Profile Evaluation Request

[mholmes2101]

Hi Admissionado,

I'm applying in round 1 this year for full-time MBA programs enrolling fall 2017 and would love to get a profile evaluation as a gut check for my chances at top programs. Any evaluation or advice you could give me would be great!

White male, 24 years old

Education:
"Southern Ivy" (Duke, Emory, Vandy, etc.), graduated in 2014, Mathematics and Economics BA, GPA: 3.25 (started out pre-med which did not go well. Started to do better when I switched to math and econ, but suffered family tragedy fall of senior year which hurt my grades as well)

GMAT:
770 (50Q/46V/8IR/5AWA)

Work:
-1 year as a business analyst in the Operational Excellence department at a large media conglomerate located in Atlanta (working in the automotive division, where they are a global leader in wholesale and retail technology and facilitation). Acted as a liaison between business operations and IT development for the development of enterprise mobile applications, completed heavily statistical analysis to complete the business cases for these applications as well as justify a multi-million dollar acquisition, created operational tools for field use and trained several GMs on their use.
-1 year as a manager in the Financial Planning and Analysis department in the same company. Promoted to manager 3 years ahead of schedule for being recognized as a top performer. Manages 2 contractors and an intern. Currently in charge of budgets and forecasts for several smaller portfolio businesses and on the leadership team of these businesses to provide insights that drive strategic decision-making. Created a service offering that's being implemented at the location level and has proven to be profitable in test runs.
-Internships include summer internship at same company where I currently work and a summer as a finance intern at a wealth management fund.

Extracurriculars:
-Pro Bono consultant at an eCommerce retail store, creating the business plan, social media marketing strategy, and pricing methodology
-Half marathon participant in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team In Training program. Raised $2000 for cancer research
-Event planning volunteer at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
-Finalist in my company's internal StartUp business plan event
-Liaison between my current company and a start-up non-profit whose goal it is to provide low-income teens with exposure to successful professionals.

Post-MBA Goals:
I want to use my automotive industry knowledge to move into a role with a leader in the transportation tech space (Google, Apple, Tesla, Uber, Lyft, etc.). Knowing that's a narrow niche with high barriers to entry, I would also consider management consulting roles to further hone my strategic planning expertise.

Schools under consideration:
Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Chicago, MIT, Kellogg, Haas, Duke, Michigan

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Jon@Admissionado]

Hey there!
Great to hear from you. I find your profile very interesting. You come from a good place (the south) with a fantastic GMAT and very interesting work experience. I think your leadership and also the speed with which you have been promoted are the two more impressive things in your WE. Additionally, the schools don't get thaaaat many people coming from Media (even if it is now finance in media) so you may want to see how to swing that angle.

Your project is interesting, r.e. transport, but I'm a) not yet sure what the connect it b) not sure why you want to do only this. Meaning if you are doing finance for IT, does it matter if it's a transport app or a dating app or a gambling app? (Maybe it does.. open question!)

Your ECs are quite solid so that's good too.

The two negatives in your profile is your school (non-Ivy, even if southern Ivy ), and your GPA. A 3.25 is relatively low for some of the programs on your list. I mean I wouldn't worry about it. You got that 770 which is the best thing you could have done. But still it's there.

So basically, now what you gotta do is make the best story you can out of all this so that it fits together and makes you a natural at these schools.

With a 770, and given how young you are, I think there's no disadvantage to limiting yourself to top schools only. Worst case scenario: you don't get in now, but do after 1-2 more years experience. And you are in it for the long run, and simply want to go to the best school you can get into,

Best,
Jon