Profile Evaluation

[laxrox9]

Hello, I am a 25 yr old American male applying to business school in the Fall and was hoping to get your feedback on my profile.

My undergrad GPA was a 3.86 at the University of Maryland, double major in Economics and Marketing. My GMAT score is a 690 (Q76%, V86%).

I worked for over a year in Switzerland and Croatia as an economic media consultant, interviewing government officials/CEOs and preparing country reports for newspapers.

I returned to the U.S. and have been working with the same firm since as a Real Estate consultant, securing NYC approvals for developers, architects and property owners on large-scale projects. The role is heavy in managing an internal team, developing project strategy and implementation, and also serving as the client's main contact. We are the largest in the city so I can provide a long list of noteworthy clients/projects.

I also became the managing co-owner of a cigar business, which includes a growing boutique brand and popular lounge, shortly after returning from abroad. I am solely responsible for the P&L, marketing and operation of the business, which is in addition to the full-time consultant position I have referenced above.

I am shooting for a top 10 program, with HBS, Wharton, LBS, Columbia and INSEAD at the top of the list.

Please let me know your thoughts on my target schools, and anything else you think I should work on prior to applying. Thank you.

[mbamission]

Hello,

Thank you for your post. You seem to be a very strong candidate. You have interesting and varied work experience, international experience, management, a strong GPA and entrepreneurial experience. Your GMAT score is a tad on the low side for some of the schools that you’ve listed, both overall as well as the quantitative percentile, but it’s not a deal breaker, certainly. I’d say that if you think that you could improve your score by 20 points without too much trouble, you should retake the test. Of course, if you do not think that you can do much to improve your GMAT score, that’s OK, just focus on the other aspects of the application.

In terms of your target schools, HBS, Wharton and perhaps Columbia may be a bit risky. You certainly will be competitive, but these schools are so competitive that you can’t count on admission. Depending on your goals, the number of schools you want to apply to and your risk tolerance, you may consider including some schools where you’d be a bit more competitive to your list. I think that LBS and Insead are good choices.

The only thing that you didn’t mention in your post is your post-MBA career goal. Since you have had varied work experience: international media consulting, domestic real estate and boutique cigar entrepreneurship, the admissions committees will likely be interested in hearing a cohesive story about your career path as well as your long term goals after business school. Good luck!
Sincerely,

Akiba Smith-Francis

MBA Mission
646-485-8844
Website: www.mbamission.com
Blog: www.mbamission.com/blog
MBA Mission Insider’s Guides: www.mbamission.com/store.php (12 individual school titles)
Free Consultation: www.mbamission.com/consult.php
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MBAMission