kojulia wrote:Hi there,
I'm a non traditional MBA applicant and will be applying to HBS, Stanford, MIT, Cornell, Yale and Haas. My concern is that the adcom may or may not clearly see the forward momentum in my profile or need additional reassurances that I'm not aware of.
I originally enrolled in college at age 19, dropped out to start a food manufacturing business that turned out to be quite successful. Traveled quite a bit, met w/captains of the industry and positioned the company for growth. Four years later, I realized I wanted to be an entrepreneur in the tech industry and bring meaningful innovative products to the market. I wanted to have a global impact, I knew I needed to return to school and I sold the business.
My academics were poor at the first institution as I was not able to give the necessary attention to my classes and naturally my grades suffered. When I returned to school, I enrolled in a two-year college and transferred to UCLA with a 3.65 and my current GPA is 3.48 in Art History. I received a recognition scholarship to UCLA and finishing this December. My GMAT is 650, 6 on the AWA and I'm retaking it this Jan with hopes of scoring 700.
I have a number of extra-curriculars such as starting an org to advise underprivileged high school students on college admissions while at UCLA and I will be starting a non for profit for Native Americans in the area I'm moving to for work. I was offered a position in a Leadership Development Program at a tech company starting in Jan. 2009.
I enjoy a number of activities such as lifting weights, learning to fly, gourmet cooking and ocean kayaking. I've traveled most of the globe and been an exchange student twice.
I am confident in my profile. However, I would really appreciate an insider perspective and any thoughts on how I can best present my profile to the adcom!
Many thanks,
Julia
Julia,
I think you present the forward momentum well. Along with a lot of interesting activities along the way. A couple of questions you may want to address somewhere in your application:
1) Why did you drop out of school at 19? Most nineteen year olds don't drop out of school "to start a food business." They may drop out and then need to do something. Just a question that came to my mind.
2) If you returned to school to get your bachelors and go into high tech, why are you majoring in art history? Are you taking a lot of electives in business and tech related fields? I fully realize that art history majors can go into high tech and business, but the question crossed my mind and might cross an adcom reader's mind too.
With a higher
GMAT, I think your chance of having an acceptance from at least one school is good.
Best,
Linda
