Here's my profile HELP PLZ

[alex123]

Age:27
Residence: California
Undergraduate degree: BA in Communication (film) at UT Austin; GPA 3.6

GMAT: 680; 43 Quant., 40 Verbal (don't know AWA yet)

Work Experience: This part i'm worried about...right after college i was a bartender/manager for a local hotspot because i wanted to live by the beach. I did this for two years. It's where I met my present day girlfriend so it's hard to say it was a waste..plus it was so much fun!!

For a year after that I worked for a startup company that wanted to create and distribute comedic content on a variety of platforms. When we were looking for funding we equated it to the old MTV format but we would have chunks of different comedy in blocks as opposed to music videos. We never got our second round of funding and had to move on.

For the last year and a half I have been supporting myself as a poker player. In my free time I have spent time sitting in on meetings with companies I either have an investment in or have some connection to through family...this is where I acquired my interest in picking up an mba. My main areas of interest are marketing and entrepeneurship

So that's pretty much it, the schools I am looking at are:

UT Austin -(my undergraduate school, and my brother currently attends law school)
UCLA
USC (Southern California)
Pepperdine
Duke (father went to undergrad and my other brother graduated law school)

please help me evaluate my options!!

Tthanks for taking the time

alex

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear Alex,

You are right to be concerned about your work experience. It is not what schools consider "professional work experience" as what you have done does not necessarily require a degree. [Personally, I am envious of your lifestyle and believe it was probably good for your personal growth. ]

Consequently, you will want to directly address your career path to date in your applications and present it as positively as you can--focus on what you were trying to do in the entertainment industry and managing a bar (not being the bartender) was a way for you to pay the bills while you were pursuing that dream. Since you were a manager, you will want to focus on the managerial aspects--cash management, supervising employees, vendor management, etc. As for the poker, what can I say beyond it is quite interesting. I would expect many questions in your interviews on it.

Honestly, I think there are some schools that will not be concerned by your career path and your career goals/rationale for the MBA will either make sense to them or it won't. But there are some schools that will not like your career path and might decide to pass on you. I think your school list is appropriate; you have both stretch and safety options which is the right strategy.

Roll the dice--see what happens. Good luck!
Lisa

[alex123]

thank you so much for your thoughtful response.