The Application Process

GMAT: 710 (Q47, V41, AWA6; I did it 3 times and scores were 710/690/710)

GPA: Overall 3.46 from top Canadian uni, finance major (3.8 in the first year, then I lost interest and it dipped to as low as 2.7 in one term... I fast-tracked through a 4 year program though, doing it in 3 years, and taking 120% course load plus summer classes)

CFA (1st time passes of levels 1&2, had to retake 3)

Polish/ Canadian citizen

Experience:
<1yr at a hedge fund (Canada)
18 months in M&A at a (failed) Icelandic bank; made Associate shortly before bank went belly up - makes for good story though!(UK)
2 years at a tiny media & entertainment advisory shop, focusing on financial restructuring (UK)

Extracurriculars:
A whole lot of student theatre (several leadership roles) while at uni
Various internships throughout my undergrad, plus during a gap year between high school and uni
8 years volunteer stage-managing at major music festival (seasonal contracts; I basically have had no proper vacation for 8 years because I use my holiday to do this)
Several freelance consulting projects (in the digital media/ video production world)
Recently co-founded a digital media production company (though we've got little to show for it so far...)

Goals:
Short-term: corp development or in-house M&A at a media corporate, possibly TMT investment banking
Long-term: media start-up, my own arts/ media advisory shop, possibly VC

Target schools:
UCLA, Stern, USC, Haas (that's my dream one)
Tangentially considering an HBS or Stanford app, but that's probably too much of a stretch

Main application concern:
I've done lots of extracurriculars while at uni, and simply don't have enough space in the app, essays, resume to cover all this (basically, I would just have to list them with no explanation - and that's as good as useless). Also, optional essay space is usually limited to 250 words! That's not enough to explain gaps in academic or professional record, extenuating circumstances, etc.

Thanks!
S.

Hey S. --

Well the good news is, with that varied and somewhat roundabout career past, plus the music festival stuff, you should have a LOT to work with - particularly in setting yourself up for a career in the media industry after bschool. And as you've already determined, the trick will probably be in sorting through all the possibilities to develop a coherent theme and story for the adcom. But even with what you've laid out here, there are certainly elements that look very promising, especially for the schools you've identified. You have all the components that can make an adcom comfortable that you're an appropriate candidate, yet you've got differentiated interests and goals - this could actually be a very compelling profile for them.

On your "main concern" - you should know that ECs aren't really all that important, particularly from college days. Yes, it is definitely important to show that you're engaged with the community, both during college and since, but the music festivals demonstrates that already. ECs are not usually proper material to cover in an optional essay.

Now, with a school like Haas, you have lots of essay real estate, so it's likely you can cover at least some of it there - though the caution is that you should be devoting most of your essays to your professional (post-college) experiences, to show the adcom who you are today. It's not ideal to devote essays too much to university stuff. This would be particularly the case for you at Haas, since they prefer older candidates. It sounds like you graduated in 2007 or 2008, which puts you in the running for those schools (Stern also prefers them older) - if you graduated more recently than that, it will be important to emphasize your "readiness" for bschool through the stories you select, and one way to do that is to simply select most/all of your stories from your post-college days.

You'll need to sharpen up the career goals a bit more as well - everything you've sketched out here is appropriate but you typically don't have enough space in the essays to go over "maybes" - you'll want to lock down on a specific path and write in detail about that. Even with the very long Haas career essay, it's important to show that you have a plan for your future career. Also, it can work to go from IB -> VC but that's a fairly tricky transition. Showing the adcom that you have realistic, practical, and achievable goals is crucial.

All in all, this is an interesting profile and we think it has plenty of interest to all the schools on your list. You might be considered a little "average" for HBS and/or Stanford, but you never know - anything is possible, and you've got the key elements at hand, so it will all depend on how you position things! Of course, Stern, Columbia, UCLA, or possibly Haas would be the first targets we'd recommend, given your career interests (not quite sure why Haas is at the top of that list but it certainly fits in with the other targets).

Hope this helps, let us know if you have other questions!!
EssaySnark

essaysnark wrote: On your "main concern" - you should know that ECs aren't really all that important, particularly from college days. [...] ECs are not usually proper material to cover in an optional essay.

Thanks for that guys, all good stuff. I shall add Columbia to my research list.

Essaysnark, I assume when you say ECs, you mean extracurriculars rather than extenuating circumstances. To clarify, I was primarily worried about not enough space to cover extracurriculars/ internships/ side projects elsewhere in the application (well, at least in the UCLA one that I got started on). As far as the optional essay goes (or optional paragraph, as the case may be!), I intend to talk about gaps, anything that might be unclear from my transcript, etc. Problem is there are a few items I want to cover, and ever just doing this in point-form/ very to-the-point sentences it's going to be at least 350 words... so I hope that's not a hard and fast rule.

One more question - how far back should I go on my CV? I've had varying feedback on this. Some schools told me to keep it to 3-5 years, others said it's fine to include internships dating back to college/ gap year if a) they are relevant to your goals, and b) you consider them important/material to your career path to date.

Anyway, thanks again!

S.

scielle wrote:

essaysnark wrote: On your "main concern" - you should know that ECs aren't really all that important, particularly from college days. [...] ECs are not usually proper material to cover in an optional essay.

Essaysnark, I assume when you say ECs, you mean extracurriculars rather than extenuating circumstances.

Yes indeed, extracurriculars.

scielle wrote: To clarify, I was primarily worried about not enough space to cover extracurriculars/ internships/ side projects elsewhere in the application (well, at least in the UCLA one that I got started on). As far as the optional essay goes (or optional paragraph, as the case may be!), I intend to talk about gaps, anything that might be unclear from my transcript, etc. Problem is there are a few items I want to cover, and ever just doing this in point-form/ very to-the-point sentences it's going to be at least 350 words... so I hope that's not a hard and fast rule.

Without seeing them firsthand it's impossible for EssaySnark to say, but it's unusual that transcripts need to be explained to the adcoms. They are very experienced with all sorts of schools, grading systems, and educational situation - transferring, study abroad, whatever. A gap in the work history would need to be covered in an optional essay. Extracurriculars and internships should not be in the optional essay; those should be on the resume and, for the important ones, featured as stories in essays. You might also look to have your recommenders discuss critical projects (where relevant) that you cannot cover in the essays.

Different schools have different length limits for the optional essay; if you can get through everything in 250 words or so it's ideal, though many schools let you go up to 500 words.

scielle wrote: One more question - how far back should I go on my CV? I've had varying feedback on this. Some schools told me to keep it to 3-5 years, others said it's fine to include internships dating back to college/ gap year if a) they are relevant to your goals, and b) you consider them important/material to your career path to date.

The resume should cover all your employment since college - including significant internships during college. EssaySnark feels that ALL internships are important as they show you were motivated and engaged and working to learn a profession. Even if you ended up on a different career track entirely, it can be helpful for the adcom to see where you started.

These answers are predicated upon the assumption that you're applying to a Top 20 full-time MBA program in the U.S. (or LBS/INSEAD type European schools). Other bschools may have different preferences. The standard in the U.S. is a one-page resume with the entire work history; extracurriculars should also appear in the appropriate section.

Hope this helps!
EssaySnark

Hi scielle,


You have a well balanced profile and your school selection is spot on. Given your essays go well your chances appear bright. As far as the word limit is concerned add thing which matter the most. Probably you can talk less about college ec and give more space to your professional record.
All the best!

One more question - how far back should I go on my CV? I've had varying feedback on this. Some schools told me to keep it to 3-5 years, others said it's fine to include internships dating back to college/ gap year if a) they are relevant to your goals, and b) you consider them important/material to your career path to date.

Typically not more than 5 years.