Profile Eval: 4.5 matriculation consulting + m. sc. microbio

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Hi there, would you please kindly help me evaluate my profile?

1) Will have worked 4.5 yrs at a top 10-15 consulting firm doing both IT and Operations Consulting. Under direct partner level leadership: sold and led small consulting engagements managing 10-15 Level A, CIO level clients and internal resources.
2) GRE 1430
3) GMAT TBD
4) 3.65 GPA from top canadian school, genetics, B. Sc. with Honours
5) 4.0 GPA from top canadian school, m. sc., published as first author at top 5 percentile ranked primary research journal.
6) interned in Toronto and Vancouver for 2.5 years while completing undergrad in a primary scientific research capacity (bioinformatics, cancer research)
7) other work concurrent: independent consulting (1 yr) - strategy, several clients; vacation rental (6 yrs) - own and manage properties
8) Extracurricular - led province wide environmental committee; member of nation wide env committee; led client site based co-op program; member of fundraising board for several initiatives
9) female, chinese descent, born and grew up in asia, moved to canada as a teenager
10) Post MBA goals - entrepreneurship or VC.

I was wondering how competitive my profile is for top 10 MBA school? Would I have a chance at a school such as Harvard/Stanford? What GMAT range should I aim for?
I have seen my peers from the same geographic location with 2.5 years of similar experience, starting at the same level as when I was starting out without the masters, attend MIT and Dartmouth. Do you have any recommendations of 4-5 schools where my profile would be competitive?
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by Jon@Admissionado » Mon Aug 15, 2011 9:29 pm
Well, so far it looks good. You have experience in a superb industry (genetics). That + real estate + independent consulting should do you some good. Got some good extra curriculars too.
Everything now will hang on the GMAT. Get a 740 or more and you apply to wherever you want (still making a balanced strategy of course), get less, and then we'd have to see.

One more note: It makes sense for you to both take advantage of your previous work/study plus your dreams to build your career goals. When you present them to the AdCom if you tell them VC, they will likely be far less interested in you than if you present them something like "Healthcare Consulting" or some sort of genetics/healthcare entrepreneurship. It's a good, hot industry and you show that you are making use of all the knowledge you gained so far.
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by MBAPrepAdvantage » Tue Aug 16, 2011 6:09 am
You are definitely competitive for top 10 schools and with a strong GMAT score HBS and Stanford are more realistic. Per the other poster, VC might hurt your chances in that you would not be as attractive to the schools' recruiters as other candidates might with finance backgrounds (however in the VC heyday you could have positioned your expertise in healthcare to healthcare VC but that might carry risk now).

If you wish to stay in healthcare/biotech consider adding Wharton, Northwestern Kellogg, Duke Fuqua, Chicago Booth and/or MIT Sloan to the mix.

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by Tw » Wed Aug 17, 2011 2:22 pm
Hi Jon & Michael,

Thank you for kindly getting back to me. I really appreciate it.

I find the career direction guidance post MBA particularly helpful. Pointers on school choices, which experiences to highlight in an application is insightful.

I have a few more questions:

1. If I am competitive for Harvard and Stanford only with a GMAT score of 740 or higher, i.e. Is it implied that I will not be competitive without the GMAT score being that high and would mostly be wasting my time applying to those schools? What are my odds realistically with a score between different ranges?

2. If I only have bandwidth to apply to 4-5 schools, I am thinking Harvard, Stanford as they are my dream schools; Berkeley and Columbia for geographical reasons; which other one should I pick that would give me a balanced strategy? wharton, MIT or Duke?

Thank you again for all of your help! It is much appreciated!

T

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by MBAPrepAdvantage » Thu Aug 18, 2011 7:58 am
1. It is really difficult to tell someone over a forum whether to apply or not with different hypothetical GMAT scores. At a very high level you have some chance with a score 700+. If you have the time (when weighing deadlines, application difficulty, etc.) to apply to HBS and Stanford, go for it.

2. Again, this depends on your GMAT score. The others that you mention are very competitive schools. Duke Fuqua would be the safest to increase your likelihood of going to MBA school.

Good luck,
Michael Cohan
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