Profile Evaluation

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Profile Evaluation

by BSchool1 » Thu Apr 14, 2011 12:26 pm
Hi,

I would greatly appreciate any effort in helping my understand my candidacy potential and areas I should work on for my application to a top 5 MBA program.

Personal Demographics:
Male, 22, Caucasian, from an affluent area in New England

Undergraduate information:
Business school of a large public university (the business school is ranked in the top 25 for public universities, but nothing stellar).
Graduated with a Finance degree in May, 2010, and a math minor
Honors Program (Honors thesis involved the venture capital industry)
Magna Cum Laude
GPA: 3.8/4.0 (3.9 in major)
Awards: Honored as one of the top 3 graduating seniors at the business school, based on academics, extra-curricular activity, and community involvement, in addition to several other academic awards and scholarships.
Extracurricular: Extremely strong extracurricular activities. Held a leadership role in 7 student organizations, including president of one of the largest organizations on campus ($200,000 budget), and starting two other organizations. Also sat on two well-known committees which made important decisions for the school.

GMAT: 740

Work experience:
Two internships during college, one at a large investment bank in the operations department, and one in a large insurance company.
(1 year so far) I in a financial leadership/management program at a fortune 500 conglomerate, rotating every 6 months into different positions within finance. I have held some leadership positions within the program, and have had good reviews at my rotations so far, but I have not been able to secure permanent leadership positions in the office due to the rotational nature of the program. I plan on finishing the 2-year rotational program with some international work experience and moving into corporate strategy until B-School.

Post-college extracurriculars:
I volunteer at nonprofit that small business owners. I do counseling sessions, give financial planning presentations, and critique business plans. I am also a certified tennis instructor and do some tennis instruction by request, but nothing formal. I plan on increasing my involvement as personal situations clear up.

Target Programs: Harvard, Wharton, Kellogg, Columbia, other top schools.

Career Goals:
Corporate strategy or management consulting in the short-term. Long-term goals include starting my own consulting firm or working in venture capital/private equity.

Many thanks!
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by Lisa Anderson » Mon Apr 18, 2011 11:23 am
Dear BSchool1,

You have the foundation for a competitive application to any business school. The tough part is putting together the application to both distinguish your application from similar applicants and make a compelling case for your admission. Based on the information in your post, no glaring weaknesses jump out or red flags present themselves. Thus it is going to come down to the strength of your essays, recommendations and interviews. I highly encourage you to start thinking now about how you might distinguish yourself from similar applicants and what aspects of your background are unique. Perhaps working with a consultant to identify a solid strategy would be a worthwhile investment in this regard? Then, get as early a start as possible on those essays and hit as many R1 deadlines as possible.

Best of luck,
Lisa
Lisa Anderson
Consultant
Stacy Blackman Consulting

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