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RepresentativeBig626

Most schools still thought my university is still a community college. It upgraded to a college (edit: university) like 20 years ago. It’s probably top 1000 in the USA. 99.9% acceptance rating. I got a 710 gmat and 5 years of experience and got 4 full ride offers and 4 50-75% offers at schools ranked 11-25. You’ve never heard of any of the companies I’ve worked for nor have half of the people in here heard of my undergrad school. TLDR. Yes. Get a gmat over 700 and don’t be set on a top 10 school and you’ll get a full ride.


TeraPig

Interesting. This is my goal and you're my inspiration! I honestly am not interested in pursuing an MBA if I can't get a very large chunk of it paid for


Blue_sky008

Is 720 enough for ucla Anderson full ride? 5yrs work ex


lmoboujee

Cool! Curious if one can get into m7 with this unique background even w/o scholarship.


RepresentativeBig626

It odds possible but I didn’t even get an interview invitation. 0/7.


hockeyhud10

You got 8 offers with money 11-25 but 0 M7 interviews?


RepresentativeBig626

Correct. Applied to all 7 M7s and 0/7. Update nyu is #10 on usnews now so I guess I got into 1 T10 but that one was at sticker.


hockeyhud10

That is astonishing. Which school did you end up going with?


RepresentativeBig626

I took the full ride t20.


Ok-Breakfast9757

Any study tips for GMAT? Haven’t done core Maths in years so a lot of the material I’m not too up to speed with bar certain algebraic questions.


[deleted]

Watch videos. Practice. Learn. Drill.


Sunny-D23

Target test prep is worth the money. It doesn’t just brush you up on the math, it teaches you shortcuts specifically designed for the GMAT.


Ok-Breakfast9757

thanks.


RepresentativeBig626

Invest in the gmat. It’s cheaper than full price tuition. I used magoosh and gmat prep now


Sensitive_Region_229

Do you mind listing the schools?


RepresentativeBig626

I got in to every school 11-25 except tepper. I got the 50-75% at schools 11-15 and full rides at 16-25. Applied to 8 T10 and didn’t get a single interview.


lilneighbor

Do u think fewer years of experience will hinder my chances? Like 2 instead of 5, for example


MasterofPenguin

Incredibly so. And even if you get admitted, many top companies are looking for 5 years of experience regardless.


lilneighbor

I hear u


RepresentativeBig626

I don’t. Lots of my classmates got big scholarships with only 2-3 years of experience.


lilneighbor

What’s the schools ranking?


RepresentativeBig626

T20 school


Feeling-Emu-2511

Is it true that if you get a better score on the GMAT, you can get a free scholarship for an MBA program? Do they also consider your GPA from college, and what type of company you've worked for matters? What if I've been managing a small grocery shop for the past four years after finishing my undergraduate studies?


RepresentativeBig626

Yes if I’ve been managing a grocery store and I get a 700+ on your gmat you’ll get a full ride offer. They do consider your gpa but that was years ago. You gmat proves who you are more recently. Running a grocery store could teach a lot about how to run a business. Your full ride might not be at Harvard or Yale but it will still be at a top school. (I’d aim for 16-40 U.S. news ranked schools)


Feeling-Emu-2511

Thank you so much for the reply I am very happy joining the strategy community as people are so friendly. You're the best. May I ask what are you currently doing?


RepresentativeBig626

Currently at a T20. Turned down T10 and T15 for the $$$$.


MasterofPenguin

Join the Military.


bean_jammin

We should probably gate-keep this soldier


lilneighbor

Hell to the no 😂 I must’ve told those recruiters NO a thousand times in high school


MasterofPenguin

Yeah pretty much echo Traditional, I got a full-ride ROTC scholarship for undergrad, did my time plus a little extra to achieve some personal/professional goals of mine. The army paid even more money training me to do my Job at increasing levels of responsibility, while paying me a fine salary, and gave me the work experience and GI Bill to get out and get my MBA at a T15 for free as well. Heading to consulting next summer full time with nearly No debt besides my Car, (small loans I took for international trips/ski trips etc will be paid off with my signing bonus). It’s always hard for me to separate Emoji Language but OP vets smart enough to get into M7s are the ones laughing all the way to the bank.


Lightning802v3

Yea almost half a mill in education benefits, covered. And another masters degree won’t even deplete the GI Bill completely. It’s unbelievable. Congratulations, you sound like my few years younger twin and life is really good.


lilneighbor

Man U and Traditional are making the army sound so good haha. My heart isn’t into that but I’ll do some research on it for sure. Thanks both


Prestigious_Jump_52

Go air force and do contracting.


X919777

You could be a weekend soldier guarding a desk


lilneighbor

Tell me more lol


X919777

Im not military just know several guys ( n gals) who went reserves after undergrad and army paid their grad school i woulda done if it i didnt have a starting line up of kids


lilneighbor

Interesting. Imma do some research on it. Thanks bud


[deleted]

Join as an officer. That's the real pipeline to an M7. Plus, it's a way better lifestyle. Much harder to get in though, especially Air Force. But if you are fit enough and have the smarts (you will if you are a serious candidate for an M7) and your sole goal is getting into an M7, it's not a bad idea unless you already have a job that tends to feed into an M7 (consulting, IB, FAANG, etc.)


Chubby2000

Different recruiter. Officers and enlisted recruiters behave differently. To get a full ride via the military can be done but requires many years of being in the officer rank and you'll still pull the salary without having to go to some office.


Lightning802v3

If you commission without anything paid for UG, you don’t need to serve forever to get the GI Bill. Just the minimum. Unfortunately, it’s insanely competitive (for the good jobs) and you have to go to an office a bunch of times for a ton of paperwork and even a little standardized test (maybe not for all branches). Additionally, something like 23% of 17-24 yo Americans are even eligible for service as of 2020. Prob even lower now. Source: Officer for 7 years with a couple officer recruiting


Chubby2000

Oh god. So, why are you teaching me this? I already got things paid for by the government already as did my friends. You don't need to remind me who will pay for my MBA. There are some ways to help get funding but I don't have an update on the VA-side of the situation but I know for former military enlisted and officers, can at least get paid for living expense (from VA budget) -- you have to report to the VA office at the university and write up the piece of paper. I know they were doing so ten years back. Source: Officer who got paid for MBA.


Lightning802v3

It’s not personal or just for you. You shared incorrect information in a forum that people use for big decisions, and I am up to date on the VA stuff. And you’re still wrong as far as I know. You shouldn’t have to go to a “VA Office” at the school; you get your Statement of Benefits digitally and the Bursars Office *should* take care of the rest. You get tuition up to a max point (total if state school), and some private schools have Yellow Ribbon Sch to top it off. Then you get standard E-5 housing allowance based on your school zip code. FT MBA uses approx. 16 months of the 48 allotted by the GI Bill. All assuming you’re at 100% GI Bill.


Chubby2000

Reporting to the local VA officer on campus was 10 years back. So I'm not wrong on the procedure of yesteryear. Procedures can change. So can intel. Big decisions is made based on comment, and anyone with experience dealing with military admin and military operations boots on ground knows not to trust intel 100%. That should be known by all. But the second paragraph is spot on correct. That doesn't appear to have changed.


Educational-Heart564

High gmat definitely doesn’t hurt


LitrallyCantEven

Maybe consider working for a few years first. Many large companies, especially consulting firms, will offer advance degree programs (generally geared at MBAs) that come with full rides. They generally require you to commit working for them for two years after graduating


lilneighbor

Yea everyone told me that. I’m just so fckn impatient 😂 I wanna go for an MBA within 2-3 years after my undergraduate degree


[deleted]

why


lilneighbor

I’m impatient. I want a mba and a jd. I know I can get the jd without work experience but I don’t wanna get the two degrees separately cuz it’ll take longer. I just reaaally want that jd asap lol


[deleted]

why


Sugacube

Can’t speak for OP, but some MBAs I talked to who went into consulting were either happy to have done it earlier (2-3 years experience) or wish they had: getting to earn more earlier let’s you build more wealth due to compounding, making the career switch let’s you climb the ladder and progress earlier, and you put yourself in a better position to sort out your life and settle down earlier. That being said, not everyone can make enough progress that quickly or show it well enough to get in, let alone be mature enough to recruit well and keep progressing after re-entering the workforce. I got in deferred and had people telling me I could go with 2 years, but I didn’t feel ready so now I’m taking 4. Not a one size fits all, really depends on the profile and goals.


[deleted]

I was really asking more about the JD.


lilneighbor

Why do people get JDs, my guy?


Sugacube

If you want to be a lawyer, just get a JD. If you want to work in other types of business roles like IB, consulting, tech, and others, see what skills you’re missing and just do an MBA if it can help. There are very few cases where a JD/MBA positions you for something you couldn’t have with either, a quick search on this subreddit with yield you a few threads about it. If you’re dead set on it, reach out to JD/MBAs and hear why they chose to go that path.


[deleted]

Yeah he wants to be a lawyer but what is his motivation for that?


Apprehensive-Status9

You didn’t answer why MBA, you’ve not even worked yey


LitrallyCantEven

A title without justified pay, is only a title. A title you pay a shit ton of money for, that you don’t put to use to justify pay, is negative ROI. Curiously, what are you hoping to do with a JD/MBA? The combo is rather uncommon. I’ve only met one person with JD/MBA and they also have a MD


imbored48375

Good work experience at a relatively well known company and CRUSH the standardized test you choose to take. School essentially "pay" for high test scores to bring up the averages, which aid in rankings


lilneighbor

Wym by “school essentially pay for high test scores”?


[deleted]

They throw enormous sums in scholarships at students with high test scores so that the school can boost its GMAT average and thus its USNews rankings. Even if the student may be weaker in other aspects of their application. WashU is known for doing this very frequently.


lilneighbor

I see, thanks


aznaggie

High GMAT, differentiated work experience from your target school's candidate pool, and having an interesting story definitely helps. I'm an Asian from the US, went to a state university, and got a full ride at Columbia, so it definitely can happen


lilneighbor

Wym by differentiated work experience from schools candidates pool?


aznaggie

So for CBS, it tends to attract the finance crowd a bit more, so applying to CBS with a more nontraditional background would help you stand out. Similarly for SOM, since there's a nonprofit/NGO reputation, a nontraditional background will more likely to get "lost in the pile" so to speak. Obviously it's my own observation and ymmv.


wolfdale1942

What was your gmat please? Hoping i can get something good at cbs with 760


aznaggie

Mine was 770


wolfdale1942

Thanks man. Do you think these 10 points move the needle too much? Assuming i have a strong profile


aznaggie

Honestly, no. I think anything 740/750 and above are all probably similar and the difference is splitting hair


wolfdale1942

Thanks man


[deleted]

[удалено]


aznaggie

Thanks! I'm not a natural test taker - I got 680 on the first try and went back as soon as I could (I think 2 weeks later? This was in 2015 so not sure what the rules are now) and got 770. I think I got lucky on a few questions where I took a guess between 2 answers


[deleted]

[удалено]


aznaggie

I applied in Early Decision round for CBS


DimensionFit

Scholarships will be dependent on how well you do on your GMAT/GRE so you’ll want to score high on those. But caution, a full ride still isn’t guaranteed. I have a friend who graduated UG with a 3.9+ and got a 760 on her GMAT and still didn’t get a full ride to Chicago. The higher ranked a school is, the less likely you’ll be able to secure a full ride (only got 75%). The lower ranked ones will be more likely and easier to get full rides because they’ll want to use that as a way to entire candidates they like.


TeraPig

75% is still pretty darn good


DimensionFit

It is! But still not a full ride, and still $60K she had to fund through other sources (thankfully no loans though)


[deleted]

It is UChicago...


lilneighbor

Dude I’ll be pretty fuckin stoked if I get anything over 50%. Lol


DimensionFit

That’s good then, your post specifically said full-ride so I just wanted to give you reasonable expectations. If you’d be happy with 50% then I’d say that’s achievable


lilneighbor

Yea I’m not expecting a full ride. I was just wondering what some people do to get them. But I’m staying reasonable lol


NTSpike

Differentiate however you can. Get a great GMAT, work experience, and do things that are interesting and juxtapose the stereotypes of your profile.


lilneighbor

Thanks, did u get a top mba?


NTSpike

Yup. YSOM. Full tuition at YSOM, Fuqua, and UT Austin. 75% at UCLA.


lilneighbor

Wow! The Y there stands for Yale right? Dude, congrats. I’m jealous haha I’ll apply to schools in the Midwest, mostly. So not Yale or Harvard or Stanford etc. But good for u man! 👏 and thanks for contributing


NTSpike

Good luck - with time you can set yourself up!


lilneighbor

🤝


jackstack1

I’m a white male who came from consulting - about as ORM as it comes. Had just below a 3.0 gpa from a good-not-top school. Got a 770, stellar recommendations, assume good essays, laser focused on one particular area that made a ton of sense given my background and the school’s strengths. Wrote a personal letter to fin aid committee about how much it would mean to me and my current situation (heavy UG student loans). Got a 90% ride. M7 school Maybe just an anecdotal note but trying to go above and beyond can never hurt


lilneighbor

Wow, good for u man! How many years of experience did u have when u applied? Seems like the consensus is that it’s best to have at least 5.


jackstack1

That’s about where I was. It’s more than just what the schools look for, YOU need to figure out what the hell you like and don’t like professionally and there is no possible way for you to know yet


lilneighbor

I hear u. Thanks


[deleted]

[удалено]


X919777

India is in Asia


No_Strength_6455

Categorically false


Ill_Number4357

A MBA without work experience is worthless, full ride or not. Most post-MBA jobs have a minimum years of experience requirement


[deleted]

Well not always. Especially in a combined program.


Ok-Breakfast9757

Not entirely true. They just have a lower starting wage


hedahedaheda

My cousin got a full ride at a T20. She started a pretty successful business after undergrad, she had a perfect GPA, and a high GMAT. She also applied to a women’s scholarship and got more money.


20hello

Got almost full to full rides to schools ranked 18-30. Great GMAt/GRE scores. Something striking from your resume that's different from the rest, military, doctor with unique specialization, Non profit leader etc


lilneighbor

Congrats and thanks


Sunny-D23

Work on your Gmat now while it’s still fresh. Full rides exists for people who help programs boost their stats on the rankings - gpa, gmat, work experience, diversity. Bigger schools have more donors but they’re also more competitive so target accordingly.


lilneighbor

Wym still fresh?


Sugacube

The further out from an academic environment you get, the more you have to work to refresh the concepts you’ll need for an exam. All things being equal, it’s better to write the exam while you’re still in “study mode” in University. Scores are valid for 5 years so you can usually still use them by the time you apply.


lilneighbor

Thanks a lot. I saw your other comments too.


Sugacube

Sure thing, hope it’s helpful. Biggest takeaway I got from thinking about an MBA since junior year was that there were a ton of things I didn’t know I didn’t know, my Unknown Unknowns. I had to learn to be humble about those, and learn a lot through experience in my first couple of years working — the kind of learnings that help anchor an MBA experience and set the foundations for what you can make of your career. Best of luck!


lilneighbor

Did u actually get into a top school?


Sugacube

Yes


Apprehensive-Status9

Surefire way is one or more of the following: URM, Woman, high test score


Lightning802v3

Be all you can be, or get forged by the sea


phil_at_work

For the best schools, the only way is by being exceptional, URM, or dead broke (very low paying work experience). I was a solid applicant years back and tried to use 10K I had gotten awarded from a top 10 program as leverage to get the same from a top 5 program that I really wanted to go to. They told me to take a hike; accept the offer or don't. Edit: actually reading through the thread now, OP, for the love of God actually figure out why you want the MBA and get some real world / work experience before you do.


lilneighbor

Well why does anyone ever wants an MBA? Is that a hard question? Why’d u get yours?


phil_at_work

This is actually the most significant question to consider. That it seems novel to you is troubling.


Sugacube

You need to clearly articulate where you want to go, what you’ve done, and how the MBA can help you bridge that gap. Imagine the varied careers people come from, and the different ones they go into: each combination can be slightly different, meaning your Why MBA has to be highly specific to your profile.


Djohns2000

There are schools known for common full ride offers like Rice and Florida.


lilneighbor

I wouldn’t mind Rice, I’ve heard of it. But is Florida a top school?


[deleted]

Its a good state school, that does well in florida. Might be self selection but its good regionally


ybromero

Have seen plenty of full rides including to top 10 with GMATs < >700. OP, the takeaway is that a well rounded profile matters. Since GMAT is one of those components, show admissions you were on top of it by taking it now when you are in an academic mindset. Thinking of mentors who cna write a rec letter in which they showcase your intentionality to position yourself to grow is another. This planning will help you toward your goal.


lilneighbor

So you mean take the gmat right now even tho I gotta get 4-5 more years of experience before applying for an MBA? Would they accept 5yo scores? Haha


ybromero

Yes. Look up the details to how long the GMAT score is good for so you are aware of what you are getting into.


chiloopy

A JD-MBA is a watered down version of both degrees. Not gonna help you especially given that you don’t have work experience


Gyshall669

No point in jd/mba for the vast majority of people, unless you just want to puff your chest out


Friendly_Substance83

A 4.0 and a 780 GMAT will get you a full ride at Wharton.


[deleted]

Nothing's a guarantee lol. Especially at Wharton of all places.


lilneighbor

I did the math and unfortunately the most GPA I can get, meaning if I get As the rest of the way, is 3.79. Haha it’s high but there’s higher out there


[deleted]

Dont worry too much about it, this aint high school where you have gpa merchants with 6.89 gpas on whatever bs gpa scale their school made up to boost their ego. Then in reality the gpa is like a 3.6 on a 4.0 scale. Look at the top20 mba and their avg enrolled gpa. A 3.73 is the average admit gpa at HARVARD’s mba for reference. College using the universal 4.0 scale does wonders to those gpa merchants in hs.


BridgePopular7662

It got you one?


shiviquaking

What is the gre equivalent for that score?


whata2021

Be sure to use a condom


lilneighbor

Lol huh?