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DanaJ
- Site Admin
- Posts: 2567
- Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2009 10:05 am
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- GMAT Score:770
Hey Stacy/Lisa,
I've been following your answers for quite some time now and even if I don't think I will be applying to B-school this year, maybe you can provide some advice.
Education and academics
I'm 20, female, living in Romania, so I'm probably not in any over-represented pool. I'm currently in my second year of college, majoring in Finance-Banking. My GPA is 4.0 for the moment (or at least I think so - how much is 99,4 out of 100?) and I plan to "keep" it there. I'm pretty sure you haven't heard of my school, but it's the best university on Economics in Romania, state-controlled (which is actually way better than private in my country). I don't pay anything for my tuition, I actually get about $200 a month as a scholarship - it's awarded to the top 40 of the 700 students in my year.
As far as other academic achievements go, I currently hold international certification for both English (Cambridge Advanced - grade A) and French (DALF C1). I have also won my fair share of national French contests, including one specifically related to business French and developing a successful business plan.
As you might have guessed, I fluently speak three languages: Romanian, English and French. By the time I matriculate though I expect to add another one, Portuguese. I will be spending a semester at the Universidade do Porto in Portugal as an Erasmus exchange student, which I believe is another plus to my CV (please correct me if I'm wrong) as far as international experience. I'd also like to know your thoughts on languages - does the fact that I will be fluent in four distinguish me from the rest or am I just your average applicant?
I took the GMAT on Wednesday and scored 770 (q50, v47). I can't say I'm thrilled about the score, I usually set impossible standards for myself (see my post in the "I just Beat The GMAT!" section for my reasons), but I guess it's good enough for most schools.
Extra curricular stuff
I am currently class president (a class has about 100 students of the 700 per year for my major) and a member of the Student Council of my university (it has about 20 000 students). As such, I've participated in various administrative endeavors regarding student life:
- our group has helped re-shape the curricula
- we're responsible for the dorms that house about 4000 students
- we usually come together every month and discuss every-day problems
I plan to expand my XCs while in Portugal by joining an international student organisation - I know I could have done better in Romania as well, but... Oh well, what's done is done, I guess.
Work experience
My worst chapter so far, unfortunately. This is one of the reasons I believe I'm not ready for B-school just yet. However, it does strike me as a wonderful coincidence how seemingly unrelated jobs have actually helped boost my (limited) success.
My first job was as a legal assistant, February - May 2008. I worked at a lawyer's office for about four months, dealing with legal documents in both Romanian and English and some other secretarial duties, so to speak. I quit my job because I wanted to spend my summer in the US in a Work & Travel program.
Here comes my second experience: in the summer of 2008, I worked as a hostess in one place and as a bartender in another in Frederick, MD. It was a truly wonderful experience and I fell in love with the easy-going Americans. It was here that I understood that I am capable of working hard, even 16 hours a day. This also helped me shape my understanding of the restaurant business.
It's curious how things come together for my third job: I worked for three months (Dec 2008 - March 2009) as a member of the administrative team in charge of opening the largest mall in Romania to date. My official title was "accountant", but because I'd dealt with legal documents in Romanian/English AND understood the inner workings of the food court, I was offered extra responsibilities that went far beyond accounting! Unfortunately, I had to quit that job as well, since I'd learned that I was going to spend a semester in Portugal and also wanted to focus on education for the time being - the 9-hour work day + full time school were impacting my performance/Student Council duties. I'm always a fan of quality over quantity, so this was a natural decision to make. Needless to say they offered me a promotion and a higher paycheck, which is pretty unheard of in these tough times, especially in Romania...
Last notes
You are too patient if you've actually read all of this. Thank you so much for just taking the time!
I'd also like to add that I'm considering applying for the Fulbright grant in 2010, since I understand that it's a respected institution and besides, it will provide full financial aid for one year. I'm actually curious to see whether you've heard of it or not...
My target schools are off the charts, so this is why I believe I'd best spend some more time on WE improvement:
CBS - the crown jewel
Tuck
Harvard
Stern
Booth
I plan on working on this list so that it includes some second-tier schools as well. I've also recently discovered a passion for applied maths (particularly financial modeling), so an MBA is not the only graduate education I'm willing to consider. Do you think that my profile is more suited for a more academic degree or should I be fine with an MBA?
I've been following your answers for quite some time now and even if I don't think I will be applying to B-school this year, maybe you can provide some advice.
Education and academics
I'm 20, female, living in Romania, so I'm probably not in any over-represented pool. I'm currently in my second year of college, majoring in Finance-Banking. My GPA is 4.0 for the moment (or at least I think so - how much is 99,4 out of 100?) and I plan to "keep" it there. I'm pretty sure you haven't heard of my school, but it's the best university on Economics in Romania, state-controlled (which is actually way better than private in my country). I don't pay anything for my tuition, I actually get about $200 a month as a scholarship - it's awarded to the top 40 of the 700 students in my year.
As far as other academic achievements go, I currently hold international certification for both English (Cambridge Advanced - grade A) and French (DALF C1). I have also won my fair share of national French contests, including one specifically related to business French and developing a successful business plan.
As you might have guessed, I fluently speak three languages: Romanian, English and French. By the time I matriculate though I expect to add another one, Portuguese. I will be spending a semester at the Universidade do Porto in Portugal as an Erasmus exchange student, which I believe is another plus to my CV (please correct me if I'm wrong) as far as international experience. I'd also like to know your thoughts on languages - does the fact that I will be fluent in four distinguish me from the rest or am I just your average applicant?
I took the GMAT on Wednesday and scored 770 (q50, v47). I can't say I'm thrilled about the score, I usually set impossible standards for myself (see my post in the "I just Beat The GMAT!" section for my reasons), but I guess it's good enough for most schools.
Extra curricular stuff
I am currently class president (a class has about 100 students of the 700 per year for my major) and a member of the Student Council of my university (it has about 20 000 students). As such, I've participated in various administrative endeavors regarding student life:
- our group has helped re-shape the curricula
- we're responsible for the dorms that house about 4000 students
- we usually come together every month and discuss every-day problems
I plan to expand my XCs while in Portugal by joining an international student organisation - I know I could have done better in Romania as well, but... Oh well, what's done is done, I guess.
Work experience
My worst chapter so far, unfortunately. This is one of the reasons I believe I'm not ready for B-school just yet. However, it does strike me as a wonderful coincidence how seemingly unrelated jobs have actually helped boost my (limited) success.
My first job was as a legal assistant, February - May 2008. I worked at a lawyer's office for about four months, dealing with legal documents in both Romanian and English and some other secretarial duties, so to speak. I quit my job because I wanted to spend my summer in the US in a Work & Travel program.
Here comes my second experience: in the summer of 2008, I worked as a hostess in one place and as a bartender in another in Frederick, MD. It was a truly wonderful experience and I fell in love with the easy-going Americans. It was here that I understood that I am capable of working hard, even 16 hours a day. This also helped me shape my understanding of the restaurant business.
It's curious how things come together for my third job: I worked for three months (Dec 2008 - March 2009) as a member of the administrative team in charge of opening the largest mall in Romania to date. My official title was "accountant", but because I'd dealt with legal documents in Romanian/English AND understood the inner workings of the food court, I was offered extra responsibilities that went far beyond accounting! Unfortunately, I had to quit that job as well, since I'd learned that I was going to spend a semester in Portugal and also wanted to focus on education for the time being - the 9-hour work day + full time school were impacting my performance/Student Council duties. I'm always a fan of quality over quantity, so this was a natural decision to make. Needless to say they offered me a promotion and a higher paycheck, which is pretty unheard of in these tough times, especially in Romania...
Last notes
You are too patient if you've actually read all of this. Thank you so much for just taking the time!
I'd also like to add that I'm considering applying for the Fulbright grant in 2010, since I understand that it's a respected institution and besides, it will provide full financial aid for one year. I'm actually curious to see whether you've heard of it or not...
My target schools are off the charts, so this is why I believe I'd best spend some more time on WE improvement:
CBS - the crown jewel
Tuck
Harvard
Stern
Booth
I plan on working on this list so that it includes some second-tier schools as well. I've also recently discovered a passion for applied maths (particularly financial modeling), so an MBA is not the only graduate education I'm willing to consider. Do you think that my profile is more suited for a more academic degree or should I be fine with an MBA?
