Ask Clear Admit

25/F/US

GMAT score: 720
Undergrad GPA: 3.76, Economics, earned BA in less than 3 years from a typical state school

Extracurricular: Mainly bicycling. Served on the board of directors for a bicycle/pedestrian nonprofit; have volunteered as a mechanic/instructor for many bike-oriented projects. Tons of volunteering experience, including nonprofit leadership & board development. I participate in a local professional development group to improve leadership and communication skills.

Work Experience: I believe that this is my weak spot. I have worked a lot over the past several years, but much of my work has been as a self-employed nonprofit tech consultant. I worked "full time" for one year in a tech-related leadership/management role for a respectable nonprofit, but then I went back to consulting. I have worked with the same nonprofit in different capacities for over three years with increasing levels of responsibility/leadership, however, only one of those years technically counts as "full-time employment." The rest was, by legal definitions, contracting.

I have worked with lots of great nonprofit clients over the years, but none of those projects sound very impressive when viewed as isolated positions. I can tack on another 5 months of "post-undergrad, full-time work experience" as a bicycle mechanic, but I don't feel like that matters much to b-schools.

I would love to get into a top tier program, but I'm not sure if I'm a competitive candidate. My work history is somewhat nontraditional.

Will you please advise?

Thanks.

Hi,

Thanks for your post. I think your main challenge isn't so much your work experience, but rather articulating why it is you want to go to business school. Telling a cohesive story that connects the dots from what you've been doing to what you want to do post MBA is critical. I am sure that given your experience you have a lot of experience in certain areas, but are likely lacking formal training in other areas. Focus on developing your goals and telling your story. View your non-traditional experience as a strength rather than a potential weakness.

Best,

Stacey

Thank you, Stacey. That's really helpful advice.

Do you have any specific schools that you would recommend for me? Right now, I am most interested in Booth, Kellogg, Stanford, and McCombs. I am looking for other suggestions.

It's a bit difficult to suggest a list of schools without knowing what you want to do. In addition to considering your post MBA goals, your school selection should also take into account other factors such as size and location - big city vs. small town. Two years is a fair amount of time to spend somewhere, so be sure you would like to live in the places you apply.

Best,

Stacey