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MASTERGMASTER
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UNCONVENTIONAL BACKGROUND & ADMISSIONS 19 Apr 2007, 16:32
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Hello,

i'm a new poster, though i've been skimming the site and must say this section has given me a lot of hope that it is possible for me to make it into a school of my choice. I am graduating this year and I am starting as a financial representative with MetLife in June and I planned to work with them for 2-4 years and then going back to get my MBA, BUT I am considering leaving this after 1 year of work and working abroad as an English teacher which would let me pursue my passion for foreign travel and culture while still making money. So how would this effect my chances of admissions compared to if I just stayed at MetLife for a couple years and had a 'typical' job.

Short list of my stats:
White Male, 23yr
-1) BRADLEY UNIVERSITY: small private school well ranked by schools in Masters.

-2) Major: International Studies Minor: Asian Studies
*Classes of interest to MBA: statistics, microeconomics,macroeconomics, international economics, marketing, financial accounting.

-3) GPA: 3.25 --last 3 semesters around 3.5

-4) Extracurriculars: Student senator for 1 year; member of a social fraternity(head of brotherhood for 1 year;head of judicial board 1 year); member of International Affairs Organization(including executive board 1.5yrs); reading tutor for 1 year at local elementary school. Played on Intramural football,basketball, and softball team for 4 years.

-5) Other notables: Studied abroad for 8 weeks in St.Petersburg, Russia; 6 weeks in Queretaro,Mexico; and 3 weeks in Antigua, Guatemala. *I am fluent in Spanish...I'm also beginning to work on Mandarin.

-7) If I stay here and work for MetLife i'm going to volunteer w/ habitat for humanity, including their global village where I go to other countries for a week or two to help out there.

-8) Assume I am able to score 700+...I know this is a good score but I study hard and like to think I have good mental capabilities.

Thanks for the review.
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PaulBodine
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UNCONVENTIONAL BACKGROUND & ADMISSIONS 20 Apr 2007, 12:37
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MASTERGMASTER
Hello,

i'm a new poster, though i've been skimming the site and must say this section has given me a lot of hope that it is possible for me to make it into a school of my choice. I am graduating this year and I am starting as a financial representative with MetLife in June and I planned to work with them for 2-4 years and then going back to get my MBA, BUT I am considering leaving this after 1 year of work and working abroad as an English teacher which would let me pursue my passion for foreign travel and culture while still making money. So how would this effect my chances of admissions compared to if I just stayed at MetLife for a couple years and had a 'typical' job.

Short list of my stats:
White Male, 23yr
-1) BRADLEY UNIVERSITY: small private school well ranked by schools in Masters.

-2) Major: International Studies Minor: Asian Studies
*Classes of interest to MBA: statistics, microeconomics,macroeconomics, international economics, marketing, financial accounting.

-3) GPA: 3.25 --last 3 semesters around 3.5

-4) Extracurriculars: Student senator for 1 year; member of a social fraternity(head of brotherhood for 1 year;head of judicial board 1 year); member of International Affairs Organization(including executive board 1.5yrs); reading tutor for 1 year at local elementary school. Played on Intramural football,basketball, and softball team for 4 years.

-5) Other notables: Studied abroad for 8 weeks in St.Petersburg, Russia; 6 weeks in Queretaro,Mexico; and 3 weeks in Antigua, Guatemala. *I am fluent in Spanish...I'm also beginning to work on Mandarin.

-7) If I stay here and work for MetLife i'm going to volunteer w/ habitat for humanity, including their global village where I go to other countries for a week or two to help out there.

-8) Assume I am able to score 700+...I know this is a good score but I study hard and like to think I have good mental capabilities.

Thanks for the review.
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MasterGmaster,

Taking a year off to teach and live in a foreign country would enhance your application in terms of adding international experience (which you have a good amount of already) and a distinctive story that would help you stand out from the pack. If you could show how it related to your long-term goals, that would make it stronger, though even if it were unrelated to your goals I think it would be a positive for your application. The only downside is that perhaps it means you would not be applying from as high a position professionally as you would if you had not "lost" that year, but I personally think that's a risk worth taking if you feel confident that you would be able to show schools a decent track record of career advancement and leadership once you return from overseas. Based on your strong extracurriculars and GPA, my guess is that you will have a good resume once you return from teaching, so ... go for it.

Good luck,
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IHATEMELGIBSON1
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UNCONVENTIONAL BACKGROUND & ADMISSIONS 20 Apr 2007, 13:28
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MASTERGMASTER
Hello,

i'm a new poster, though i've been skimming the site and must say this section has given me a lot of hope that it is possible for me to make it into a school of my choice. I am graduating this year and I am starting as a financial representative with MetLife in June and I planned to work with them for 2-4 years and then going back to get my MBA, BUT I am considering leaving this after 1 year of work and working abroad as an English teacher which would let me pursue my passion for foreign travel and culture while still making money. So how would this effect my chances of admissions compared to if I just stayed at MetLife for a couple years and had a 'typical' job.

Short list of my stats:
White Male, 23yr
-1) BRADLEY UNIVERSITY: small private school well ranked by schools in Masters.

-2) Major: International Studies Minor: Asian Studies
*Classes of interest to MBA: statistics, microeconomics,macroeconomics, international economics, marketing, financial accounting.

-3) GPA: 3.25 --last 3 semesters around 3.5

-4) Extracurriculars: Student senator for 1 year; member of a social fraternity(head of brotherhood for 1 year;head of judicial board 1 year); member of International Affairs Organization(including executive board 1.5yrs); reading tutor for 1 year at local elementary school. Played on Intramural football,basketball, and softball team for 4 years.

-5) Other notables: Studied abroad for 8 weeks in St.Petersburg, Russia; 6 weeks in Queretaro,Mexico; and 3 weeks in Antigua, Guatemala. *I am fluent in Spanish...I'm also beginning to work on Mandarin.

-7) If I stay here and work for MetLife i'm going to volunteer w/ habitat for humanity, including their global village where I go to other countries for a week or two to help out there.

-8) Assume I am able to score 700+...I know this is a good score but I study hard and like to think I have good mental capabilities.

Thanks for the review.
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really isn't that unconventional
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MASTERGMASTER
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UNCONVENTIONAL BACKGROUND & ADMISSIONS 20 Apr 2007, 21:09
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pbodine-

thanks for the quick response! I had a feeling that this experience would help me out or at least not hurt me, but to hear you second it makes me feel reassured. You said, '...if I show good career development once I return from overseas...' that would be good in terms of helping out my application and thus admittance to MBA programs; hypothetically though lets assume that I decide 'hey I like over here or I want to go to another country and so I work overseas in some aspect (English teacher,NGO's,etc.) for a couple years and just enjoy my time, but also I would do volunteer work too, would I be at a substantial disadvantage when applying to MBA programs?

I am very interested in some European schools (LBS, IESE) and the Indian School of Management if that makes my international experience more applicable to entrance than it would to an American school, though I am also considering the USA. Overall I'd like to get into finance or consulting (who wouldn't it seems like) and work in an international aspect for someone like Deutsche Bank or Citigroup, etc.

Thanks for the review! Advice from someone w/ your expertiese will help make my decision much easier. :-D

*IHATEMELGIBSON-

I think working as an English teacher and traveling abroad is quite unconventional compared to the typical person going for an MBA. I may be wrong but that's just my opinion.
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PaulBodine
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UNCONVENTIONAL BACKGROUND & ADMISSIONS 23 Apr 2007, 14:55
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MASTERGMASTER
pbodine-

thanks for the quick response! I had a feeling that this experience would help me out or at least not hurt me, but to hear you second it makes me feel reassured. You said, '...if I show good career development once I return from overseas...' that would be good in terms of helping out my application and thus admittance to MBA programs; hypothetically though lets assume that I decide 'hey I like over here or I want to go to another country and so I work overseas in some aspect (English teacher,NGO's,etc.) for a couple years and just enjoy my time, but also I would do volunteer work too, would I be at a substantial disadvantage when applying to MBA programs?

I am very interested in some European schools (LBS, IESE) and the Indian School of Management if that makes my international experience more applicable to entrance than it would to an American school, though I am also considering the USA. Overall I'd like to get into finance or consulting (who wouldn't it seems like) and work in an international aspect for someone like Deutsche Bank or Citigroup, etc.

Thanks for the review! Advice from someone w/ your expertiese will help make my decision much easier. :-D

*IHATEMELGIBSON-

I think working as an English teacher and traveling abroad is quite unconventional compared to the typical person going for an MBA. I may be wrong but that's just my opinion.
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MasterGmaster,

B-schools want to see leadership and impact, which working for an NGO for two years could enable you to show. But they also want to see a career history that seems coherent. If you have some way of showing the connection between consulting and two years doing NGO/social impact work then go for it. I can't say that that connection seems clear to me. Also, if those two years consisted mostly of teaching then I doubt you would be able to show the leadership/impact B-schools look for. If your NGO role were broader or more management- or business-oriented then that would be different. The bottom line is you should spend two years working in Borneo for an NGO because you want to, not because you think it will help you get into B-school.