Profile Evaluation. Unique candidate. Quit Job?

[kloakndaggers]

I have a fairly unique application that I would like your thoughts on.

Age:25
Top 10 engineering Big Ten school
Major:Chemical engineering Co-op Student (CGPA:3.0)
Current Gmat Score: 680 (Taken twice, same score)
Previous internships/co op: General Electric (Engineer)(5 year program)
Current Job: Investment analyst (Citi/MorganStanley since August 2007) & Retail Shop Owner (2006)


I am trying to get into a Top 10 university: Upenn, Chicago, NYU, Dartmouth, UVA, or Texas. I founded a successful online store that I still run in conjunction with my full time job as investment analyst. Although I graduated with an engineering degree, I am infatuated with the finance field. I have worked the last 2.5 years as an analyst for citi and Morgan Stanley and I have decided that I want to attend graduate school to obtain my mba.

I am currently working on an alternative transcript as well as studying for the gmat again.

I usually work from 7 am till anytime between 6 pm and 11 pm daily at my normal day job. I usually come home and work another 5-9 hours for my store. This leaves me very little time for sleep or studying


I am thinking about quiting my position since I feel that I am no longer learning in my current position and I feel my time is better utilized elsewhere. My net store income is over 6 times more than my base salary for my day job so I feel that my time would be better utilized on my store and my gmat prep. I have prepared for the gmat the last year or so but just have not had the time to 100% focus on scoring well.

My main question is what are my chances to attend the schools listed and what would be the consequences of quiting my job and concentrating solely on my store/studies. I feel confident that I would be able to score 700+ and complete my alternative transcript with flying colors if I just had a little more time. Can you please share your thoughts? Thank you

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear kloakndaggers,

An interesting question....quite honestly, your current profile of 680/3.0 engineering is competitive for your target schools with your work experience and entrepreneurship experience. I see much potential in your post for a strong application. While I do understand your desire to break the 700 mark on the GMAT and build the alternative transcript, I don't think it is dire that you do either---but it definitely won't hurt you to do those things for these particular schools.

Basically, this is a decision you have to make for yourself on what is best for you and your career over the next 12-15 months: 1) take the time to be a true entrepreneur OR 2) stay in your current job since it is directly related to your future career goals. For option 1, you are taking a risk in that the admissions committee might question why you left the finance field if you intend to be in the finance field post-MBA. Why did you not hire someone to help you with your retail store? For option 2, you are having issues with finding time to do what you need to do, so you have to decide where your priorities are and what matters most. It is understandable if you want to use this next year to be an entrepreneur--why not? This is the time to do it and it would afford you flexibility to take classes and prepare for the GMAT. Conversely, if a finance career is your priority, then perhaps you might look into hiring someone part-time to handle part of your retail operations to free up your time to work on your GMAT and b-school applications. Or maybe it is time to sell your business or get a partner?

Think about it and then decide what you want to do. I think you can support your decision either way in your future applications.

Best of luck,
Lisa