Undergraduate degree in pharmaceutical chemistry from UC Davis, 3.0 GPA. Have tried to mitigate this by taking both the GMAT (760, 99%) and the GRE (800 Math, 710 Verbal), as well as a couple online UCLA courses (easy A's). Is there anything else I can do to mitigate the fact that I spent more time playing poker than going to class in college?

Work experience includes 2 years part time as a Kaplan teacher, 1 year full time as a educational consultant in Shanghai, and by the time of 2012 applications 2 years full time as a co-founder of a small (but profitable) education consulting firm in China. Our market is rich Chinese clientele that are interested in sending their kids overseas for American education, and we essentially provide a Kaplan like service for them, with an international flavor. We've done scholarships for financially strapped families as well, and have generated some decent PR. Basically I'll be trying to apply as a "internationally experienced", "unique", and "service orientated" applicant.

My two main concerns are my low undergraduate GPA and lack of a non-traditional career trajectory. Can anyone comment on how justified my fears are, and what steps I can do to address my weaknesses? Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Low undergrad GPA: legit concern. I think you've done well to mitigate it by scoring high in GMAT and taking courses. I would say you could talk to a low GPA in your essays if you had an extraordinary situation but unfortunately "playing poker instead of going to class" isn't going to fly.

Non-traditional background: less of a concern imo. I would leverage your last 2 years founding and running the education consulting firm a lot, pretty much in the way you described. Express that your non-traditional background will bring unique viewpoints to class and groupwork in a way no one else can.

One thing that could make or break you is your career goal. You need to have a strong vision (or at least seem to have a strong vision) of what you want to do after graduation and how an MBA from school XYZ will help you get there.

pretty much agree with Biesterfield. low GPA isn't going to be a huge deal, but i think anyone from a non-traditional background has a higher bar to clear in explaining why an MBA.

Well I applied to Rice and made it to the interview interview round. I am going the professional route BC I am in a great job and merely want to clear that hurdle at my company.

grunching a bit although i've been subscribed to the the thread.

just took the gmat today (first time, using just a kaplan book and a dream). got a 720. had a 3.65 from BC (just made cum laude). unfortunately, i'm a white male who has spent the last 5+ years being a relative bum and playing poker for income. fortunately, i've got an above average service resume (while dicking around playing cards i was heavily involved in a local "global service" organization as an advisor for HS kids). as for my vision: i actually want to go into non profits so i'm hoping that works for me.

like others in this thread, i'm seeking input from those that have been thru the process to gauge what my range, realistically, is.

ty in advance.

ok just read the thread (always nice when the last page has <10 posts). sounds like top 5-10 is a total crapshoot. i wouldn't be applying to the top 5 though anyway. i got timing going for me as i'll be able to attack round 1...still looking for any insight. and i guess it's worth asking (although i don't think i'll like the answer)...my last practice test was 770 (so my 720 was a slight disappointment), is it worth retaking? i read the 740=760 stuff but i would think 720=/=770 (but i also doubt i would necessarily spike THAT high)

I honestly believe there is very very little (if anything) to be gained from retaking the GMAT once you score about 700. Essay topics are already out for several top schools, and your time can be much better spent writing essays. Trust me, as someone who was in your shoes last year, the time goes by fast and it takes a lot longer to write essays than most people think.

If I were you and had your stats, I would apply to top 25 schools only, and submit about 3-4 apps in the 10-20 range, 1-2 in the top 10, and maybe a safety if there's a top 40 school around your area you like. I personally wouldn't go to anything under a top 25 with your background though. I'd apply about 3 schools round 1, 3 schools round 2, and then the 'early admissions' if possible. Applying to more than 3-4 schools in round 1 isn't too ideal IMO.

PM me if you have other questions or need more advice.

This may be slightly off topic, but here goes: I'm currently negotiating an executive mba with my company. They agreed to finance 100% of the cost in exchange for me staying X additional years in the company. Pretty standard stuff.

However what is considered a reasonable amount of years to give my company in exchange for the financing of programm that costs roughly 60k EUR / 80k USD?

Obviously I'm aiming to commit to a minimal amount of years, but on the ohter hand I don't want to give out the impression I'm a mercenary that will abandon ship as soon as possible.

what is everyones thoughts about getting your masters at the same school as your undergraduate degree...

Matters which school but I'd advise against it. I went to a top 20 undergrad but didn't even apply for MBA, wanted new scenery and a new experience.

Does anyone here have experience with any of the application tailoring/grooming services out there? I am hesitant to spend 3k for help with something I feel like I should be able to do myself but really don't know how widely used they are and if I would be at a disadvantage without one.

For those of you who have applied as poker players what have you done about recommendations? I haven't held a job since a summer internship entering my senior year (now 3 years out).

I'm 27 and my resume since high school is:

4 year college, BA in Economics with 3.7 GPA
4 years Marine Corps (enlisted, yes with a college degree), finished out as Chief Scout Sniper with a stack of combat awards from 2 tours

There's a bit more to me than that, but as far as I can place on paper, that's about it. Its probably worth noting that I've tried (and failed) to launch several prototypes of consumer products (got held up at the "no one actually wants to buy it" phase). But at my core I am an innovative entrepreneur and can demonstrate that.

The glaring hole appears to be a lack of any formal, suit 'n tie, excel spreadsheet business experience. Although a few people (with admittedly no recent experience in applying to or sitting on the admissions council of a graduate school) have told me that my military experience is a more than adequate resume item, even standalone.

On going to B-School, my estimation of the pros and cons:

*By going for an MBA now, I give up nothing (I'm not walking away from a paying job).
*Any MBA will be free, thanks to the post-911 GI Bill
*the "net present value" of a graduate degree right now should far outweigh a few years' salary and then a degree

Cons
*lack of business experience may limit me from getting into an MBA program worth going to

Instead of going to B-school to enhance my career, or change the direction of my career, I'd like to go in order to launch my career. Fields I'm interested in and have somewhat of an academic passion for, are, vaguely speaking, currencies and energy.

Should I work for a few years and re-evaluate graduate school then? Or should I go to graduate school now? Any particular comments or suggestions? Thanks.

Take a shot now, your profile is fine

No firsthand experience with any of the application services, but from speaking to classmates, there is some value there depending on your writing skills and how much of a hit the 3k is to your bank account.

For recs, start thinking about anywhere you've had a leadership role. I did volunteer work for years at a Boys & Girls Club, I coached some poker students, etc. You're coming from a non-traditional background, so you're going to have non-traditional recs, but the impression I've gotten is that it helps to have one of them from a former boss/manager/colleague for credibility. Shoot me a msg if you have other questions, happy to help.

I have friends who consulted with them by the hour, and thus paid less than 1k and felt like they had plenty of consultation. You should do one of the free consultations with a couple as well to get a good idea. If you start like right now, you can probably negotiate a good rate as well, especially if you promise to use their time before november 1 (eg, non-busy season).

re: recs
I had one of my poker students write me a rec to give crediblity to poker. Of course, it helped that he was finishing his PhD in math at Cambridge and was going to work for a hedge fund.

The military service will work for you on your app, I think. You might have some variance, of course, especially since you might not be able to relate the past to why you want to go to bschool in a convincing manner (but maybe you can!) I don't know the GI bill particulars, but if it's free I'd totally go.

Sorry to post three times in a row, just wanted to put up an update on me.

I've started at Acton MBA, and honestly I think I made the best decision for me by far. I should make it out of bschool without any debt.

I had the founder and prez of a private equity firm ($7B under management after about 10 years) tell me in an interview a couple weeks ago that I was at the best MBA program in the country, and that although Stanford and Harvard were more prestigious he thinks Acton is the best education in the country. Sweet.

interestingly, for such a new and small program I'm at least the third poker player to go through.

thanks for the advice loz. acton sounds pretty awesome, glad to hear you are liking it so far. if i come for a visit in the fall i would love to get a cup of coffee or something.

edit: i've done two of the free consultations and found both of them to be extremely helpful--veritas and clearadmit. i think i may end up spending the cash but we will see. interestingly, when i was telling her about coaching she also suggested i ask a student if i had one that was successful/articulate et cetera. so i think that is going to be one of the two i use. still no clue on other. only reasonable thing i could think of was my football coach from college and she was like "ehhhhhh, i dont think so" lol

I've been staking for 3 years now while going to college, would you guys put that into your resume? Also, what kind of work experience would be favorable in your oppinion (NPO, Tutoring, well known companies, start-ups, etc.)?

Action does look interesting.

I am through the first month at Rice, and I am pleased with it so far. The professors have been great, and the network is excellent.

Any opinions from people here on the canadian schools?
I'm looking to apply for september 2012 with a 720gmat, 3.3gpa in econ, 1 year of relevant work experience, some semi credible volunteer stuff and a 3 year poker gap.

I think I'd want to go to rotman for obvious reasons, but it doesnt seem doable without more work experience. I'm also looking at the two coop programs at laurier and mcmaster since they'd probably be better suited for someone with limited work experience, especially since I don't have a clear idea of what I want to do. Anyone have an opinion on all that?

Bumping for updates as round 1 deadline approaches...

I've decided I am definitely going to B school next fall. Since my decision a couple of weeks ago I have allotted the next 10 weeks to GMAT study, each week focusing on one of the five topics covered (Sentence Correction, Problem Solving, etc), and each topic studied twice. As I'm sure you can tell, I have yet to hit on sentence correction!

(ok, whats sad is that I actually have, it was my first week!)

In the mix I'll be writing my application essays to five "top" schools (Yale, Harvard, Penn, Columbia, and NYU) and one undecided safe school. Fortunately for me and the time crunch I am in, there is a lot of overlap in the essays, and in one instance the same essay should be good for all schools (the "why do you want an MBA?" question).

I took the MGMATs free CAT exam and scored a 660, which I feel is a good starting platform. I'll soon register for the official gmat exam and hopefully take it in mid to late November, leaving me just one shot at it. It will take about 20 days to get the score, leaving me a little under a month from that point to finish and submit my applications by the Round 2 deadline. Thankfully there are tons of free and cheap practice CAT exams (Kaplan, MGMAT, Princeton, Knewton, to name a few). As an out, in the event I totally bomb the gmat due to stress or flu or whatever, I should have enough time to snap-take it again and submit it in time.

beatthegmat.com and gmatclub.com have been excellent resources so far.

How is everyone else doing? How far along are you, where do you think you stand, and what are your hopes in the next few months?

In general, which of the following work experiences would give me a better shot at a top 10 school?

A) 3 years assurance at pwc.
B) 18 months assurance at pwc, 18 months professional poker in cabo/la paz mexico.

Haven't taken gmat but wouldn't even apply if <700. 3.6 gpa uw-madison. Standard background - nothing making me jump off the page. Just another white cpa. Looking to get hedge fund job; primarily interested in equities.

I ask because Loz and others have said bringing something unique/different to the program is highly valued by the admissions committee..

Thanks,
Mike

Future -- I'd go with A, and say that it's not close, especially if you can get an extra promotion in that timeframe.

IMO -- and despite the way I post, I'm obv not an expert in AdComs -- you're better off writing about poker as a hobby that has made you lots of money (be careful, of course) than you are having it on your resume. most Bschools are pretty risk averse. having it as a hobby might make for an interesting essay, especially if you pitch it in the context of wanting to go into some kind of stat arb hedge fund.

A, and it's not close for most of the reasons Loz listed.

I went 1/10 at Top 15 programs with a poker-heavy resume and I don't recommend the approach unless all of your other data points (GPA, GMAT, extracurriculars, etc.) are really strong. Unless you can find a way to spin it into a logical transition in your path to b-school, it doesn't compare to formal work experience.