Please evaulate my profile

[11MBA]

Hi,

Asian Female, US Citizen
740 GMAT
3.5 GPA from a top 10, ivy league university.
Major in Political Science and Economics
Held various internships and worked part-time during school to help pay my tuition.

Major GPA is about 3.7 but took extensive classes in higher level math and got classes in the B range for many of those. However my calculus and statistics grades range from B+ to A. I'm hoping Bschools won't look down on the fact that I can't do really abstract math...

Worked for 1 year at a top investment bank but got laid off due to a merger. Will this hurt me?
Found a job after a couple of weeks at a firm that advises on municipal financing for environmental projects. Will have 2 years here by the time I attend bschool. I think the work experience is certaining interesting but the firm is very small so I won't get a chance to get any decent leadership experience.

Other Credentials
Passed CFA Level I, Hopefully will be a candidate for Level III by the time I apply.

Volunteering
Working with a non-profit in Kenya doing project evaluation and grant applications

Working with a microfinance organization based in China doing mostly fundraising. Interviewing for a leadership postion in the fall.

Community based projects such as teaching interview skills and resume editting for inner city youths looking to enter the workforce.

Targets:
Columbia (top choice)
NYU
Chicago
Northwestern
Duke

Reach:
HBS
Wharton
Stanford


I'm looking to enter bschool in the fall of 2011, so I have one year left before I apply. Please give me some suggestions on what I can do in the next year to improve my chances. And also what are my chances at the schools I want to apply to?

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear 11MBA,

Based on what you posted, you appear to have the foundation for a competitive application for any school. Being laid off will not reflect poorly on you, especially since it was a result of a merger and you found work shortly thereafter. I do not really see any large weaknesses, so continue to gain quality experience in your job and some leadership experiences both at and outside of work. As for your school list, you appear to have all reach schools as all 8 are in the top 20. These schools are all highly competitive and selective. While I do think you have a chance at any of them, I do think you should consider identifying at least 1 school that is outside the top 20 as a backup plan.

Best of luck,
Lisa

[11MBA]

Thanks for the reply! I think i want to into international corporate development after bschool. I was thinking about taking some spanish classes at a local community college. Would that be helpful to my application or not really?

[Lisa Anderson]

In terms of an application to business school, Spanish classes will not really strengthen or weaken it. If you are interested in learning Spanish and/or feel it might be needed for your future career, then you should take the classes.

Regards,
Lisa