MBA journey begins...looking for help/advice!

[BBest]

Sorry if its a little lengthy, wanted it to be as detailed as possible. Looking for some advice/help.

My Exhilarating Profile:

Age: 23 (26/27 at matriculation)
GPA: 3.0 - 3.1 from a Top 10-15 Canadian University (one of the three largest). Majored in Law and Political Science. Had a 3.3 in my major and a 3.7 in my minor in my final year, upward trend. Took economics classes as electives: A in Calculus 2 and Macro (top 5% of class), B's in Calculus 1 and Micro (top 10-15% of class)
GMAT: 700-720 expected
White male

Low GPA: Worked 2 part-time jobs each year; in my final year I worked 40hrs/week at a marketing company while doing full-time school. I was also on Student Council for four years - added ~20-25hrs/week on top of my already full-time hours.

WE: I currently work at a Fortune 20 tech company. Started as a Tax Coordinator, and after one year was promoted to Junior Project Manager. I plan to be here for a total of 3-4 years (hopefully move into their consulting sector). Worked as a Leadership Development Assistant during my first year.


Extras/Community:
-Was on varsity soccer for two years (won Nationals in my first year)
-Invited to training camps/try-outs in England and Brazil (was invited back to stay and train in Brazil)
-Heavily involved in my University - was Student Council Promotions Director, VP twice, and President. We were given ~$200 000 each year to spend on our affiliated students (approx. 8000 students were affiliated with us).
-Sat on University Student Representative Roundtable (sat with all University Execs, i.e., President, VPs, Provost, Senators, student club Presidents, etc to discuss all University matters)
-Elected to the University Orientation Steering Committee (sat with all University Execs, i.e., President, VPs, Provost, Senators, etc to discuss all University matters revolving around student Orientation)
-Was given two leadership awards by the University; i) Outstanding Contribution and Dedication to the University, ii) Outstanding Contribution to Student Life
-Created and presented Leadership Workshops on my own time to student club/organization members
-Was a member of the Presidents Association (Met with other student club/organization presidents weekly)
-Was apart of an organization that helped raise money for low-income families in our community, helping cut costs so kids could come to camp (we taught them sports, tutored them, etc)
-Was apart of the Movember Fund - charity supporting male prostate cancer
-Was apart of an organization that sought to raise money for cancer research, help cancer patients and their families for two years
-a Muay Thai fighter

Goal: I want to leverage my project management experience in finance/IT to transition into management consulting in the financial services area; aiming for MBB.

Schools: Wharton, Columbia (ED?), Kellogg, Booth, MIT Sloan, NYU Stern, and Yale (would maybe like to cut another 1 or 2 of these)

My questions:
i) Would I be competitive at any of these? Which are stretches, and which, if any, am I competitive at? Should I add others?
ii) Should I look into doing an alternative transcript? If so, which classes?
iii) Since I have a couple years until I would apply, is there anything else I could do/build on to help my chance? Extras, community stuff, etc?
iv) Which schools seem like a better fit for me?

Thanks for all the help, much appreciated.

[mbaMissionJenK]

Hi there,

Thanks for all the info! I may have responded to this in another forum (?) but just in case happy to respond here as well.

So one of your biggest unknowns which does make it pretty tough to best assess chances etc, is that GMAT... it's tough to take for granted a 700-720+ score... do you have a test date planned? It'd be great for you to check in after that!

As you know, the lower GPA is a weakness. Your sports, leadership recognition and experiences, and extracurricular involvement are all strengths.

In terms of what to do between now and a few years from now... first of all I always encourage younger applicants to take the GMAT sooner rather than later... statistically the closer you are to undergrad the higher you score. And scores are valid for 5 years! I encourage you to consider a preparation course.

Work-wise, you'll want to ideally show some progression over your years, and people & project management skills. As much as you can demonstrate leadership in your work experience, that is great. Communication skills and teamwork are also important. And just generally look for ways you can make an impact!

In terms of school fit I do feel it's a bit early to assess... you'll want to re-assess as it gets closer if you are a few years out! But you should spend some time researching in these coming years! For more on choosing schools, check out our free download at: https://info.mbamission.com/Selecting-Yo ... ram-E-Book.

Good luck and keep us posted!