White Male 26 California native profile

Tim7332

Hey guys please review my profile and let me know where you think I'm weak and what I can do over the course of the summer and fall of this year to improve my overall chances and profile for applying to the following schools:

UPenn (Wharton)
University of Chicago
Northwestern
Columbia
USC

I am committed to attending one of these five schools and if I have to I will keep retaking courses to boost my GPA and reapplying until I gain admittance.

Here's my profile below:

Undergrad GPA 2.7
GMAT (scoring about 700-720 on practice gmat shooting for 720+)
Work experience approx 6 years.

2 internships senior year of college.
1. WM Financial Services. Worked for a stockbroker in WaMu's stockbroker dept.
2. Cal First Leasing. Worked for marketing dept. as an intern.

Also worked for family bookkeeping company throughout college and put myself through school. This could perhaps be talked about in my resume as a reason for the low gpa?

After college I got 1.5 years working for a publicly traded mortgage company as a loan officer.

Then I started my own business and was a real estate broker and mortgage broker for 2 years and managed several agents.

This year I made a career change and got a staff accountant position for a CPA firm. I plan to sit for the CPA exam in 1-2 years.

Basically I plan to have a year of exp in public accounting before attending grad school.

Extracurriculars include mensa membership, church leadership roles, basketball teams, nothing too remarkable.

I can get letters of recommendation from partners at my CPA firm and maybe a previous employer.

Overall is my profile too weak for the 5 schools I mentioned? What can I do starting now to improve mychances for fall 2008 admission?

Also, do I need to get you rough drafts of my essays for the 5 schools for when I buy editing services from you?

Is there anything you want me to write about them?

aim-wsc · Posted: Wed May 23, 2007 10:31 am Post subject:

sorry the answer type is not the one you're expecting (and neither from the person you're expecting Mr. Green

)

If you're seriously interested in Stacy B CO. services then I'd suggest you to become her client earliest (to get the maximum benefits).
since i seem to remember her fees are irrespective of the time you commence the services.

let me know if I'm wrong.
Of course, Stacy will confirm this.

Tim7332 · Posted: Wed May 23, 2007 10:34 am Post subject:

I'm mostly likely going to purchase the essay/resume editing services which is on an hourly rate. I have plenty of time to prepare my essays/resume and I'm still in the GMAT study mode right now. I just want to be doing everything I need to do in order to be ready to submit drafts to Stacy when the time comes to start preparing applications.

I'm also just very nervous about getting 5 denials so I'm looking for some warm and fuzzies as far as:

"Yeah I'd reasonably assume you'd get 1 to 2 admits"

Stacy Blackman · Posted: Wed May 23, 2007 10:26 pm Post subject:

Your GPA is low but you are correct that explaining that you put yourself through college can help. If you did not do well in quant courses, or just did not take any, then taking a few will help, although it does not technically raise the GPA.

I am a little worried about your work experience because there is not a clear path. You will have to work hard to create a strong story that ties into why you want to go to bschool. Starting your own company may provide some interesting content for your essays. It seems that you are now back to somewhat of an entry level role, so again, this needs to be explained. Or perhaps you will be promoted by the time you apply?

If you beef up the extra-curriculars that may compensate for the fact that you have not had a straight progression at work. You can demonstrate leadership and other important qalities in an extracurricular setting. "Membership" types of activities don't help much - you need to be active with something.

Honestly, as your profile stands now, I feel that the first four schools on your list could be a stretch. However, if you address some of the things I mentioned you will be in much better shape!

If you want to utilize our edit service you would submit your drafts, and you could also include a resume or other background information so we have more context when we review them.

Best of luck to you!

Tim7332 · Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 5:14 am Post subject:

hmmm that's really disheartening.

Since I technically am still a real estate broker should I just continue that career path on my resume?

You think if I do everything you mentioned I could make it into 1 or 2 of the top 4 I listed?

Stacy Blackman · Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 11:31 am Post subject:

I definitely do not mean to discourage you. I just want to be realistic and give you actionable advice to help you reach your goals. A few of the things they will look at with regards to your career are:
- Leadership: one of the problems with some of the positions that you have held, is that they tend to be a bit more solitary, so there is not a ton of opportunity to demonstrate leadership or teamwork. You certainly know your experience better than I do - are there ways that you can be creative and demonstrate some of these things? Remember that an MBA progran is looking for a future busines leader so they don't care as much that you are a good broker or accountant - they want to get a feel for the underlying skills that can translate to success in a higher level position. Your challenge in the application will be to articulate this. Maybe the real estate position will make it easier for you, maybe not - I think this is a decision you need to make using what you know of your positions.
- Progression: they want to see that you are advancing. You are getting promoted, taking on additional resposibility and moving towards your goals. So if you goals are around becoming a CFO or something like that, the CPA job could be better for you.

Don't be discouraged! Be inspired to make it happen!

Tim7332 · Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 1:01 pm Post subject:

Hi Stacy,

THanks so much for taking the time to help me.

I had considered the things you mentioned a little bit in the past, and here's some of the ideas I thought I'd mention.

Maybe you can give your input on whether this is sufficent, needs to be elaborated upon, or not a good idea.

1) The whole reason for going into public accounting was in accordance with my original goals of executive level in the finance dept. of a mid-large company. It was my original plan but with the real estate market in California at the time, it was just way too tempting not to go into that field. I had always planned on exiting it and going back to get my master's but I'm not sure how to tell that story in a positive way and not make it seem like I gave up on real estate.

2) as far as teamwork, I'm going on a team audit next month for the Anaheim convention bureau so I can sell that up a little bit. What do you think?

3) for leadership, I was a star athlete in high school, captain of my basketball team. I led a few agents in real estate. Should I try to sell any of that in my essays?

But yeah that's the truth of it.. I got into public accounting for the experience knowing full well I needed it in order to be valueable at the executive level in any finance department.

For extra curriculars I plan to do free tax returns for low income families over tax season and get involved in mensa and local church leadership roles.

What other thoughts can you give me?

If I got into any of the 5 schools I mentioned I'd be hysterically happy. Is there anything else I can do?

If I don't get in, could I spend another year retaking courses to get my GPA up and then reapply for fall 2009?

Stacy Blackman · Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 1:08 pm Post subject:

1) The whole reason for going into public accounting was in accordance with my original goals of executive level in the finance dept. of a mid-large company. It was my original plan but with the real estate market in California at the time, it was just way too tempting not to go into that field. I had always planned on exiting it and going back to get my master's but I'm not sure how to tell that story in a positive way and not make it seem like I gave up on real estate.

I think the accounting story makes sense. It's hard to piece together a story via the forum, but what you say sounds reasonable.

2) as far as teamwork, I'm going on a team audit next month for the Anaheim convention bureau so I can sell that up a little bit. What do you think?

Stories from team projects will probably be useful for many of your essays. If you take a look at last year's essays you will see what type of content is needed.

3) for leadership, I was a star athlete in high school, captain of my basketball team. I led a few agents in real estate. Should I try to sell any of that in my essays?

The high school stuff is not going to be that helpful. Work to create something more recent.

Tim7332 · Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 1:45 pm Post subject:

What sort of leadership activities are out there that won't look coerced just to put on my resume?

I mean I like to read a lot but leading a book club or something isn't too exciting.

What are some of the leadership activities some of your better candidates have been involved in? I'll try to find some in areas that I'm interested in.

Stacy Blackman · Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 8:19 pm Post subject:

There is not really any type of activity that is best. For you it would be a new setting in which you can highlight leadership skills. You should build on things that you are truly interested in. I like the idea of the free tax returns.