Missing Elements

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Missing Elements

by lightningwit » Sun May 24, 2009 6:55 pm
Dear Lisa, Amy & Stacy,

I want to start off by thanking you all for the time and effort you take to answer the questions on this forum. When a person is entering this unfamiliar and intimidating process, guidance from someone with extensive knowledge and experience can be very comforting.

My question relates to missing elements – factors outside of the academic and professional spheres the presence or absence of which could undermine my chances of getting into a top-10 institution. I am including a brief summary of my situation below and would very much appreciate any advice you can offer on where you think my position could potentially be weak.

Academic:
- 750 GMAT (Q: 49; V: 44) – 98th percentile.
- iBBA from Schulich with a 3.8-3.85 GPA (based on conversion convention) – 5th in my program.
- 2-term exchange to a top Asia-Pacific school with a GPA of 85%.

Professional:
- 4+ years at a boutique management consultancy specializing in the telecom sector.
- Promoted three times: Analyst  Associate  Consultant  Senior Consultant.
- Work in the consultancy’s Private Equity practice; performed due diligence work for many of the tier-1 PE clients.
- Along with two colleagues, I founded a freelance consulting firm aimed at small-medium business. In addition to working on other projects, I personally sold and managed two engagements. Both added substantial value to the client organization.

Extra-Curricular & Life Balance:
- Four languages: English fluency; Russian oral fluency; Spanish & Hebrew are conversational.
- Member of the alumni steering committee of my fraternity.
- Many extra-curricular activates in university, including VP & Treasurer of my fraternity and fundraising director of AIESEC.

Target Schools:
- Top choices: HBS, Stanford, Wharton, Chicago, NYU & Kellogg
- Secondary choice: INSEAD
- Fallback: UWO Ivey

My goal is to elevate my position from a fighting chance to a strong chance of acceptance to my top choices. Any advice you can offer as to how I can ‘weakness-proof’ my application and to which elements I should devote the majority of my attention would be sincerely appreciated.

Thank you again for your help.
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by Lisa Anderson » Tue May 26, 2009 12:19 pm
Dear Lightningwit,

Based on the information provided, I think you have the foundation for a competitive application to your target schools. However, you are targeting the most competitive/selective business schools which means your entire application must be strong--not just a broad overview of your qualifications. As such, your essays, recommendations, and interviews are critical to the ultimate decision. Be sure to convey your successful leadership and teamwork experiences in your essays as well as a solid rationale for getting your MBA in relation to your past experiences and future career goals. I think you have some interesting professional experience, but I did not see much in terms of involvement in an activity or organization outside of work. If you need to work on anything (besides the application itself), you might want to explore involvement in a community organization.

Best of luck,
Lisa
Lisa Anderson
Consultant
Stacy Blackman Consulting

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