The Application Process

I'm curious whether it is valid to consider a federal work/study grant as legitimate work experience. In this particular case I spent 1yr in Taiwan on a Fulbright Scholarship, which of course is a resume boost but not true business experience in any strict sense.
In an effort to fully disclose, I was working 20-25hrs per week teaching English at several rural elementary schools and spending anywhere from 5-10hrs per week being a 'cultural ambassador' i.e. participating in local events, studying, and traveling.
As an aside, I only have 1yr of work experience in financial services, so I would be considered highly inexeperienced when looking at the averages posted on this website.
I think my profile may be a bit irregular in that I spent 5yrs in undergrad (not slacking) followed by the grant. That would make me nearly 27 at a theoretical 2013 matriculation with two years of financial work experience in quant risk management. Of course, 2014 matriculation is an option.

Any candid advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Eric

Eric,
You could comfortably count the Fulbright as work experience for the purposes of your B-school application. Schools are not anal about how they tally work experience and they would certainly value your Fulbright experience because (a) its cross-cultural, (b) shows social impact initiative, and (c) perhaps connects with your post-MBA goals, in which case it's even more relevant. And given your age you don't want to wait much to begin applying. Feel free to send me your resume for a closer look: [email protected].