Shortlist for non-trad. candidate, headed for consulting?

Question

I'm in the middle of writing application materials, and outside of a core group of 3 schools I'm excited about applying to, I'd like to add a few schools to my list that could be strong targets. I'd appreciate thoughts/advice on where I might be a strong fit based on my numbers, experience, and goals. My short list is below. Advice/thoughts on schools welcome!

Basic Info 
 
  Demographics : 31, male, US citizen, white/middle eastern (my name is "ethnic" and stands out) 
  GRE : V170 (99th), Q163 (87th), AWA 5.5 (97th) 
  Undergrad : graduated from St John's College, tiny and very rigorous program with NO electives. Every student took every class. 4 years math, 3 years lab science, 4 years philosophy, 2 years Ancient Greek, 2 years French, 4 years literature. GPA is 3.47. No major-specific GPA because there were no electives. All seminar-style classes, no lectures.  
  Graduate : received a Master's in Education in 2012 from a program that was the first of its kind in the nation-- a graduate school of education embedded in a nationally-known charter school. Grades were pass/fail, and I obviously passed all of them.

Post-MBA Goals  
  Social-sector consulting for McKinsey or Bridgespan. This would leverage my experience in education and highlight the analytical/problem-solving skills that I've developed as a founder at the school. This work also supports my commitment to social good (supported by work exp. and leadership within work exp.)  From my research I've determined that social-sector consulting jobs can be hard to come by even from top schools. If that doesn't work out, I can see other consulting work being interesting as well (strategy or human capital). In the long term, I'm interested in entering the for-profit education space, as it's a $4 trillion/year industry worldwide with a lot of room to innovate.

Work Experience 
  In 2007 I was selected to be one of 12 teachers to help open a new private school in southern California. We designed the curriculum from the ground up. The student population and faculty have grown over 500% since we opened. Prior to that I worked in a smaller school as a teacher for 18 months. The prior school gets very little attention on my resume.  
 I've held a variety of leadership roles in the school: I've led teams, directed a service program, planned/led a community service trip to rural China for 92 9th graders, managed communication when the entire student population (~485 students at the time) traveled to six continents, and was selected to create/deliver a workshop for future teachers at a university in Germany (we were partnering with the school on a teacher exchange).  
 I've created five original courses and have been tapped for other curriculum redesign projects by senior administrators.  
 My resume shows a clear progression within the organization-- I've moved from inward-facing (team leader/curriculum design) to outward-facing, higher-risk roles (travel management, etc). 
 Reason for leaving: I've discovered my strengths lie in problem-solving and analysis. I want more challenges/room to grow than I can find at the school, as I don't want to be an administrator.

Recommendations : 
  One is from current supervisor, who is the co-head of the upper school. She and I work really well together and have collaborated on a range of projects. She'll speak to my analytical ability, qualities as a colleague, and potential for leadership.  
 Second is from the founding head of school who hired me in 2007 when I was 25 and retired last year. She can speak to the same qualities as my first recommender.  
 I'm providing both recommenders with bullet points to help frame my strengths/weaknesses.

School Qualities/Short List 
  Want an excellent general-management education. Strongly interested in case-method schools, as I thrive in discussion-based classes. I've been a student in one and teach in that style.  
 Open to any school nationwide.  
 Super-confident about the quality of my essays/written materials as well as interview performance.  
 Will definitely apply: HBS, Kellogg, Darden. Each of these are a fit based on curriculum, teaching style, and career support/post-MBA feeder companies.  
 Am considering: UCLA, Haas, Duke, Stanford. I'm not sure how each of these schools might see someone with my background/interests.  
 Where else should I be looking?

Admissionado · Answer

Hey there joy division,
Well, your GRE score is certainly fantastic!

So let's take a look at your pros and cons (and also the things I am not sure about):
PROs: 
- Fantastic test scores. You are smart. They will know it. And it will help. 
- Motivation. Even from this short post I can feel your ambition and motivation (which is NOT always the case). Keep it up in the essay and it will be a strong point.
- Sector. Not that many folks come from education, and it will help you look unique

CONS:
- Age. You are a bit on the old side especially for HBS/Stanford. It aint impossible, but it makes it tougher.
- Maybe work experience. There are fantastic things about your work experience, but also less fantastic. Its hard for me to see cause I'm missing some pieces of the puzzle, but basically as I understand from your post, you've been teaching for about 7 years? You do have a lot of great side projects and other stuff, which is fantastic, but teaching is a less strong job than others (once again, this is not a problem, but take it into consideration.

In addition to that, I think you can get a wee bit more specific on your goals. I think instead of "social sector" consulting, you can go straight to "Education consulting" as your industry, which basically sounds like it fits you like a glove. A minor change, admittedly, but one that may help.

For your school list, I think you have a pretty good base there. The other schools that pop into mind are Columbia ( a slightly tougher one) and Ross (a slightly easier one) both of which have very good education programs + MBAs (not that you have to do both, but that there will be a history of recruiters, opportunities, networking etc. as well as the possibility to take some electives or audit some courses relevant to your industry). And basically, apply to as many schools as you can in the first round. A good idea would be to have a mix of tougher and easier schools so that you get the best chances, but if you have the time and patience to apply to eight programs, all the better for you. Plus I think especially with your profile, you will increase your chances in getting money offers, which is always a lovely thing to have.

I hope this helps dude, and if there is any other way I can advise, you let me know,
JF

j0yd1v1s10n · Answer

Yes, I've been teaching for 7 years. All the side projects have been at the same school. I was on the founding team and we've been building the curriculum from a blank slate. The curriculum design work and program development have all been for the sake of getting the school off the ground.

In terms of "not a strong job," HBS explicitly says they are looking for all kinds of leadership experience, and they name teachers directly in their recruiting videos and mention them on the website. I recognize that it's not as strong as someone coming from a finance background, but I also think it can be a differentiator for me-- they may not be getting a lot of teachers who are co-founders of a successful school, right?

I've read conflicting advice on this. Some people have said to mention education specifically, but the truth is I'm open to a range of consulting jobs. If I got recruited for a strategy consulting internship, I'd be thrilled. The social-sector side is appealing and is a fit for my background, but I'm open to a radical change if it feels like a good fit.

I've also been concerned that labeling myself as interested in education consulting pigeonholes me. I don't want the schools to think I'm better suited for a public-policy or educational leadership program. I'm specifically interested in applying the skills/ways of thinking I've built as a founder/designer at the school and transitioning into a different career.

What do you think about Tuck or Haas with my profile? Would they see me as a "diversity" candidate (like HBS says they're actively searching for) or would I just not be a good fit?

Are money offers determined entirely by need or do they use them as a recruiting tool? I've heard about people getting teaching assistant positions to pay for the cost of tuition. How common are those?

Admissionado · Answer

Hey there Joy Division,
Okay so yes you are right, teaching can be a great job, but it's not like as if they will have lots and lots of teachers, it's not a strong industry in the way Consulting, VC, Oil and Gas or Biotech can be, which means only that you need to be pretty near the top of your peer group to get into the best schools.

The logic behind the "education consulting" focus is to be able to make the most out of your past experience. In the eyes of the AdCom using this experience makes you seem stronger and more employable. Can you still get in if you say you wish to change industries? Sure! But it might give you a slight edge to make use of that experience. I think Haas and Tuck could be great schools for you as well. Both have pretty good "social agendas" which is good for someone coming from education, and have good reps as consulting schools (but really not so different from other Top 10 programs in that sense).

Finally, Scholarship awards you get when you apply are basically need/merit, but as you say are essentially recruiting tools to entice candidates. There are some external need based scholarships, but for the most part the money the schools offer is that.

Best,

Shortlist for non-trad. candidate, headed for consulting?

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