We will be collecting all our profile evaluations and application review responses posted at GMATClub and other forums under the MyMBAAdmit thread to provide a single resource for our readers.Candidate from Eastern Europe with stellar academics and traditional background assesses MBA admission chances.ironASP wrote:
Hi,
Thanks in advance for looking into this. Here is my background:
Male 26/US permanent resident
My Story:
Born and raised up in Moldova (Eastern Europe), moved to the US after high school (alone, no family) to go to college (small private liberal arts college in Midwest), worked through college to pay for education, held several leadership roles/participated in college activities (International Society President/Vice president, accounting internship, IT instructor, freelance web designer, intramural soccer school champions)
Major Accounting/Minor Computer Science: 3.5/4.0 GPA (Cum Laude, Honors Society)
GMAT: 750 (V:42 Q:49)
Work Experience:
I’m currently working as a Senior Associate at a Big 4 Audit Firm (CPA, 3 years of public accounting experience) – leading teams of 1 to 3 people in audits of various companies (from small private, to large fortune 500 and foreign companies; focus in software industry, however I also have some manufacturing and personal services clients). I see this as a great learning opportunity, but don’t necessarily want to make a career out of it.
Volunteering experience:
Mentor at a non-for profit organization (2 years) - striving to help underprivileged minority high school students from inner city to achieve their dream of going to college – (every Saturday and as needed during the week)
Fundraising Board Associate – helping the non-for-profit organization (above) in its fundraising efforts (I do believe that I have learned a great deal by doing this (leadership, teamwork, prospective donor presentations etc.); however I can’t really quantify my achievement (this has been a tough year in fundraising)).
Outside of work:
Multisport athlete (Ironman), love to read, watch movies
Career goals:
I’m working on solidifying these, in the long-term I would like to run my own company (sustainable energy sounds enticing, but I haven’t thought about it too much, software/internet would be pretty interesting as well)
In the short-term I’m interested in General Management (I enjoy running projects/managing operations), or iBanking (sounds like it attracts a lot of smart people and I love challenge and competition, big $$$ is a plus too)
MBA plans:
Ideally I would like to go to Harvard/Booth/Ross/Kellogg (plan on applying this fall round 1 and round 2), but would consider other top 10-15 schools as a backup.
Questions:
1) I know that I don’t have stellar projects under my belt and that my professional background is very similar to other applicants; however I do feel that I can tell a pretty compelling story about my journey. Do I have a reasonable chance of getting accepted into my top choice schools?
2) What else can I do this summer to better position myself to get into a best B-School possible? (So far I’m planning on working on essays/visiting schools /training for Ironman Wisconsin in the Fall).
3) What other schools from top 15 would I be a good match for (based on my background/experience)?
4) I’m also thinking about hiring a consultant to help me navigate the B-School admission process (specifically I would like as much help as I can get with the essays). Is it really worth the money? (i.e. will it help me to get into a better school than if I was applying on my own and asking my friends help me with the essays?)
Hi ironASP,
You hit the nail on the head. However, I think that your professional background being similar to other applicants can be both a strength and weakness. Although your professional background makes it easier to understand your past experiences, it also takes away from your diversity. That's where your story comes in, or "What sets you apart?" This can be from different angles, including, but not limited to, your personal journey of moving from Moldova, your extracurricular activities and community service, your takeaways from your work projects or your ability to derive values from a work or personal experience differently than your peers based on your diverse profile.
To answer your question on solidifying your profile this summer, your academics (GMAT and GPA) are already strong so you can set that aside. If you feel you don't have stellar projects under your belt, there might be scope to deepen your professional experience and build a stronger set of hard and soft skills. Volunteering for extra projects, taking on more leadership roles, increasing your communications across the company and clients, and expanding the scope of your experience for richer examples are ideas. Also, a strong network always helps. Regardless of your post-MBA career ambitions, you could also use this time to build lasting contacts within the company. Also, although training from Ironman gives you a diverse point to mention in your essays, you could show more impact through community service - a few ideas would be to increase/expand the scope of your mentorship, helping the non-profit organization with activities other than fundraising, or even introducing sports as a new activity by drawing upon your own athletic experiences.
If you are thinking about I-banking and General Management, consider schools with a strong reputation in those fields: Wharton, Columbia and MIT come to mind.
Stories in your essays are driven on the basis of how interesting and different you can make your stories to answer the essential question from the Ad Com, "Why you?" (and not the next candidate). That's where we can help. At My
MBA Admit, we specialize in communication. We help you develop a complete application strategy, pick your strongest examples and prepare an application that communicates your academic, personal and professional credentials in the most compelling manner to the admissions committee. Our team members have extensive experience with admissions, career advising and application assessment and are alumni of the top business and engineering schools in the world, including Booth Graduate School of Business at University of Chicago. Our professional backgrounds include management consulting, banking, marketing, engineering and corporate finance, which ensures we bring the right mix of professional and academic experiences to help with your application.
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