Profile Evaluation Request!

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Profile Evaluation Request!

by goldfarr » Mon Jan 09, 2017 6:45 pm
Hi!

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this post. While I am still a year or two away from application, I would like to see how my profile is shaping up for when I pull the trigger. FYI, my dream schools are UCLA, HBS, NYU, COLUMBIA, STANFORD, and USC. I'm hoping to get an expert opinion.

I went to a top 30 liberal arts school. I graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Summa Cum Laude, 3.9 GPA with a double major in Econ and Film and finished my degrees in 3 and 1/2 years. I was an RA, played club sports, did theater and wrote screenplays. During undergrad, I worked in entertainment at three Academy Award winning production companies and for WME as an intern. When I graduated early, I got a job at Ernst and Young as a consultant in financial advisory which I did for 8 months before shifting back to the entertainment industry where I currently work (at a top 4 talent agency in the Film Finance and Sales group). I will either stay here until I apply to B-school in the fall of 2017 or 2018 or I will shift to a Studio, preferably in the strategy or marketing space.

on the GMAT side: Tough road of studying but pulled out a 710! 47 Math, 40 Verbal. 6 AWA and 6 IR.

Throughout the next two years, I plan on doing volunteer work with my company and on my own. I also am an active stock trader on the side as a hobby. I am a white man FYI.

With all that info, do I have a shot at any of my dream schools listed above?

Thank you for your time and response!

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by MargaretStrother » Tue Jan 31, 2017 6:48 pm
In a word, yes! Top business schools will love your strong, differentiated work experience in the entertainment industry, your terrific GPA, and your involvements outside the classroom. Over the next two years you can help yourself be even more competitive by taking on a leadership role in one major community service engagement, leading teams of volunteers, and if international exposure is a weak area, you might bear that in mind when you choose such an engagement, giving yourself the option of doing volunteer work overseas at some point.

GMAT: for most of these schools, 710 is kind of borderline. It's "acceptable", and it's not a liability, but it's not quite an asset either. I know how awful this is to hear, but consider retaking it. A 720 or 730 would make a huge difference in your options for the MBA (whereas a score of more than 730, in my minority opinion, wouldn't add that much more to your competitive profile).

I commend you for taking the time to plan two years ahead! I wish everyone did. Just so you know, at Stacy Blackman Consulting we feature a "plan ahead" package where you can work on some of these issues with an experienced consultant and plot out your steps comprehensively over the next year or two. You can learn more about this opportunity here: https://www.stacyblackman.com/plan-ahead/

Good luck! I really think you'll do well when you apply.
Margaret Strother
Margaret Strother
Senior Consultant
Stacy Blackman Consulting

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