Please Evaluate My Candidacy!

[jakesing]

Hello!

I would truly appreciate an honest evaluation of my chances of admission to a top-5 US business school. Before I begin, I am only 22 years old and do not plan on applying right away. Rather, I want to get an idea of whether you feel I am close to where I need to be, and what, if anything, I should focus on in the next couple years before I am ready to apply.

Credentials:

• Undergrad: Econ major at Brandeis U., 3.76 GPA/3.95 in my major (Magna Cum Laude)
  College Extracurriculars: Most notably I was the treasurer of one of the largest clubs on campus.
  Work Experience: Currently am working at a big four accounting firm in a consulting/finance division, and had a nice variety of internships throughout college.
  GMAT: 730 (47 Q, 42 V)

My parents moved us around quite a bit - we lived in Israel for 7 years between the ages of 8-15, which sort of gave me some interesting perspective. Further, I graduated early and backpacked around S. America alone for 5 months. I don't know if either of those things is interesting to an admissions board, but I trust you could let me know.

My questions are a) should I retake my GMAT (composite score is strong but I'm slightly concerned about my Q score - I had been doing much better on practice tests), b) I think one area of weakness is a lack of great extracurricular activities. I am actively pursuing some humanitarian opportunities in NYC (where I live), but I am also considering taking a year or two to travel the world, contributing of myself where I see fit. I have even begun considering joining the peace corps (not for Bschool admissions, but for myself); and c) How would admissions people look at me differently whether I stay at my job for 1 year vs. 2 years?

Anyway, that is my quick self-summary, and I really want to be in a position to target the very best schools within the next 1-3 years.

What do you think?

Thank you very much!

[Stacey Oyler]

Hi Jake,

Thanks for your post. Please see my comments below:

My questions are a) should I retake my GMAT (composite score is strong but I'm slightly concerned about my Q score - I had been doing much better on practice tests)

You have a solid GMAT score and your strong undergrad GPA in econ combined with your role in financial consulting will likely be enough to demonstrate to the adcom that you can handle the curriculum. However, if you feel that you can indeed improve your score, it 's certainly worth retaking especially if your target schools are in the top 10.

b) I think one area of weakness is a lack of great extracurricular activities. I am actively pursuing some humanitarian opportunities in NYC (where I live), but I am also considering taking a year or two to travel the world, contributing of myself where I see fit. I have even begun considering joining the peace corps (not for Bschool admissions, but for myself);

It seems as though it's not so much the lack of extracurricular activities you're asking about, but whether or not leaving your job to travel and pursue personal interests (while perhaps helping others) is a good idea. I think this could be a risky move. How will you finance your two years traveling? What will you do to fill the time? How will this help you gain the skills needed to achieve your post MBA goals? Joining the Peace Corp is an interesting idea and it would provide the structure and help you learn new skills that traveling for the sole purpose of discovery won't.

c) How would admissions people look at me differently whether I stay at my job for 1 year vs. 2 years?

It's not so much how long you stay in your current job that the adcom will be looking at, but what you've done to achieve your goals and prepare yourself for an MBA program that they are interested in. If staying in your current role won't help you achieve your goals, then a change is a good idea. That change may be a new job or leaving corporate America, it's up to you to decide.

Best,

Stacey