Profile evaluation please!

[Ericande]

Hi,

I'll be done with my BSc in Mechanical Engineering spring 2010. At this time I will be 23 turning 24 over the summer.

My GPA will be somewhere around 3.0, maybe a bit lower. I haven't taken the GMAT but I'm pretty sure I could do well on this as long as I prepare.

From Sweden but born in CT, U.S.A., spent my first 10 years there and soon 13 years in Sweden.

Work experience:

- One years at a advertising agency doing media purchasing
- One year sales at a clothing company. Did very well.
- One year as a teacher, 7-9 grade teaching in maths, physics and biology. I was a mentor for one of my classes and I had a nother class with kids who had a very hard time. The teacher I replaced quit the job for health reasons related to this class. I turned them around and at the end of the term everyone passed maths. Job included parent teacher conferences, grading students, homework, resolving issues such as fights, and so on. Everything that a "regular" teacher would do.
- Internship at a B2B advertising agency in Hong Kong. Worked with one major chinese company and one international telecom company

Extra:

- Prefect in my dorm when I attended a boarding school in high school. I represented 40 students.
- Im a contact person for immigrants coming to Sweden. I meet them and help them out with the Swedish culture. This is non profit for UN.

I am also about to start a job as Document manager at a internet security company. I will be in charge of updating their product manuals and information folders.

My interest is not in banking or consulting. I would like to get my MBA in Entrepreneurship or Marketing. With my BSc I have a analytical background but I need business knowledge to pursue a career in marketing. Advertising is deeply rooted in my family (my father founded a worldwide agency in the 60s) and after MBA I would be setting up a new branch of our new family business in the states.

Do you think I have a chance of getting in to any of the top ten schools? Preferably Colombia or Kellogg.

Thank you,

Eric

Also forgot to mention I worked as a delivery driver for half a year! And have taken a half year course in Copywriting!

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear Eric,

I'm assuming you are planning to apply to enter in fall 2010 since you did not specify when you plan to matriculate in your post. Your profile is not complete without your GMAT score and it is unclear how your work experience will be viewed by schools since you have not graduated yet. From what you did post, your GPA will be low for a top 10, so you will need to score extremely high on the GMAT to mitigate your academic performance. Your work experience is important and will be evaluated, but you might be considered as someone with no work experience since these were jobs you did while earning your degree. If anything counts, it will be the year you spent as a teacher. Thus you will be facing a large hurdle to jump in your applications as securing a seat directly from undergraduate studies is highly competitive for the top 10. You will need to make a compelling case for your admission as well as a solid rationale for why now versus working for a few years first.

In my opinion, I think you should consider working for either your family's business or another company for a couple years before returning to business school. However, if you decide to proceed directly from undergraduate studies, then I think you might want to identify some schools outside the top 10 to add to your target list.

Good luck,
Lisa