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Review and advice please

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bherronp
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Review and advice please [#permalink] New post   31 May 2007, 18:55
26 year old white american male

GMAT: 760

Undergrad GPA: 3.25 (far better last 2 years than first 2) in Business Administration (Information Systems and Finance focus)

Work Experience: Almost 5 years of FT work at application. I work in IT (like so many other applicants :? ). I I have been promoted regularly, starting from the helpdesk and working up to a senior network engineer role. In my last job I was one of 3 senior technical escalations for a NOC of 35 that supports 60k employees. I now mentor the 2 employees who have taken over my old job. I have outstanding performance reviews, and I should be able to get good letters of recommendation.

Extra circulars: Some interesting ones in college, but not much that schools would probably care about since then. I built an entire small business IT infrastructure (server, network, software, desktops), which I still maintain, for a family member (for free). However, since it is IT work, I don't know if it would count for much.

Goals/Reason for MBA: I guess I am a little unusual in that I have no interest in pursuing an IB/MC/PE/VC career. I want to work on the general management, finance, and operations skills necessary to build and lead successful businesses. Not necessarily building a business from the ground up (although that isn't out of the question), but also within the corporate world. I want to work in a company that is technology, communications, or biological sciences focused after my MBA.

I currently live in Seattle and I want to return to the west coast within a few years of obtaining my MBA.

Target schools:
Chicago
Northwestern
Michigan
UCLA
I will probably also take a shot at either Stanford or Harvard, although I know my chances are not great.

Do you think these are reasonable school options? My main worry is that I do not have the unusual/special background that schools seem to be looking for. Is there a school that may be a good fit that I am overlooking? I am only at the beginning of heavy school research, so any recommendations would be appreciated.

Thank you very much for your time and assistance.
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PaulBodine
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Re: Review and advice please [#permalink] New post   02 Jun 2007, 18:47
bherronp wrote:
26 year old white american male

GMAT: 760

Undergrad GPA: 3.25 (far better last 2 years than first 2) in Business Administration (Information Systems and Finance focus)

Work Experience: Almost 5 years of FT work at application. I work in IT (like so many other applicants :? ). I I have been promoted regularly, starting from the helpdesk and working up to a senior network engineer role. In my last job I was one of 3 senior technical escalations for a NOC of 35 that supports 60k employees. I now mentor the 2 employees who have taken over my old job. I have outstanding performance reviews, and I should be able to get good letters of recommendation.

Extra circulars: Some interesting ones in college, but not much that schools would probably care about since then. I built an entire small business IT infrastructure (server, network, software, desktops), which I still maintain, for a family member (for free). However, since it is IT work, I don't know if it would count for much.

Goals/Reason for MBA: I guess I am a little unusual in that I have no interest in pursuing an IB/MC/PE/VC career. I want to work on the general management, finance, and operations skills necessary to build and lead successful businesses. Not necessarily building a business from the ground up (although that isn't out of the question), but also within the corporate world. I want to work in a company that is technology, communications, or biological sciences focused after my MBA.

I currently live in Seattle and I want to return to the west coast within a few years of obtaining my MBA.

Target schools:
Chicago
Northwestern
Michigan
UCLA
I will probably also take a shot at either Stanford or Harvard, although I know my chances are not great.

Do you think these are reasonable school options? My main worry is that I do not have the unusual/special background that schools seem to be looking for. Is there a school that may be a good fit that I am overlooking? I am only at the beginning of heavy school research, so any recommendations would be appreciated.

Thank you very much for your time and assistance.


bherronp,

Your profile is solid; your GMAT is stellar. You have a decent shot at UCLA and Michigan, but Chicago and Kellogg will be reaches (though not as bad as HBS and Stanford) primarily because (1) your profile is not terribly unusuall, (2) your work profile seems merely solid/decent rather than outstanding, and (3) your extracurriculars are not strong. I recommend trying to strengthen both of these in the coming months. Given your quasi-entrepreneurial goals, you may also want to look at USC, Indiana, Texas, and UNC. You should have good luck at most or all of these schools.

Good luck,
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bherronp
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[#permalink] New post   08 Jun 2007, 10:22
Paul,

Thank you for your time helping us all out through this process.

Do you think there is time to improve the EC aspect of my application? I have a couple of activities in mind that I plan to get involved in soon, but they are things I have wanted to do for a while anwyay.
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PaulBodine
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[#permalink] New post   12 Jun 2007, 15:33
bherronp wrote:
Paul,

Thank you for your time helping us all out through this process.

Do you think there is time to improve the EC aspect of my application? I have a couple of activities in mind that I plan to get involved in soon, but they are things I have wanted to do for a while anwyay.


bherronp,

Yes, there is time to improve your extracurriculars but get started now. You want to aim for leadership and/or high-impact activities. It's not just a question of racking up the hours. Make a difference.

Good luck,
GMAT Club Bot
gmatclubot
[#permalink]
12 Jun 2007, 15:33

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