Profile Evaluation

[rwincek]

Hi,

I'm getting ready to apply to 2 schools in the first round and 3 in the second, but I am still feeling unsure/curious about where to apply.

My Stats:
-27 year old Female
-BS Chemistry UC Berkeley GPA 3.5
-MS Biophysics UC Berkeley GPA 3.8

I conducted research in both undergrad and graduate school. My work has been published in peer reviewed journals.

I'm taking the GMAT in two weeks, but I have been consistently scoring above 700, and am striving to get >720 on test day.

After graduate school, I started a tech start-up. We gained some traction, however, we failed to secure funding (due to a too niche market), and were forced to disband (although we keep the site up) after ads rates began to plummet last year.

Since then I have worked in at a BioIT (Science on the web, type) start-up. When I first joined, there were about 20 people and I did product management and was a jill-of-all-trades. We've since grown to about 60 people, and, with the hiring of new management, I've become an integral member of our marketing team.

I want to get an MBA to get the traditional training in business to compliment my science background. I'm also looking forward to learning about finance and forecasting, to use my analytical skills to make data-driven business decisions. After business school, I want to join or start another start-up in the BioIT space (combining my love of science and the internet). I want to learn, hands on, how to build a successful company, and then take that experience into a career in VC, investing in the space.

So far, I am applying to GSB, Sloan, HBS, Kellogg, and Haas. Are all of these out of my league?

Thanks in advance for your advice, Roseanne

[mbamission]

Hi Roseanne -

As I was reading your post I started making a mental list of schools that would be good for you to apply to, and Sloan, Haas and Kellogg topped the list, because of their entrepreneurial focus. Your list is ambitious but not unreasonable. If you are absolutely committed to attending business school next year you might want to add a safer school, but from what you describe you have strong academics and grades, entrepreneurial drive (both with the failure and the success), and a variety of work/leadership experiences professionally. You don't mention your community activity, which is what I see missing from your profile.

My only other caveat would be that switching into finance from your science/business background might be a bit of a concern since schools this year are more hesitant about career changers. I would position that more as a wish or dream, with the science start ups as more of a direct goal. (Sort of: "in an ideal world I would love to take the experience of building a successful start up into a career in VC, investing in that space, but I recognize how challenging that could be and would be very satisfied with my career if I continued to build and grow exciting BioIT companies that...") Our blog has a couple of posts that might be relevant to you, one on back up goals and one on how to handle a lack of community service, if you want further information.

Best of luck,

Jessica Shklar
mbaMission

Our blog: www.mbamission.com/blog

[rwincek]

Hi Jessica,

Thank you so much for your insight and quick reply.

I do have a record of community service (I was philanthropy chair of my sorority, I am a member of two community service organizations for people working in the tech community, and I foster kittens and puppies for a local no-kill animal shelter (probably the most fun, yet messy volunteering possible!)). However, I didn't even think of including that in my profile to you, which probably means that I am not considering it enough in my applications. I will definitely keep that in mind while finishing apps! Thank you!

I definitely see what you mean about being prudent while discussing potential career change. The truth of the matter is that I would be thrilled to work in, manage, and grow BioIT start-ups for the rest of my life. The main reason that I am attracted to VC is that it offers the opportunity to be involved in multiple start-ups and have a broader impact in the development of the industry.

Thanks for your great feedback, I really appreciate it!

Thanks, Roseanne

[mbamission]

Thanks for taking the time to follow up, Roseanne. I'm glad to hear you have community involvement too; I'm not sure from what you say that there's enough for an essay, but be sure at the least to include it on your resume and your short-answer questions (the application itself). If there isn't enough there for the essays, consider your personal journey as well as a source of essay topics. You don't want your essays all to be about work. (We have some blog posts on this as well, and offer a free 30 minute consultation if you wanted me to clarify further.)

Best of luck,

Jessica