Dear S,

While it is not ideal to be unemployed for that amount of time, it is understandable in your situation as you are probably on a visa that does not allow you to work. You will definitely want to disclose your visa situation in your application. I think it is great that you have found a way to volunteer in the interim and encourage you to try to expand your volunteering into leadership roles. Perhaps planning an event or spearheading a project? Then you can continue to build your skills between now and starting business school.

How schools view your background will vary as some are more forgiving of your situation than others. I think you will find the smaller programs in the Dallas/Fort Worth area are more amenable than the top Texas programs like UT-Austin and Texas A&M. SMU and TCU are the best programs in that area, in my opinion, if you would like to stay around Dallas.

Regardless of where you apply, you will want to visit the campuses and make personal connections with the admissions offices.

Good luck,
Lisa

UT Dallas is a decent school. It is smaller than some others, which could be beneficial to you. It's main drawback is that it is not known outside of Dallas/Fort Worth. I think it might be a solid option for you because of your situation, but would encourage you to also look at SMU and TCU.

Regards,
Lisa