Profile Evaluation for Non-Profit Consultant Wannabe

[stanfordb]

Hi,

I have a long list of schools I'm looking to apply to and am wondering what my odds look like, roughly. Here is my brief profile:

- 3.3 in Economics and Philosophy (double major) at Northwestern
- 750 GMAT (42V/49Q)
- 12 months in management consulting working on internal product development/management for a new HR technology
- Will have 24 months (come Aug '13) in higher ed consulting; have been staffed for 13 months at a major state university to perform a large technology implementation
- Worked/volunteered for non-profit teaching inner-city youth golf camps across 4 years in 3 cities
- 3 years on the board for Special Olympics at Northwestern
- Semester abroad in London
- Staffed on 5-month pro bono consulting project (extra-curricular) with first company, spearheaded initiative for a pro bono project currently underway at second company (also extra-curricular)
- Goal is to go into non-profit/social enterprise consulting

My current list is:
1. Kellogg
2. Haas
3. Yale
4. Harvard
5. Sloan
6. Columbia
7. Booth
8. Stanford
9. Wharton
10. Ross

Any sort of evaluation would be great. I appreciate your time!

[ivyctor2010]

Your profile is great on all counts GMAT, quality of work experience etc. But a major concern with B-schools would be "why MBA?" for you.

Another question would be while you are very clear on your short term goal, what would be your long term goals? Do you ultimately plan to be a business development guy/partner for a non-profit consult
such as FSG or would you be an entrepreneur running your social enterprise?

Goal clarity and how MBA fits in the larger plan is of a paramount importance to B-school admissions committee and hence these questions need to be weaved very well into your essays.

[Jon@Admissionado]

Looking pretty good.
I really like your double major - economics and philosophy. How many people do that??!!! Your slightly less than tip-top grades will make things a bit harder at the top of the top (HBB, Stanford) because they h ave just too many folks applying with 3.95s.... but you do have some unique stuff, three years of real volunteerwork on an internationally known organization, a quite unique profile in comparison to others, etc.

At Kellogg, if you can draw on your network, you should have pretty good chances that they will be happy to have you rejoin.


So overall things look pretty good. The only question is: How are you going to write 10 applications in 9 weeks?

[stanfordb]

Thanks--I appreciate your input! I am working on being specific in my essays around my career goals and 'Why MBA', probably more important for me since I'm on the younger end. I understand my GPA is sub-par for the top schools, so I'm hoping a good GMAT and solid work recommendations dispel any notions about my abilities or motivation. But, we'll see how that goes...

I'm also hoping that a strong community service background lends consistency and sincerity to my career goal of working in the social sector. This may only have an advantage at schools with solid non-profit programs (e.g. Yale, Haas, Kellogg, Stanford). And I am going for the unique candidate profile, so I'm glad you see it! I am trying to strike the right balance of uniqueness and program fit, which I'm finding slightly challenging.

And yes, so many applications, so little time...I won't be surprised if a couple of the real long-shot schools drop of the list.