Hi
Could you evaluate my profile please?
Education:
The University of Texas at Austin
B.A. Government
B.A. Spanish
Overall GPA: 3.47
GPA for major: ~3.98 (I changed majors during my sophomore year from biology and my grades jumped)
Work Experience:
Teach For America Corps Member
- Taught English at placement school for two years
- Will be in administrative role this coming year at same school
- Took on various planning and leadership responsibilities during my two years
Other Work
- A couple of summer internships at various nonprofits during college
- A few years of sales during college and high school (same company)
June 18: GMAT Prep Practice (560 (34Q/33V))
June 29: MGMAT CAT Exam1 (610 (41Q/33V))
June 14: MGMAT CAT Exam2 (640 (42Q/35V))
Future: Hopefully they will continue to increase!
I have already signed up to take the real exam late August.
A few questions:
1. I'm hoping to possibly open up my own school or work in the nonprofit sector after business school. Will this be seen as a plus to the admissions?
2. What are some of the schools that would be in my reach, comfort, and safety zones?
3. Will the B schools notice and consider my change of major and upward trend in grades?
4. When would be an ideal time to apply? I may take the exam a second time but I want to have a greater competitive edge among the applicant pool (considering the various deadlines for different schools).
Thanks in advance!
GMAT Forum
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- coolhss
- Course Students
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- Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 9:16 am
- mili
- Forum Guests
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- Joined: Thu Jun 28, 2012 3:47 am
Re: Profile Evaluation
Hello there!
Thanks for the background info. Here are my answers to your questions:
1. I'm hoping to possibly open up my own school or work in the nonprofit sector after business school. Will this be seen as a plus to the admissions? Not particularly a 'plus' per se -- ad coms don't really judge what people aim to do, but moreso how they aim to do it. The fact that you have social-impact goal is not so unique these days, but I think the 'plus' is that it makes perfect sense given your background, and makes sense that you'd need an MBA to achieve this goal. It's credible, and that's a plus.
2. What are some of the schools that would be in my reach, comfort, and safety zones? Given your interest in non traditional career paths, I'd look at schools that are strong in this area. In the top tier, that would be Kellogg, Tuck, UC Berkeley... but these are going to be out of reach with a 640-680 GMAT score. Difficult to say without knowing your actual score, but assuming it's in the 640 range, you should probably consider schools like MSU, UT Austin, USC as targets and Babson, Georgetown, University of Washington type schools as safeties. For reach, you could throw in UNC or something like that. I really can't tell you the specific schools you should apply to - depends on what you're looking for - you'll have to do your research. But hopefully this helps you think about what tiers to look at.
3. Will the B schools notice and consider my change of major and upward trend in grades? Yes, this is something you can also point out in an optional statement.
4. When would be an ideal time to apply? I may take the exam a second time but I want to have a greater competitive edge among the applicant pool (considering the various deadlines for different schools). Do you mean ideal time between R1 and R2? Or ideal time as in this year versus next year? For the former, the answer is whenever you feel your application is as strong as it can be. A weak application submitted in R1 will not help you. R3 is least ideal and can diminish your chances, even if your application is strong. So aim for R1 or R2. If your question is the latter, it seems like you could benefit from an additional year to build up your leadership profile and potentially improve your GMAT score - but that's a really personal choice that you'll have to make on your own!
Good luck,
Mili Mittal
Senior Consultant
http://www.mbamission.com
Read the mbaMission Insider's Guides (16 individual school titles)
Download mbaMission’s Free Personal Statement Guide
Visit the mbaMission Blog
Follow mbaMission on Twitter
Thanks for the background info. Here are my answers to your questions:
1. I'm hoping to possibly open up my own school or work in the nonprofit sector after business school. Will this be seen as a plus to the admissions? Not particularly a 'plus' per se -- ad coms don't really judge what people aim to do, but moreso how they aim to do it. The fact that you have social-impact goal is not so unique these days, but I think the 'plus' is that it makes perfect sense given your background, and makes sense that you'd need an MBA to achieve this goal. It's credible, and that's a plus.
2. What are some of the schools that would be in my reach, comfort, and safety zones? Given your interest in non traditional career paths, I'd look at schools that are strong in this area. In the top tier, that would be Kellogg, Tuck, UC Berkeley... but these are going to be out of reach with a 640-680 GMAT score. Difficult to say without knowing your actual score, but assuming it's in the 640 range, you should probably consider schools like MSU, UT Austin, USC as targets and Babson, Georgetown, University of Washington type schools as safeties. For reach, you could throw in UNC or something like that. I really can't tell you the specific schools you should apply to - depends on what you're looking for - you'll have to do your research. But hopefully this helps you think about what tiers to look at.
3. Will the B schools notice and consider my change of major and upward trend in grades? Yes, this is something you can also point out in an optional statement.
4. When would be an ideal time to apply? I may take the exam a second time but I want to have a greater competitive edge among the applicant pool (considering the various deadlines for different schools). Do you mean ideal time between R1 and R2? Or ideal time as in this year versus next year? For the former, the answer is whenever you feel your application is as strong as it can be. A weak application submitted in R1 will not help you. R3 is least ideal and can diminish your chances, even if your application is strong. So aim for R1 or R2. If your question is the latter, it seems like you could benefit from an additional year to build up your leadership profile and potentially improve your GMAT score - but that's a really personal choice that you'll have to make on your own!
Good luck,
Mili Mittal
Senior Consultant
http://www.mbamission.com
Read the mbaMission Insider's Guides (16 individual school titles)
Download mbaMission’s Free Personal Statement Guide
Visit the mbaMission Blog
Follow mbaMission on Twitter
- coolhss
- Course Students
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 9:16 am
Re: Profile Evaluation
Thanks for the input!
- mili
- Forum Guests
- Posts: 401
- Joined: Thu Jun 28, 2012 3:47 am
Re: Profile Evaluation
Sure, no problem!
4 posts Page 1 of 1