Ask mbaMission

I am not 100% sure what I want to do after earning an MBA. I value the steady income of a corporate position, but want the freedom that comes with running my own business. Ideally, I would could have corporate job and use my earnings to invest in my own business. Is there an attractive way to phrase this for application essays? Or would it be more clean cut to say I want a corporate job or I want to run my own business?

Do you suggest presenting my office and marketing work experience in my resume and recommendations and then use the uniqueness of my football experience to differentiate myself in the essays?

Undergrad: Graduated from U. of Mary Washington in Virginia after transferring from Carnegie Mellon U. in Pittsburgh. Earn BS in Business Administration. Played rugby and was on the executive board of a few clubs that were not very active. Independently organized a used shoe drive, which collected 300 pairs of shoes and shipped them to the needy in Kenya, decreasing the cases of hookworm, infections, and snake bites. Was the leader of Senior Seminar Team for Business Strategy computer simulation. In addition, conceived and executed winning strategy, which emphasized efficiency and defined multiple objectives. Team ranked in top 25 out of 2,076 teams for both company stock price and revenue, top 1% worldwide.
GPA: 3.8 and 3.8 within the major
Rank: 51/924 students
Notes: Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude

GMAT: 640, but have scored 700 (Manhattan GMAT) and 710 (GMAT Prep) on practice tests.

Professional Experience:
Marketing Consultant in 2011 to Present (7 months) - Conducted integrated marketing and promotional outreach through social channels utilizing cross platform promotion. Spearheaded website revision project to create a more comprehensive and user-friendly site. Added pages for: projects, careers, press, and site map. Oversaw content creation to ensure a customer focused tone. Designed creative business card template in Adobe Photoshop that was instituted company wide.

Part-time, Self-Employed Entrepreneur of Online Shop in 2010 - Utilized social media tools to increase the shop's presence and develop an online community. It boasts 2,200+ supporters, with that amount increasing on a daily basis. Sent 225 packages to 23 different countries. Cultivated beneficial relationships with 4 major companies through email and phone conversations.

Substitute High School and Elementary Teacher in 2009 - Communicated directions and information to up to 25 students, some with special needs.

Ambassador of American Football and Professional Player for the 1814's, Eidsvoll in Norway in 2008 - Represented the team and led interactive presentations at schools for groups as large as 50 people. As a result, interest increased and the team benefited by having crowds of 2,000 fans during games.

Additional: Visited 32 countries throughout Europe and the Pacific.

Age: 26 - would start MBA at 27

I think my undergrad work is excellent, my GMAT is within the range, and my work experience is what is hurting me. Thank you for taking the time give me an evaluation - it is very appreciated. Here are a list of my target schools in no particular order:

(1) Duke
(2) UNC
(3) USC
(4) Texas - Combs
(5) UCLA Anderson

Again, thanks for your feedback.

Hello BlueSteel (nice name!), thanks for your question.

I actually have a slightly different view of your profile:
"¢ Your undergrad work is not as important as you think
"¢ Your GMAT is actually on the low end of the range (practice tests can mislead in either direction)
"¢ Your experience is your biggest asset.

Schools tend to like athletes, and - even beyond that - you have a truly unique background since undergrad. I would focus your essays on these experiences. There would not be many people - if any - like you in a business school cohort (as opposed to management consultants and investment bankers). This is your paramount advantage!

One caveat: It's okay to really not know what you want to do after business school, but you must have a credible story of your future to present to the admissions committee. In terms of your post-MBA goals, paint a picture that cohesively ties together your past, present, and future. Demonstrate to the admissions committees that your desired career path necessitates an MBA. If you do not have a target career goal (short and long term), then how can you make a case that you need an MBA?

Best of luck,
Brian