GMAT Strategy

Here is my profile:
GMAT (tested today after 3 months of studying) 570 :33Q, 35V
GPA - 3.0 (I switched from a Biology major to International Relations and Economics half way through my College career at Bucknell University; my GPA increased quite a bit the last two years; though the resulting cummulative GPA is due to the first 2 years in the Bio field i.e. my resulting cumulative since the switch of major to Economics/ International relations was 3.3-3.5 range)
Work experience:
Summer 2007: Taught English in China
2008 Spring Semester: abroad/research internship in Barbados - Central Bank of Barbados
Summer 2008 : Hospitality Consulting internship in Shanghai China
Year before joining the peace corps worked at TD Bank as a customer service representative
Currently second year as a Peace Corps volunteer serving in Community Development helping to initiate projects in fields of youth and small business development.
Speak 4 languages: (including English), Turkic, Mandarin Chinese, and Thai

I am not looking into the typical marketing or finance route - i want to study Non-profit Management with a dual degree in Public Policy. My questions are...
1. How much does my experience/ background count in terms of the field I want to get into in comparison to my GMAT/GPA (i.e. what are my chances of getting into a school that specializes in non-profit management )
2. What are some of the top 30 schools that have strong programs in areas such as non-profit management/social enterprise/social entrepreneurship
3. (i am considering taking the GMAT again; it's just been a difficult process since I do not have easy access to buying books and study materials so I have been using old editions of two books (OG11 and Princeton Review)) but let's say without a second GMAT, what are my chances of getting into schools such as University of Maryland, University of Virginia, Carnegie Melon, George Washington? and what other schools should I also look into?

Thank you so much for your help and suggestions!

Hey zab002,

Impressive bio! You know, a huge part of the MBA application story that you tell is your ability to demonstrate to the admissions committee that you're credible in your goals - that you've actually taken steps toward them independent of just the MBA. When people apply with career-change stories that seemingly come out of nowhere (e.g. working in IT for 5 years, master's in computer science, want to own a hedge fund someday, admit me to Columbia/NYU/Wharton) that's a tough sell. Why haven't you worked toward that on your own? How serious are you really, about that career or even an MBA? How well will your experience resonate with potential interviewers for jobs? How much of a professional network do you have to lean on when seeking jobs?

So in your case, that commitment to nonprofit work will be a huge asset for you; you're pretty clearly not trojan-horsing a story about altruism to get into school and then change your major to microfinance to become the next Madoff! And particularly given your Peace Corps work, you're likely to get a break on things like your GMAT score...your lifestyle is understandably less conducive to a great study regimen than that of someone who worked in consumer marketing in Chicago, for example. So you certainly have some great application assets to work with. Plus, your experience will be really compelling to show those leadership/innovation traits that schools want - very few applicants will have had to undertake the kinds of projects that you have!

That said, for schools like Virginia and Carnegie Mellon, specifically, they're working to have average scores near or above 700, so you'd probably be pretty well-served to be into the 600s to feel confident in your application. You'd hate to have pretty much everything they're looking for but just fall short because they need to pull up their scores. Given everything else you bring to the table I doubt you really have to kill it on the GMAT, but being within that middle 80% or better for your top-choice schools would be a big help.

Thank you so much Brian,

I've been involved in international non-profit work since my freshman year in college working within service learning in the Bucknell community or going to Nicaragua as part of a brigade group and now the P.C as you already read in my profile. Therefore, the international experience (especially in nonprofit)is a field that I am genuinely passionate about and would LOVE to do it for the rest of my life.

As I replied to you already, I would appreciate any help/suggestions that would help me with the process!

thank u so much!