Berkeley / Haas - 05-22-2024 | Clear Admit ApplyWire

May 22, 2024 4:05pm ET

Applying: Berkeley / Haas, Duke / Fuqua, ESADE, IE Business School, IESE, INSEAD, Stanford GSB, UCLA Anderson, UT Austin / McCombs

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: 3 years work ex. 2 years at Data Center startup with 2 promotions, 1 year at WFM/Amazon E-Commerce.

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Technology, Venture Capital, Private Equity, Asset Management, inc. HF Companies: Bain , BCG , Deloitte , McKinsey , Amazon , Apple , Google , Hewlett Packard , IBM , Microsoft , Oracle , Accell Partners , Andressen Horowitz , Battery Ventures , Charles River , Draper Fisher , First Round Capital , Kleiner Perkins , NEA , Sequoia Capital , Venrock , Bain Capital , Blackstone , Carlyle Group , Goldman Sachs Principal Investment Group , TPG , KKR , Blackrock , Fidelity , Goldman Sachs , JP Morgan Asset Management , State Street , Vanguard

GMAT: 725

GPA: 2.6

Years of Work Experience: 3

Location: Austin

Post MBA Location: Any

Notes:

I have taken 4 quantitative classes at community college and received A’s in all of them. Doing that to make up for low GPA. Also taking GMAT again targeting 750+. Have letters of rec from alumni of all the schools I’m applying to.

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Show Comments (7) Last: May 25, 2024

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1603 This is already a very strong GMAT score. Doing the extra quant classes is very good. Perhaps consider GMACs Business Fundamentals (or MBA Math etc) as another option. Any context surrounding the GPA?

Do you really have no geographic preference post MBA, and for the long run? That can help narrow your focus on target MBA programs.

Showing impact and growth at work is very important. Are you also involved in activities outside of work?

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bp0525 Likes Earned: 2 So for the GPA, I’d say it was a combination of mental health problems and pandemic related anxieties. My grades started well, dropped off, then improved my final year, but it obviously wasn’t enough to get out of the hole I dug. I’m doing MBA math along with the community college classes! As for the geographic preference I honestly don’t. My fiancé and I have family in California, Texas, NY, and Europe, so we would be happy in any of those locations both during and after MBA. If I absolutely had to choose, I’d say Haas is my target because I’d like to go into Tech Consulting or Venture Capital. For outside of work activities I’m an Eagle Scout, and I still work with troops in my area! Also volunteer with the elementary school my fiancé teaches at for things like tutoring. In work I’m what they call a “certified culture champion” meaning I assist in coordinating events for the team. That can be leadership courses, wellness initiatives, or just silly stuff like birthday parties, retirement parties, etc. (0)

bp0525 Likes Earned: 2 I should mention as well for the GPA. I planned on being a pilot, but due to an injury I was unable to medically qualify for the commercial pilot license, so I had to very quickly pivot into another field. I was getting an aviation degree, but switched to aviation logistics and supply chain. That certainly didn’t help having to switch so drastically, and for a very depressing reason. (0)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1603 VC would be a huge reach to access, post MBA, for most top tier MBA candidates, so I’d focus on consulting, or even investment banking if you want a pathway to a more finance oriented career. What are your longer term goals?

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bp0525 Likes Earned: 2 I guess I would say VC or PE would be my long term goals, not necessarily directly after graduation. Management consulting is what I am targeting as a more immediate goal. I’m really interested in asset management as well, so those sorts of firms are something I would explore as well. (1)

bp0525 Likes Earned: 2 I also wanted to ask, given my current profile, what do you think my odds are with the schools listed? Do I need to temper my expectations a bit given my GPA? For McCombs I would be applying for the PT program, so that I can continue to work in Austin, if that changes anything. (1)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1603 It’s hard to say, given the two extremes: super GMAT and very low GPA. But you are doing everything you can to mitigate the GPA, which will help. The quality of your work experience will also be important, as well as any outside activities.

Target round one, and see how things fair, and readjust in round two, if necessary.

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