Getting old...

[humblebee]

Hi and I hope you had a Happy Thanks Giving.

I was hoping you could evaluate my profile and tell me whether or not I should cull some schools that I am appyling to in R2. Thanks.

28 (29 at Mat.) / Male / Malaysian Citizen (but grew up in Australia)

GMAT 740 (Q49/v42 AWA6.0)

--Education--
Bachelor's Degree in IT (w/ Distinction) from second tier Australian University
- Awarded 3 Scholarships
- Founder and Chief Editor of Course Year Book
- Student Chair on Course Steering Committee
- President of the largest student society on campus
- Grand finalist and prize winner in the school's business plan writing competition
(can't use anything here as it was all the way back in 2003)

Master's in Applied Commerce (w/ First Class Honours) from Highest Ranked Uni. in Australia.
- Led the youngest (our team's avg age.22 vs other teams 28) and sole non-MBA team to the grand finals of the school's business plan writing competition. Awarded prize for having the most socially responsible business.

--Work Ex--
Failed Entrepreneur - 8 mths . MD of a technology startup. Trialed with the second largest fast food chicken franchise in Australia
Management Consultant - 2years. Global boutique specializing in infrastructure sector
Contractor - 2 months. Contacted by client CEO after he heard I left the global boutique to come do some contract work.
Strategy Consultant - Current job. Elite Australian Boutique that competes with McKinsey, BCG and ATK for strategy work. Currently working with top 3 US PE on due diligence.

--EC--
- Pro-bono consulting since 2007 for large charities. Used to do indepedently but now channel via the group described below. (secured $30,000 in funding for business case I wrote for one. And recently led a team of 5 students in recommending a sustainable funding strategy for a $2m charity, recommendation was consequently endorsed by their board)
- Advisory board member / project partner of a student led consulting group (former alma mater) that consults with NFPs
- Founded and run my own social enterprise in the second largest slum in the Philippines since 2009. Provides skills training and employment opportunities to women via sewing workshop
- Some minor mentoring BigBrothers BigSisters (since 2008), Careers Counselor for my former Alma Mater (since 2007)

--Weaknesses--
- My age. I dont actually know how to address this, except to say it just feels right to apply to school now having experienced what I've experienced.
- Lack of career progression. I tried starting my own business, and jumped from one boutique to another at the height of the financial crisis when no one at my new firm got promoted. I was basically lucky not to get fired...
- Firms have no brand outside of Australia (getting one of my Directors a former HBS alum to write an unsolicited LOR). Other pre-MBA associates at my current firm have gotten into Wharton, Kellog and MIT. But I only really want to go to Stanford or MIT...and HKS for MPP.

--Goal--
- Short term. Go back to South East Asia and continue doing what I'm pretty much doing in Australia - strategy consulting and pro-bono stuff in my spare time. Also grow my charity in the Philippines and expand to other regions.
- Long term, go back to entrepreneurial roots and combine everything I'm passionate about - helping people (business or underprivileged), and entrepreneurship. Only thing that makes sense is to start my own VC fund that funds and provides advice to both traditional start ups and social enterprises.

--Target Schools--
MBA: Sloan, Chicago, HBS, Stanford, Wharton (to learn about VC and entrepreneurship)
MPP/MPA: Harvard Kennedy School, Stanford (to learn about how to grow my charity and advise NFPs on more strategic issues)

Thanks for your time!

[jkhousto]

Humblebee-

Thanks very much for your thorough profile posting and questions. Yes, you are correct that six applications in one round is a bit much! However, you raise some very legitimate questions about how your story may be received.

As for your age - there is nothing you can do about it! I would accept that it will likely work against you to a certain degree. I am much more concerned that you believe you will have trouble showing a "lack of career progression." Schools want to see an upward trajectory in their candidates. So when you are thinking about your story, please be clear what you learned, were challenged by, and experienced in your stint as a (failed) entrepreneur.

I am hoping that someone at your current firm will be writing a recommendation for you. Usually there is a part where they can give some context about how they are evaluating you and against what set of peers. This is the perfect place for them to explain the firm's position in the market, places where your peers have matriculated, etc.

Lastly - your extracurricular activities are very strong! It can be effective to talk about your progression with some of those organizations as a proxy for career growth. In your case, this is also relevant to your career goals for the long-term which is really wonderful.

I think you have a good robust list of target schools. I am not sure that I would recommend dropping one. If Sloan is a top choice and you are committed to applying there, then, I would say drop Chicago or Wharton if your goal is simply to narrow your field of applications. It seems like Stanford and HBS are in the mix because of their MPP programs, so I would not advise dropping either of them.
Hope this helps,
Jennifer

[humblebee]

Thank you for your counsel Jennifer. Much appreciated!