I would love your opinion on the below, thanks!
25 year old female originally from Istanbul
Undergrad: BFA in Fashion Design from Pratt Institute in New York (3.7 GPA)
Work history: Worked as an assistant designer for 2 years in New York after which I moved back to Istanbul and worked as a retail buyer and then an apparel category manager (current position) for two e-commerce platforms (so total of almost 4 years work experience)
Extracurriculars are so-so and somewhat unrelated to my field but I'm figuring out how to make them relevant
GMAT: Highest score 660 (Q44, V38). I took the test again after this one and got a 640 but didn't cancel because I got a Q47 which I think is more important for me considering my education background even though I know they don't mix and match scores. But because of the huge drop in verbal I'm taking it again next week.
I want to get an MBA to move to the management side of the fashion industry (as a brand manager or a consultant at a firm with a strong luxury retail client base)
Schools: I'm applying to Wharton, Columbia, NYU and Harvard. I know these are all reaches but all of them seem to be searching for more diversity in their profiles and were very encouraging when I went to visit last fall. I know I can get a better GMAT score which I think is my biggest area of concern right now, even though they do seem to accept people with scores as low as 620 (in Wharton's case).
As far as the essays go, I've been capitalizing on the untraditional background aspect and have received good feedback from people I've had read the essays (alumni of Wharton and Columbia, also one of my colleagues). The problem I'm having specifically with the Columbia essays right now is that because my personal story is so intertwined with my career progression and my decision to get an MBA, I don't really have anything left for the "surprise us" question. Should I go for something really out there but still related to my overall story or take the opposite approach and go with a more leadership/career based answer?
For all schools, I used the optional essay to explain my gap in employment from February 2014 to October 2014 when I moved back to Istanbul and was going through some personal issues.
I look forward to hearing what you think, thanks in advance!