Profile Evaluation-690/Euro Schools

I think you should be able to get into at least a few of the schools to be honest. Not sure why you completely excluded any of the UK schools, but I would look at LBS as well. Here's what I suggest:

Stretch (but still competitive): INSEAD, LBS, IMD
Sweet spot: IE, IESE, ESADE
Safety: Mannheim, RMLS, etc. (in fact I don't think you'd need to apply to any of these in this range).

Your GMAT isn't fatal and you'd still have a shot with your current score - but yes, if you have the time and willingness to retake it, go for it. Good luck

Wrendan,
Was the family business you worked for in the US YOUR family business? or just A family business?? In your educational experience do you have any leadership? And in your time in Europe have you picked up any other languages?

You have a nice GMAT and good grades (although if you believe you can get higher on the GMAT, I would urge you to try, esp. given that you are not from a business background, a high GMAT can really help more than it can help others that do come from a business background.)

From your list, I thin you should drop IMD. I don't know how much you know about the school, but I have a few clients going there now, and it doesn't seem to me to fit your profile well. It's almost an Executive MBA program - they go for much older students with much more experience, a large chunk of which come from manufacturing/industry, so I don't really see a good fit there for you.

From the other schools in your list, I would say INSEAD is a stretch, and the others should be in range. I don't necessarily agree with Alex who recommends you not apply to Mannheim, RMLS etc. because they are excellent schools (and I think the Euro rankings are quite imprecise, as they don't take in account a country by country level of prestige and success). What you need to keep in mind is that you will likely find a job in the country where your school is located (less true in the case of the Spanish schools), but for example, half of HEC students work in France, 60% of ESMT students work in Germany, and so on.

Since you are already in Europe (is the summer your slow season?) maybe get yourself a Eurorail pass and VISIT all the schools you are interested in. But DO think about Geography, and look at the hiring stats of every program you are interested in to see where people actually go (what countries, what industries, and what salaries).

Finally, since you have been working in education for the last year and a half I would recommend you stick with that industry for your goals, as it will make most sense.

Thank you for your kind response and for your good questions. The “family business” was my family's State Farm insurance agency. I worked with my father and while I worked I was given the opportunity to learn to manage his business with intention of opening up my own agency, with State Farm (State Farm is a mutual company and the largest property and casualty company in the US and one of the largest life and health insurers too). The managers supported this idea and they still do. I discovered through time and experience that the agency role was not to my liking. While I do enjoy working in Insurance/Financial services I don't enjoy working on the front lines. I also realized that I didn't want to stay in the region where I was from which would have been necessary. (My concerns here are where to get letters of recommendation. The managers that I was involved with have all moved on (State Farm is reorganizing its agency management) and lastly my direct supervisor was my father. I have considered asking other agents and my customers and former employers. Would these be best?)

I decided to move abroad and gain international experience. While abroad I have picked up a basic level of Hungarian, if I continue to practice I will be proficient and able to use the language at work in 2 more years time (it is a very very difficult language). I also have gained very valuable skills in adapting to different cultures and environments. I have gained in Hungary a short period of time a very large network of people that I can draw upon.

During my time in University I was involved in a program that placed academically qualified students with first year students at my university through their first year. I tutored, taught, advised and lived with 75-90 new students every year for 3 years. My position was a full time (40 hours per week) academic and leadership one. With these students I led numerous activities, excursions, and programs designed to get students involved with the university and in the local community. This was while I simultaneously taught several for credit courses with a professor to engage students in the academic aspects of university life. The professors and I led lessons on Philosophy, Political Science, Environmental Science, Literature, about the university's resources (library system, research centers, museums, study abroad, and academic matters such as citing works and not plagiarizing. During this time I also lived with the students in the university residence halls and I was responsible for the health and well being of the students while they transitioned into University life. This was a full time position with which I was involved while I was also involved with numerous other clubs (National Honor Society, Society of College Scholars, my Fraternity of which I had an elected position of discipline and ethics chair of AEPi, and also with the Philosophy club at the University). I didn't include any of these things in my profile as I wasn't sure how relevant it would be being that is has been 5 years since I was in University?

Regarding where I would like to live/be located I would like to be located in Spain, but I am not sure how realistic this is with the current situation there. If not I would like to be located in the German speaking world (though preferably Austria or perhaps Switzerland). However my German is really basic and the weather quite cold compared to where I am from. Would you have any suggestions on other German speaking schools that are well positioned within this region? I don't wish to live in the UK thus I didn't list any UK schools.

Regarding my GMAT score I was a bit disappointed as I was consistently scoring above 700 in the 710-730 range. Would this significantly impact my profile? If so I will take it again this summer. My concerns regarding this were me not having significant math based training or skills from a prior business degree. Basically I am invested in improving any deficiencies in my profile.

Wow great!! Thanks for all this info. It is REALLY helpful for me to evaluate you. Now my take on your profile is that you gathered some good experience in the family business, got bored and then wandered off to figured things out (don't mean to reduce your experience in any way, esp. as I think this is fantastic personally, but I also want to be realistic about how the schools will perceive it). With your lack of (recent) clear professional experience, the top schools like IMD INSEAD will be a bit out of range, but this does not mean you cannot find an excellent program for you.

The first thing to keep in mind (and maybe you know this) is that you will have to learn the language wherever you go, and you will have to be happy living wherever you go (I mean school + language + paying back loans... figure staying there for five years!!! So think long and hard dude!). There are many schools in every country which can get you a good education and a good job. In the northern countries (Germany, Denmark, Holland, Sweden, etc.) they can be much more forgiving with language deficiencies as everyone speaks English (pretty much), and you can find a job more easily (although you will reach a ceiling if you do not learn the native language), and they do put an emphasis on technical knowledge (so lots of jobs go to industry - chemical, petrol, machine, etc. ). Oh yes, and it's very cold!

So that's it for the intro. And if you give me one or two countries, I can maybe suggest some schools: In Spain the top schools are: IE, IESE, ESADE, In Germany: Mannheim, Leipzig, WHU, ESMT. One note about Germany though, be aware that Germans like folks who speak German (difficult!), and that they have a great (Free) university system which turns out great businessmen without an MBA, so lots of firms don't necessarily see the need for MBAs (although going to one of the best programs will likely get you a job)...

One last thought: If you can get higher on your GMAT, take it!!! Since you lack some of the professional experience your peers (competitors) will have, if you have a much higher GMAT than them, it may be a great way to "make up" for your deficiencies...

And most of all: Good luck!!!!