Profile Evaluation - Next Steps?

Question

I'm currently a 26-year-old Asian American woman. I graduated from a top liberal arts college in 2009, double majoring in the social sciences. My GPA was a 3.5. I've been working in investor relations at a specialty pharmaceuticals company for 1.5 years, where I work very closely with the CFO and CEO, and with senior management across nearly all departments. While I enjoy my job, it's a very niche field and I'd like to leverage Business School to go into healthcare consulting and eventually back into industry. At my current workplace, I started out as an associate, got a nice raise and promotion in March, and am hoping to secure another promotion by the end of this year. Before this company, I worked for 1.5 years at an investor relations agency in a completely different industry doing marketing and sales. Before that, I worked as a researcher at a women's grantmaking foundation, and before that, took a year off to take care of a sick family member (no regrets), and spent my time studying for and taking the LSAT, although I decided to ultimately forgo the law school route.

In terms of extracurriculars, I recently became a board member of my college alumnae club in my state, where I expect my role to expand beyond my title (as it already has...).

As you can see, I am not a traditional candidate, but I'm happy that I've managed to combine my skills in communications and research with my overall life mission of helping people--all encompassed in my job today. Problematically, I don't have a quant background, although I took advanced Calculus in college and got an A-. I also took some MOOC courses in Corporate Finance and Statistics a while back and received As, but I'm not sure if they're worth anything to admissions.

My questions: 
It took me a while, but I know what I want to do going forward.  Can I get into a top program, such as Tuck or Fuqua with my background?   Is Wharton an unrealistic stretch  (as long as I avoid the HCM track, which seems to strongly favor quant/science backgrounds)?
Are there any other programs that you recommend, with or without a healthcare management focus?
 What type of GMAT score do I at least need? 
Do I need to supplement with any real quant classes?
Am I too "old" of a candidate if I want to apply in 2015, where I will be 28 at matriculation?

Thank you in advance for your time!

StacyBlackman · Answer

Hi worrywart,

Thanks for your post. For your application, nothing about your story makes me think there is any reason why you cannot be admitted, but nothing stands out telling me why you should be admitted. All of the reasons why a top program would admit you are in the details of your work experience, personal experiences, personality, values and overall story.

With the GMAT, I recommend aiming for at least a 700. We provide free GMAT advice here: https://www.stacyblackman.com/test-prep-hub/

You will not be too old when you apply. If you would like, we also provide free 30 minute phone consultations here: https://www.stacyblackman.com/contact/

Cheers,
Conrad and the Stacy Blackman Team

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