Hi Mitch, you have an awesome profile in many ways. You have what HBS calls habit of leadership, and it's actually kind of rare to see this level of engagement both at work and outside of work. You're the kind of candidate I look to get my mitts on.
I love that your test score is already sorted, that makes you look like someone who has their s*** together. This will allow you to fully engage in the process of writing applications rather than trying to scurry around trying to improve your test score in parallel. I love that you have had work and community projects that have given you the opportunity to lead.
The fact that you're well-rounded in your interests makes you more relatable and likable as a candidate. It's these kind of things that make an emotional connection with a reader and separate you from others.
I don't know where you went to school, name brand schools and employers are helpful so keep that in mind.
Over the next year I would really encourage you to get clarity about your goals. Nothing makes me crazier that's somebody who says they are going to explore their options in business school. This is not an appropriate attitude for a $200,000 investment. You'll be stuck with a huge bill and nothing to show for it. The idea is to get clarity about your goals and use your time in business school to lay the groundwork to achieve them.
I recommend that you take the Career Leader assessment, work with a career coach, set up informational interviews and research job descriptions. That would be a really good use of your time.
Yes it's possible that your stated goal will be different from your real goal in terms of positioning, however it's important for you to know what your real goal is so that you're choosing the right schools. Really lends so much momentum to your application, this is a grueling process and you truly need to have a clear goal to motivate you.
It changes the essay writing process from being massively frustrating and directionless to being a matter of putting together the pieces you've already created.
Given that you have time, I would really love to see you visit these campuses as much as your time and finances allow. Each business school has a very distinct ethos, personality and culture, which is something I find candidates generally underestimate.
Why not take the time to make sure you're finding the right fit, it will also help you in the essay writing & interview process to have experiences to reflect on.
If this is impossible I'd I'd recommend that you subscribe to their YouTube channels, and follow their videos and Facebook feeds, attend online webinars. And of course reach out to alums.
Keep a notebook of all your experiences/engagement with each school so that you have some nice juicy nuggets you can stick into your essays.
Using this year to research yourself, your goals and the schools will put you so far ahead of the curve next year I can't even overstate it.
https://mbaprepcoach.com