EChopeful12 wrote:
Hello,
I am looking to apply in Fall 2011 and was hoping you fine folks could give me a little
profile review.
My stats:
25 at matriculation with 32 months of full time WE (government mgmt consulting)
700 GMAT (95% V, 67% Q)
3.3 cumulative GPA (Econ major) from private Top 20 (I think my final 2 years was around 3.2ish)
Didn't get involved with anything during my undergrad unfortunately, but I picked up the slack post-graduation by volunteering to do some college career counseling, volunteering at the Make A Wish Foundation, and I hold a couple of chair positions on my local alumni board
I have good reviews from my employers will be able to get solid recs from them as well.
I'm an entrepreneur at heart and would like to get into i-banking (M&A) post-MBA in order to gain some transactional experience and then I'd like to get a team together and take over a company. I figure I could use the i-banking experience to add value to a small/medium-sized company that is looking to expand via acquisitions. I'm also flip-flopping between wanting to enter the energy industry (nat gas is more interesting to me than big oil) and healthcare.
A little bit more about myself...I've lived on three different continents and worked for a summer in Abu Dhabi for a PE firm. Will being "cultured" (for lack of a better word) help potentially?
My list of possible schools includes the following (I realize that there are a lot of schools but I'll probably only choose 5-6):
Yale
NYU
Haas
Columbia
Kellogg
Ross
Darden
McCombs
Fuqua
Since I'm going to be a career changer, will the schools on my list be accommodating or will some look down on this?
The schools realize the people entering their programs are almost all seeking career changes, so, no, they do not look down on this. On the other hand, they will want you to prove that your transition makes sense given your background and is achievable. So if you are interested in a future, say, in natural gas investing/finance, then you'll need to prove and highlight your knowledge and experience in that sector. Don't assume that the admissions committees will connect those dots in your background to your future.
Yes, the Abu Dhabi experience will be interesting and colorful for the admissions committee, as long as the experience there was interesting and colorful. (In other words, if you advised westerners while ensconced in a hotel and didn't immerse in the local culture, then the experience may lack the true color that the committee will be seeking). And your current community work should round out your application nicely.