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Stockmoose16
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jlola21
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I do not think there is an explicit need to explain your lack of formal managerial experience in your optional essay either.

If anything, that is probably something you should mention in your interviews as a motivation for pursuing an MBA. If you do not intend to retake the GMAT, talking about your grades in quantitative courses might be preferable to discussing the lack of hierarchical structure in your industry.

For what it's worth, IIRC each of the three applications I have completed so far has asked for the number of people I had supervised or managed professionally in the work history section, and I have duly reported "none" on each. I've at least been interviewed at all three schools, so I'm led to believe "managerial potential" is more important in the eyes of the admissions committee as opposed to "demonstrated managerial experience."

Hmm, this is really interesting. The reason I decided to write my optional essay about managerial experience (or lack thereof) is because UNC specifically asks applicants to make a separate document, where you must outline the number of people you supervised at each and every job you've held. I used the optional essay to discuss my many different leadership qualities, from starting a fraternity at my undergrad institution, to managing a amateur baseball team in Los Angeles. Do you think writing about my history in math classes would be a better essay?

I don't think solaris meant for you to replace that essay with math-quantitative course explanations, but rather add that information to essays that highlight your undergraduate experience which pretty much every school asks.
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So far, I've only seen that question on the HBS essay, which I've already submitted, unfortunately. I think the only place I could reasonably add this information is in the optional essay. The question is, will it benefit me more than talking about my leadership experiences.
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Paradosso

Again in my view, the general rule "the fiercer the competition, the less important the GMAT" applies: we are set to see a lot of 770 dings (all the schools will become more Stanford-like).
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This is a good point. If you look at the round 1 dings coming in from MIT, you'll notice that a great number of them had 740s and above with near-perfect quant scores. I actually decided to drop my application to MIT, in favor of UNC, because I felt a bit intimidated by MIT's quant-heavy curriculum. But in hindsight, my low quant score probably wouldn't have mattered, considering the number of 99th percentile applicants getting rejected.
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jlola21
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USC and Texas are definitely my backup schools. They would not be my top choices. UNC I would definitely consider.

I have to say, I strongly doubt that a 70th percentile quant score is going to kill my chances of getting into UCLA and HBS. I was the valedictorian of my undergraduate class, where I majored in both television, radio film and finance. I received straight A's in statistics, calculus, and all other math courses I took. Plus, you have to remember, these schools aren't just looking for number crunchers, they want people who can round out their class. Anyone from, say, an engineering background can score above an 80th percentile quant, but not everybody can give insight into the television industry. I'm not saying I'm going to get into UCLA and HBS, but I think I have at least a fair shot. I have no interest in re-taking the gmat, to be honest. I gave up four months of my life studying for that thing, and I really don't think an extra 30 points would be the difference in my admission to the aforementioned schools.

I think people have to remember, that the GMAT is only one factor that determines admission. Yes, this is a competitive year, but I obviously have a much higher GPA than 99% of applicants, and I also have an employment background that less than 1% of all b-school applicants come from. I encourage anyone who applies to b-school to find what makes them unique and sell that point in the essays. Anyone can score well on a test, but only a relative few can communicate their experiences in a compelling manner on paper.

Stockmoose- There is no need to retake your GMAT. Numbers are numbers, there's little variance, however, numbers are numbers - that's really what the end point was. However, the difference is not that much and your profile will be the reason why schools will want you. It sounds like you have the undergrad+gmat combo to be fine, and your experience will be a good diversity factor.

Have you thought about Kellogg? A friend of mine has a good friend at school with her there with a very similar background as yours
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I've considered Kellogg, but I decided I needed to pick 3 reach schools (UCLA, DUKE, HBS), 1 target school (UNC), and 2 "safe" schools (Texas, USC). I really couldn't justify sending to more than six schools. If I get rejected from all six schools, I'd probably apply to Kellogg, Stanford, Chicago, and Wharton.
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I'm not advocating building an entire essay around your choice of undergraduate coursework at all! Simply a sentence or two in your optional essay along the lines of "...the excellent grades I received in Calculus and other similar undergraduate classes should demonstrate my ability to tackle the rigors of the quantitative coursework part of the MBA curriculum at XYZ school of business..."

The optional essay is well, optional, so you should not feel compelled to write anything more than 150 or 200 words to explain any aspect of your application not clear enough in your essays.

I certainly don't think you NEED to discuss your lack of managerial experience, you MAY want to consider assuaging any potential concerns the admissions committee may have about your ability to handle core finance and accounting classes. That too, only because as agold stated, you come from a somewhat less "numbers" oriented industry.

Stockmoose16
Do you think writing about my history in math classes would be a better essay?
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Stockmoose, you should give us some background on why you want an MBA and what you want to do next, but if:

1 - You are not absolutely set on this year

2 - You have not strong reasons for the schools you applied to (program, connections, location)

definitely do revise your application strategy. You want to stay in California, Haas and Stanford must be on your list. You want as renowned an MBA as you might get, there are loads of schools you should be considering, starting with M7s.

I encourage you to ignore sunk costs, put in your apps but don't set for anything below HBS or UCLA. Your profile is such that speaking of reaches and safeties does not make much sense, so just research and aim high.
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Paradosso
Stockmoose, you should give us some background on why you want an MBA and what you want to do next, but if:

1 - You are not absolutely set on this year

2 - You have not strong reasons for the schools you applied to (program, connections, location)

definitely do revise your application strategy. You want to stay in California, Haas and Stanford must be on your list. You want as renowned an MBA as you might get, there are loads of schools you should be considering, starting with M7s.

I encourage you to ignore sunk costs, put in your apps but don't set for anything below HBS or UCLA. Your profile is such that speaking of reaches and safeties does not make much sense, so just research and aim high.
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I am definitely set on going this year, as I believe I need an MBA at this point to achieve my goals. When I started in the business, I wanted to be a comedy writer. Since I began, the number of comedy writing jobs has precipitously dropped.

After working as an assistant on a bunch of shows, I eventually had the opportunity to write for a startup internet tv show. This experience rekindled my interest in entrepreneurship, which began in college. I wrote a business plan in my senior year that made it to the national business plan competition finals, but ultimately, never got made.

After working on the internet show, I decided I wanted to start my own production company, and create my own short-form television shows that could be sold to unconventional distribution outlets (think airlines, internet sites, etc). I need an MBA because I don't have enough knowledge of private equity and venture capital financing. I'd need to master these subjects to obtain the capital requisite for starting a production company. Additionally, in the long run, I want to work at a major studio. I think an MBA would help me learn the managerial skills that I'd need to be successful at, say, Warner Brothers, Fox, etc.

Ignoring sunk costs really isn't a strategy I can pursue. Getting professional recommendations was a serious problem for me. People in the television business are far too busy to write recommendations, let alone, six of them. The two recommenders who finally agreed to submit for me were upset to find out they needed to write unique recommendations for each school. If I don't get into a top school this year, there would be no point in re-submitting next year, because I probably wouldn't be able to get anyone to submit recommendations on my behalf. Everyone in TV works 80+ hour weeks. The last thing they want to do is spent 25 hours writing recommendations.
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Considering your goals, I think you'd be fine going to USC. Their placements and network in Entertainment/Media is great.

In fact, I'd take USC over Texas, UNC, or Duke if I was in your shoes. If you stay in Los Angeles for school, you can continue making contacts in the industry, take an internship during the school year, etc. It's really not worth it to go to Texas/UNC/Duke and forego this networking aspect. I would attend HBS, UCLA, or USC. Scrap all the rest.

The most supportive entrepeneurial community in the US is in California. If you want to be an entrepeneur, stay put. Don't go to UNC/Texas/Duke.
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Stockmoose16
The question is, will it benefit me more than talking about my leadership experiences.
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They are both important. You should be able to squeeze both into your essays where applicable. I can't tell you one is more important than the other, considering each application asks about undergrad and leadership experiences this should be easy.
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A few things:
1) a 690 is not the same as a 720
2) a 3.9 from Syracuse is not the same thing as a 3.9 from a top 10 undergrad.
3) a 70% quant score will hurt you despite what you are telling yourself
4) you better write some good essays because your stats are only average for top 7 schools
5) it's going to be tougher that you think. good luck at Texas!
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DirtyZ
A few things:
1) a 690 is not the same as a 720
2) a 3.9 from Syracuse is not the same thing as a 3.9 from a top 10 undergrad.
3) a 70% quant score will hurt you despite what you are telling yourself
4) you better write some good essays because your stats are only average for top 7 schools
5) it's going to be tougher that you think. good luck at Texas!
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Sorry, you're wrong. I got into Duke, UNC, Texas, USC, and will find out about UCLA and HBS in the next 2 weeks.
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Let us know how it goes. Good luck!
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Stockmoose16
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A few things:
1) a 690 is not the same as a 720
2) a 3.9 from Syracuse is not the same thing as a 3.9 from a top 10 undergrad.
3) a 70% quant score will hurt you despite what you are telling yourself
4) you better write some good essays because your stats are only average for top 7 schools
5) it's going to be tougher that you think. good luck at Texas!

Sorry, you're wrong. I got into Duke, UNC, Texas, USC, and will find out about UCLA and HBS in the next 2 weeks.
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Congrats! Your profile is definitely very unique and the 30 points on the GMAT wouldn't change much (as your acceptances indicate).

Did you interview with HBS?
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Just curious, did you entertain looking at NYU? They have a great program known as EMT (Entertainment, Media and Technology) and have a dual program MBA/MFA with the NYU Tisch Film School. It seems like they would have been a perfect fit for your profile and career goals and NYU loves a unique story and is a solid top 10 school.
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How'd it turn out with HBS and UCLA?
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