Hi fgale08,
Thanks for your message. I reviewed your profile similar to other candidates' profiles when I worked as part of a top 5 program's AdComm.
I would encourage you to apply to the schools which you shared - Berkeley, UCLA, USC, Yale SOM, and NYU Stern. However, please do not limit yourself to just these. Given your background and your experience in a family business, there are other programs in the top tier that will also be attracted to your background.
Your GMAT score is a solid score and falls within the competitive range for some of the top 10 schools based on our experience last year. Your GPA will further strengthen your profile given that it is a 3.65/4.0. I congratulate you on this, as it is not an easy task to achieve this GPA during one of the most challenging times in any student's life - in the midst of the transition from a teenager to a young adult and especially at a top 10 program. I have worked with many candidates over the past 6 years and this is the number one challenge I observe. However, your discipline and a strive for excellence managed it beautifully.
I understand your concern for overall work experience. At the end of the day, the quality of work experience is more important than the quantity of years. Candidates with prior experience in small family businesses are accepted in top 10 programs. You will just need to effectively communicate your personal and professional background, along with your aspirations for business school. Make sure that the other aspects to your applications are produced with unwavering quality.
This aspect of your professional background will be further supported by your experience in underwriting, hedging and trading. I would recommend that you continue to gain more exposure to that side prior to b-school if it interests you.
I hope this helps you. If you would like to further speak directly with our consultants who are former admissions committee members or our recent admits at any point, please visit
https://macapproved.com/free-evaluation/Best wishes,
Sue and the MAC Team
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