Evaluation of my candidacy

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Evaluation of my candidacy

by chiquitothecat » Sat Jan 19, 2008 5:03 pm
Stacy and Amy,
I would like to know my chances of admission into a top 10 business school and the JD/MBA 3 yr program at Northwestern/Kellogg. Your help is appreciated. I have worked in nonprofit out of college and recently took my first job at small public company. I want to pursue an MBA or JD/MBA to make a complete career jump from nonprofit/govt. I am interested in finance or general mgt as a focus. I provided my profile info below. Your guidance is appreciated.

GMAT:
I just took the GMAT and scored 680 (Q43: V40). I am contemplating taking the GMAT again since I am in a "gray area" and only 70th pct in quant, but I would like your opinion before considering a retake any further. I am also considering taking an evening financial analysis/accounting class to show i'm serious about improving my quant.

Academics:
I went to a top 50 college where I was phi beta kappa, valedictorian of my class and I received other awards for leadership. I graduated with a 3.92 GPA in a double major and a minor--all in liberal arts/social sciences disciplines.

Experience:
After college I served with Americorps (1 year) and afterwards participated in a prestigious leadership/public affairs fellowship (1 year). I currently work in financial media (>1 year, my first job in the private sector). I have been out of college for 3-4 years.

Extracurriculars:
-(4 years) Fraternity alumni corporation of the local chapter of my fraternity and a regular volunteer for the national fraternity at conferences
-(3 years) The alumni board of my americorps program: I hold a leadership position
-(>2 years) volunteer in the St. Vincent Depaul society of my church
-(<1 year) Recently joined a team of young professionals to start from scratch another non profit alumni board

Personal:
I am an ethnic minority. My parents are immigrants. I grew up in the South.
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by Amy » Sun Jan 20, 2008 3:16 pm
Hi chiquitothecat,

Overall I think your profile is strong. You seem to have depth in your extracurriculars, which is great, and if you can highlight any leadership positions you have taken, or projects involving significant teamwork that will be beneficial.

Your academics are generally strong - with a very strong GPA and a decent GMAT. I think your plan to re-take the GMAT and take a quant course is a good one - I would especially advise taking the course since neither your work experience nor your major in college involved quantitative skills. I think that once you take the course, re-taking the GMAT will result in a higher score.

Though I think you have a good chance, I do want to caution that the Kellogg JD/MBA program is incredibly competitive. They only admit a handful of students, so make sure you apply to a range of schools.

Good luck!

Amy
Amy
Consultant
Stacy Blackman Consulting