Ask Stacy Blackman

Stacy,

Thank you very much for providing free advice to MBA hopefuls such as myself! I have read many of your evaluations of other students, and have been able to learn much about my own strengths, weaknesses, and areas of focus. As such, I hope that you will be able to provide me with some guidance on my MBA apsirations!

[b]Background: [/b]

Born in China, immigrated to the US @ age 4,
Raised in a low-income family.

Academic:

-4th Year @ UC Davis, majoring in Economics
-GPA: 3.85
-Phi Beta Kappa (Inducted as a Junior)
-Regent Scholar (highest scholarship awarded by Univ. of California)
-Enrolled to complete Economics Honor Thesis
-Participated in UC Davis Honors Program past 3 years

[b]GMAT[/b]

-I have yet to take an actual GMAT, as I intend to study (via Testmasters course & OG problems) during my senior year, then sit for the exam immediately after graduation.

-If there is any correlation at all, I scored a 1440 (720V, 720Q) on my SAT

[b]Work/Internship Experience[/b]

-PricewaterhouseCoopers, Tax Intern (6/2006 - Present)
*Note: I have just been extended a job offer effective after my graduation in 2007. I plan to possibly work @ PwC for 4-5 years (until I am promoted to manager) before I apply to b-schools

-UC Davis Honors Challenge, Peer Coordinator (6/2005-Present)
*Note: First peer coordinator @ campus honors program. As the PC, I organize the mentorship program for over 200 honors students, hold resume and public speaking events, and teach a graded, 2-unit course to help freshmen learn to maximize their educational experience at a research university. (I believe I am the only undergraduate student with a class)

-Sanli, Pastore & Hill, Finance Intern (Boutique Financial Valuation Firm) (10/2005- 1/2006)

-Morgan Stanley, Financial Intern (6/2005 - 9/2005)
*Note: This internship was not a standard internship offered by Morgan Stanley (I was a 2nd year), and thus I did not have as much of a learning experience as I would have liked

[b]Extracurriculars[/b]

Delta Sigma Pi (Business Fraternity) 10/2004-Present
-President (Current)
-Senior Vice President (2005)
-Vice President of Finance (2004)

-Currently nominated for National Collegian of the Year
-First ever- newly initiated member to receive Member of the Year
-First ever member to receive Member of the Year twice

I am very devoted and dedicated to this organization; I have gained much from this experience, and have really invested a lot of time and effort to promote and further reputation and public awareness of our organization. In many senses, I almost have treated this fraternity as a firm in which I have slowly moved up the ranks, or "promoted". I can draw a lot of learning experiences and as a result, have much to say about leadershipl, teamwork, motivating others, striving for a common goal, etc.

Sacramento Entrepeneurship Academy, Sacramento, CA (9/2004-5/2005)
-Developed business plan for a Soy Foods Distribution Company
-Presented to and consulted with various Angel Investors, local successful entrepreneurs, VC money managers.
-Youngest ever admitted into the Academy @ at 19.


My target school is Stanford (due to location), but receiving admission into any of the top 10 MBA-programs would be ideal.

I hope to receive an MBA to crack into Investment Banking. As a student of UC Davis, where we lack a business major, interest from any decently sized financial firm, not to mention bulge bracket investment banks, was hard to come by. I wish to enter into banking not for the money (although it is very good money), but rather to challenge myself and learn in a fast-paced, intense environment.

I suppose my real question is whether to continue my finance/accounting work experience and accept the offer from PwC, or to establish myself as a more unique candidate by something along the lines of non-profit work educating students in China, or perhaps joining the Peace Corps, etc.
I understand that the likes of Stanford and Harvard will have hundreds of applications who will all have stats like myself: 680-720+ GMATs (hopefully), 3.85 GPA with work experience in accounting, finance, etc, and that by taking that route, I will simply be a dime a dozen.

Do I stand a chance of differentiating myself from the rest of the very very qualified pack from what I currently have?

Any suggestions/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much,

Bo

Stacy,

Thank you very much again to take the time to evaluate my profile!

I visited your website to find out more about youself and the consulting services that you provide. Congratulations on the success of you and your students! The 97% success rate for admission into one of the four schools targeted by your applicants are very impressive!

I feel that while I am confident about writing abilities and assembling a good application, your services could greatly enhance my competitiveness as a candidate and hopefully help me secure a seat into a dream school.

However, as I mentioned in the post, I am many years away from applying to an MBA program. I suppose that most of your clients have already accrued at least a few years of work experiences prior to engaging in your services - which makes sense, as I likely will not be participating in a large amount of actual application materials. Nonetheless, continuous guidance from taking the GMAT (knowing whether or not to take it twice at an early stage, etc) to career decisions (when to apply; before promotion A or after promotion B, etc) that may affect my chances. So, in reference for your comprehensive service, how early can an applicant enroll?

Also, I was wondering if you could evaluate any weakness that I may be able to address in the next few years from my profile in my last post?

Thank you very much!

Best,

Bo