Profile Evaluation. Unique candidate. Quit Job?

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I have a fairly unique application that I would like your thoughts on.

Age:25
Top 10 engineering Big Ten school
Major:Chemical engineering Co-op Student (CGPA:3.0)
Current Gmat Score: 680 (Taken twice, same score)
Previous internships/co op: General Electric (Engineer)(5 year program)
Current Job: Investment analyst (Citi/MorganStanley since August 2007) & Retail Shop Owner (2006)


I am trying to get into a Top 10 university: Upenn, Chicago, NYU, Dartmouth, UVA, or Texas. I founded a successful online store that I still run in conjunction with my full time job as investment analyst. Although I graduated with an engineering degree, I am infatuated with the finance field. I have worked the last 2.5 years as an analyst for citi and Morgan Stanley and I have decided that I want to attend graduate school to obtain my mba.

I am currently working on an alternative transcript as well as studying for the gmat again.

I usually work from 7 am till anytime between 6 pm and 11 pm daily at my normal day job. I usually come home and work another 5-9 hours for my store. This leaves me very little time for sleep or studying


I am thinking about quiting my position since I feel that I am no longer learning in my current position and I feel my time is better utilized elsewhere. My net store income is over 6 times more than my base salary for my day job so I feel that my time would be better utilized on my store and my gmat prep. I have prepared for the gmat the last year or so but just have not had the time to 100% focus on scoring well.

My main question is what are my chances to attend the schools listed and what would be the consequences of quiting my job and concentrating solely on my store/studies. I feel confident that I would be able to score 700+ and complete my alternative transcript with flying colors if I just had a little more time. Can you please share your thoughts? Thank you
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by Cindy Tokumitsu » Fri Mar 26, 2010 7:37 am
Hello,

I feel that your current GMAT and GPA would make the schools you mention unlikely admits, even with a strong application. Improving the GMAT and building an alternative transcript would definitely help.

The impact of quitting your finance job depends on your goals to some extent - with your application you will be building an overall story that leads to your goals. Consider how both your finance work and your online store relate to your goals, and you may get a clearer sense of the advisability of quitting.

Regarding the impact of leaving the job, there is no black-and-white answer. Each option, stay or leave, has strengths and drawbacks. Since it's something of a draw, if your goals don't provide a clear answer, I suggest doing what "feels right" to you, considering all the factors.

Best regards,
Cindy Tokumitsu
Senior Editor, Accepted.com