Profile Evaluation Request- THANK YOU!

Question

Hello!

Thanks in advance for your response, it is greatly appreciated.

Profile:
- Age: 25 (27 @ matriculation)
- Male
- U.S. Resident
- GMAT 710 (Q47, V42)
- Undergraduate Institution: Ouachita Baptist University (liberal arts school in Arkansas)
- Undergraduate Degree: Biblical Studies, 3.35 GPA. Graduated in 3.5 years.
- Business coursework outside of major: Microeconomics (B), Accounting I (A), Accounting II (A), College Algebra (B), Personal Finance(A)
- Extracurricular in college: president of fraternity which grew from 12 members to over 80 while I was a member. Various community service leadership opportunities.
- W/E: 
o 2 years at one of the top 5 Health Insurance companies in the U.S. I was a Disability Analyst. Various leadership opportunities.
o (Current) 2 years at a Insurance Brokerage and Consulting Firm as a Consultant (boutique firm likely never head of by admissions committee). Work with company executives to customize benefit program that will make them an employer of choice. Consult regarding Affordable Care Act compliance, as well as be the liaison between various other vendors. Various leadership opportunities, etc. Company size- around 20 employees. 
o Both positions held in a major metroplex. Would likely have great recommendations from management.
- Community Involvement: Served as Associate Pastor for organization my wife and I started called Grassroots Christianity. Organization is focused on changing people’s perception of Church structure and function. Various community service events held.
- Target Schools (I will likely declare a Healthcare concentration if available):
o UT McCombs (in-state tuition. #1 choice)
o UNC
o Vanderbilt
- Stretch Schools
o Duke- Fuqua
o Cornell- Johnson
o Virginia Darden
- Less Competitive Target Schools
o SMU
o Rice
o A&M
- Timeline: I will apply in the fall of 2017 in order to matriculate in the fall of 2018 (class of 2020)
- Career Aspirations: Healthcare Consulting (not on the insurance brokerage side), but to be honest it is a bit undecided. I’m not completely aware of the paths available to me given my background.

Concerns:
- Undergraduate Degree: Will having a religious degree be the diversity that schools are NOT looking for? I know diversity is a big focus of MBA programs. The degree was from a Liberal Arts institution, thus I studied in multiple areas which allowed me to truly foster a passion for learning. 
- Work Experience: I’ve definitely shown progression in both positions (both in salary and promotions), but Insurance is often seen as an industry anyone can walk in to. Not sure how my experience will be viewed by ADCOM at the programs I mentioned. 
Questions:
- Given my somewhat low quant score (Q47), would you recommend I take a few business/math course prior to my application? I’m thinking maybe Calc. for Business, Stats. for Business, and/or some other finance course.
- My current company is somewhat small and the advancement opps are limited because of that. I’m considering looking for another company to work for during the two years leading up to matriculation.
o If I’m right at 2 years before switching companies, would that look negatively to ADCOM(job hopping)?
o I have a relatively large network, and my first thought is I would try to work for one of the big 4 consulting firms in an analyst type role. I think this would be a good opportunity for me personally, but would me taking a role like this hurt my “diversity factor”, since so many MBA applicants come from that background? 
- Are there other schools that you feel like my profile fits? My family (wife and 1 year old daughter) is flexible on location. Outside of the obvious stats(GMAT, GPA), do you feel like I would be a competitive applicant at the schools I listed?

Thank you for your time.

CriticalSquare · Answer

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out to us and sharing your background. Since you have some specific questions, I'll answer them head on. A religious degree won't hold you back, per se. Rather, you just need to find other way to demonstrate the qualities and skills that the AdComm is looking for. You have a pretty good GMAT, but since your quant could be a bit higher, you may want to consider retaking to boost that, or take a quant class or two (Macro or statistics) and earn A's in them.

Since you have a bit of time before applying next year, I recommend boosting your involvement a bit. Experience in college is great, but what have you been involved in lately? If you were applying this year, there wouldn't be much you could do, but since you have 1+ years before you apply, now is the time to act! Find something you love...something you care about and dig in. Find a way to lead an initiative and make an impact.

At this stage, I'm not sure what switching firms again would accomplish. If you know you're going to apply to business school next year, I would simply find ways to be an outstanding employee over the next 8-10 months, earn as many accolades as you can, and develop relationships with leaders within your group and your network. They will come in handy come application season.

The less competitive schools you listed as your targets seem fine. Your stretch programs are...well, indeed stretch schools at this stage of the game. The question is what are you going to do over the next year to boost your profile? The most important thing I'd recommend is to hone in on a post-MBA career track. It's completely normal to be tentative at this stage, but over time, you should aim to "know" that you want to focus on healthcare as opposed to "maybe going the healthcare track" - it makes a different in your language and your tone in your essays.

Hope this helps. These are just some tips to get you started. As you think about your applications next season, feel free to get back in touch to see how we can help. In the meantime, read up on  our free resources  to get you started.

Best of luck!

UNCBOUND · Answer

CriticalSquare  , thank you for your response! It was both encouraging and challenging. Cheers.

CriticalSquare · Answer

Great! Glad to hear you found it to be valuable.

UNCBOUND · Answer

Ok  CriticalSquare  , follow up question. Would you recommend applying for 2017 intake or 2018 intake? I have a friend that is starting at Fuqua in the fall and he’s recommending I don’t wait any longer. This has got me thinking that I really don’t want to wait 2+ years to start a program. 
If I applied for 2017 intake: I’d likely stay in the same role I’m in now. Post MBA career goal would be to do strategy consulting for companies in healthcare industry. I’d be 26 entering the program. My fear is that I wouldn’t have enough experience to reach post-MBA career goal. I’d have less time to save for the MBA program, but I’d be making a better salary sooner in life so it would make up for it. 
If I applied for 2018 intake: I’d likely find a job for larger consulting firm NOW, that way I can increase the likelihood of convincing ADCOM that my post-MBA career goals are within reach. Assuming this job switch is overall beneficial and is not out of left field. I’d have more time to prepare for the program(savings, etc.)

Given my profile, how do you think both routes would affect my admission chances at the target schools given(if at all)? Thanks again!

CriticalSquare · Answer

Hi there,

Great follow-up question. If you're asking if waiting another year will help your odds of admission - they will. By how much? Well, that all depends on what you can accomplish between this cycle and next. The reason I would suggest waiting is because at the moment, I don't see much that sets you apart when it comes to your work experience. Another year would give you a chance to emerge as a leader within your team/organization to show your the AdComm your leadership capacity. While your work in the church will take you a long way, you may also want to consider getting involved in another activity to supplement your community involvement. This will show the AdComm your diversity. Hope this helps, and best of luck!

Profile Evaluation Request- THANK YOU!

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