nyrberg wrote:
Hi Paul and thank you for reviewing my profile.
I am applying to Harvard, Penn, MIT, Columbia, Chicago, Northwestern and NYU. Also considering Cornell, Yale and Dartmouth.
I am a white male, 25 years old.
Undergrad: My first semester was done at SUNY Stony Brook with a GPA of 3.33. I then transferred to a community college for a semester and got a GPA of 2.4. Finally, I transferred to Northeastern University and studied there for the next 4 years. I majored in biology and graduated with a GPA of 3.84. Many quant/science classes such as physics, chem, analytical chem, 3 calculus classes, etc. All A or A- grades.
During college, I worked part-time at the university library (15 hrs/week-work/study) all through college. I also participated in a 6-month full-time coop during my sophomore year doing vitamin research at the Tufts University Human Nutrition Research Center. This had clinical significance and contributed to an academic publication in PNAS in which I was acknowledged. I also played club roller hockey for a semester and was a member of the biology club.
Since graduation in 2005, I have been working in an academic breast cancer laboratory at one of the leading biological research centers in the world. This is a private, non-profit institution. I am in charge of running our laboratory of 15 people. Very weird dynamic as I am the least educated, but yet still run the lab and coordinate any group efforts. I am also responsible for many experiments/ideas/future planning and I am co-author of a manuscript submitted to a top-tier journal. It may or may not get accepted before the time I submit my application. I will have 37 months of work experience at matriculation. Recommendations will be very good as they are written by people that know me very well.
Extracurriculars include running up to 20-30 miles/week with one 5k race. I have also participated in recreational hockey, bowling and softball leagues. I am the captain of my hockey team and we have won numerous house championships over the past few years. I have worked directly with a number of high school students in my lab. I may mention this in my essays. I have also volunteered at a hospital over a 3-4 month period shadowing/assisting physician assistants and providing support for patients (5 hrs/week). I am part of the National Honor Society of Collegiate Scholars and I received two academic awards from my undergraduate institution for academic achievement.
Goals: I do not like scientific research as concrete results are slow to come, if they do at all, and impact on field often takes a life time. I want to begin a career in pharmaceutical consulting. I believe I can combine my scientific knowledge and an MBA to bridge a gap that exists, between science and business, within pharmaceutical companies. I believe this makes me rather unique and I make this clear in my essays. It is also important to me to continue using my training in science as I believe it contains a socially beneficial element.
GMAT 740 (Q48 ,V44) AWA 5.0 – 2nd time
GPA at Graduation: 3.843 (summa cum laude)
Do I stand a chance at the schools I am targeting?
Thank you for your help.
nyrberg,
You have the significant advantages of an excellent GMAT score, solid leadership, and an unusual profile. That said, I don't see HBS and Columbia as achievable, and I believe Wharton, MIT, Chicago, Tuck, and Kellogg will be longshots for you. My primary concern is that your impact thus far seems limited to the "academic" and extracurricular realms, which hurts you a bit vis-a-vis applicants who can point to more and larger bottom-line-oriented impact. You are competitive at Yale and Cornell. Since your asset is the unusualness of your profile and of your goals, much of the viability of your application will depend on *how well* you turn those assets to your advantage. That is, if you write brilliantly engaging essays full of personality, enthusiasm, and savvy then adcoms, even at some of the longshot schools I mentioned, may be persuaded to look past their doubts. One way to achieve this, for example, would be to present extremely ambitious goals--think big. Emphasize the leadership stories you do have. Show them the tangible, bottom-line impact you've been able to have even within the constraints of a lab-based career.
Hope this helps, _________________
Linda Abraham
Accepted ~ The Premier Admissions Consultancy
310-815-9553
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