seanpatin wrote:
This will be somewhat speculative as some of the numbers are either estimates, or what I consider to be "doable" goals. This is due to the fact that I am still probably at least 3 years away from applying to schools, but would still like to have an idea of what type of schools I should be shooting for and where I can improve my application. But, anyway, here goes.
Profile
Age: 26
Caucasian
Languages: Conversational Spanish and Mandarin Chinese, Written Latin
GMAT: 720 - this is a goal as of now, I am without a true diagnostic to speculate accurately, so this could be higher or lower.
LSAT: 172
Education
B.S. Economics, University of Iowa
GPA: 3.58
Work Experience
Part-Time
1. Iowa City Law Firm - Office Assistant (Summer)
2. MGM/Mirage - Internship (Summer)
3. Exxon Mobil - International Internship (Summer)
Full-Time
1. (not sure what will go here - looking at Fortune 500, Las Vegas Casinos, and/or International work)
Extra-Curriculars
President, Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity
Member, Phi Beta Lamda
Member, UI Mock Trial Team
Community Involvement
Volunteer, WiderNet (working to improve tech. in Africa)
Volunteer, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
Why an M.B.A.?
I am actually looking for a J.D./M.B.A. dual-degree program that would benefit me in regards to both the legal and business worlds. I am currently unsure which route I will follow, but would not mind working in Big Law for a few years after graduate school, before going on to work in the corporate world. But, then again, if I were to excel in one area over another and receive a good enough offer, I might find my way. There is also the chance that I would start my own firm, which would benefit significantly from the dual-degree.
Target Schools
Harvard, Wharton, Stanford, Columbia, UT-Austin, UCLA, Boston College, USC, U. of Chicago, Ohio State, U. of Washington - I haven't narrowed it down much. This list includes a few reach schools, but most of these take into account both Law and Business schools at the respective campuses.
Thanks for your help in advance!
SeanPatin,
If you do get the GMAT and LSAT scores you mentioned in your email then you could aim fairly high, though it's hard to assess your profile given that you seem to be a work-in-progress. I can't see how working at a Las Vegas casino will help you, though if you found a way to make it complement your long-terms goals and your community activities it would certainly make you distinctive. On the community side, I recommend digging deeper into the Africa tech work since that will also help you stand out and being a Caucasian applicant with fraternity extracurriculars is very common. You will obviously need to figure out why you think you need both degrees and be able to crystallize that for both the B-schools and law schools. If you can rack up some impressive leadership impact and get the high scores you mentioned all the schools you mentioned are doable, though Harvard and Stanford will be the longest shots.
Good luck,
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Updated on: 28 Jun 2007, 21:36
