Can i get into a top MBA?

[roger988]

By top MBAs i'm considering Ivies and some more tops in the US.

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I'm 20 y.o., brazilian, about to start the 5th semester of an 8 semester Business course, in one of Brazil's best private universities. I'm making some plans for the future in order to get into the MBA, so for the sake of simplicity let's consider that i will be able to accomplish all i expect to, in the next few years.


- I'm planning on ending the course among the top 5% of the students.

- I'm going to work full-time as a trainee at Dell, for 1 year (while on college, in brazil it is more possible to do so. so once the one year is due, i'll have 2 semesters left to finish college)

- With 2 semesters left to finish college, i'll buy/open a small company, with some good amount of money i'll receive (not getting into that), i expect to buy or open a company worth around U$ 100,000. After some 2 years, i expect to sell it for some U$ 150,000+. This will be one year after i finished college, just to keep you update on the timeline.

- I expect to get a great grade on TOEFL given my english fluency, and at least 700 at GMAT.

- I already know english fluently, and have an intermediate level of spanish, which i expect to be fluent at, by the time i candidate myself. I am also learning chinese, and expect to have intermediate knowledge of it by the time i candidate. I also know basic german but am unsure if i'll study it until then, so let's rule it out.


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Do you think that if i accomplish everything written above, added to fine letters of recommendation and essays, i can get into the top US MBA programs, like Stanford's (my currently preferred one, although it can change)? I plan to try it by the time i'm 23 or 24.

Of course what i said above may prove harder to achieve than i thought (and it very likely will), so i may not achieve everything i plan to, but i'm pretty optimistic i'm capable of it.

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear roger988,

You do have some ambitious plans, and I wish you the best in achieving your goals in the coming years. In the event you do achieve these goals, I think you will have a competitive profile. Keep in mind, schools will not count any work experience prior to graduating with your bachelor's degree in your years of work experience. Your work prior to graduation is important and they will be interested in what you have done, but it will be what you do after you graduate that counts the most. Like with any applicant, you will only gain admission if you put together a compelling application package. So be sure to spend a lot of time crafting your essays to present yourself effectively.

Best of luck,
Lisa

[roger988]

Thanks Lisa!


But isn't the issue of work experience only being considered after college graduation subjective in my case?

I mean, i'll be managing the business the same way before and after i graduate, so won't they understand the case? I guess it's as you said; i have to build a compelling and very finely crafted application package.


And one more thing; do they value more someone who has already gauged a good managerial position in a company or someone who has already run a business all by himself? I'm sure there's a lot of subjectivity here, but do you think that they generally hold in high regard someone who has already managed a business?

edit: one more question. you mentioned they don't take into account the work experience before college graduation, so it won't make much of a difference whether i take a part time trainee job at a company with less "name" than Dell, instead of going full time on Dell? It would certainly make my life a lot easier...


thanks again.

[roger988]

One more thing, as you may probably be aware, in brazil colleges aren't like in the US. Here people just go to the class, which lasts around 3 hours a day, and then each one goes home. People don't really form much of a bond.

There's no campus, and there aren't extracurricular activities, clubs, anything. So will the admissions board consider, like, taking the trainee job i said earlier as "extracurricular"? How do they compare people in situations like mine with others who were able to make many extracurricular activities in college?

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear roger988,

Admissions committees do realize there are differences between countries. However, I would not assume someone on the admissions committees at your target schools are familiar with all of these differences. Depending on what you decide to do, you might want to include a small explanation on your situation in your application to present yourself in the best light.

When schools report "years of work experience" in their class profiles and in rankings, it is the number of years the students worked in full-time, professional jobs between their bachelor's degrees and entering business school. All schools follow reporting standards so that prospective students and recruiters can compare them easily. Thus your experience after you receive your degree is especially important, but the experience you get while you are in school is also important. I would encourage you to take a job that you are interested in and best prepares you for the career you want prior to (and after) business school. You will excel more in a job you want to do and that is what the admissions committees will want to see. There is not a preferred industry or functional area; the admissions committees are looking at whether or not you have been successful in your career path and shown progression.

With regard to extracurriculars, perhaps there are community organizations you are involved in or could get involved in? You don't have to be in lots of student clubs, but it is good to demonstrate you have other interests and seek out opportunities to give back to the community. Likewise, these experiences can also serve as interesting examples in your essays.

Best of luck,
Lisa

[roger988]

Thanks A LOT, Lisa. I am so glad to be getting such important advices now, because this is really vital information for me to prepare for the next years prior to applying for an MBA.


Not to sound annoying, but you didn't answer one of my questions: "And one more thing; do they value more someone who has already gauged a good managerial position in a big company or someone who has already and successfully run a business (even if it's small = around U$100,000) all by himself? I'm sure there's a lot of subjectivity here, but do you think that they generally hold in high regard someone who has already managed a business? "




Also, from what i have read thus far, while in college, instead of going for an internship job, it would be better to fill this time with extracurricular activities (at least until i bought/opened a business, which i assume would be the best "extracurricular"), right?

Not that it will definitely determine what i will do in the next years, but knowing the amoung of weight that what i'll be doing holds when applying for a top MBA, which is after all my dream, is a factor that i can't ignore when making my decisions in the coming years.

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear roger988,

As I stated earlier, the committee values strong, professional work experience regardless of industry or function. So if you feel managing your own business is the best route for your career goals and is of the most interest to you, then that is probably a good option for you. Extracurricular activities are not better than an internship, especially when someone just joins clubs for the sake of joining. Internships are always viewed favorably. As with professional work experience, what matters is your motivation for the activity/internship/job and your level of success in the endeavor.

You are on the right path--just do what you need to do and you will achieve your MBA goals.

Regards,
Lisa