Profile evaluation

[grazie]

Hi, I've been hesitant to put myself out there, but I just took the GMAT for a second time, and I'd really like to know how my profile sounds.

Female, White, 25.
Undergrad from University of Memphis, 3.39 GPA.
BA in International Relations, graduated cum laude and honors with thesis.
680 GMAT (47Q, 36V)

At the time I'm looking into B-school, I'll have 4 years experience, military.
Mostly management, led a crew of 70 people on a strict timetable to produce real-time photo intelligence.
Assisted in the stand up of a new 150 person squadron with a mission of supporting operations and readiness.
Stood up a new flight dedicated to signals intelligence, and oversaw a 150% growth in personnel for that flight.
I'll have one deployment under my belt soon.

For activities, I've been part of the Language Enabled Airmen program since its inception 4 years ago, dedication on average 20 hours to language training in Japanese per month.

Extremely involved with fundraising with my squadron's booster club, which the funds raised were used to raise morale and welfare for our 350+ person squadron. I've given about 5-10 hours a month to it.

Have done a couple of charity runs, notably Color Me Rad, and have worked with my county's SPCA for the past couple of months.

I've been awarded CGO of the quarter, and have been part of flight of the quarter 2 times.

I like to think I can be a strong candidate, but sometimes you need a little bit of tough criticism.

I guess I should also mention I'm looking at McCombs and Haas, as far as B-schools!

[GeneralEducation]

Hi,

You have robust profile for the b-schools which you have shortlisted, you can also apply to few more b-schools in top 20 range. Suggest you to apply more minimum 5 b-schools to increase your chances. Just focus on your application essays which are critical component in deciding your candidature and it is challenging task to write convincingly. So do some research on the b-schools and start working on your applications asap. Wish you all the best and happy new year!!

Regards,
Manish
www.general-ed.com/chances-of-bschool

[MBAPrepAdvantage]

I think you are one of the few applicants who might be aiming too low, rather than too high.

Military experience for a female is fairly rare as an applicant, so the diversity of perspective you add is a welcome addition to a class.

I would think a school like HBS would be a significant stretch (but worthwhile with only an optional essay), schools ranked between #3 and #7 doable stretches and the #8 through #15 individually targets but collectively safeties. Meaning that if you apply to a number of these you will be fine.

So, Haas would be more of a target and UT Austin a safety school.

Best of luck,

[grazie]

Thanks to both of you.

For Haas, I tried to put in some of my prior military experience. In particular, working for the fundraising arm of Planned Parenthood in Seattle shortly before going into the military. I thought speaking about something that meant a lot to me, as well as focusing on articulating what I want to do post-MBA, as well as why I felt Haas was a good fit.

I know my GMAT and GPA are low for what Haas looks for, but I was hoping it would be worthwhile to try. However, I wouldn't be disappointed with either Haas or McCombs.

[CriticalSquareMBA]

Hey there,

Haas and McCombs are both fantastic programs but I agree with Michael - I think you could add a few more higher ranked programs in there. I won't presume to say which ones without really knowing what you want to do but with a profile like yours, you should look at ~4 or 5 programs. That way, you get a good mix of stretch and aligned/safety. You only go through this process once - you really want to make sure you have all your options on the table and the effort, while significant, is incremental.

You have a pretty unique and impressive profile - I think you'd be remiss if you didn't apply to a couple of more in the 5 - 15 range.

Let me know if you have any questions - I'm happy to help!

Bhavik

[grazie]

Thank you, I wish I had time to add more to my list! But squeezing in the Haas and McCombs applications was a challenge as it was. My supervisor is getting ready to deploy, and I'm deploying as well. I'm out the door very very soon, really!

As for what I would like to do, I'm hoping to go into entrepreneurship and focus on hiring vets with sustainable jobs, as we're already having an issue with homelessness among vets as the Iraq and Afghanistan wars draw down. I tried to communicate that to Haas and McCombs, while focusing on campuses I've been able to visit and get a feel for.

If I don't get accepted this round, there's always the chance I can try again next year, with a little bit more experience under my belt, and possible with edging my score up to the 700 goal.

[MBAPrepAdvantage]

If you miss 3rd rounds, you might wish to look at Columbia's accelerated program that begins next January and accepts applications usually from around May to October.

Good luck and enjoy the rest of your weekend,

[CriticalSquareMBA]

That sounds like a great plan. Have a safe and speedy deployment and hopefully you'll be back stateside before you know it. If you ever have any questions don't hesitate to reach out to us!

Bhavik