Stats: 30yo/White/M
Work experience: 7 years working in the finance departments for Broadway theater companies - 5 years as "Finance Associate" for the general managers of several Broadway Shows and 2+ as "Junior Accountant" for a company which owns a plurality of Broadway theaters.
Extra curriculars: Most of my hobbies revolve around personal fitness & rec sports leagues. Last year, I performed in a friend's show for a play writing festival and received an acting award, though I'm not sure that's relevant. I am currently taking improv classes to improve my "soft skills" and will soon start independently studying data science. For personal reasons, I am researching volunteer opportunities, but I don't want to make it look like I'm doing it just for lines on my application.
Undergrad school/major: Top 30 US US News & World Report - Economics and Dramatic Art
Undergrad GPA: 3.803
GMAT Score : 700 (Q44/V41). I know it's a relatively weak Q, but I do have A's on my transcript in quantitative courses including stats, accounting, micro/macro, advanced macro & corp finance.
Goal of MBA: I initially began looking into MBA programs to get the formal accounting training necessary to move into management positions at my current job. I had targeted the CUNY Baruch Zicklin School of Business as an affordable option as I live and work in NYC. My interest in accounting and fervor for theater has waned in recent years. I feel like I am staying on this path because it's what I know even though I don't find the work particularly engaging and the arts pay very little.
In doing more research, I'm now flirting with the idea of a full time program to fully explore other options and areas of interest like economics (particularly behavioral economics if possible), business analytics, organizational behavior, and operations, though to be honest, I'm not entirely sure what my long term goals are. I'm not a super competitive guy, so I can't see myself going into investment banking/consulting, but I'm not particularly passionate about the arts at this point in my life. Perhaps looking into more relaxed environments like entertainment, education, NPOs or the startup world would be a good fit. I realize I'd have to drill this down more in the application process
I am worried about my age as I would be 31 by the time I would start a program (years of anxiety/depression have held me back from ). Also, I do not have much savings, and would also need to borrow for living expenses. On the plus side, the opportunity costs my of lost salary are very low
Targets: Duke, UNC, UVA maybe try to improve my Q score and go for Yale/NYU too? Would want to stay East Coast. I dunno - all these programs are very expensive.
tl:dr - 30 y/o male with unclear future seeks MBA for better direction. Any input greatly appreciated.
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04 Apr 2018, 11:30
