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Profile evaluation request - GMAT 750 GPA 3.7 female in IT

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Profile evaluation request - GMAT 750 GPA 3.7 female in IT

by pollymallen » Tue Aug 02, 2011 12:35 pm
Here is my profile:

33 year old Canadian female with M.Sc. in Computer Science with 7+ years experience as software developer, project manager and team lead

1) Work experience
- Co-op work terms working on Operations and Control software for the Canada Space Arm for the International Space Station
- After university worked 3.5 years for a small software startup
- 2 years experience at Schneider Electic, a large global engineering company
- 2 years as developer/project manager/team lead at Serials Solutions in Seattle

2) Academic
- GMAT 750 (48 quant-80th percentile, 45 verbal-99th percentile)
- Undergraduate degree in Computer Science, 3.7 GPA from University of Victoria (Canada) (2000)
- M.Sc. in Computer Science from the same institution, GPA 4.0, 8 months spent as a visiting researcher at MIT (2003)
- Certificate in Project Management (2010)

3) Extra-curricular / leadership / volunteer experience
- Varsity swim & rowing teams during university
- Volunteered for 8 months in the Gambia, West Africa between undergrad and grad school as an 'IT Consultant' to a technical college through an NGO
- At Schneider Electric, planned and organized a family fun run that had over 400 participants and raised over $8000 for cancer research (as part of a team of 6)
- Current volunteer at a local soup kitchen (on and off since 2009)

Target programs:
Stanford, Berkley, Harvard, Kellogg

My dream is to apply my tech background and leadership skills in an entrepreneurial / startup environment, in a business that helps to address global poverty alleviation.

Do I have a viable shot at the top schools, and if so, I would love advice on improving my chances, particularly for Stanford. Is the 80% in quant on the GMAT something to worry about? How can I mitigate the fact that I am older than the average applicant? I don't think the executive MBA programs are the best fit. What other weaknesses do I need to address? I am concerned that I don't have a lot of formal leadership titles / experience outside of work.

Are there any other schools I should be considering, given my background and goals? I haven't done enough research into the programs available in Europe.

Thanks for any advice!
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by Jon@Admissionado » Tue Aug 02, 2011 10:08 pm
First of all congrats on that rocking GMAT score! (and a very nice GPA). Well, you have got the stats, which is great. And you have identified your problem very well.

I've had a few clients with your problem get in.

The problem for you is not to "mitigate" your age. Age is not bad. The problem is the older you get and the more experience you get, the less you need an MBA. So your main task in your essays would be to write a super-convincing argument on why you need it.

So for example let's say you already have this super career, but you are doing your MBA because you have this dream (that you already started working on) to found your very own educational NGO. But you have no clue how to run a business, so you need an MBA. Okay, that could be a convincing argument.

And basically you need to stack as many convincing arguments (and the best ones are the true ones) in your application and build your STORY.

As for other schools, since you mention global poverty alleviation, it would be remiss not to have a look at Yale, Ross and Duke (see Non profit MBA rankings)

Hope this helps!
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by Color Me One » Wed Aug 03, 2011 5:18 am
Before the constructive criticism part :wink: , let me say that I really like your profile. It is well rounded and, more importantly, it is 'interesting'

Do not worry too much about age, it is what it is, and while it is true that most MBA programs have a majority of candidates younger than you, they will also admit people with higher work-ex. With age comes experience, and with experience come perspectives that you will share with your classmates. That is the most important part of an MBA curriculum and you will be very wealthy in this aspect. Also (definitely) do not worry about GMAT - quant.

Schools: I can see why Stanford is your top choice, and it would be the best fit for your goals. I am also a big big fan of the Stanford application. Here is my tip to improve your chances: Be yourself in the essays. You have a lot of ingredients, and if I was in the ad-com I would love to hear your story. Be clear & consistent, do not try to hide your failures but show how you learnt from them.

I do have some points about your goal statement: It will be used a by a lot of applicants and runs a high chance of appearing superficial, unless you plan a consistent message. And of course there is always the part that if you are an entrepreneur at heart why don't you just start right now. None of this is irreparable, but these are some points that you should think as part of your own introspection: " Why do I need an MBA?"

HBS is a stretch, Berkeley definitely in range, and do look at the Kellogg 1 year program.

Absolutely look at the European programs, they are miles ahead in the diversity department. I believe that you might be a better match with certain European programs like IESE, IMD and to a lesser extent INSEAD.

Good luck! You have a great profile and if you decide to apply to Stanford, feel free (and also free of charge) to send me your essays if you want - I really do love that app.
Color Me One MBA Admission Consulting

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by MBAPrepAdvantage » Wed Aug 03, 2011 4:32 pm
Given your age, I feel there is a higher level of specificity desired for your career goals. Namely that you should try to introspect more on how you wish to apply your tech background and leadership skills in a business to address global poverty alleviation. Have you researched any ideal companies. Start with reading about the companies that speak or are involved with the Social Entrepreneurship programs of your target schools. Also, read resources like https://www.beyondgreypinstripes.org/.

Given the strength of your candidacy (GPA, GMAT, background, etc.), you have a viable chance at all of these schools, especially because you represent one underrepresented group - females (make sure to research https://www.fortefoundation.org).

Mitigate your age with greater clarity about your goals. Given your age, I feel there is a higher level of specificity desired for your career goals. Namely that you should try to introspect more on how you wish to apply your tech background and leadership skills in a business to address global poverty alleviation. Have you researched any ideal companies. Start with reading about the companies that speak or are involved with the Social Entrepreneurship programs of your target schools. Also, read resources like https://www.beyondgreypinstripes.org/.

I would recommend you also research schools with strong social entrepreneurship programs like Columbia and INSEAD. Finally, see if your work has corporate social responsibility programs where you could try to gain some more leadership experience outside work.

Best of luck,
Michael Cohan
MBAPrepAdvantage Founder & AIGAC Board Director
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www.mbaprepadvantage.com

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