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Extremely unique situation, any insight appreciated!

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Extremely unique situation, any insight appreciated!

by johnperregaux » Mon Sep 23, 2013 6:59 am
So I am in a bit of a unique situation and am unsure how admissions will handle me. I have talked to one well known admissions consultant and he was unsure of what to suggest. Am hoping someone here can try to sway me in either direction.

The thing that throws my profile off is my age (23). Also, that my bachelors graduation in Computer Science is just this year (from local private).

The Good-

-I have 5 years experience in IT in growing responsibility. (Disney and medical systems company)
-Started/founded two companies (tech consulting)
-Several industry certs
-Non-profit volunteer work
-Part time accountant for SuperPAC
-local politician
-3.7 gpa
-710 GMAT

Target schools: **HBS** , MIT, Wharton, Cornell, Yale, Dartmouth.

What do you all think? At first I thought I had a good chance, but have been reading a lot about how age/undergrad date can sway the decision substantially.

Do you think admissions will understand I took a non-typical route with the undergrad and work experience?


Thank you all!! Hopefully someone can give me something to work with.

John
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by CriticalSquareMBA » Fri Sep 27, 2013 10:11 am
Hey there - I'd love to help you. First, can you answer a couple of questions?

1) Your work experience (the 5 years) was that part time? Was it through internships or full time? In other words, you're 24ish and have 5 years of work experience - I can read that in a couple of different ways.

2) Your start ups - how successful were they? Did you generate significant levels of revenue? Are they both still active? Did you have staff?

Atypical career paths are ok but it's a little hard to know how yours was structured without a little more info.

Look forward to learning more!

Bhavik
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by johnperregaux » Sat Sep 28, 2013 4:48 pm
Hi Bhavik, thank you for the reply. I was starting to believe I would not receive one on here.

1) With the exception of the brief time at Disney, All of the work experience was full time or near full time. I believe the lowest amount of hours I worked was 35 per week.

2) The first company (clothing company) had staff, but ended up going under and failing. The second company I have been working the past year and have only generated about an average salary as I do all of the consulting work myself. There are no other employees.

Do you think that I may be applying prematurely? How would you feel about the HBS 2 + 2 or the Yale "college scholars" type thing.

Thank you '

John
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by MBAAdmissionsCoach » Mon Sep 30, 2013 10:38 am
Hello John -

I'd like to jump into the conversation here to add my opinion.

I think it is great that you are ambitiously pursuing your goals. Good for you. You seem like a candidate who has great initiative and drive.

My question for you would be this:

What is your post-MBA career goal?

Why do you want to pursue your MBA right now, without waiting up to 2 years before applying?

It sounds to me like you've got great overall experience, and you've very likely learned a tremendous amount from your start up companies. Those are all great things.

However, if you are seeking traditional employment with an MBA employer, you'll be in a better position if you had more traditional professional experience after graduation. In my experience, corporate recruiters don't quite know where to put candidates like you who don't have a clear path.

The HBS 2 + 2 program and the Yale program are both great options, and I would definitely encourage you to explore those. You may get your best information by talking to representatives of those programs directly.


Let me know if I can help further! Wendy
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by CriticalSquareMBA » Mon Sep 30, 2013 5:54 pm
Hey John,

Thanks for the additional info! As you look at potential programs, you have to keep in mind their requirements. For example, you don't qualify for the 2+2 program. To apply this year, you would have to be GRADUATING this year as well. If you've already graduated this past academic year, you're a little out of luck.

Your start up experience probably taught you a lot of lessons and led to some great experiences. However, given they haven't been all that successful, it limits their utility. As Wendy mentioned, having a structured role after graduation can definitely be a plus.

I think you'll be in a much better position if you wait a couple of years, proactively plan those years out, and apply in a couple of years. Not only will it help you get into a much stronger program, but it'll help you when you graduate too!

If you'd like to chat more about how best to do that, don't hesitate to reach out!

Bhavik
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by johnperregaux » Mon Sep 30, 2013 6:14 pm
Wendy, Thank you much for the reply. I greatly appreciate it.

Post-MBA I plan on continuing further with entrepreneur ventures. I do not really expect to take a traditional job.

This is the reason I would apply now. If I wait two years, I may/will be too deep in my ventures to abandon them for B school.



Bhavik,

I have not yet, I graduate this semester, so technically I am able to apply to the 2+2.
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by CriticalSquareMBA » Tue Oct 01, 2013 4:53 am
Oh I got you! Sorry - I made an assumption about what you'd written and, clearly, it was incorrect!

Deferred programs are definitely worth looking into but keep in mind, there aren't that many slots open. These are slots they take directly from full time admits in the classes to follow.

The question you should be able to answer if you're going to apply to a deferred program is this: in the next 2 years do I have mapped out a career path that clearly and strategically enables my short term goals post MBA. If you don't, it's going to be difficult to weave a story around why an MBA in 2 years is the perfect stepping stone, does that make sense?

Most entrepreneurs have a tough case ahead of them in the first place. If you're going to pursue a deferred program by saying you're going to be starting your own companies, that's going to be a much harder sell than 2 or 3 years from now saying, "look at all these successful ventures!" Also, it gives you the opportunity and flexibility to assess your development needs as they arise. What happens if your businesses take off? Would you still want to go in 2 years? What if you wanted to wait 4? If you don't have an established entrepreneurial track record (which, I'm sorry to say, you really don't) and you have no concrete growth ventures ahead of you (which I don't think you do?), then a case for a program like 2+2 will be difficult.

I don't mean that to step on your dreams - you should definitely, at some point, pursue a top ranked MBA. It's just that I think you would do well with a few years after graduation to really figure out what life is going to hold for you and take it from there.

If you ever want to chat about any of it, just let me know! I'm happy to.

Bhavik
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