Profile evaluation? Need a realistic perspective...

[friar]

Undergrad: I'll be graduating from Cal State San Marcos in May. Bus. Admin., Marketing concentration. 3.12 GPA to date, last 60 will be about the same. Also attended SDSU (1.5 years) and community college (1.5 years). For the record, I'll be 23 in April.

GMAT: 660 (83%) total; 39 (87%) verbal; 42 (63%) quant

Resume: 4 years during school as marketing coordinator for a hot tub manufacturer in San Diego. 25-30 hrs a week; managed our leads program, all consumer manuals, and our website, in addition to some graphic design.

Extracurriculars: selected for CSUSM's Executive Mentor Program this year (I meet with a local CEO about once a month to help keep me determine where I want to go and how to get there). Wrote a baseball blog for about 6 months, but it's dead now.

Other notes: I commuted 80+ miles per day to school all 5 years I've been in...I'm on my 3rd school and 3rd major. Originally a journalism major, decided it wasn't going to be rewarding for me given the time and effort required. I'm looking to get into sports, scouting/player personnel specifically, and I'm hoping the MBA environment can give me better negotiation and leadership skills to prepare me for that competitive industry.

My targets are...

- USC (I think it's a pipe dream, but I can't live with myself if I don't give it a shot)
- Maryland
- Arizona State
- UC Irvine

Fallback schools are SDSU and CSU San Marcos.

Am I being realistic in my targets? I know I'll be viewed as a zero work experience candidate, but do you think I can leverage that experience enough to make one of those 4 work?

Thanks for your help.

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear friar,

You are correct that you will be viewed as a candidate with no work experience. The work experience you have will be evaluated by the admissions committee though, so it is still important. Based on your post, I would say your target list is a little ambitious, but I think you should still try. Your essays, recommendations, and interview will play a significant role in your decision, so you want to make sure you are presenting the best application possible. I do think it would be a good idea to apply to a couple safety options or consider working for a couple of years before applying again.

Best of luck,
Lisa