Profile Evaluation - chance at a top 5 school?

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My profile is as follows:

Nationality: US
Current Age / Gender: 27/ Male
Undergraduate: Large State School, BS Business Admin

GPA: 3.0 (I plan on submitting additional info explaining that I worked almost full-time through college and that I recognize that I did not give my undergrad a worthy effort, but that I have grown into a completely different person since then.)

GMAT - 710 (this was achieved without preparation - I will take the GRE as well for purposes of joint-degree applications and plan to score very high. Should I re-take the gmat?)

Work Exp - Hired out of college at a mid-size financial services firm and promoted immediately to Director of Marketing. Left after 2 years to pursue dream of Peace Corps. Served 2 years as Peace Corps Volunteer working with the strengthening of business administration practices in community tourism projects, was named the regional business director, elected member of the volunteer advisor council, editor-in-chief of the volunteer news publication, will receive outstanding recommendations.

Extra-curriculars: have recently founded my own non-profit with the format of a web 2.0 start-up - taught myself how to develop a website for this cause. Generally active otherwise in extra-curriculars.

Reason for MBA - I am extremely inspired by the idea of the double and triple bottom line in business. I dream of a career that merges social responsibility through entrepreneurship and innovation with business for the benefit of all. I would like to manage start-ups in emerging markets.

Other - fluent in Spanish, currently studying Chinese. Marathon runner.

Do I have a realistic shot at Stanford or HBS? My current list of schools at which I'm applying is as follows: Stanford, Harvard, Yale (Peace Corps fellowship duel degree), Columbia and Duke (Peace Corps Fellowship)

Any constructive feedback will be sincerely appreciated.

Thank You.
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by Lisa Anderson » Wed Jul 21, 2010 12:43 pm
Dear yesyoucan,

Depending on how strong your overall application package is, I do think you have a shot at your target schools. To give yourself the best chance, be sure to submit a great set of essays and outstanding recommendations, as well as have strong interviews. While your 3.0 is below the average GPA for your target schools, it is not out of range and your GMAT and professional experience further demonstrate your motivation. I don't know that you need to retake your GMAT at this point as your 710 is a great score that is at/above the average for your target schools. I think the other application components are critical and where your focus should be. However, a higher score won't hurt you if you have the time to retake--it just isn't clear that it will significantly impact your admissions decisions.

Best of luck,
Lisa
Lisa Anderson
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Stacy Blackman Consulting

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