Thank you in advance for your insight and time. I have included my general profile and a few specific questions that I am curious about. I want to earn a top MBA to either transition into consulting or gain international perspective and a network to break into international real estate. I know my target schools are pretty tough for a guy with a 3.0 undergrad GPA, but I have worked my butt off to be as competitive as possible in the other areas. If you don't think I have a shot at targets can you recommend others?
Profile
28 Years Old
Mexican-American Male
First generation college student
Academics
3.0 Undergraduate GPA | Unknown state school in Texas | Interdisciplinary Studies | Took 6 years to complete | Worked Full-time throughout
4.0 Masters GPA | Real Estate Development | Top 25 Public University
Alternative Transcript to make up for lack of rigor, quant and pedigree in undergrad | 4.0 - 15 hours of math and business courses
GMAT
750
Work Experience
4 years of experience in Property Management subset of Real Estate Industry - 3 promotions - Leasing Manager - Luxury Class A Multifamily New Constructions. DISCLAIMER: All of this was full-time experience, often working with college graduates, but I do understand that it is not considered "professional experience" to many, especially considering it was not post-bac. All during undergrad. Consistently lead sales efforts.
1.5 years as a commercial real estate leasing associate. Did this while in grad school - managed to be the top producer while completing masters program with 4.0. I hold a Texas Real Estate License.
2 years as a land development manager with a nationally top ranked home builder - 1 promotion.
Languages
English - Native
Spanish - Business Proficiency
Portuguese - Intermediate working proficiency
Community Service
Consistently contributed 5 hours per month to a local non-profit over the last 2 years.
Target Schools
Yale SOM
Dartmouth TUCK
UCLA
LBS
Oxford Said
Insead
QUESTIONS
1) From looking at class profiles at top programs I have observed that Real Estate represent a very small portion usually around 1-4% of the professional backgrounds of students. Does having a real estate background help me compete with a smaller pool of applicants or does this hinder me because they just aren't looking for applicants with my background?
2)I have always been a little bit confused when reading excerpts of consultants speaking to the competitiveness of Hispanic applicants - there always seems to be a disclaimer or caveat in there like "if you are an actual Hispanic" or "if an ad-com would perceive you as Hispanic." I am half Caucasian and half Mexican, I have a 100% Mexican surname, I speak Spanish fluently and am getting there with my Portuguese. Would I cut the mustard? I know that Hispanics are often the most underrepresented minority in the applicant pool... how much does this help?
3) This one is more of an explanation. I know I would kind of need to make the case that I NEED an MBA for my goals because I have already earned a graduate degree. Just to clarify, my masters sounds a lot more business oriented than it is. It was earned out of the university's college of Architecture and includes a lot of design and construction elements - I did take two classes out of the business school, but it wouldn't be too redundant at all. Would this still hurt me at any of my target schools?
Thank you again for your help!
Profile
28 Years Old
Mexican-American Male
First generation college student
Academics
3.0 Undergraduate GPA | Unknown state school in Texas | Interdisciplinary Studies | Took 6 years to complete | Worked Full-time throughout
4.0 Masters GPA | Real Estate Development | Top 25 Public University
Alternative Transcript to make up for lack of rigor, quant and pedigree in undergrad | 4.0 - 15 hours of math and business courses
GMAT
750
Work Experience
4 years of experience in Property Management subset of Real Estate Industry - 3 promotions - Leasing Manager - Luxury Class A Multifamily New Constructions. DISCLAIMER: All of this was full-time experience, often working with college graduates, but I do understand that it is not considered "professional experience" to many, especially considering it was not post-bac. All during undergrad. Consistently lead sales efforts.
1.5 years as a commercial real estate leasing associate. Did this while in grad school - managed to be the top producer while completing masters program with 4.0. I hold a Texas Real Estate License.
2 years as a land development manager with a nationally top ranked home builder - 1 promotion.
Languages
English - Native
Spanish - Business Proficiency
Portuguese - Intermediate working proficiency
Community Service
Consistently contributed 5 hours per month to a local non-profit over the last 2 years.
Target Schools
Yale SOM
Dartmouth TUCK
UCLA
LBS
Oxford Said
Insead
QUESTIONS
1) From looking at class profiles at top programs I have observed that Real Estate represent a very small portion usually around 1-4% of the professional backgrounds of students. Does having a real estate background help me compete with a smaller pool of applicants or does this hinder me because they just aren't looking for applicants with my background?
2)I have always been a little bit confused when reading excerpts of consultants speaking to the competitiveness of Hispanic applicants - there always seems to be a disclaimer or caveat in there like "if you are an actual Hispanic" or "if an ad-com would perceive you as Hispanic." I am half Caucasian and half Mexican, I have a 100% Mexican surname, I speak Spanish fluently and am getting there with my Portuguese. Would I cut the mustard? I know that Hispanics are often the most underrepresented minority in the applicant pool... how much does this help?
3) This one is more of an explanation. I know I would kind of need to make the case that I NEED an MBA for my goals because I have already earned a graduate degree. Just to clarify, my masters sounds a lot more business oriented than it is. It was earned out of the university's college of Architecture and includes a lot of design and construction elements - I did take two classes out of the business school, but it wouldn't be too redundant at all. Would this still hurt me at any of my target schools?
Thank you again for your help!
