curious2 wrote:
Hi Paul,
I have pretty much been intimated by all these impressive profiles on the forum, and begin to question what my real chance is in getting into one of the top MBA programs
I am a Chinese Canadian female, 26 years old, turning 27 very soon. Will be applying next year for 2008.
I have lived and worked in 4 different countries so far - grew up in Canada but also lived a few years in Hong Kong when i was a teenager, worked in Germany and Spain after getting my degree back home in Canada.
Academic background:
I have a degree in Arts and Science (double major European studies and modern languages - German and Italian), graduted with high distinction and received serveral scholarships. I also participated in university exchange and went to Berlin in my third year.
Work experience:
After graduation, I moved to germany and worked in the logistics industry for 3 years, started off in customer service/account management and went on to project management and sales and marketing. No direct management experience
After that, i was transfered to spain to work in shipping (sister company of previous logistic organisation) my current role is pricing executive for the mediterranean region. No direct management but I indirectly manage and establish business plan for the sale organisations of over 10 countries and have a solid performance in my job.
Extra-curricular activities:
I was very active in university, was a member of
-women's issues network, helped organise events etc
-was a counselor at the sexual education center
-volunteer at an exchange organisation (i participated in an exchange program and went to Germany when i was in high school)
- worked part-time at the career center in my last year of university
unfortunately i haven't had any volunteering experience after school, but i am very active within the company. I am organisation a team-building event for the office this year, as well as the coming christmas party.
I haven't done my gmat yet, but my aim is to get around 700 or more
What are my chances in getting into
Kellog
LBS
INSEA
HBS
since i am aiming at starting the program in 2008, is there anything i can do to improve my chances?
thanks a lot
Curious2,
If you get the 700 or higher GMAT you will have a decent chance at Kellogg, LBS, and INSEAD and a less-than-decent chance at HBS provided you do the following:
--seek out more leadership opportunities at work
--find a community organization (hopefully not the typical pre-MBA ones) and commit to it in a big way, i.e., get a leadership role and make things happen. Don't just tutor or help build houses -- lead something (or alternatively *start* a community organization)
The latter option will enable you to tackle the only two negatives in your otherwise quite distinctive and promising profile: leadership and recent community. You are already a strong candidate and could get into some good B-schools as you are, but will have to ratchet it up a notch for HBS etc.
Good luck,