Was hoping to get an honest evaluation of my potential B-School prospects. Here are the vitals:
- Applying for 2012 Fall admission, full-time MBA programs, will be 28 then.
- 2006 BA in Political Science from a state school, 3.5 GPA, studied abroad in Amsterdam, wrote a senior thesis that was published in an academic journal.
- Test GMAT scores: 680 - 720 range.
- Spent first year out of college as (decently successful) self-employed undergrad college admissions consultant. Traveled and drank extensively.
- Worked for RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. for two years in sales/trade marketing. Exceeded every qualitative and quantitative goal set by management.
- Quit RJRT after I acquired my own smoke shop/convenience store. Became, at 25, youngest downtown business owner in my city's history. Utilized much of what I learned @ RJRT as an entrepreneur. Grew gross sales of $277,000 from FY:2009 to $484,000 in FY:2010, a 74.7% increase.
Extracurriculars:
- Elected member of neighborhood council for two years, just elected chairman this year.
- Member of city's police advisory board.
- Landlord, member of city's landlord association.
- Various political campaign volunteer work/donations.
- Frequent charitable donor to city's homeless shelter.
- Wrote sports column for undergrad university newspaper.
- International travel (visited 15+ countries).
Other:
- Have fantastic letters of recommendation, one from board member of local development authority, who was basically my business mentor, and the other from rescue mission employee, discussing my character/leadership/etc.
- Will undoubtedly write good, focused essays.
My business is now solvent, and can be run completely absentee. I want to attend business school to kind of pick up where I left off with RJRT, in terms of developing more of a brand management/marketing skill set. (I left RJRT because I saw a business deal that was almost too good to be true, and had to take it.) I also think I have a natural inclination towards retail consulting, particularly in that I can say while some others can only theorize about retail solutions, I can say that I have implemented them successfully.
With all of this said, any idea how competitive (or not) of a candidate I am? What appear to be my strengths/weaknesses? What schools are within reach for me?
Any feedback is greatly appreciated ... thanks!
- Applying for 2012 Fall admission, full-time MBA programs, will be 28 then.
- 2006 BA in Political Science from a state school, 3.5 GPA, studied abroad in Amsterdam, wrote a senior thesis that was published in an academic journal.
- Test GMAT scores: 680 - 720 range.
- Spent first year out of college as (decently successful) self-employed undergrad college admissions consultant. Traveled and drank extensively.
- Worked for RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. for two years in sales/trade marketing. Exceeded every qualitative and quantitative goal set by management.
- Quit RJRT after I acquired my own smoke shop/convenience store. Became, at 25, youngest downtown business owner in my city's history. Utilized much of what I learned @ RJRT as an entrepreneur. Grew gross sales of $277,000 from FY:2009 to $484,000 in FY:2010, a 74.7% increase.
Extracurriculars:
- Elected member of neighborhood council for two years, just elected chairman this year.
- Member of city's police advisory board.
- Landlord, member of city's landlord association.
- Various political campaign volunteer work/donations.
- Frequent charitable donor to city's homeless shelter.
- Wrote sports column for undergrad university newspaper.
- International travel (visited 15+ countries).
Other:
- Have fantastic letters of recommendation, one from board member of local development authority, who was basically my business mentor, and the other from rescue mission employee, discussing my character/leadership/etc.
- Will undoubtedly write good, focused essays.
My business is now solvent, and can be run completely absentee. I want to attend business school to kind of pick up where I left off with RJRT, in terms of developing more of a brand management/marketing skill set. (I left RJRT because I saw a business deal that was almost too good to be true, and had to take it.) I also think I have a natural inclination towards retail consulting, particularly in that I can say while some others can only theorize about retail solutions, I can say that I have implemented them successfully.
With all of this said, any idea how competitive (or not) of a candidate I am? What appear to be my strengths/weaknesses? What schools are within reach for me?
Any feedback is greatly appreciated ... thanks!
