Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant

Hello Consultants.

I applied to business school last year and wasn't accepted to any of the schools I chose. I wasn't even interviewed. I'd like some advice as a reapplicant. I'm thinking about hiring a consultant for the next time around, but the expenses are a big consideration.

First some basic info about me. I'm an American applicant applying to U.S. schools. Following are some of what I thought were the strengths of my applications:

• - 760 GMAT; 99 percentile verbal, 82 percentile quantitative, 5.5 AWA. Only took the test once in my life, and it's a fresh score - from only a few months before the application submissions
  - 3.9 undergraduate GPA
  - Non-traditional applicant, degree in the fine arts
  - Because of taking college classes in high school, I have nearly two years' worth of extra coursework beyond my degree, including challenging quantitative and science courses
  - 4 years + solid business experience, all overseas, in which I partnered directly with officials from the Chinese central government and had many Fortune 500 companies as clients with whom I worked to improve corporate responsibility and sustainability in business operations
  - Learned to speak, read and write a foreign language to fluency as an adult

After reflection, these are the possible weaknesses in my applications that I identified:

• - The essays were rushed, maybe without a crystal clear description of what I want to do after graduating. I'm generally a good writer, but I felt awkward with the application topics so maybe not my best writing.
  - I have many employment gaps, and have done many different kinds of work, with some years of not-so-meaningful employment
  - I had been unemployed for just over 1 year at the time of application.
  - I am a bit old, already in my 30s. My undergraduate degree is ten years old.
  - Non-traditional applicant, degree in fine arts (*I can't tell if this is bad or good)
  - Perhaps some problems with my recommendations. I was generally quite independent at work; my direct boss was always based in another office or even another continent. And I generally had a little contact with a lot of clients, rather than close relationships with only a few clients - so it was challenging to find people who knew me very well.

So here are the questions I am mulling over, I'd love to get some opinions:

• - I believe I can reasonably aim for the top of the top business schools. Am I wrong?
  - I never thought I'd need to retake the GMAT with a 760, but now I'm wondering. I was disappointed with my quant score, and I know I can do better. Is it possible that the admissions committees judged me to have an inflated score because I 'got lucky' on the verbal section? (That's not the case anyway, as scores from practice tests match my final score)
  - I was fully expecting to start grad school this fall, so did not seek serious employment this year. Will it be much worse for an application to have 2 years of current unemployment as opposed to one? I do have some volunteering and earned some non-academic professional credentials to show for the year.
  - Suppose I do take a job in the upcoming application season. Will it look bad (i.e. count against my chances of admission) if going to school will mean I have to resign after less than a year in my new position?
  - Does it either help or hurt one's chances of admission to be a joint degree applicant, provided there's an adequately compelling justification for the second degree? I applied for some joint MBA/environment-related masters programs.
  - I've seen some warnings against not disclosing some previous employment positions. These left me confused. At times, I've taken jobs for the cash that I never intended to be serious stepping stones in my career. And being out of college longer than the average applicant gives me more pressure to squish every experience into a 2-page resume, or the 4 or so employment spaces on the application. I feel that dedicating any space to these jobs detracts from my narrative and the focus of the brand I'm trying to project. Certainly a lot of b-school applicants have waited tables or something. How should I understand what the appropriate level of disclosure should be?
  - Last but not least, can you, as a consultant, get me in if I hire you? It's not enough for me to improve my chances; I need to get in.

Thanks a lot.