Profile Evaluation - 25yo Non-Profit Professional

[RichardRosenow]

Hello everyone! First off, thank you very much for assisting here. I am nervous about my GMAT score and would love some advice about whether or not a retake is in order to be competitive. I've also found very little resources for non-profit professionals transitioning to an MBA program and I am interested to hear your thoughts


1) Brief description of work experience.

I am a project manager for a very large social services non-profit ($150 million+). I am the lead project manager working horizontally across the government contracts division that oversees programs that total roughly $25 million in revenue. I help launch new initiatives, design organizational charts for new and current initiatives, create financial models to predict impact, and I have managed the strategic wind-down of 6 different businesses under the government contracts umbrella to tighten the scope of our department. I have had multiple promotions within the organization.

I also manage our Geographic Information Systems department which we use for business analysis and fundraising and I have been awarded a Computerworld Laureate Honor for demographic mapping work in the city of Chicago.

I have four years of experience with this company (will be 5 at matriculation in August 2014) at three different sites (Pittsburgh, National office, Chicago).

Outside of work I was a board member for a Non-profit professional society for the city of Chicago (term just ended) and volunteer with a local mentoring organization.

2) GMAT.

Here's where I'm most nervous

Gmat: 690
V: 41
Q: 43

Lowish quant . I could retake, but it was a huge investment to get to there and I'd rather focus on career and other parts of the application. If you think it is worth it I would appreciate blunt advice.

3) Education:


Sociology and Public Administration degree from a top twenty public university.
Overall GPA: 3.42
Major GPA: 3.6

Certificate in Project Management from University of Chicago - Graham School
Cert GPA: 4.0 (Does this matter?)

4) Extra-curricular activities.

President / Founder - Sociology Students Organization
President - YMCA Club
Vice President New Members - Interfraternity Council
Risk Management Officer - Fraternity
Scholarship Chair - Fraternity

Also involved in: Glee club, Rowing, Habitat for Humanity, Alpha Phi Omega

5) Ideal Matriculation:

August of 2014

6) Post-MBA goal.

I am looking to transition from Nonprofit into Human Capital Management Consulting with a top firm (Deloitte, Bain, McKinsey). Human organization in the workplace is a passion of mine (Going back to Sociology) and it's what I love most about my current job. I love the idea of high energy high result consulting work and the idea of working with so many different organizations is appealing.

After 3-4 years there I'd love to start a Organizational design firm to work with nonprofits and public sector entities. Bringing private sector organizational theory and practice to the public sector is my long term goal.

7) Applying to:

1. Cornell Johnson
2. Cornell ILR
3. Vanderbilt Owen
4. Michigan Ross
5. Yale SOM
6. CMU Tepper
7. Wharton? I think I'm underqualified here

8. Other questions

I'd love to hear what other programs you feel might be the right fit or a better fit. Schools that have great programs or concentrations in Human Resources or Consulting are my main priority. If you offer consulting services for Cornell or Vanderbilt in particular I'd love to hear about them. Thank you.

[CriticalSquareMBA]

Hi Richard,

Thanks for providing so much detail! Definitely makes responding you a little easier and probably more useful for you too!

Ok - you've provided a numbered list so I'll respond in kind. If you have any questions or comments on what I've written, feel free to ask! I'm happy to help.

As for consulting services - while the majority of our clients apply top 20, we definitely have experience with other top 50 programs within the US. You'll see why I say top 20 even though you asked for a couple of schools specifically. If you want to learn more about the services, it may be beneficial to set up a consultation - we feel a conversation is a good way for you to learn more about not only what we do, but how we do it as well as gives us an opportunity to think through what might be the best solution for you!

Here we go...

1) Your background is very intriguing. Not only do you come from an uncommon background, but you work with an established organization (which, in the non profit sector, is rare for most applicants) and you have DONE things. Your work experiences clearly convey key themes such as analytical rigor, leadership, and impact. This is generally the stumbling block for a lot of folks in your walk of life but it seems you have them covered. In addition, you've been recognized for it and have formal (division/department) leadership which makes it that much better.

Another thing I like about your professional experience is it gives you the opportunity to weave a lot of "you" into the application. We can pull from stories that are off the beaten path that will resonate with adcoms and help you stand out.

I also like how your extracurriculars outside of work are still aligned and tie to a greater story.

2 & 3) Ok, so everyone says to aim for a 700+ and I say the same thing to most people. However, in your case they'll be looking at your profile from a different perspective than most. You have a lot to offer outside of a great GMAT. Don't get me wrong, a 690 is a great score! However, they'll want to know if you can handle the rigors of the program. You went to a top 10 program for undergrad (you didn't mention a GPA) and if I had to guess I would assume you did well there. Therefore, between your current GMAT and average/good(?) GPA, you wouldn't raise any concerns on their end about your ability to handle some numbers. Additionally, we could use your work experience and recommendations to speak to your analytical and quantitative abilities. Long story short, if you are bored and want to take it again, go for it (a higher score definitely won't hurt!), but I think given where you're coming from you should be ok. It isn't often I can advise people to not take the test again so that felt good!

4) You're set here. What I really like here is that we can weave these into the larger story to establish trajectory and passion. Short answer, I know, but it's because this is solid.

5) My only question here is why 2014? What are you expecting at work in the next 12 months that is causing you to wait? That means you'll have 6 years by the time you enter school in 2015? If you're at 4 years now, while that is slightly shy of the average, your career progression and impact to date can speak for themselves and hold their own. I'm not advocating you apply this year if you don't want to, merely asking what your reasoning is to wait another year? That should be weighed against opportunity cost, etc. If you absolutely believe in applying in 2014, it isn't like you'll be too old or anything so there's no rush.

6) Your short and long term goals make sense, are logical, and ambitious enough to warrant serious consideration. Additionally, you have a good reason to pursue consulting and I think showcasing that reason in a compelling way will be critical. There are also ways to play your personal passion for giving back into your short term goal so that would definitely help.

7) I think you're selling yourself a little short. While your GMAT score is slightly lower and below averages for some programs, you're in play when it comes to the range and that's generally enough. If you are looking to consulting, your focus should be on schools with strong general management programs. These programs will be the ones pulling in the top consulting firms. Keep in mind, most MBAs post graduation work in "general management" position. Even within Human Capital it's important to have a wide base of knowledge. Not to mention, it'll be important to you in the long run when you're running your own thing.

While Wharton is a long shot, I wouldn't rule it out because I think you have an interesting background (but if you do want to apply, I would definitely suggest taking the GMAT again just to make sure that isn't the sticking point).

I think the bottom half of the top 10 would be good "stretch" programs for you. Haas and Columbia particularly. I would counsel you to take a shot at at least 2 in this range - a great application could open doors I think you are prematurely closing.

The 11 - 18 schools are well aligned with your profile. Ross is great option given how much they feed into consulting. Cornell is a fine addition to the list but given what you've shared, I feel there may be better programs to put into this spot. Specifically, for consulting, Duke and Darden (and Emory) are feeders. These schools are very different, however, and a solid discussion around fit will go a long way in helping you find the right programs.

Below 18 are your safety programs. I like the program at Owen and they do feed into regional offices of the top firms. Now, some firms look at them as a strategic program for operations but that doesn't mean the opportunities for what you're looking for aren't there!

Bhavik

[RichardRosenow]

Bhavik,

This is absolutely incredible response. Thank you for the thorough breakdown. I did have an error there with regard to "applying date", which I have now corrected. August 2014 is my ideal matriculation date, I am hoping to my programs in round 1 of this year. I haven't looked heavily into admissions consulting as of yet and I think the consultation call could be really beneficial. I'll set something up this week.

Thank you again,
Richard

[CriticalSquareMBA]

Hey Richard,

My pleasure! I look forward to chatting with you soon.

Bhavik

[MBAPrepAdvantage]

Richard,

What is your undergraduate GPA? That bears on whether you should retake the GMAT and the schools at which schools you are competitive.

Other schools that are strong in Organizational Design and Consulting include Kellogg, Chicago Booth, Haas, and Ross. Assuming a competitive GPA, I would suggest you apply to as wide a swath of Top 12 schools as possible because your professional and extra-curricular background will resonate with one of these.

Good luck,

[RichardRosenow]

What is your undergraduate GPA? That bears on whether you should retake the GMAT and the schools at which schools you are competitive.

Hi Michael,

Thank you for catching that and for your response. I had a 3.42 overall and 3.6 in the major. I had one rough semester due to personal life circumstances that I mostly recovered from by retaking those courses on top of a full course load. I also took a number of rigorous courses that kicked me around (Russian I in particular). I have updated my first post to reflect the GPA.

From what I've found this puts me into the mid range for a lot of the schools https://poetsandquants.com/2012/03/27/gp ... -get-in/2/. However I don't know a lot about the balance between GMAT and GPA. If you could expand upon that (how a 3.4 influences the decision around a 690) I'd appreciate your thoughts.

Also, would a continuing education certificate GPA matter at all? I had a 4.0 within the University of Chicago Graham School (5 courses).

Thank you again,
Richard

[MBAPrepAdvantage]

Is the huge investment in retaking the GMAT more mental or time-oriented? I ask because even a marginal improvement to say a 700 or 710 would visually be better and given you are right around the mean of many of these schools, the percentage improvement would be significant.

Schools use GMAT score, undergraduate institution quality, undergraduate GPA, undergraduate major and graduate school quality/GPA/focus (if applicable) as an indicator of your capacity to handle the rigors of the program and to roughly rank the applicants in terms of intellectual capacity.
I think given your grades I would still apply to Wharton/Kellogg/Haas/Ross along with the less competitive schools suggested, but a higher GMAT score would improve your chances.

The educational certificate would be marginal at best.

Good luck,