Ask mbaMission

Male, 25 years old, White

Work Experience - Assistant Language Teacher on the JET Programme (in Japan) - 3 years experience

Responsiblities include - Working alongside an all Japanese staff as a salaried instructor at 3 high schools and a special needs school and planning curricula for 21 different classes, coaching for speech contests, managed 2 English-speaking extracurricular clubs, advising and mentoring exchange students who come to the school, and giving prefecture-wide presentations to other English teachers

Accolades - Job is up to 3 years where I am currently located, and I've been asked to recontract 2 times. Two of my students have gone to the national speech contest and placed in top 5. Given more responsibility (classes, etc.) at work. This job is a contract job, so there is no room for promotion.

GMAT - 510 Q26 V35 I know this is a big weakness and I am busting my butt on this and plan to retake in October and possibly November.

Undergraduate - University of Oklahoma - Bachelor of International Area Studes: Asian Studies Major/Japanese Minor - 3.97 GPA total with a 4.0 GPA in the final two years. Dean's Honor Roll all four years and the highest GPA at graduation.

Extracurricular Activities - Treasurer for the Japanese Student Association, Honor Society, Photography Staff at campus newspaper

Post Grad extracurricular - representative of an organization affiliated with the JET programme called AJET (in charge of social, volunteer, charity (helped organize collection drive for supplies to recent earthquake victims), and cultural events.

Hobbies: Taiko Drumming, Photography, and Yo-yoing.

Target Schools: Arizona State, Indiana University, University of Illinois, University of Tennessee, and University of Hawaii

Angle: Teaching has taught me about the soft skills of management (patience, teamwork, etc.), but I need the business knowledge to help me move into the Supply Chain and Management field.

Do I have much of a shot?

Hello Anzu, thanks for your question.

Your 510 is likely not an asset in your candidacy, but I'm not intimately familiar with those programs. Is it near the mean score?

Your undergraduate extracurriculars actually do not weigh as heavily as your more recent activities since graduating.

My biggest question for you is: Why supply chain management. Given what you wrote, I have no idea what prompts this career goal. In terms of your post-MBA goals (short- and long-term), paint a picture that cohesively ties together your past, present, and future. Also, demonstrate to the admissions committees that your desired career path necessitates an MBA. Right now, I am having some trouble seeing your how past ties to supply chain and management. You'll have to connect the dots for the admissions committee.

Best of luck!
Brian