Stacy,
I’m planning on applying for admission in Fall ’09, and I’d appreciate your evaluation of my profile.
Personal Info: Caucasian male, 28 years old (29 at matriculation), married 3 years, have an 8 month old son and another baby due in January.
GMAT: 740 overall (97%), 45Q (77%), 47V (99%), 5.5 AWA
Undergrad: BS in Business Admin, University of Arizona, 3.7 / 4.0 (3.8 / 4.0 last 2 years)
Work Experience: 6 years in managerial positions in finance/accounting. Salary has doubled in that time and position has gone from untitled middle management to Controller.
Community Service / Activities: Undergrad – None. Current - Play bass in services at my church. Commitment is 6-8 hrs/week.
Not sure where this goes (if it belongs at all) in my profile - A few years ago I left a band with a major-label record deal to be a “family man”. The band’s debut record (which I helped write and record) was released last year, and has had singles chart in the U.S., Australia, and several European countries. I still spend a few hours each week writing, collaborating, and recording with the band.
Target Schools: UCLA, Stanford, HBS, Georgetown.
Post-MBA Career: Executive/financial positions at medium-sized businesses, particularly in high growth / acquisition phases. Organizations that rely on financial leverage (not exclusively, but more so than other forms of leverage) are particularly interesting to me. Given that, and given my interest in working for smaller growing companies, rather than large, entrenched corporations, I’m looking for a program with excellent finance and/or entrepreneurship instruction.
A have a few specific concerns about my profile. My most significant concern is that my work experience is all in small-business environments (first in a freight transportation company and now at a life insurance administrator), which does not seem to match the experience of most candidates. My responsibilities have increased greatly since I started working, from managing accounts payable auditing after graduation to preparing financial statements, calculating annuity benefit reserves, some forecasting, etc. now. But, since I’ve been working in smaller environments, I’ve also spent time opening mail, stuffing envelopes, and so on, and I’m concerned that this will dilute the admissions committee’s view of my professional experience. In addition, I’m concerned that the more relevant experience I have will be viewed as not being of the same scope or significance as that of applicants coming from more traditional corporate backgrounds. If I can present myself well, will the admissions committees look past the small business nature of my experience, or will this be very difficult to get around regardless of presentation.
My second concern is that top schools may consider my quantitative score to be a bit low. My undergrad scores in quantitative courses were decent (B/A in micro/macro econ, A in stats, A in calc…), and there are quantitative aspects to my work experience (calculating reserves on annuity products, etc.). Will my quantitative score be a concern for admissions committees? Should I take a supplementary calculus course through a local community college before applying?
I’m also curious about how admissions committees view applicants with children. I notice that most programs brag about the cohesiveness of their student body. Will admissions committees unofficially view families/children as distractions from the program?
I’d greatly appreciate any comments on my profile. And, if I’m not a good candidate for the programs I’ve listed, I’d love a recommendation or two for other programs to look into.
Sorry this has turned into a bit of a novel! Thanks for all your involvement on this board. Reading your comments on other profiles has been very informative already!
- Chris
I’m planning on applying for admission in Fall ’09, and I’d appreciate your evaluation of my profile.
Personal Info: Caucasian male, 28 years old (29 at matriculation), married 3 years, have an 8 month old son and another baby due in January.
GMAT: 740 overall (97%), 45Q (77%), 47V (99%), 5.5 AWA
Undergrad: BS in Business Admin, University of Arizona, 3.7 / 4.0 (3.8 / 4.0 last 2 years)
Work Experience: 6 years in managerial positions in finance/accounting. Salary has doubled in that time and position has gone from untitled middle management to Controller.
Community Service / Activities: Undergrad – None. Current - Play bass in services at my church. Commitment is 6-8 hrs/week.
Not sure where this goes (if it belongs at all) in my profile - A few years ago I left a band with a major-label record deal to be a “family man”. The band’s debut record (which I helped write and record) was released last year, and has had singles chart in the U.S., Australia, and several European countries. I still spend a few hours each week writing, collaborating, and recording with the band.
Target Schools: UCLA, Stanford, HBS, Georgetown.
Post-MBA Career: Executive/financial positions at medium-sized businesses, particularly in high growth / acquisition phases. Organizations that rely on financial leverage (not exclusively, but more so than other forms of leverage) are particularly interesting to me. Given that, and given my interest in working for smaller growing companies, rather than large, entrenched corporations, I’m looking for a program with excellent finance and/or entrepreneurship instruction.
A have a few specific concerns about my profile. My most significant concern is that my work experience is all in small-business environments (first in a freight transportation company and now at a life insurance administrator), which does not seem to match the experience of most candidates. My responsibilities have increased greatly since I started working, from managing accounts payable auditing after graduation to preparing financial statements, calculating annuity benefit reserves, some forecasting, etc. now. But, since I’ve been working in smaller environments, I’ve also spent time opening mail, stuffing envelopes, and so on, and I’m concerned that this will dilute the admissions committee’s view of my professional experience. In addition, I’m concerned that the more relevant experience I have will be viewed as not being of the same scope or significance as that of applicants coming from more traditional corporate backgrounds. If I can present myself well, will the admissions committees look past the small business nature of my experience, or will this be very difficult to get around regardless of presentation.
My second concern is that top schools may consider my quantitative score to be a bit low. My undergrad scores in quantitative courses were decent (B/A in micro/macro econ, A in stats, A in calc…), and there are quantitative aspects to my work experience (calculating reserves on annuity products, etc.). Will my quantitative score be a concern for admissions committees? Should I take a supplementary calculus course through a local community college before applying?
I’m also curious about how admissions committees view applicants with children. I notice that most programs brag about the cohesiveness of their student body. Will admissions committees unofficially view families/children as distractions from the program?
I’d greatly appreciate any comments on my profile. And, if I’m not a good candidate for the programs I’ve listed, I’d love a recommendation or two for other programs to look into.
Sorry this has turned into a bit of a novel! Thanks for all your involvement on this board. Reading your comments on other profiles has been very informative already!
- Chris
