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Profile advice please.

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mikescool
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Profile advice please. [#permalink] New post   02 Sep 2009, 18:31
GMAT: 740, Q50, V40 AWA: 5.5
GPA: 3.62 Global health and health management (University of Toronto, Canada). & International Baccalaureate Diploma
Work experience: 12 month Marketing consultant at Toronto based graphic design company. 24 month as Gallery Manager (Smart Gallery Shanghai, China). I am also able to speak English, Japanese, and Mandarin fluently. My French is also conversational. (not sure if this matters)
Nationality: Canadian
Age: 25
Gender: Male
Extra-curriculars/community: Maternal tetanus vaccinations, Cambodia. Developing networked microscopy technology (China - Toronto). Global Warming Activisits (club), Model WHO, Model UN, Communication director at UT Emergency response team, Chair of HHR Conference, Lab technician at Labatory for collaborative diagnostics, local food bank 3 years... whole bunch of other stuff didn't bother to list.
Area of interest in MBA: Investment Banking/Sales & Trading

TOP CHOICE: Harvard
2nd TIER CHOICES: Columbia
CANADIAN SAFTEY NET: U of T

What are my chances of getting into Harvard? I'm worried about my lack of (in fact 0) relationship between my undergrad major and work experience
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PaulBodine
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Re: Profile advice please. [#permalink] New post   03 Sep 2009, 17:25
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mikescool,

Your profile wins the Unusual Applicant of the Day award. There's a lot of interesting and distinctive stuff there, and your GMAT score eliminates doubts that your nontraditional career path raises. The leadership might be a little underpowered for HBS, but then I may not have the full picture. The post-MBA goal sounds dubious to me though: they get a ton of people wanting to get into IB. I would choose something more distinctive and organic to your experience (that would benefit from a HBS MBA). The disconnect between your undergrad major and your work experience is a complete non-issue. You may have a shot at HBS and Columbia (I would not discourage you from applying to either). You are in at UofT.

Good luck,
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mikescool
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Re: Profile advice please. [#permalink] New post   03 Sep 2009, 20:43
Thank you for the speedy response pbodine.

Just a few tack-on questions.

1. Would my chances increase if i work for a few more years, perhaps find a more MBA-related position in some bigger financial firms such as Ernest and Young etc.?

2. If i apply now, and fail to get in. Will it negatively affect my chances if i apply a second time to the same institution (with additional credentials such as more experience etc.)

3. Are all the super-elite schools such as NW and Chicago, MIT etc. at the same level as Harvard and Columbia (both in terms of difficulty to gain entrance and work potential after graduation). This is of course coming from an Asian perspective. I notice here in China most people hold Harvard in the highest regard. But all other schools in this "elite category" tend to get shuffled together.

4. What do you think about Yale? (i noticed from this site that Yale was not listed in the super-elite schools), however from international renown they seem to be pretty high up here. I'm also interested in Yale because as a undergrad i had a chance to visit their campus and really liked it.

Thanks again for your insightful and timely responses!

Mike
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PaulBodine
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Re: Profile advice please. [#permalink] New post   10 Sep 2009, 10:43
1. Would my chances increase if i work for a few more years, perhaps find a more MBA-related position in some bigger financial firms such as Ernest and Young etc.?

Your chances would improve if you continue working and gain leadership roles and continue to ramp up your impact in a fast-track way. But you do not need to switch to an "MBA-related position" or a brand-name firm to do this. Doing that might actually damage the distinctiveness of your profile.

2. If i apply now, and fail to get in. Will it negatively affect my chances if i apply a second time to the same institution (with additional credentials such as more experience etc.)
No, it would not.

3. Are all the super-elite schools such as NW and Chicago, MIT etc. at the same level as Harvard and Columbia (both in terms of difficulty to gain entrance and work potential after graduation). This is of course coming from an Asian perspective. I notice here in China most people hold Harvard in the highest regard. But all other schools in this "elite category" tend to get shuffled together.
Yes, an MBA from most of the "super-elite" schools will help you land a good position as well an HBS MBA will. In terms of selectivity, Stanford not HBS is the most selective, but most of the super-elite schools have sub-15% admission rates. Check BusinessWeek MBA online for the actual selectivity rates of each school.

4. What do you think about Yale? (i noticed from this site that Yale was not listed in the super-elite schools), however from international renown they seem to be pretty high up here. I'm also interested in Yale because as a undergrad i had a chance to visit their campus and really liked it.
Yale SOM has an outstanding program, and I think their rankings don't do them justice. However, Yale SOM is as selective as the "super-elite" schools.
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Re: Profile advice please. [#permalink]
10 Sep 2009, 10:43

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