profile evaluation + no academic recommenders

[just_a_belle_fille]

I wasn't sure if I should put the topic as profile evaluation since I haven't actually taken the test yet but here goes, with questions at the end...

PLANS:
I am planning to do the Sep. course and then maybe apply shortly after it finishes in Nov. I am aiming to get a score no less than 660 (I think I can get this or close to this). If I achieve my goal of 660 or above on first try (especially if it is nearer to 680 or 700), I was thinking I should certainly apply to schools this year for 2010 admission. I am aiming for some of the top 30 US schools (planning to specialize in international business) and top international schools (esp Canada and France).

EDUCATION:

• 2001 - 2003, did 2 years at a top 15 liberal arts college in the US (was majoring in Computer Science + French)
• 2003 - 2007, Bsc. in Computer Science (incl 16mth co-op) at a Canadian university. Thanks to a couple marginal grades and a few so-so courses, my GPA was low - the equivalent of a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.

LEADERSHIP, AWARDS & ACTIVITIES BEFORE GRADUATION:

• I was the president of my campus' chapter of NSBE, one of the biggest student-run US-based organizations, for my last 2 years. We increased our small numbers by 300% in my last year. I also served on the zone board and participated in regional & national events.
• I was also an active member in a number of other campus organizations.
• Got invited to and joined Golden Key International - only top 15% of students in their class get invited (I'm hoping that shows that although my GPA was low, it was in the top 15% for students in my Computer Science class - I think my CS class size was at least 200 and I got invited my 2nd-to-last full academic year when my cumulative GPA was the equivalent of a 3.13)

WORK & ACTIVITIES AFTER GRADUATION:

• Since becoming a graduate I worked on some of my life goals. I lived and worked in Quebec (internship for recent graduates - was an IT intern) , lived and worked professionally in another country (technical writer in France), improved my language skills to the point where I am at a high intermediate/advanced level in French (some would say basically fluent) and travelled Europe.
• I've been trying to get involved with NSBE in a leadership role as an alumni (hoping to get something by Aug. but haven't yet).
• Current community involvement = teaching Sunday school.
• Currently working as a QA Analyst/Support person/Technical writer, but will be moving on to a developer position at the same company in a month or two.

RECOMMMENDERS:
On the subject of recommenders, I went to a large commuter school in Canada where, if one prof could associate my face with my name that would be a miracle. Actually, maybe one or two of my elective profs could at the time (because the classes were smaller) and maybe one CS prof knew my name but

• I for one do not remember which CS prof would know my name and
• I was never one of those students who used office hours or went to talk to profs so I highly doubt anyone would remember me now.

At the liberal arts colleges in the States, the profs knew my name at the time but it has been 4 years since I spoke with any of them and again I never really made the effort to interact much with them outside of class.

So, only possible recommenders are 2 work ones:

• My manager from my co-op and 3 month contract stint. In both instances, I only worked as member of a small in-house tech support team
• My manager abroad - worked as a mainly technical writer + some QA/UI work in a small dev team

Not sure about asking my current manager as I cannot yet tell if he is enthused about my work.

QUESTIONS/PROBLEMS:

• I noticed that some of the business schools I really want to apply to are asking for a recommendation from a past professor and I really and truly can think of none. Is there anything I can do?
• Also, for the professional reference, while I can get a couple recommenders I don't think that my leadership qualities will be highlighted in their essays so much as my discipline and hard work. After graduating in 2007, I did short contract jobs including one 6 1/2 mth stint in France. I just started my first full-time position in Jan. My co-op is actually the longest I've worked at one place (I worked there on contract after graduation too). Will this lack of full-time working experience be a big disadvantage?
• Is putting the Golden Key membership on my resume enough to explain that my lower GPA is still in top 15% of class or is this one of those work-it-in-your-essay type things?
• Based on the above, would it be better to wait and apply next year for programs beginning in 2011 if I get a score of 620-680? What about if my score is 700 and if I manage to get a score of say 700? In either case, could I get into a top 30 US school for 2010?

Thanks in advance!

[mbamission]

QUESTIONS/PROBLEMS:

• I noticed that some of the business schools I really want to apply to are asking for a recommendation from a past professor and I really and truly can think of none. Is there anything I can do?
• Also, for the professional reference, while I can get a couple recommenders I don't think that my leadership qualities will be highlighted in their essays so much as my discipline and hard work. After graduating in 2007, I did short contract jobs including one 6 1/2 mth stint in France. I just started my first full-time position in Jan. My co-op is actually the longest I've worked at one place (I worked there on contract after graduation too). Will this lack of full-time working experience be a big disadvantage?
• Is putting the Golden Key membership on my resume enough to explain that my lower GPA is still in top 15% of class or is this one of those work-it-in-your-essay type things?
• Based on the above, would it be better to wait and apply next year for programs beginning in 2011 if I get a score of 620-680? What about if my score is 700 and if I manage to get a score of say 700? In either case, could I get into a top 30 US school for 2010?

Thanks in advance!

Thanks for your questions. We specialize in the top U.S. programs so I am not as familiar with the requirements for schools outside of that range. With that said, in my experience, most programs require professional references (and not academic references). Which schools are requesting that you submit a reference from a professor? If you can not provide a recommendation from a professor, you should contact the school's admissions office (anonymously) and ask if a professional reference will be acceptable.

In terms of work experience, this is not always measured by "quantity", but more so by "quality". Do you feel that you have concrete leadership accomplishments/experiences to speak of? If not, you might benefit from additional work experience. Based on your limited work experience, it might also be beneficial to wait a year to show that you have worked for one employer for an extended period of time.

As for the GPA, you can indicate the criteria for the Golden Key membership in your resume (i.e. membership comprised of the top 15% of the class) to help mitigate the perception of a low GPA. I hope this is helpful. Please let me know if you have additional questions.

Good luck with your GMAT!!

Monica Okrah
MBA Mission
646-485-8844
Website: http://www.mbamission.com
Blog: http://www.mbamission.com/blog
MBA Mission Insider’s Guides: http://www.mbamission.com/store.php
Free Consultation: http://www.mbamission.com/consult.php

[just_a_belle_fille]

Hello,

Thanks for replying!

The school that mentioned academic reference is SDA Bocconi in Italy - not exactly top tier but they said one professional and/or one academic reference. I took this to mean that they might prefer one from each. I am just in the beginning stages of looking at schools though so I may very well end up not applying to them.

I work at a small web startup and there isn't much of a hierarchy at work. Also, I was hired almost as a jill of all trades to fill multiple holes in the team. I do customer support, QA and technical writing along with the occasional coding. I will be transitioning to a developer role within a couple months (which on a development team is viewed as a promotion) while being the upper level support person (I'll be training the person taking over my role). I have taken the initiative and written some new documents to help customers, based on monthly reports that I do which include a lot of statistics. I'm also in charge of an important documentation process at our company where I keep track of all high priority R & D projects.

The software company I worked for abroad was also small.

I don't know if it makes a difference but I am a 26 yr old Female, originally from the Caribbean (now also a Canadian).

I would rather apply this year, second round. But, just to confirm, based on my profile, would a top 30 US program be a reach or attainable?

[mbamission]

Hi there....I think a school in the 15-30 range should be attainable for you.

Best of luck with the application process!!

[just_a_belle_fille]

Hello again Monica,

Thank you for your responses thus far.

I'm now thinking of using admissions consultants to help me apply to schools and help me increase my chances at higher-ranked schools.

Do you think mbaMission would be able to help me formulate a strategy that will help me get into a top 15 program (recognizing that I may have to concentrate on choosing schools from the bottom 5 of that top 15 list and maybe choosing one from the top 15-20 category)? Also, I'd like to apply to INSEASD/IESE/IE Business School....???

What are my chances (at a top 15 US program + top 10 International program) with your company's help?

[mbamission]

Hi, thanks for the follow up question.

Since school decisions aren't in our control, we can't offer any guarantee of acceptance to any particular category of school. But we can help guide your story, making it coherent and compelling and offering you objective and personalized attention throughout the process.

The best way to learn more is to fill out a form requesting a free 30-minute consult, at www.mbamission.com/consult.php, and indicate on there that you'd be interested in working with Monica. If she isn't available to do the consultation herself, whomever you speak to can still offer guidance and then if you want to sign on, we can check if Monica has availability.

Good luck.

Jessica Shklar
mbaMission

Our blog: www.mbamission.com/blog

[just_a_belle_fille]

Hi Jessica/Monica,

I called and was told by Jeremy that my chances were slim.

Anyways, I took the test today for the first time and got the following score:

710 (Q44 69%, V42 95%)

How does that affect my profile (esp noting the difference between Q and V percentages and the low Q percentage)??

Thanks.

T

[mbamission]

Hi there,

Not too bad for your first try! Overall, your score is pretty respectable, but yes, your quant score is significantly lower. As a first step, make sure you look at the average GMAT score for your target schools to see where you stand. Secondly, if you think you can do better on the GMAT, it might be worth it to take it again. But you've done pretty well so far (especially if you're targeting some of the lower ranked programs.

If you will not be taking the test again, can you substantiate your quant skills with strong grades from quantitiative courses from your undergraduate studies?

Monica

Hi Jessica/Monica,

I called and was told by Jeremy that my chances were slim.

Anyways, I took the test today for the first time and got the following score:

710 (Q44 69%, V42 95%)

How does that affect my profile (esp noting the difference between Q and V percentages and the low Q percentage)??

Thanks.

T

[just_a_belle_fille]

Hi Monica,

I'm actually going to apply to Yale, Duke, Tuck, Ross, IESE and LBS plus two more (not sure yet which two but I was looking at Carnegie Mellon, Marshall, Anderson).

I majored in Computer Science so I definitely took more quant than say someone who majored in a liberal arts subject. However, my quant grades were always generally lower than liberal arts courses (I chose comp sci because it is challenging - lib courses were too easy) and, in fact, they are really the source of my low gpa (I only have a 3.0). I mean I got some As in math courses and definitely got some As in Comp Sci courses but my lowest grades all came from math including one D in final semester (but it was upper level math - Number Theory).

re: retake - I think I can do better on quant. My prob was timing. Last 8 - 10 questions was a blur as I was rushing through them and I'm sure it cost me at least one point which would have made my quant score at least a 74% instead of 69%. However, I consulted with another consultant and was told to focus on applications since I still have to write essays for almost all the schools to which I'm applying.

What do you think of my chances at the 6 schools to which I'm going to apply?

Also, do you have any suggestions as to which two reach schools I should add to the list of 6 schools above? I'm looking for a reach school in the top 25-30, strong in general management, with, if possible, concentrations in technology and entrepreneurship. For these reasons, I'm considering CM and Marshall but still not sure yet if there is a better choice school that I would be more likely to get into based on my profile.