA: 3.0
Years of Work Experience: 5
Location: US
Notes:

American white male, 27
I'd really appreciate any input on my chance at my target schools. I have two primary concerns about my app: undergrad GPA and LOR (which I'll explain).

Education:
BBA in Marketing from decent school (ie Maryland/Georgia/Ohio State)
GPA: 3.0 (Don't have any real excuse for this. Have Ds in classes like Film but got As in classes like Accounting and Econ. Worked 25-40 hours per week every semester to pay for school if that's relevant.)

GMAT:
695 -- I believe I could get higher if I pushed but felt like I should focus on other aspects of my apps

Career:
- Started at a very well known consumer products brand as a marketing associate in their early careers rotation program.
- Wanted to mix things up a bit and get a different perspective on marketing and 'brand building', so took an advertising strategist role at an agency where I worked with primarily CPGs.
- Jumped jobs to another agency (not well known) after a year, for step up in responsibility and pay. Worked across lots of client industries, led projects autonomously.
- Unfortunately was laid off after less than a year; am now an Associate Marketing Manager at a telecom.

Extracurriculars:
In school, I ran a radio show at our student station for 4 years. Was also active in our marketing club. Not really an extracurricular but did multiple in-semester (?) internships, one of which involved a lot of organizing and collaboration with school clubs.
Outside school, I participate in athletic activities but have not done much else.

Why MBA:
Although getting laid off was against my will, jumping roles across industries and client-agency side was not. I wanted to get a holistic perspective on how marketing is done, and feel like I've achieved that. My goal in the long-term is to shoot for a CMO-type role, so I'm now seeking an MBA to supplement my marketing-specific experience and knowledge with a broader business acumen. So, my short-term goal would be to either start working at a consumer-facing company with high growth/potential, or to join a consulting firm for a few years to develop my overall strategy chops before exiting to something similar.

Concerns:
Again, my GPA is a big concern for me. Any perspective on how much that will affect me would be appreciated.
My second concern is LORs. My boss and I have a great relationship. I'm sure in a vacuum she would write me a great rec no questions asked. However, I have worked here for less than a year so my concern is she may balk a bit at my request. However if I wait until next year to ask, I'm confident she'd be willing to write me an excellent reco which I feel may be necessary given my poor GPA. I'm wondering how much a great vs. average reco would impact my application given the schools I'm targeting.