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Applicant Profile: Airline Pilot

by ultraeasy » Thu Oct 08, 2009 4:48 pm
Thanks for taking a minute to help me out. I'm applying across some top and second-tier schools for Round One this year. I think I'm competing in the "Other" category and not directly with the consultants, engineers and accountants.

This is it.

BS: Aeronautical Science. GPA: 3.75

GMAT: 730 (50Q, 38V 5.0AWA)
This was my second attempt after a 660 in July, requiring lots of fun RC/SC/CR practice.

Work History: 4 years Airline Pilot
1 year International Jet Instructor (Montevideo, Uyuguay) -Amazing job!
1 year starting a small flight school in San Francisco

Activities: Rock and Roll (perform on piano/drums often), sing/rap in a comedy hip-hop group, competitive distance runner in various running clubs, and volunteer for a Uruguayan textile exchange company.

Career Goals: To create a general aviation flight school franchise for business in the US and abroad, specifically Argentina and Chile.

I'm applying to these schools:

Stanford (submitted yesterday!)
UC-Berkeley
UCLA
Chicago GSB
Kellogg
UW Foster
UC-Irvine
Marshall
Johnson
NYU
UT-Austin
Darden
Pepperdine

I'm curious how my candidacy will be viewed by the schools as I don't have the common work experience. I think my weak points are only having one year of direct management experience (starting my flight school) and not having a degree in something business-related.

Any comments or suggestions for my applications will be greatly appreciated! Should I try to emphasize any strength? Insert wild flying stories into essays? Show my softer side with community teamwork examples? Hire help? Forget it about it and hit the beach?

Thanks!

Cory
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by Bryant@VeritasPrep » Thu Oct 08, 2009 5:40 pm
Cory in a nutshell, you are a prime candidate for a top b-school, my friend. B-schools love diversity and will drool all over your background for the very reason which you identify as a concern: it's different. As long as you make your application engaging, anectodal and personal, and emphasize teamwork, leadership potential, innovation and maturity, you should be accepted to a number of top schools. The Harvard, Stanford Wharton group is always a longshot for anyone just due to pure numbers, but if you have a compelling vision for what you want to do with the MBA and it resonates with how you have prepared yourself so far, you're as good as in. Have at least two others read over your essays to get some objective opinions on how you come across, but my money would be on a candidate like you all day long. Good luck.
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by ultraeasy » Fri Oct 09, 2009 4:26 pm
Thanks for the encouraging words! I would be honored to go to any of the schools on my list. I'll definitely have my verbally-superior friends look over my essays for errors.

Another question is how much humor can I inject into my essays? I lightened up with Stanford app by answering a short essay with a story about how I became the "Nacho King of the World." Would you recommend submitting this again to any other school?




If anyone cares to read 250 words, here it is:

Tell us about a time when you went beyond what was defined, established, or expected.

I am the justified owner of the title "Nacho King of the World." I have traveled to over forty countries and am always eager to learn something new, especially regarding culinary delights. With all of my experimenting, however, this one dish remains my favorite. Allow me to explain.

A few years ago a friend commented that all of our dining dates gravitated towards taquerias. Even in other restaurants, if nachos were a menu option, that would mean one plate for me, please. She intimated that I had a problem. I insisted that I was not alone in my passion and became determined to meet my fellow nacho afficianados. With this, I started "Nacho Tour 2007," a website where diners could upload locations, prices and ratings of all their local nachos spots.

And that was just the beginning. I next organized a pilgrimage to Piedras Negras in Mexico, the one and only birthplace of the nacho. There we would throw our sombreros into the ring to compete in the International Nacho Festival. Our dedicated crew of three flew into Dallas, drove hours through the Lone Star State, then walked across the border into Piedras Negras. The plaza didn't greet us with the sounds and smells of competition, for we soon learned that the festival was held years ago and, sadly, Wikipedia can't always be trusted for event planning. So much for crowdsourcing. Nonetheless, as the sole contestants, we earned our title and then sampled the original nacho recipe created by Iganacio "Nacho" Anaya, Sr. We returned to the states knowing that we had gone far beyond the expectations of any amateur nacho enthusiast. I learned that if I could successfully transform a humble appetizer into a devoted club, there would be no stopping my collaborative visions in the future.
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