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Apr 2909:00 AM PDT
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What’s in it for you- Live Profile Evaluation Chat Session with Jenifer Turtschanow, CEO, ARINGO. Come with your details prepared and ARINGO will share insights! Pre-MBA Role/Industry, YOE, Exam Score, C/GPA, ECs Post-MBA Role/ Industry & School List.
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Apr 3010:00 AM EDT
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Sia Admissions Founder Susan Berishaj will walk through why reach/target/safety produces the wrong list for many specific profiles, how admissions committees at different programs read the same background differently, and more...
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Starting at $975 and offering up to $545 of savings, our new Amplify Hourly Packages offer structure and support in certain high-value areas (story development, resume, essays, interviewing) to help get your applications across the finish line.
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Get the inside scoop on what makes Emory’s Goizueta Business School great and how you can present a strong MBA application. Explore the difference between our One-Year MBA and Two-Year MBA programs, talk to our admissions team, and meet students.- May 01
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25 Sep 2006, 01:43
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi,
As with most others here I have been doing my own research, but I am having trouble narrowing down my list. Schools like to say that it's not just about scores so it's hard to decide what I can reach for, and what I can consider a safety. I like your responses and your book, and I look forward to your evaluation.
EDUCATION
BA English UCLA
JD University of Michigan
GMAT 780 (50Q/51V), AWA should be 6.0
My grades have always suffered from too many distractions, but Michigan thought highly enough to admit me. I worked 30+ hours per week through school, and had 30+ hours a week of extracurricular activities in college.
My question here is can my GMAT balance out a GPA towards the low end of the range, or should I consider taking a class or two in finance or management (I have found some that will end in time for me to make the R2 deadlines I am targeting).
WORK EXPERIENCE
Went to law school immediately following undergrad.
After law school practiced for a year with a major firm (one of the 5 largest in the world) in Los Angeles doing corporate transactions. Honestly, 1st year law firm work is just pushing papers around, but I could rattle off some fortune 50 client names and $100MM-$1BB deal values.
Switched to a top New York financial district law firm and worked on securitizations for a year. I'll be able to provide lots of juicy details on these transactions. I worked directly with I-Bank directors, all major ratings agencies as well as the SEC. I supervised law firm employees as well as outside contractors (like Big 4 accountants). I negotiated directly with partners from other firms. Deals ranged from $300MM to $3BB, and my firm always represented the underwriter/bookrunner (the bank responsible for the deal).
Decided to give up the law and start my own business. It's something that I thought about ever since a joint course with the business/law/engineering schools at Michigan my final year of law school. The business has been successful for the last 4 years, and I have negotiated and transacted directly with factories in China and Taiwan and have conducted 100,000+ online sales transactions.
A potential difficulty is that I have not had a supervisor for 4 years, but I believe I will be able to come up with excellent recommendations. No recent teamwork and leadership may be more of a challenge, but I think I can tell a reasonable story of how starting your own business shows leadership in a non-traditional way.
I do not plan to primarily persue entreperneurship at business school. My long term goal is to deliver services (financial services, consulting, ...?) to China. This might be part of a larger bank or consulting firm, or possibly as a new business venture. My short term goal would be to gain experience and position myself at an appropriate company.
EXTRACURRICULAR/ACTIVITIES
Founding member of a chapter of a national fraternity at UCLA- also served as vice-president, historian and recruitment chair. As recruiment chair I showed the ability to work well with and influence others, as well as drink a lot of beer (I'll leave that part out). My most significant accomplishments in this area are that I recruited over 60 men for my fraternity, and that I took the initiative to find and creatively set up leasing on a house for the fraternity to move in to - not an easy thing to do for an undergrad with zero financial resources. The chapter is now among the strongest on campus and they are still living in the same house.
In law school I took part in the Michigan legal aid clinic and represented a range of clients on various issues - from basic disputes to mental health issues to cases against the federal government (regarding prison conditions). I also worked for a year drafting humanitarian appeals for the Board of Immigration Appeals (top level federal court).
I was working in New York on 9/11 and afterwords represented tenants of the WTC shopping center pro bono, helping them file for federal relief. I'm a fluent Chinese speaker and was able to help with shop owners that only spoke Chinese during that emotional time. This was also an integral event in my decision to move back to California (where I grew up and where my family is) and to work for myself.
More recently I have been involved with animal rights (mostly dogs
). I have also started and head up a wine investment club with my friends. Made a lot of money on '03 Bordeaux futures!
So, most of the usual suspects are on my list:
Wharton - top choice for now
Stanford - local
Berkeley - local
Columbia
UCLA - I had a good time here
Michigan - I'd be happy to spend 2 more football seasons in Ann Arbor
Kellogg
Chicago
Duke
Virginia
Harvard
Do you think I have a reasonable shot at Harvard? I'm tired of being rejected by them (undergrad and law school). Do you think I can consider UCLA, Duke or UVA a safety? I'm not sure if I'd be willing to give up two years at anything less. How many schools do you think I should apply to altogether to make sure I get in to one of the above? Nothing is guaranteed with any of these schools and I would prefer not to sit out a year if I can't get in.
Thanks so much.
As with most others here I have been doing my own research, but I am having trouble narrowing down my list. Schools like to say that it's not just about scores so it's hard to decide what I can reach for, and what I can consider a safety. I like your responses and your book, and I look forward to your evaluation.
EDUCATION
BA English UCLA
JD University of Michigan
GMAT 780 (50Q/51V), AWA should be 6.0
My grades have always suffered from too many distractions, but Michigan thought highly enough to admit me. I worked 30+ hours per week through school, and had 30+ hours a week of extracurricular activities in college.
My question here is can my GMAT balance out a GPA towards the low end of the range, or should I consider taking a class or two in finance or management (I have found some that will end in time for me to make the R2 deadlines I am targeting).
WORK EXPERIENCE
Went to law school immediately following undergrad.
After law school practiced for a year with a major firm (one of the 5 largest in the world) in Los Angeles doing corporate transactions. Honestly, 1st year law firm work is just pushing papers around, but I could rattle off some fortune 50 client names and $100MM-$1BB deal values.
Switched to a top New York financial district law firm and worked on securitizations for a year. I'll be able to provide lots of juicy details on these transactions. I worked directly with I-Bank directors, all major ratings agencies as well as the SEC. I supervised law firm employees as well as outside contractors (like Big 4 accountants). I negotiated directly with partners from other firms. Deals ranged from $300MM to $3BB, and my firm always represented the underwriter/bookrunner (the bank responsible for the deal).
Decided to give up the law and start my own business. It's something that I thought about ever since a joint course with the business/law/engineering schools at Michigan my final year of law school. The business has been successful for the last 4 years, and I have negotiated and transacted directly with factories in China and Taiwan and have conducted 100,000+ online sales transactions.
A potential difficulty is that I have not had a supervisor for 4 years, but I believe I will be able to come up with excellent recommendations. No recent teamwork and leadership may be more of a challenge, but I think I can tell a reasonable story of how starting your own business shows leadership in a non-traditional way.
I do not plan to primarily persue entreperneurship at business school. My long term goal is to deliver services (financial services, consulting, ...?) to China. This might be part of a larger bank or consulting firm, or possibly as a new business venture. My short term goal would be to gain experience and position myself at an appropriate company.
EXTRACURRICULAR/ACTIVITIES
Founding member of a chapter of a national fraternity at UCLA- also served as vice-president, historian and recruitment chair. As recruiment chair I showed the ability to work well with and influence others, as well as drink a lot of beer (I'll leave that part out). My most significant accomplishments in this area are that I recruited over 60 men for my fraternity, and that I took the initiative to find and creatively set up leasing on a house for the fraternity to move in to - not an easy thing to do for an undergrad with zero financial resources. The chapter is now among the strongest on campus and they are still living in the same house.
In law school I took part in the Michigan legal aid clinic and represented a range of clients on various issues - from basic disputes to mental health issues to cases against the federal government (regarding prison conditions). I also worked for a year drafting humanitarian appeals for the Board of Immigration Appeals (top level federal court).
I was working in New York on 9/11 and afterwords represented tenants of the WTC shopping center pro bono, helping them file for federal relief. I'm a fluent Chinese speaker and was able to help with shop owners that only spoke Chinese during that emotional time. This was also an integral event in my decision to move back to California (where I grew up and where my family is) and to work for myself.
More recently I have been involved with animal rights (mostly dogs
). I have also started and head up a wine investment club with my friends. Made a lot of money on '03 Bordeaux futures!
So, most of the usual suspects are on my list:
Wharton - top choice for now
Stanford - local
Berkeley - local
Columbia
UCLA - I had a good time here
Michigan - I'd be happy to spend 2 more football seasons in Ann Arbor
Kellogg
Chicago
Duke
Virginia
Harvard
Do you think I have a reasonable shot at Harvard? I'm tired of being rejected by them (undergrad and law school). Do you think I can consider UCLA, Duke or UVA a safety? I'm not sure if I'd be willing to give up two years at anything less. How many schools do you think I should apply to altogether to make sure I get in to one of the above? Nothing is guaranteed with any of these schools and I would prefer not to sit out a year if I can't get in.
Thanks so much.
26 Sep 2006, 15:44
Kudos
Bookmarks
pelihu
pelihu,
Your profile is quite impressive and distinctive. I encourage you to aim high. Your GMAT, JD, and the quality of your educational institutions should banish any lingering doubts they might have regarding your GPA. Do you have a reasonable shot at HBS? Yes, a reasonable shot, I think. They will give you very serious consideration, and I would not be surprised if they admitted you, but you must drown them in impact and leadership in your essays. Stanford may be a somewhat better shot for you. I do think you can view UCLA, Duke, and Darden as safeties. I think you have legitimate shot everywhere else. I would expect multiple acceptances if you applied to the schools you listed. To spread your risk you might want to aim for 7 to 8 schools, with two safeties, one HBS, one Stanford, and the remaining 3 to 4 chosen from the others you listed. You should do well.
Good luck,
26 Sep 2006, 17:58
Kudos
Bookmarks
Paul,
Thanks a lot for your response. I will take your advice and whittle my list down to 7 or 8 instead of 10 (I guess I am a pessimist). I will also heed your advice about adding as much impact and leadership as I can to my essays. I will have to sit down and really think about my past, but I think there are a few nuggets back in there.
Your message has made my day, so I'm going to try to make yours. I bought not 1 but 2 copies of your book. Not because I liked it so much, but because I accidentally sent the first copy to my old address
.
The process of applying to business schools is a bit frightening; it's not like law school where grades and test scores really rule the day. Some reassuring expert advice is definitely welcome. Thanks so much.
Thanks a lot for your response. I will take your advice and whittle my list down to 7 or 8 instead of 10 (I guess I am a pessimist). I will also heed your advice about adding as much impact and leadership as I can to my essays. I will have to sit down and really think about my past, but I think there are a few nuggets back in there.
Your message has made my day, so I'm going to try to make yours. I bought not 1 but 2 copies of your book. Not because I liked it so much, but because I accidentally sent the first copy to my old address
.
The process of applying to business schools is a bit frightening; it's not like law school where grades and test scores really rule the day. Some reassuring expert advice is definitely welcome. Thanks so much.
