Pbodine,
Thanks for the evaluation in advance. We all appreciate the service you provide to us. Sorry for the long post, but I guess the more you know the better you can evaluate.
Here we go:
26 years old, white, married, from rural TN originally, now residing in Nashville
GMAT-710 (Q48, V39)
Undergrad-BS in Economics with a 3.6 GPA and a 3.85% in major a state university. i also took classed in finance, stats, and calc. Particated in the economics club and joined Omnicron Delta Epsilon (economics honor society). I did not participate a lot at school out side of class due to working 35+ hours per week at a national restaurant chain as a server and as a trainer. I had to pay for my own living expenses for every semester except for my last two semesters.
Career Progression (chonological)-
-My first job was at the restaurant chain as training captain for 1 year. I managed a group of 13 to 15 trainers, organized new hire orientations and classrooom schedules, and conducted monthly train the trainer meetings.
-My second job was at a national mortgage lender. I progressed my way from loan officer to team leader after 1 year and 3 months. I now manage a group of 5 loan officers while maintaining personal sales goals as well and have been doing this for over 1.5 years. I hired all the loan officers, trained and developed them and now my team accounts for 30% of total office production. Last December the company sold to a larger mortgage company (lot's of turmoil currently in the mortgage) where I have maintained the same position and have been offered a promotion which i declined due to not wanting to move to Boston (cost of living adjustment made the move not make sense).
At the time of matriculation I will have 4.5 year of work experience with 3 of those years in management/leadership positions.
Community Activities-
-Asst Coach of Vanderbilt Club wrestling team-I would say that I am not an ordinary asst. I handle the fundraising aspect and the head coach and I run the practices. The program was lacking leadership from outside the University and they asked the head coach to come and help and he asked me to assist him. We have already made great strides in getting our budget increased, we our going to 3 more tournaments this year, and we are going to raise additional money through selling merchandise at TN Titans games.
-Hands on Nashville-I have volunteered as project coordinator twice...this is a typical community activity although it was in a leadership role
Recommendations will be be from two direct supervisors who are excited for me and they should be very compelling
Why MBA, what will I do with it, and why now?
I want to get the MBA to open doors to the IB industry with a focus in real estate or to work for a real estate hedge fund. The only way to get entry into these companies is through getting an MBA. I will be a career changer but I think my real estate experience and knowledge will help since I want to concentrate in real estate at an IB or hedge fund.
Also, I am married and my wife would like for me to go ahead and go. I always knew I would be getting and MBA at some point. She is ready to have kids and I want to wait until completing MBA.
I have begun to network through my financial advisor with some of his clients who work for a large investment bank. They have suggested getting CFA level 1 out of the way now which and I plan to take it next spring. Also, I will continue to grow this network base. Plus I have a friend who is getting his MBA and have begun to netword with some of his connections.
Potential Weaknesses-
I went to three Universities in undergrad. My first semester was at a community college (yuck), but I had plans to move to LA and be an actor. So, I took few classes my first semester and moved to LA. My plan was to become a resident of California and continue schools for a much cheaper price. Well, LA smacked me back to TN and back to reality. I had no clue how expensive it would be and got a quick reality check. My first taste of the real world outside of my sheltered Southern life was horrific. With my ego and desires crushed i moved to my parents house in SC and took a year to re-evaluate and took classes at their local university before going to the state school mentioned earlier with a much clearer focus of who I want to become (acting was no longer an option. plus i realized that i was not that good).
Schools-
The five I sent my score to are:
Cornell
UNC
Duke-where the wife wants me to go
NYU-interested in being able to also take classes in their SCPS real estate program
Yale
Other Schools:
Michigan
Vanderbilt
possible stretches in order of interest-Columbia (really like their real estate concentration), U of Chicago, and Harvard (a common theme)
What are my chance at these schools?
In what areas could I improve?
What other schools would you recommend considering my career aspirations?
Thanks again. I can't wait to read your response.
close
07 Aug 2007, 07:16
