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[drnishi]

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My profile and story:

GMAT score - 770 (q49, v48)

- I am a medical doctor from India. I graduated from one of the top twenty medical colleges in India with a very good academic record. Though I did extremely well academically, I was already a bit disillusioned with clinical medicine and was enticed by the world of scientific research.

- I then completed my Masters in Nutrition from the University of Texas at Austin with a GPA of 4.0. I worked as a research assistant when I was at UT.

- But I did not get much intellectual stimulation from such work. To satisfy my creative urge, I wanted to do something revolutionary. I opted for a career change. Writing had always been my passion and I joined a content development company as its first employee in 2004. For the past 4 years, I have been involved in running the company. This experience however has nothing to do with my academic history. At the same time, since I am the Director at this company and one of the top four team members, I have shouldered significant responsibilites and have had many successes. We started with just a website and are now a profitable venture with quite a few global clients. We have also started investing in new companies and websites. We are currently seeking venture funding for one of our websites. I will have no problems getting recommendations from my CEO and COO.

- I have volunteered for local churches and elementary schools though not extensively. I also volunteer for Indian community events. I was also involved in a few extracurricular activities in college including organizing the annual festival etc.

- I am currently involved in a nonprofit venture at my company- creating health comic books for school kids.

I am planning to apply to Business school (2010). I would like to couple my entrepreneurial experience and skills with my medical background to work for a healthcare-related startup or nonprofit.

Since I am a mom and my family is in Austin, I will probably apply to UT-Austin. I will also try my luck with HBS, Berkeley and Stanford. My choice of schools is also limited by where my family can move.

Here are my concerns/questions:
1. What are my chances at these schools?
2. How should I present my application so I don't look like someone who jumps from one thing to the other?
3. What else can I do to enhance my application?

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear drnishi,

1. What are my chances at these schools?
You have the foundation to be competitive, but how you present yourself in your applications will determine whether you are accepted or not. You must present a solid rationale for why you need a MBA in relation to your past experiences and future career goals. You must have well-written essays, outstanding recommendations, and a great interview. The best thing you can do is to start working on these aspects now--do your research on why these schools make sense and on crafting your story for your essays.

2. How should I present my application so I don't look like someone who jumps from one thing to the other?
That is a good question--you have to figure out how all of your pieces fit together. What in your past experiences translate to your future goals? How did you arrive at your goals and why is a MBA important to make them happen? If you don't have reasonable answers to these questions, you probably won't have much success in the admissions process at your target schools.

3. What else can I do to enhance my application?
I did not see any weaknesses beyond what you already asked about in question #2. For you, it comes down to why you feel you need a MBA and how it makes sense in your career path.

Best of luck,
Lisa