How important to the T10/M7 MBA Application Process is it to have a prestigious/well-known Undergraduate degree?

I'm currently finishing up my undergrad and while my current GPA is 3.9+, my school is not a well-known university and any prestige it does have usually originates from its engineering programs, which I am not a part of.

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Not that important, just work on your story and your extra curriculars!

likehelpful

Thank you for responding, That's good to hear. I've just been worried that the work I'm putting in would degrade in value if I don't have the right name attached.

Do you have any suggestions on extracurriculars and crafting a story? I have or am doing a bunch of stuff on my college campus, but I'm not sure how much it will matter when I apply to an MBA after work experience.

3.9 is great. Work on your story. That will matter the most. And there’s nothing you can do now to change your undergrad university. Focus on the things you can change: high GMAT, great essays, letters of rec, etc.

likehelpful

Those are important questions and I am glad that I wasn't thinking of applying in this cycle because I don't think I could answer them yet. I appreciate you providing me with something to think about over time.

Not important. Control what’s in your control. Your GPA is amazing which is great. You can’t change where you went to school. You can control your GMAT/GRE score, work history, and recommendations.

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I appreciate your thoughts on this matter, they are comforting. What do you mean by controlling your work history? Like does it mean getting name brand company experience? Avoiding gaps? Fancy titles? Bringing Value? Etc?

I think you’re overindexing on undergrad — as many others have said, your GPA is great (the highest average is Stanford and their average GPA is 3.8). If you’re doing ECs you like on campus, you’re fine.

An MBA is a professional degree — your story refers to your professional story, but also your personal passion behind your career. Yes, a big name/“blue chip” company is something to aim for. But plenty of folks get in to great MBA programs from other paths too.

Try to find a genuine goal/passion and pursue it, it doesn’t have to be grandiose. For example, lots of consultants go into consulting because they genuinely want to explore and find their true passion. Then apply to b-school intending to transition out of consulting for that passion — that is a baseline MBA story. Obviously, it should be more personal than that, but don’t overthink the grandiosity of it.

Your story will come through exploration of yourself and your genuine interests (personal and professional). You can’t fake it. “Control what you can control” is good advice. Take the GMAT/GRE if you can sooner rather than later, maybe start a side hustle or volunteer work, but otherwise, securing a job you want out of undergrad should be your focus.

FWIW — I am applying this cycle, but the above is all what I’ve heard from MANY convos w M7 MBAs.

helpful

Thank you for your extensive reply, I really appreciate you taking time to reply in such a manner.

I'm worried because ive seen a bunch of people ask this bowl about their chances at getting into a top MBA and they seem to have really good profiles to me, a mix of top schools, name brand companies, a strong GPA/GMAT score, etc and there end up being a bunch of people that say they don't have a chance and if they do, a very low one.

As for passion, I just like talking and connecting with people, I love learning what makes a person tick and why they do what they do. If there is a problem that the person is having that I can help with, I want to be able to help with it. I don't know if that is exactly what you meant by passion and if it was, I'm not sure if there is anyway to phrase it in a professional manner.

I'll have to keep "control what you can control" in mind. Thank you again for your suggestions and your thoughts on the matter.

Good luck with your applications this cycle, I hope you get into whichever school you are aiming for.

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I think 3.9+ is fantastic. Is it from US School if so then it’ll count for Gpa. If it’s from non US Scholl it won’t count.

Have you worked on your gre or gmat? Happy to give advice on this as I just finished taking gre and very happy with my score but wasn’t easy.

It’s also important to consider your job your doing now and your story after?

Are you applying this year or next year?

That sounds like it could potentially be a good idea. Before connecting me with yours, could you give me their name either through a reply or dm. I would like to conduct a little independent research into them before I make a decision to set up a session with them. I don't wish to set up any meetings unless I'm sure thats it's worth all of our times.

On a related note, which MBA schools are you applying for or have applied for?

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