Now it's my turn to ask for advice! :)

[mjjking]

Hi there,

so I'm finally done with the gmat and I'm starting to consider the schools I will apply to next fall. I would like to get some feedbacks!

I'm italian and I plan to apply to a MBA in the US next year.

I hold a Bachelor's degree from a top 20% italian university with a gpa equivalent to 4.0 and a final mark of 110/110 cum laude in history.
I also have a MA in Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology at the University of Turin (top 5% in italy) with a gpa of 3.49/3.58 (according to WES) and a final mark of 108/110.
I've spent 1 year as exchange student in Helsinki (Finland) and I've studied at U. Missouri - Kansas City for a summer semester, where I took an advanced english class.
I didn't take many quantitative classes as you can imagine: microeconomics and development econ. were the only ones.

I've worked for 1,5 years as Quality, Safety and Environment Management Assistant Manager at a service company (logistics, facility management, cleaning service) here in Italy (COSEVA, 350 employees). I've been promoted once, and I report to the vice-president of the company (my boss). But I recently resigned, as I saw that my job wasn't taking me anywhere and given the ostracism I met on the part of my employer. So now I'm looking into consulting positions and I'm even considering founding my own small consulting firm dealing with human resources/outsourcing issues (leveraging on my anthropology background). In any case, I would have 2.5 years of work experience at enrollment.

Extra-cv:

I've volunteered in Romania and the Gambia (two weeks each).
I've founded and I'm the president of the first alumni chapter of my university in my province.
I've acted as consultant for the NGO I volunteered with in the Gambia (helping them to find ways to get equipment they needed) and I'm looking for similar involvement at my local church.
I speak italian, english and spanish fluently. I speak a decent finnish (I hold a national certificate from Finalnd stating that I passed level 3 out of 6, intermediate level) and I've studied chinese for a couple of years.
I've also a small entrepreneurial activity in my resume, where I used to buy and resell dvds through internet, local magazines, etc. It was very informal and I haven't any track record of it (not even tax, because of certain provisions in Italy). So I plan to list it as activity and not work experience, but I believe that this entrepreneurial exp. is good to have (I grosse dabout 50000 EUR in 2 years).

I've travelled a lot and visited 31 countries so far.

My TOEFL is 109 iBT. My GMAT is 720 95% (Q47 79%, V 41 92%).

I also plan to take calculus before applying next fall (I plan to apply for the class of 2012).

Career goals: working in strategy consulting, possibly in a big firm and internationally (if possible). I'd like to work in the field of outsourcing consulting; my long-term goal is to open my own consulting firm that help companies willing to outsource deal with the socio-ecnomic, cultural, and political issue of the various countries.

I'm married to a US citizen, I'll start the program with a green card in hand, but we do not rule out to move out of the US after a while...

I've visited and I'm considering these programs:

1. Harvard
2. Wharton
3. Chicago
4. Columbia
5. Kellogg
6. MIT
7. Duke
8. Ross

This is pretty much all. What do you think? Do I stand a chance? What should I improve in your opinion?
Thanks a lot in advance!

[Graham]

Dear Mjjking,

Thanks for your post!

Here are my basic thoughts on your profile for top US programs:

Academics (Schooling + TOEFL + GMAT)
Your grades in both undergraduate and your masters program are very strong. You will stand out from other applicants due to your studies in history and anthropology, however, as you know, this more qualitative focus comes with some liabilities - as schools may wonder how strong your math skills are.

Your GMAT result of 720 puts you just a bit above the average at the very top schools on your list. Of course, your quantitative score in the 79th percentile is not ideal - as it may underline your non-quant. undergraduate focus, but this is not something that I'd retake the GMAT over. Your plan to complete a course in calculus will be welcomed by the adcom - just be sure to take it this summer, and get an A. You might also take statistics or accounting, if you want to ease any fears that the adcom might have.

As to the TOEFL, a 109 overall score is good. Keep in mind that the average at Wharton for the past year's incoming class was closer to 111 and that HBS discourages applicants with a score below 109 from applying. As such, you are not as strong as you might ideally be on this aspect. While your strong GMAT verbal performance certainly helps, I can't say that it will fully alleviate any concerns.

Work Experience
This is the aspect of your background that is the most concerning. First, you have very limited experience (1.5 yrs). Second, I am puzzled as to why you quit your job before lining something else up (even if it was the structure for your own consulting firm). Schools dislike gaps in employment, so you'll ideally need to get moving to address that element. Third, it sounds like you may have left your last employer on bad terms - is that accurate? If so, can you still get strong recommendations from your bosses at COSEVA? In short, it's hard to really assess this aspect of your profile without knowing a lot more - and without an understanding of how you intend to spend your time pre-b-school to build towards the 2.5 years of experience mark.

XCs + Languages + Intangibles
This aspect of your background sounds promising. For starters, Italian citizens aren't terribly common in the US-MBA applicant pool, and this will work to your advantage. Beyond that, I like the fact that you have learned numerous languages, traveled extensively, volunteered internationally and studied in places as diverse as Finland and Kansas City. I also like that you are an active alumni for your undergraduate program, as this can send a positive signal to the MBA adcoms about your potential to serve the school down the road. The main challenge you will face here is keeping things concise and coherent (since it's quality not quantity that wins in the XCs category).

As a side note, I'm not so sure I'd use the DVD sales business as a major feature in your profile. While it's nice that you launched an entrepreneurial venture and made some money from it, there are a number of reasons that this particular venture may come with some baggage. For example, DVD sales isn't necessarily going to come across as an intellectual pursuit (unless your firm specialized in rare Italian art films). I also worry that given how many people associate web-based DVD sales with piracy, the venture risks painting you in a less favorable light. This is clearly something we'd need to discuss in-depth, but my initial thought is that it may not serve your candidacy terribly well.

Goals
You have a nice start to outlining your goals. My main question for you revolves around how these goals fit with your past work experience to date? Beyond your studies, is there anything that makes you particularly competent in this area? This is something you will want to give some thought to as you build your strategy.

Conclusion
You have a long list of schools, and I'm not sure how they are all tied together (looks more or less like a list of top-10 programs). How have you settled on this list?

As to your central question, my opinion is that with strong applications, you could be competitive at some of your target schools. Your lack of extensive work experience and the circumstances under which you left your employer are clearly concerns (esp. if they impact recommendation letters, etc). I'd need a lot more information to make a full assessment, but overall I can see you being competitive at top programs assuming everything comes together through careful planning.

Feel free to send your resume to [email protected] if you'd like to speak about your profile in greater depth. There is no charge for an initial session with one of our counselors.

Best of luck,

Graham

[mjjking]

Thanks Graham for your help and assessment!
I know my TOEFL could be stronger, but as I took it almost two years ago I have to retake it anyway, and as I've been speaking english A LOT recently (my wife is a US citizen) I'm confident my score will go up at least a bit. So that should be ok.

As for my work experience at COSEVA: yes, I left not in good terms. I doubt my supervisor would like to recommend me, but the president of the company (and my boss' supervisor) said he would, even though I don't know how much...! I hope I can find a recommender with my future employer. And I know gaps are not ok, I really do! I'm trying to addressing this as best as I can!

Also, at my past company, basically I took the job because it was a cooperative company, that is a for-profit company that put a lot of emphasis on its workers and on the redistribution of wealth among them. So in a way was a cause that I liked a lot and that resembled a non-for-profit environment. Also, the compnay has 350 employees with more than 10 nationalities represented: so it's culturally very diverse, the right environment for an anthropologist for sure (I was also involved in the translation of a new welcome booklet for new hirees).

As for my future goals, well, I'm trying to craft them well! Corporate anthropology and outsourcing consulting are growing fields, so I hope to find something nice to taylor around me! For the immediate future, I'm looking for a job in consulting and - if I cannot find anything good - I will try to find a position abroad in a target country (like Thailand or Indonesia) where to get language skills and first-hand knowledge of the country for a future interest in outsourcing consulting. In the meantime, I'm preparing a business model for my own consulting firm, so to show I'm doing things!

And as for extracurriculars, I know that quality is more important than quantity: in fact, I'm doing my best to stick to past experiences and to expand them, in a more qualitative way.

May I just ask you which schools you think I would be more competitive at and if you think thtga a shot at HBS and Wharton would be worthwhile anyway? When I choose schools, I did that based on:

1. Strenght in international business and in global focus;
2. Placement stats in consulting (my career of choice.

I'm narrowing down the list though, to Wharton, HBS, Duke, Haas and Columbia. What do you think? What would you change? Thanks again!

[Graham]

Dear Mjjking,

Thanks for your reply - it's helpful to have a bit more info, so I appreciate your providing it. I am glad to hear that you will be retaking the TOEFL and that you are making every effort possible to secure employment and stay active.

In terms of your admissions odds at the top schools (HBS, Wharton, etc) a lot will really hinge on how quickly you can secure employment, how clear/feasible your career goals end up being, how strong the rec from COSEVA ends up being, etc.

For further assistance on mapping out your admissions strategy, I recommend that you contact us directly to set up a session with one of our counselors. You can just email your resume to [email protected] to do this.

Best of luck,

Graham