At a crossroads.. Would appreciate your advice on what to do

[sp00ked]

For 2010. I applied to 9 schools. I was accepted to Carlson, waitlisted by Ross, dinged by Tepper and Kellogg, waiting to hear from Marshall after interview. I haven't heard back from the rest (ding/waitlist)

Goals:
1) to be immersed in an environment where I would be able to generate ideas and found a new business.
2) to explore my interest in finance and hopefully break into the industry.

I would like your opinion if I have a realistic shot at entering the schools I want.

GMAT: 700

Undergrad GPA: 3.5+ in Finance

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear sp00ked,

I'm not sure what your dilemma is here...you are still awaiting decisions and have an acceptance from Carlson. Congratulations on that, by the way! It seems you could be in business school this August/September if you wanted. Carlson is a good program that is on an upward track, gaining recognition each year. You also still have a shot at Ross, being on the waitlist, but you do need to submit a significant update there. In my opinion, your GMAT is not a weakness nor is your entrepreneurial experience. Based on your post, I would say the main concern probably centers more around your career goals and rationale for business school if you conveyed "relatively unfocused goal" as you state. Additionally, if your interviews did not go well, that probably also hurt your application as it was an opportunity for you to clarify your goals and sell yourself to the programs. Finally, your lack of extracurricular activities might also be a factor, but how much is hard to say. Thus you might be best served to focus your efforts at this point on presenting a stronger statement of why you want to go to business school in relation to your past experience and future career goals, as well as why the program you are writing to/interviewing with is the right program for you. Draft an additional statement for Ross regarding new developments in your companies and provide a focused paragraph on why an MBA, why now, and why Ross in relation to your future goals. Then hope for the best and put down your deposit at Carlson in the meantime (assuming you want to go to Minnesota, of course).

Good luck,
Lisa