Profile Evaluation Request - Need advice on target schools

Question

Would love some advice on which of the top 10 schools I should realistically target. Any thoughts on how many is a good number to apply to across the first two rounds?

Age: 26 (at intended date of matriculation, Fall 2018) 
 Gender: Female 
 Work History:
 
 Human Capital Consultant at a Big 4 in their Analytics/Data Science practice (3 years): Have worked on very innovative projects, known as an "expert" internally for a couple specific data science skills. Top 20% in terms of performance. Promoted once, have won 6 small awards over three years. Have taken on leadership roles at work including co-leading a national community of practice for an in-demand capability (built a SME network, designed and organized nation-wide trainings) and serving on the national recruiting team for my practice. 
 Prior to this, had a very brief analytics/research-focused stint at a startup, was only the 14th person and had some good accomplishments there but left for the consulting role motivated by higher technical rigor + opportunity to develop people skills. 
 Had four summer internships during college, two of which were with a non-profit in India.   
 Education:
 
 Engineering undergrad at a "Little Ivy", 3.39 GPA, Cum Laude, Dean's List (multiple semesters), named scholarship recipient 
 Attended on an almost full-ride as a 16-year-old international student from India, was also working 20 hrs/week all through college. 
 Think my GPA doesn't quite reflect my academic potential. I had ~3.7 my first two years, which plummetted junior year because of my grandfather's illness, subsequent death and financial pressures on the family. Have a D and a few withdraws on my transcript, would love some advice on how to best address this in my applications.   
 GMAT: 760 (99th percentile; V42, Q50) 
 Extracurriculars:
 
 Board Member at a small national non-profit that sponsors small college scholarships for women of international backgrounds (2016-present) 
 Independently mentored four Indian high-school students with backgrounds similar to mine, providing them with SAT prep and US college applications guidance they wouldn't otherwise have been able to afford (2014-2016) 
 Cofounded a program during undergrad which organized academic and social events and ran a peer mentorship program to support international students on financial aid (2012-2013) 
 Student Advisory Board Member for my university's initiativefor STEM diversity; role involved advocating for underrepresented students in STEM; also tutored 5 first-gen engineering freshmen for a semester (2010-2013)   
 Post MBA Goals: Immediately after my MBA, I would like to return to consulting and work on transforming novel data science solutions into scalable products. Longer term, I want to be a product strategy leader at an analytics-focused tech firm.

Thanks!

Anonymous · Answer

Hi there,

Firstly, GREAT field of consulting. I worked with someone last year coming from human capital and she had the best stories for her essays. This will be great for differentiating you from all of the other very qualified consultants who apply every year.

Honestly, you have a rock star profile and I'd say go for it. I don't think any of the top schools are no-go's for you; but I do recommend balancing risk. Typically my clients apply to 5-6 schools per round. Understand that some of this is a numbers game. Though most of your profile is in the wheel house of admissions for these programs (your GPA explanation is a fine mitigant and you can point to your GMAT and career); there are a lot of people who fit on paper. So for you it will come down to your essays - can you inspire the adcom, differentiate yourself from others like you, and make a solid case for how you'll leverage the program to do something great.

I hope this helps and best of luck!

Kindly,
Meredith

Profile Evaluation Request - Need advice on target schools

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