Profile Evaluation Request, coming from Film

[rbc7881]

Hello,
I would like to request a profile evaluation.

Basics about me:
White, female, 25
School: Middlebury College
GPA: 3.4 (cum Laude)
Current employer: The Weinstein Company (2 years in PR and awards; 2.5 years of total work experience)
Looking to apply for Sept 2017 start
Current GMAT Prep exam score: 660 (aiming for potential high of 750 when taking the real thing)

Looking to go into media consulting.

Looking to potentially apply to:
HBS
NYU Stern
Northwestern
U Chicago
U Penn

What do you think of this profile and these schools?

Thanks!

[Jon@Admissionado]

Hey there!
Well you definitely will have a unique story and come from a unique background. But to get into HBS you will need at least a 720 if not higher. A lot will depend of course on your goals about which I know too little to be able to advise you on this.

Also if you can answer the following questions, I will know enough to help you out.
What do you do? How quickly have you advanced? Do you have any leadership? What are your great achievements? Do you have notable community service or extra curriculars?

Feel free to drop us a line on our website for a free consultation: https://admissionado.com/free-consultati ... n=mba_blog

Best,
JF

[rbc7881]

Thanks for replying so quickly. I have expanded my role from 1 to 3 jobs and have held 3 since Sept 2015. I went from a floating assistant to point national pub assistant, meaning I coordinate entire film publicity campaigns (think any sort of press from what you see on Jimmy Kimmel, Fallon, monthly/weekly mags to much smaller online sites). I am part of a 2 person awards team that received 10 Oscar noms for our films last year. I also do regional work, but that is the newest so I have the least to say about it. I did corporate communications until switching to regional earlier this year as part of a reorganization, so I have experience writing press releases as well. I am still an assistant, so I have not advanced in a title sense (but that is mainly because our company is condensing/not promoting at the moment).

I was born 3.5 months early, and as a result, have done community service all my life as I have felt like I should give back. I am on one community service board (small family fund that I am very involved in).

Unfortunately not really anything re leadership.

For goals, I am looking to be in media consulting as I want to be involved in the industry in a more macro sense, being strategic and advising on branding/marketing/M&A opportunities for companies. I have not done any econ/math courses whatsoever, so yes, definitely aware my GMAT and specifically Quant score need to be very high.

Any advice knowing all of this?

I really appreciate it. Thanks.

[Jon@Admissionado]

Hey there,
So from what I can see your jobs look pretty solid.

I'm a bit less sure about your school list, as HBS is not only very hard to get into (you can of course apply) but the media connections aren't fantastic. I mean NY/Cali schools for nothing other than contacts would make a lot more sense - or any media-strong industry or region (and I suppose Boston could work too, but less, so schools like Haas/UCLA/Marshall/Columbia/NYU/Austin. I mean sure, I think it's almost always best to go to the "Best school possible", but for something like media/film, wouldn't it just be better to go to UCLA and be near Hollywood (you could also consider a film/production double degree)?

Best,
Jon

[rbc7881]

Thanks for the response. I have basically no interest in LA / Cali schools, since I am not looking to remain in the industry itself, but would like to go to a McKinsey, BCG, Bain type of consulting firm (or potentially something more boutique-y but those also look like they are based on the east coast). What would you recommend other than NYU and Columbia? I'm definitely interested in NYU, less so in Columbia, so looking for other schools to apply to that would be good for consulting (maybe Ross, Kellogg, Darden?)

Let me know what you think - thanks!

[Jon@Admissionado]

For Consulting, any Top 15 school would work, quite literally

I mean all MBAs send about 20-40% of their grads to consulting firms. And in general, just go to the better school.

Best,
JF

[rbc7881]

Okay -- good to know. Thanks for all of your help, Jon!

[Jon@Admissionado]

You are welcome!
Best of luck,
JF