MBA journey begins...looking for profile help/advice

Free advice from the world's top MBA consultants
This topic has expert replies
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Oct 04, 2014 4:13 pm
Sorry if its a little lengthy, wanted it to be as detailed as possible. Looking for some advice/help.

My 'Exhilarating' Profile:

Age: 23 (26/27 at matriculation)
GPA: 3.0 - 3.1 from a Top 10-15 Canadian University (one of the three largest). Majored in Law and Political Science. Had a 3.3 in my major and a 3.7 in my minor in my final year, upward trend. Took economics classes as electives: A in Calculus 2 and Macro (top 5% of class), B's in Calculus 1 and Micro (top 10-15% of class)
GMAT: 700-720 expected
White male

Low GPA: Worked 2 part-time jobs each year; in my final year I worked 40hrs/week at a marketing company while doing full-time school. I was also on Student Council for four years - added ~20-25hrs/week on top of my already full-time hours.

WE: I currently work at a Fortune 20 tech company. Started as a Tax Coordinator, and after one year was promoted to Junior Project Manager. I plan to be here for a total of 3-4 years (hopefully move into their consulting sector). Worked as a Leadership Development Assistant during my first year.


Extras/Community:
-Was on varsity soccer for two years (won Nationals in my first year)
-Invited to training camps/try-outs in England and Brazil (was invited back to stay and train in Brazil)
-Heavily involved in my University - was Student Council Promotions Director, VP twice, and President. We were given ~$200 000 each year to spend on our affiliated students (approx. 8000 students were affiliated with us).
-Sat on University Student Representative Roundtable (sat with all University Execs, i.e., President, VPs, Provost, Senators, student club Presidents, etc to discuss all University matters)
-Elected to the University Orientation Steering Committee (sat with all University Execs, i.e., President, VPs, Provost, Senators, etc to discuss all University matters revolving around student Orientation)
-Was given two leadership awards by the University; i) Outstanding Contribution and Dedication to the University, ii) Outstanding Contribution to Student Life
-Created and presented Leadership Workshops on my own time to student club/organization members
-Was a member of the Presidents Association (Met with other student club/organization presidents weekly)
-Was apart of an organization that helped raise money for low-income families in our community, helping cut costs so kids could come to camp (we taught them sports, tutored them, etc)
-Was apart of the Movember Fund - charity supporting male prostate cancer
-Was apart of an organization that sought to raise money for cancer research, help cancer patients and their families for two years
-a Muay Thai fighter

Goal: I want to leverage my project management experience in finance/IT to transition into management consulting in the financial services area; aiming for MBB.

Schools: Wharton, Columbia (ED?), Kellogg, Booth, MIT Sloan, NYU Stern, and Yale (would maybe like to cut another 1 or 2 of these)

My questions:
i) Would I be competitive at any of these? Which are stretches, and which, if any, am I competitive at? Should I add others?
ii) Should I look into doing an alternative transcript? If so, which classes?
iii) Since I have a couple years until I would apply, is there anything else I could do/build on to help my chance? Extras, community stuff, etc?
iv) Which schools seem like a better fit for me? I'm a very social individual.

Thanks for all the help, much appreciated.

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
Elite Legendary Member
Posts: 3135
Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 8:55 am
Location: Everywhere
Thanked: 589 times
Followed by:332 members

by Jon@Admissionado » Mon Oct 06, 2014 1:41 pm
Hey hey,
Well you, my friend are certainly ahead of the game! Three years before you apply! Well done.

You know though, that since you have years ahead of you, you don't have to worry tooooo much yet exactly about where and what.

But first of all, the BEST thing about your profile is its breadth. Between soccer and student government, and your charities, the rest of your activities you have really done a lot of amazing stuff. And it seems like you are doing quite well at your workplace too. The MOST IMPORTANT thing for you is to keep it up! We don't want to see years of amazing involvement at the university, only to have it drop off because you started your career. Keep up your charity work, volunteer to teach kids soccer, continue to advance in your job. This is your great strength, so play towards it.

Next, your grades can make things a bit tough. I don't know how much an alternative transcript really helps... unless you did real poor in quant stuff and need to prove you are capable. I believe that the BEST thing you can do to PROVE you are clever is smash that GMAT. You get more than a 720 and everyone will believe you. And you have the time to give it a go, so use that time.

As for what schools? Very social schools are: Tuck, Yale, Kellogg, Ross, Duke. That should be a good start for you. But you are maybe too early to worry about it, (although not to think about it). Since you are sooo far ahead of the game, you should be definitely planning one, if not two trips to the US to visit schools when they are in session. There is no single better way to get a feel for what a place is REALLY like. Plus you learn a LOT and its real fun.

Hope this answers your questions, dude...
"Hands down the best MBA admissions consulting firm of all-time, and boy, what an incredible founder!" -- Raj Patil, Founder of Admissionado

Something for everyone:
https://admissionado.lpages.co/admissio ... nter-2018/
https://admissionado.lpages.co/50-essay ... ked-vol-4/
https://admissionado.lpages.co/case-studies-lp/
https://admissionado.com/mba/reviews/
https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Admis ... 700945.htm

Reach out, and let's gab. Our only requirement is that you don't prefer warm milk over cold milk. Everyone else, 100% welcome.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 866-409-4753
Hit us up on WhatsApp.
Ping our satellite: 0884#&@-2#101101
Contact us via web form you lazy git: https://admissionado.com/contact/
Mostly, email Claudia.

User avatar
MBA Admissions Consultant
Posts: 810
Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2011 1:12 pm
Thanked: 127 times
Followed by:35 members

by MBAPrepAdvantage » Thu Oct 09, 2014 8:04 am
Yes, you would be competitive at those schools, given a 700+ GMAT and your heavily extracurricular and athletic involvement (to mitigate a lower GPA).

I am assuming you took Statistics. If you did, I do not think you need an alternative transcript. If not (or you did badly) consider retaking the course. Just try to get as high a score as possible on your GMAT. This score along with your extracurricular and athletic involvement will mitigate your less than average GPA.
What leadership opportunities are available at your company? Can you volunteer for any Corporate Social Responsibility activities to show continuity from your extracurricular activities?

Kellogg seems like a great fit for you. Also, consider Tuck; visit to see if the tight, social community (but not in a city) works for you. Add UCLA Anderson as another very social school.

Best of luck,
Michael Cohan
MBAPrepAdvantage Founder & AIGAC Board Director
305-604-8178
www.mbaprepadvantage.com

Please thank and/or like individual posts.

Follow Michael Cohan on Image Image and BeattheGMAT.
Follow MBAPrepAdvantage on Image Image Image.

For a free assessment email [email protected] your target schools, goals, resume, GPA and GMAT or fill out our Free MBA Admissions Consultation Form.