Hey damysteryman385:
The short answer is yes. You do have a chance at these programs.
However, I am not able to really provide that much more information given the brevity of profile you posted. The one variable that could determine whether or not you actually get into a program or not, is what you are short and long-term goals are -- and also your reasons for getting an MBA.
At Columbia, for example, the second essay at once you to tell them more about you and what it is that you were involved in. The reason they are asking you this is because Columbia is very keen on how you build relationships and thus community. You are going to want to come to the table with examples of your extracurricular activities, or even inside the office activities, that demonstrate a commitment to building up your coworkers or community. This is how you make it believable that you will be a full contributor at Columbia, for example.
At Harvard, they are not as concerned with this type of community building. Ironically, in a different way, you may stand a better chance at Harvard. Harvard just wants to know if you have the goods -- that is, do you have the impactful and significant leadership activities that will tell them you have potential to be not only a good student, but also very impactful alumnus. If you look at the new Harvard essays that were released this past week, you will see that there is a sort of "free-for-all" question that basically states what is it you wish to we have asked you about? This would be your opportunity to bring up another dimension. If you like an extracurricular dimension, I recommend talking about your cultural heritage and how it has affected you, your diverse and international viewpoints, as well as how you deal with those who may or may not be like you.
I think at schools like Yale and Duke, schools that value to touchy-feely factor, you may have a disadvantage. I suggest looking at the individual essays for each school and determining if they ask you a question like "what do you bring to the table and what will you contribute to your fellow students." These are the schools that once you tell them something unique and interesting about you. Duke has this sort of question on this past year's essays.
Chicago Booth has a related question that potentially asks you to define extracurricular activities as well. This is their PowerPoint essay. This is the opportunity for them to tell you who you are as a human being. I do not believe that the absence of extracurricular activities in the past year would exclude you from generating an excellent PowerPoint presentation, but it maybe a little harder.
These are the types of questions, problems and issues that I help solve. I believe that it may have a few other solutions that we should discuss. Please e-mail me at
MBA@amerasiaconsulting.com, if you would like to set up an initial consultation to talk about strategy.
Respectfully,
Paul Lanzillotti
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