Ask Stacy Blackman

Hi stacy,

I'm a 28 year old male/Asian.
I attended University of Florida I was going to apply for Business schools for Fall 2007 admissions. If you read my semi-profile below I didn't go exactly the "typical" route of a business school applicant or a business executive. I don't have time from now until deadlines to make a "alternate" transcript, but i would like to catch up on my basic business skills like accounting and econ. I would like to focus on Marketing at the Corporate level since I’ve been in that field for some time now.



- GMAT: studying for it right now, will be taking the test this Oct.

I plan on scoring at least 700 ::crossing fingers::


Undergrad: BA in Business Administration at University of Florida.

My GPA was less than stellar, about a 2.3 ( i was young, not focused, was unsure of my goals) I've been out of school since year 2000

- Work experience: I think my work exp is somewhat unique to other applicants. I didn't do the "corporate" route, but instead tried working on my own route. I did 3 years exp doing local marketing projects for small company doing advertising.

Worked in computer sales for 1 year. 4 years ago I started my own Screen printing and merchandising business in my town focusing on merchandising and licensing for national bands landing deals with U.S. mall chains such as Hot Topic Inc. and the extreme music and sports festival, Vans Warped Tour (you know the shoes. VANS) and helped license albums for band with Warner Music Canada. i traveled extensively every summer on the Vans Warped Tour hitting about 50 cities in 2 months..setting up a merchandise booth, doing promo to 9000 people per day.
When I’m home during the rest of the year, in addition to my business, I work part time on the university campus as a lab assistant in a pesticide research lab. (for extra income essentially)

- Extra curricular activities:

a) Provided free t shirts to Girl's and Boy's Club basketball, softball teams

b) Sponsored a Domestic Abuse-Free Women's Events

c) I occasionaly play in a local band and do benefit shows to raise money for AIDS awareness


- Reco letters: My lab job has 3 directors/professors that can write me great rec letters.

I am planning on applying to the schools below for ROUND 2:

1) Duke (Fuqua)

2) Dartmouth (Tuck)

3) Georgetown

4) UF (Warrington)

5) Emory University (Goizueta)

6) Yale

So what do I need to do now...should i address my diverse background in my essay? i’m very out of the loop as far as a typical executive goes, but I wouldn’t mind trying my best to fit in at a business school and do well.

thanks

Stacy Blackman wrote:You do have an interesting background and you will definitely need to discuss it in your essays. You will need to demonstrate leadership and many other important skills through discussing your background.

A couple of other points:
- Your GPA will create a significant hurdle for you
- The fact that you are working in the lab for extra money leads me to believe that you business has not grown much. You will need to show that you have managed it well, that it has in fact grown. You will want to incude specific numbers and data to support your story.
- You should have recommenders from your business, not just the lab.

thanks stacy for your advice,
i know my gpa is a problem..but i hope to make it up with my gmat and my work exp.
when you say i need recommenders from my business, can my business partner write me a recommendation? or does it have to be from clients...because some of the clients i have are split up between myself and my partner.
also when you say that i need to mention specific #s and data, do i include that in my resume, essay or both?

anyways thanks for your help!

thanks stacy,
i have another question,
i was planning on taking some refresher classes at my local college here in the spring before i leave to b-school next fall...if i had to take 3 classes which ones you think would be the most beneficial in preparing me for my first semester at a bschool

i plan on majoring in marketing, i was thinking of taking Financial Accounting, Business Stats and Economics..it's been about 7 years almost since I've taken a course in any of these subjects..

do you think it would be helpful to include in my resume / application that I am currently taking these courses to prepare myself for their curriculum?


thanks for your help

Stacy Blackman wrote:I suggest:
1) Calculus
2) Accounting
3) Statistics

thanks stacy for your help,
well i decided to wait until fall2008 to enter grad school ( im also getting married a couple months before B-school so i want to have ample time to prepare)

anyways i am doing the alternate transcript for now as you suggested..and refreshing my acct, stats and calc this upcoming spring and summer..at the local community college here..and then in fall of 07 /spring 08 i will enroll back into UF where i got my bachelors and take 2-3 more extra "new" undergrad business classes that i haven't taken before..like something towards a 2nd undergrad business degree..also to learn something new..like a mid-level marketing course or a management course..do you think that is a wise plan..will the admissions committee take this into account?

also does it matter than i'm taking my repeat classes (acct,stats,calc) at the local community college rather than my undergrad school (UF)...they aren't taking any more students this year..so i'm kinda stuck taking them at the CC...but i plan to ace them all.

thanks for the help