Applying for 2011 Admissions

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Applying for 2011 Admissions

by MBA Hopeful » Thu Mar 26, 2009 9:42 am
Hello Lisa,

I am currently 22 but will be 24 by the time I apply. I intend to apply in Fall 2010 for Fall 2011 admissions in the first round and my target schools are Columbia, Harvard, NYU and Berkeley. I haven’t made up my mind on what my safety schools list would be.

I am a Chinese American that came over with my family from China at a pre-school age. I also went back for a few years of elementary school in China so I am a native Chinese Mandarin speaker and with a little bit of work, could probably function in a wholly Chinese language work environment.

I went to a regional state school in the Northeast and graduated a semester early in Dec. 2007 with a 3.8 GPA in Finance/Accounting. I took a corporate accounting job at an insurance company for a year and then moved on to one of the Big 4 accounting firms in auditing.

By the end of this year, I will also have finished up my one-year master’s in accounting with a GPA of 3.8 and become licensed as a certified public accountant.

My GMAT score breakdown is 720 -- 48Q, 40V, 5.5 AWA. By the time I apply, I will also likely be a CFA Level III candidate (with Level III completed prior to enrollment) and have been promoted to a senior (i.e. team lead) position within my firm.

As for extracurriculars, I currently volunteer as a Chinese language teacher for pre-school and elementary school children on weekends but am currently looking to get into other volunteering work.

My reason for a MBA is that I would like to pursue an investment-related career in Hong Kong or Shanghai after graduation.

What applicant pool do you think I’ll be put in and how competitive do you think my profile will be within that pool? I am also looking into admissions consulting. How soon do you think I should initiate that before my application?

Thank you for your time.
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by Lisa Anderson » Thu Mar 26, 2009 2:51 pm
Dear MBA Hopeful,

Based on your post, it sounds like you are doing all the things you need to do for a competitive application. I'm not sure what you mean by applicant pool. If you are a US citizen, then you will not be considered an international applicant for US schools. As for when to contract with a consultant, you will probably want to start your research now and sign on with a firm by the end of May.

Good luck,
Lisa
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by MBA Hopeful » Thu Mar 26, 2009 4:52 pm
Hello Lisa,

Yes, I am an U.S. citizen. What I meant by the applicant pool question was along the lines if adcom breaks it down further by other demographics (such as profession or undergrad background), as supposedly to simply U.S. citizen and international applicant.

By contract with a firm, do you mean the end of this May or May 2010?

Thank you.

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by Lisa Anderson » Fri Mar 27, 2009 7:16 pm
If you are wanting help with your application to enter in fall 2010, then you will want to start working with a consultant my end of May 2009. Applications for schools will be released in late summer of 2009 for 2010 entry.

Regards,
Lisa
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Stacy Blackman Consulting

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