Hi,
Thanks for sharing your profile. You've got a very strong academic profile, and a strong undergrad leadership profile, but are lacking in the work experience department (as you've pointed out
), and are also lacking in the post college community/extracurricular leadership arenas.
Let's break these down. On the academics front, I really don't think you have anything more to prove, so I'd say that retaking the GMAT would be a waste of time (and could also come across as stubborn/not knowing when to quit). Could help with scholarships to have a higher score - I'm not sure it's necessary though. And same for post-MBA jobs. This shouldn't be an issue.
On the professional experience front, I see three issues: 1) you could come across as a 'degree-hunter' or lost soul. What I mean by that is that you've invested all this time/energy/money into law school and have only worked a few months and now you've decided you need a different degree... you could come across as an unfocused candidate who hasn't truly figured out his career goals. So, to combat this, you have to have a very strong story about how an MBA fits into your big picture. And that big picture really needs to build off the experience you've gained to date. 2) you don't have any real business experience. Not so concerned about experience running financial models, etc., but moreso the leadership experience that inevitably comes with a business role. Whether its sales, marketing, finance, or consulting, entry level business people generally work in teams and as they continue in an organization, take on more responsibility (including leading teams formally or informally). I worry that your experience really hasn't lent itself to as much team work/leadership. While CCO is a big title, I'd need to know more about your day to day role and team experience to see if it is strong experience for bschool. 3) you don't have enough work experience. As you've mentioned, you've only been in the work force for a short while... but quality definitely trumps quantity. So, if I'm totally wrong about point 2 in this paragraph, the duration of your employment could be a moot point. Hope this makes sense.
Community/extracurriculars: Looks like you were very active in these arenas in college (great that you were in leadership roles), but seems to have dropped off afterwards. The schools you are targeting are looking for folks (ideally) who have maintained their commitments to these activities after college, and who've continued to demonstrate leadership in everything they do.
If you're going to apply this year, I think you've got to have a really strong story to have a shot at the programs on your list. You could possibly get into UCLA and/or Yale, but I think the others are wild cards. They'll either want to see more experience or a very strong career story. I'd say that you should apply to these programs and see what happens. If you don't get in, then I suggest you take some time to make a career transition that gets you closer to your goals (and closer to a business/leadership role), and then reapply. In the meantime, also pick up your extracurricular/community leadership roles so that you have a more balanced post-college profile.
Sorry for the very long winded response -- hope it helps!
Mili
Mili Mittal
Senior Consultant
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