Cornell / Johnson - 02-04-2020 | Clear Admit ApplyWire

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February 4, 2020 11:57am ET

Applying: Cornell / Johnson, Dartmouth / Tuck, Georgetown / McDonough, NYU Stern, UVA / Darden, Yale SOM

Intake Year: 2021

Pre-MBA Career: Management Consulting and Business Advisory

Post-MBA Target Industry: Investment Banking Companies: Bank of America , Barclays , Citibank , JP Morgan , Merrill Lynch , Morgan Stanley , JP Morgan Chase

GPA: 3.15

Years of Work Experience: 4

Location: Washington, DC

Post MBA Location: Boston, New York City

Notes:

First and foremost, want to say I am a huge fan of the podcast - I travel weekly from DC to Texas for my MGMT consulting and have listened to every podcast to date in just under 3 weeks.

I am applying to the mentioned schools above for Fall 2021 matriculation. I will be taking the GRE and am projecting a score of ~324 (I will take multiple times in hopes of reaching or eclipsing the 330 mark).

My work experience includes Grant Thornton for 8 months (Transaction Advisory), Situs for 2 years (Associate in the Residential Real Estate Group), and since August 2019, Guidehouse, LLP (Experienced Associate in the financial services practice).

Two material"red flags" regarding my candidacy: the lower GPA, and 8 months at my first job. First, with regards to the GPA, I was a Division I athlete (men's lacrosse at a top 20 program). I graduated with a degree in Business, with dual concentrations (marketing and finance). My major GPA was approximately a 3.4, and I will note that my GPA trended upwards significantly. I had a 2.6 my freshman year (parents getting divorced, general transition to college difficulties), but had a 3.1 or higher in each subsequent semester, elevating me to a somewhat respectable 3.15 upon graduating. For further clarity, I went to the University of Richmond.

For the first job - I resigned and moved home for a few months (May 2017-August 2017) because I had developed a significant eating disorder and needed to devote my undivided attention to this. This is obviously unique and personal, as it was a traumatic time in my life. It is however something I'm willing to be open very about, especially as it provides context to a perceived glitch in my candidacy.

Finally, for extracurricular - I work in various volunteer roles throughout DC. One delivers food to elderly, homebound, financially challenged individuals. The other program is BUILD - partnering with inner city kids to teach and develop their general business skills and understandings. I also am an active member of the CSR group at my firm currently.

Again, I am a huge fan of the podcast and everything on the site. Any feedback you could provide would be greatly appreciated. And yes, I will provide a review for the podcast (even if not chosen :) .

Like (1)

Show Comments (5) Last: February 11, 2020

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1675 Thanks for reaching out. You have a number of months ahead of you, before you apply. You'll want to make sure that your WE allows you to show impact. Seek out assignments, if you can, that stretch you etc. You'll also want to show impact through your volunteer activities. Show that you're passionate about what you do, enabling others. Nail the GRE. Curious why you've chosen GRE over the GMAT? You will need to explain the GPA, as well as your eating disorder episode. You need to assure the adcom that you will thrive in their learning environment. The triggers that caused your eating disorder, you'd need to address how you've overcome this etc. Your list of target schools does appear to be reasonable, I think. Perhaps apply to a few programs in Round 1, then adjust, as necessary. We will feature you on the podcast, for sure! (0)

anon13398 Likes Earned: 8 Thanks so much for the feedback, Alex. All of this makes perfect sense and is in line with my thinking and expectations as well. Regarding GRE over GMAT - I took a full length practice test of each to get my raw scores and my GRE score was much higher (and frankly, already relatively close to the mean/median published by some of my targets). With diligent studying and preparation I am confident that I can secure a great score to accommodate for the lower GPA. (1)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1675 More details on this candidacy in this episode of Wire Taps: https://www.clearadmit.com/2020/02/episode-80-wire-taps/ (0)

anon13398 Likes Earned: 8 Alex, thanks so much for the Podcast inclusion and for all of the feedback provided by yourself and Graham! Question for you as follow up - regarding the suggestion to take online courses to accommodate for my lower GPA, how do AdCom's typically view these? Are the grades factored into your GPA, or are they merely supplemental and augment your holistic academic standing somewhat? How much value can this truly add to an application (anecdotally)? And finally, which courses would you recommend? Thanks so much as always! (0)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1675 They are not factored into your GPA, but can add substantially to your academic profile. They help show academic aptitude, and motivation (almost moreso the latter). Courses to take depend on your undergraduate transcript. No need to repeat something you did well in, for example. So in your case, it might not be the right course of action if all your marketing/finance courses have good grades. If you didn't have a business background, then some foundational businesses classes would be best. (0)