bakfed wrote:
Hi, I'd appreciate your candid response.
Ethnicity:
Asian American (born in Taiwan; immigrated to the States at 10 years old); speak fluent English and Mandarin
Age: 25 now, 26 matriculate
Undergraduate Education:
I graduated from University of California, San Diego, with a GPA of 3.1 in Human Biology. I was planning to go into Research in the Biology field; however, after starting my Masters in doing research, I realized that my dream wasn't in it. It was a pretty big blow to me, since I've already spent the last 4 years of my education pursuing a biology degree.
Math courses: since my major was in Biology, I feel a need to express the math courses I've taken since I don't have the traditional business degree. In college, I've only taken 5 math-related courses:
3 quarters of Calculus in progression and received all A's
1 quarter of Statistics and received an A
1 quarter of Macroeconomics and received a B+
Work Experience: (a total of about 4.5-5 years of WE, age 27 when entering B-school)
After graduating from UCSD, I started working in a moving exhibit (Bodies...The Exhibition). Though the turnover rate was quite high, I stayed until the exhibit had to move again. I gained just 6 months worth of experience there, but made friends that will last forever. I was working in the Operations department, as well as the Educations department. Though it was never put out on the table, by the end of the exhibit I was pretty much made the Assistant Director of Education (as indicated in the Director of Education's reference letter).
After the exhibit, I found a more permanent job at a biotech company (500+ employees) in San Diego, also working in the Operations department. When I started the new job, the Director of Education from the exhibit called me and asked if I would like to be the Director of Operations at the exhibit, which was moved to Hawaii. After contemplating a bit, I turned down the offer since I figured a more permanent job would look better on my resume (hopefully that was a good decision). After working 6 months at the biotech company, I was promoted to the next level of my position - Laboratory Coordinator. My job description is mainly to maintain a biology lab with over 100+ people; I track the purchase of consumables and reagent materials; I provide input in our yearly budget (1 million+ dollars); organize space; develop protocols; etc. I'm also one of the persons our company sends to various lab conferences to see new products and introduce our company. After working at the biotech company, I've decided to head into Business.
Other things about me:
I've always been an avid piano player. I'm also the Music Director for a small church in San Diego. I lead the congregation in singing. I pick the hymns and lead choir practices. I also volunteer to sing at a Senior Center every month. Other than music, I'm also an active SAT teacher for the Princeton Review. I've taught several SAT courses and currently getting trained to become a GMAT teacher as well. During college, I was an Orientation Counselor, leading incoming freshmen on campus and giving a tour of the type of lives they'll have in college. In addition to that, I was also a Teachers Assistant, which I normally held office hours/sections/midterm&final reviews. I also participate as a young adult in my other church that I rarely get to attend in LA. Few years back, I was also our Church Camp Director, leading a group of 40+ young adults for retreats and such.
Extracurricular activities that I do:
Church activities and music production
GMAT: 700 (Q49, V35) AWA 6.0
After business school:
My focus initially would be to head into Management Consulting, preferably in the pharma industry, but willling to learn. Long-term-wise I'd like to go back to into biotech/pharma industry for a senior management position
Schools:
Columbia (dream)
Kellogg (dream)
Tuck
Darden
Ross
(perhaps USC)
If you think I'm just dreaming and hoping to win the lottery ticket with these schools, please say so. If all of these schools are pretty much out of my league, please provide some schools that I may have a shot at. I would really love to attend one of the top schools in the country, but I want to be realistic with myself also.
Thanks for your time! And if you would need any additional information about me before providing any feedback, please let me know and I'll be more than happy to cooperate.
Thanks!
Sorry for my delayed response. I attended the AIGAC conference last week.
While I think you have a chance at all the above, I am concerned that you are aiming a little high overall. I would suggest you drop two out of
Kellogg,
Columbia, and
Tuck and add 1 or two from
Duke,
Yale, and
Cornell.