Profile Review, please!

[FredS327]

Background
Work experience: 4 years at one of the largest economic development agencies in NYC. Our agency is a public/private partnership, and our mission is to advance the competitive advantage of a large central business district in Manhattan. I was hired as an Analyst, and promoted to a Director after my first year. In my current role, I lead project teams of various sizes to research root-causes to economic challenges that inhibit the growth of the district, perform quantitative and qualitative analyses across different scenarios, develop strategies and recommendations to deliver value and impact for our partners, and manage large groups of stakeholders with competing interests. One caveat is that the agency I work for is only well-known if you work within the same industry in NYC, otherwise the name doesn't carry much.

Extra curriculars: No real volunteer experiences to highlight. I have a range of personal passions and interests - big into LGBT equality, fitness, hiking, camping, the outdoors.

Undergrad school/major: University of British Columbia, Bachelor of Arts in Geography

Other education: Columbia University, Master of Science in Urban Planning

Race/nationality: Asian / Canadian (gay, if that matters)

Sex: Male / 28 years old

Stats
GMAT Score: Currently preparing, aiming for a score > 720, I'm naturally stronger in Verbal than Quant - trying to up my game for both, especially the latter.

Undergrad GPA: 3.5

MBA Info
Goal of MBA: My experience and background have been at the nexus of the private and public sectors in promoting and advancing the economy of NYC. While I enjoy my work, I would like to invest some more in myself to gain the skills and insights necessary to work at more global NGO organizations or philanthropic arms of large companies that deliver greater impact beyond just the economy (e.g. social impact, environmental impact).

Target schools: M7 (Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Kellogg, Booth, Columbia, and MIT Sloan), Yale, and NYU Stern

Application date: Would like to apply for R1 later this fall (2016).

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi there,

Thanks for posting. It sounds like you have a lot of positive attributes to your profile, including strong work experience from perhaps a less-common organization, promotion/recognition and leadership and management experiences, respectable GPA, grad degree (though you'll want to explain that choice etc), and while it's not something that 'gets' anyone in, additional diversity (Asian, Canadian, gay) factors can be a small plus as schools look to diversify their student body, if they also like your profile. The GMAT is a big open-question so I encourage you to prep thoroughly! With your school list, you'll really want to nail the GMAT to help as much as is possible. Your profile sounds fairly solid thus far (besides maybe community/EC's), but those schools are SO competitive and turn away great applicants all the time. So work hard on that GMAT, feel free to come back and let us know how it goes! Good luck!