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Hello all. Would appreciate some collective advice on my business school prospects.

Here is my profile:

Background: 37-year old white male

Undergrad: 2.6 GPA at a top-20 liberal arts college. Major in Political Science. Played varsity tennis and had some small extracurricular roles.

Career: A very mixed, 15-year career from entertainment to corporate communications to non-profit. I have served some leadership roles recently in the non-profit space, including raising money. I have also spent a couple of years working directly for a very notable CEO and his foundation. Recently, I lost my job due to funding cuts (organization froze all spending, so we all lost our jobs).

Career Plans: Switch to venture capital

GMAT: 640, 41Q, 35V

Programs: Here are the full time MBA programs I am considering:

1.) Northwestern (Kellogg)
2.) Duke (Fuqua)
3.) New York University (Stern)
4.) Carnegie-Mellon University (Tepper)
5.) North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler)
6.) Southern Methodist University (Cox)


Let me know what you all think!

You would be slightly older than many applicants, which may hurt. But otherwise, you have a unique profile.

I would say Kellogg would be unlikely....and Duke and NYU would be reach schools.

If you can, apply to all six. My advice is this......when you have a unique profile and are telling a different story that many others in the applicant pool, your ability to "reach" is much, much greater. This is a very important point that is understated on these boards.

Look at it from the Adcom position. Their job is to attract the best applicant pool possible and accept the best of the best. But, they also have a responsibility to craft together a unique and diverse class each year. We have all heard about very unique profiles getting into schools above "their range". The zookeeper that got into Harvard. The musician that got into Ross. And the former NFL running back that went to Kellogg.

So it can be done when you have a interesting story behind you.