I'm in search of some honest opinions on my chances..

[knicksfan17]

at getting in to a select two schools. My situation is probably somewhat unique, but not too different from some others.

Basically here is my story:

I never really took school seriously until college. I graduated high school with like a 2.9 lol and then had really high SAT/ACT scores. I debated between PSU/Nebraska both of which I got into and chose Nebraska because I wanted to major in Actuarial Science. My first semester I did decent but not great, I think I had like a 3.3. Then for a year and a half I had a flat 4.0, then something got in the way. To make a long story short, I made 7 figures over a 2.5 year span playing online poker and it interfered with school. I had like 4 or 5 B to B+'s and 3 F's. Never got any C's or D's somehow. 2 of the F's were a year apart in the same course, the 2nd time I never even attended the class once but never dropped it either. Then I took 3 semesters off of school and went back with like a 3.15 GPA. Nebraska actually does the GPA forgiveness thing for D's and F's where if you re-take them it replaces them, but I know this doesn't matter when applying for grad schools.

So I went back for my last 2 semesters. I had 15 hours in the Fall and then 18 in the Spring (I graduated May 2011). I got a 4.0 out of those 33 hours, 6 of which were the previous F's. This brought my UNL GPA to just shy of 3.6 but counting those F's still it's like not even 3.3. This is one of my main issues...the GPA.

As for work experience...I have no post graduate stuff yet. I have a lot of self-employment stuff that's poker related that I honestly don't think is a great idea to put on my resume. But I'm honestly not sure...I'm managing a very large bankroll that involves 'staking' about 15-20 poker players and it's basically the same as running a business...but I know it might sound bad to some people.

I have 4 different actuarial internships...all prior to graduation obviously since I just recently graduated.

I moved to NYC a few months after I graduated. I start a normal job out here in a couple weeks in the actuarial field.

Now here's the biggest problem. I don't want to leave NYC and I really want to go to NYU or Columbia.

I got a 780 on the GMAT, I took that earlier this year. That was probably the one thing that could possibly save me, but I pretty much figure I'm totally outta luck with the competition I'm going to have in the application process.

Here are some questions that I'd love answered by anyone who might have a decent idea:

1. Will I ever have any shot at either MBA program?

2. Does it help to have previously applied to the program and been turned down? Like, if I have applied and been denied in the past does that mean anything vs never having applied there?

3. I noticed Columbia has a joint program with M.S. Financial Economics and MBA...if I apply to that will it somehow increase my chances? I don't have any idea why it would...I'm just wondering because that's something I'd maybe want to do anyways since the MSFE is more down my alley (actuarial-wise).

4. How long should I wait to apply? I'll be working the entire time until I start an MBA program. I turned 26 in September, that may matter so I'm throwing it in there.

5. If I'm totally out of luck here, are there any other pretty good MBA programs in NYC? Or is it a huge drop down from those 2 to the next one? I figured with my GMAT score I could get in somewhere respectable...my main problem is I just don't want to leave NYC because I love it here too much.

Edited October 29, 2011 by knicksfan17

[sarakeet]

I don't know much about business school, but are you sure about the retakes not being counted toward your GPA thing? I know that's true for law school, which uses the LSDAS service to put together applications and they recalculate your GPA by their own standards, but I'm not quite sure it's true for grad schools in general. (Although now I'm wondering, because I did retake a course or two myself...) However, I don't know if business schools are more like law schools.

Anyway, I think you should go for it but not depend on it. 3.6 is a decent GPA, 3.3 is not a bad, auto-reject GPA. I imagine your unusual story could work for you provided you spin it the right way/depending on who reads it.

But anyway your test score and GPA discrepancy/the prestige of your undergrad/the basic framework of your story don't sound too different from mine and I'm definitely going for both those schools! But I'm definitely not depending on them and am applying for other schools too. FWIW.

I hope this is helpful, and good luck!!

[knicksfan17]

I don't know much about business school, but are you sure about the retakes not being counted toward your GPA thing? I know that's true for law school, which uses the LSDAS service to put together applications and they recalculate your GPA by their own standards, but I'm not quite sure it's true for grad schools in general. (Although now I'm wondering, because I did retake a course or two myself...) However, I don't know if business schools are more like law schools.

Anyway, I think you should go for it but not depend on it. 3.6 is a decent GPA, 3.3 is not a bad, auto-reject GPA. I imagine your unusual story could work for you provided you spin it the right way/depending on who reads it.

But anyway your test score and GPA discrepancy/the prestige of your undergrad/the basic framework of your story don't sound too different from mine and I'm definitely going for both those schools! But I'm definitely not depending on them and am applying for other schools too. FWIW.

I hope this is helpful, and good luck!!

Thanks for your answer.

My actual GPA in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln grade system is the 3.6 one. But, that's with the F's not counting at all. They only count the most current grade for each course and dismiss the others as long as they are certain grades (You can't replace a C or B, for example).

But, it's my understanding that some schools do their own calculating and will count each course that you took, even if you had to repeat. So since some schools do, I'm assuming the two schools I'm most interested in will do so since they're both top programs.

[sarakeet]

You should call/e-mail and ask! (And then let me know... haha)

[pridtenpe]

Thanks very much for your great knowledge.