Profile Eval

Question

Hi Alex:
Please help evaluate profile 
Jan 2007-present Founding Owner/President
>> 
>> > 
General Profile: 25 y.o. female 
Track interested in:general management. 
Schools I'm eyeing: Columbia/Harvard?What are my chances of getting in these schools?
Thanks

AlexMBAApply · Answer

Given your background, you could very well have the potential to be the next Martha Stewart or trailblazing woman entrepreneur. From your experience, I have no doubt you have tremendous street smarts to run just about any business.

However, that's not really what top b-schools are looking for. They are looking for a particular kind of applicant -- they want folks who may have the street smarts that you do, but they also want someone with a more "employable" background - either a few years' experience at a well established firm or a prestigious university. There are certainly those at top schools with entrepreneurial experience, but its coupled with a few years of work at blue chip firms and/or a prestigious school. Especially when you're based in a country that doesn't get as many applicants to benchmark against.

That's why a lot of non-US MBA students at the top schools tend to have worked at large multinationals and graduate from their country's top university (or just as common - non-US students who went to US/UK undergrads at the Ivies).

Again, you aren't completely out of the running as there are a handful of people like you at any of these top schools (there's always a few exceptions to the rule), but you have to treat it as a roll of the dice, and apply to a broader range of schools. Perhaps schools in the lower half of the top 16 (Darden, Duke, Michigan, etc.).

Audio · Answer

Quick question to both of you: with a profile like that, why would you even bother losing 2 years of your time in an MBA? You've got a stellar profile and you should simply go on doing what you do because you're (I assume) good at it. The stuff you need to run your business, I reckon you can get it from other sources that are cheaper and less time-consuming.

Anyway, it's the usual "should an entrepreneur do an MBA" debate.

Anyway, it's the usual "should an entrepreneur do an MBA" debate.

AlexMBAApply · Answer

A couple possibilities (not necessarily directed personally at the original poster):

(1) The grass is greener - they underestimate how good they already have it, and overestimate how good the MBA is relative to where they are in life

(2) Spin - they're making more hay out of their accomplishments, and in reality they are looking for a lifeline out of their situation into a more "stable" path (because they're tired of living hand-to-mouth)

redbeanaddict · Answer

yeah. that's a valid question. actually, most my friends do not understand why im pursuing an mba too. 
my reasons:
a. i believe there's more to explore. i'm not yet content with what i have and want to look for more business opportunities. i would like to leverage on multiple businesses
b. as im expanding, i see the need to hire more professionals and i believe an mba can help me 'practice' on handling these types of people. i'm 26, most people i handle are at least 30s. managers are 40s
c. this is a step back moment for me. i need to check on whether ive been maximizing the opportunities i have or am missing out on a lot of untapped resources. need to do this now before i really run out of time
but yeah, thanks for raising this issue.

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