Business School Brain Storm

[ggabriele26]

I have to assume something similar to this has been asked before in various threads, but I’d like to try to consolidate into one post and see what the people of the forum think.

As it stands I will have completed by BSBA in Gen. Mgmt. through TESU using Straighterline, Study.com, ALEKS, TEEX, and 15 lower level, non-business related Gen. Ed. credits. Needless to say, I won’t have a GPA and I plan to be finished by the end of 2017.

Ultimately, I plan on obtaining an MBA. I am fortunate that I live in Philadelphia, where there are multiple highly ranked/well known schools. I have a strong resume with business experience for someone my age (26), I plan to score well on the GMAT (700 minimum (for everyone who just rolled their eyes, I get it lol)), and think I can effectively check off every application item aside from the 3.0 min. GPA.

Sorry for the tangent, but wanted to relay some of the background... also I assume I’m not the only one in this position.

So now, what would you think the best course of action is for me here? I have two thoughts, and quite frankly neither may be valid. I am open to criticism and really looking for a discussion/ know if anyone else is currently in a similar circumstance.

I can obtain the CPCU designation through The Institutes (currently a risk analyst at a very competitive firm), takes roughly “two years,” though I don’t know if that would help my candidacy unless it was to a school with a risk management program like St. Joes University, etc. Or, I can re-take the three classes I’d think weigh the most; Stats, Econ, and an Accounting course through a local community college to obtain a GPA.

I understand that Wharton is not realistically an option, but with Villanova, Temple, Drexel, etc. all local, I’d like to start game planning for the beginning of next year.

I swear I’ll never type something this long again… and I appreciate the responses!

Thanks!
Ggabriele26

[davewill]

I have two recommendations. The first is to contact the schools you would like to attend and discuss the GPA issue. It may or may not be a big deal for some of them. If it is, they can advise you on what they will accept. The second is not to delay applying in order to get extra certifications or take extra classes that you may not actually need. It can be easy to get stuck worrying about things that might not be a problem.

[ggabriele26]

Agreed. Has anyone on the forum in recent history had experience with actually getting into graduate school without the GPA? I understand that it is impossible to know what factors will weigh the most when a school is considering each individual application. I am just thinking that if anyone has any recent experience to share it would be beneficial for the forum's readers to see.

[ggabriele26]

I swear I will only do this once. Wanted to bump this, was hoping for more feedback.

Thanks!

[Ideas]

I can obtain the CPCU designation through The Institutes (currently a risk analyst at a very competitive firm), takes roughly “two years,” though I don’t know if that would help my candidacy unless it was to a school with a risk management program like St. Joes University, etc. Or, I can re-take the three classes I’d think weigh the most; Stats, Econ, and an Accounting course through a local community college to obtain a GPA.

The certification/designation does not seem worth years! One semester (not even full-time) at a community college seems a lot more reasonable, but I would venture a guess that there's a certification you can get in less than 6 months that would look good. Or a certificate, but that might be more like 8-10 months.

[bjcheung77]

I swear I will only do this once. Wanted to bump this, was hoping for more feedback.

Thanks!

Depending on your financial situation or if there are "free" applications, apply to the ones you want to apply to! Review them first.
Have a feeling of what they need before you apply by viewing their requirements. If you have "almost" all of it, just do the application.
If for some reason, they're too expensive or not exactly what you're looking for, or you aren't admitted, there are other options.
My suggestion is to take a look at the competency ones as a last resort for an MBA/MPA, those are Hodges MPA, Patten and WGU.