StokesMayo wrote:
Hi,
Numbers:
25 year old white male
GRE: 170 Verbal (99%), 169 Quant (98%), 5.0 AWA (92%)
3.51 GPA at UVA (Philosophy major)
~4 years work experience
Work Background:
Spent six months working on a successful political campaign as Special Assistant to the Candidate
Three months volunteering in Goma, DRC with various NGOs
Four months working for local web-based start-up
Two years in Uganda as an Economic Development Volunteer
Seven months working for the same local web-based start-up
And four months ago I started a company with two friends that imports and sells hand-pressed Moroccan oil online and wholesale to local stores
Potential issues:
- Eclectic work experience
- No extracurriculars (does Peace Corps make up for this?)
- Weak quantitative background (took Macroecon at local college this semester, taking Micro and Accounting next semester)
- Edit: also should point out that the business is still in it infancy and probably won't have much quantifiable success for at least another few months.
Post-MBA plans
In addition to helping with the company I have already started, I would like to focus on starting more businesses with an African focus in the vein of "for-profit economic development." I think Africa is too often presented as a charity case, and it is increasingly ripe for partnership and investment opportunities, and I want to be on the forefront of that movement. Short-term: importing and selling high-quality, hand-made goods. Long-term: possible investments in manufacturing, agribusiness, and IT (as infrastructure grows and becomes more reliable).
Target schools: (I am applying now for round two and am finished with everything but the essays for all schools)
- Stanford
- Harvard
- Darden
- Fuqua
- UNC Kenan-Flagler
- USC Marshall
Thanks!
Interesting background! First regarding your potential issues.
1. Eclectic isn't so much of an issue as the short stints on multiple jobs. I think this is something you must address in an optional essay when given the opportunity.
2. Peace Corps will do a lot to make up for this. Also your African experience is so unusual and you volunteered there. You also just finished working for a political campaign. It may not have been volunteer, but presumably there is a community or greater good that you are trying to serve in such a position.
3. If you haven't had a math course since high school, that is a weakness, but your GRE score does a lot to mitigate it. A's in your current classes will help too.
4. New business --not a big deal.
HBS and Stanford are both stretch programs, with Stanford being the more likely acceptance of the two. If you can effectively address concerns about your work history, you would have a competitive profile for the remainder of the schools on your list. You may also want to consider Ross.
Best,
Linda
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12 Dec 2012, 11:58
