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gddunton
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Concentration: Strategy, Sustainability
Schools: Jones '16 (M$) CBS '16 (D)
WE:Supply Chain Management (Hospitality and Tourism)
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City Year / Americorps program 04 Apr 2010, 20:19
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A quick background on my current situation:

I am 24 and have two years work experience in supply chain management at a small to midsize manufacturing company in Upstate NY. Graduated in 2008 from a top 50 undergraduate business school with a 3.6GPA. I took the GMATs in December and scored a 730 (Q49, V41).

I am interested in applying to business school for matriculation in fall of 2011 and wanted to do something different before starting. I have been looking into Americorp and City Year as a great way to make a difference. Basically they are 10-12 month full time community service programs located in a major city where there is no real time to have a typical job.

My one concern is that switching from a defined career path would be viewed as a weakness in my application. Does anyone have any experience with these programs, or know how they are viewed by adcoms?

My target schools are Duke, Darden, Georgetown, UNC, NYU and Columbia.


Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
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vannbj
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City Year / Americorps program 21 Apr 2010, 08:20
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Any reason why you're targetting those schools?
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gddunton
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WE:Supply Chain Management (Hospitality and Tourism)
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City Year / Americorps program 21 Apr 2010, 08:58
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For the most part I would like to target a top 20-25 program.

I am interested in General Management or Consulting as a career path and these programs are pretty good for those paths. Also location is another factor. My Family is from the Mid-Atlantic Region and I am looking to stay on the east coast. Im passing on Cornell and Dartmouth because of the location. ( I lived in New Hampshire for 6 years and went to undergrad at Syracuse and would prefer a change of location)

That leaves HBS, Wharton, MIT, Tepper and Yale left within my range. HBS and Wharton I might consider applying to as stretch schools if I had the extra time and energy to focus on their applications after finishing the others. As for Tepper, MIT and Yale I haven't done enough research into yet to really make an informed enough decision to decide to apply.

I also think the range I listed was a good coverall of my basic interests.

Any schools that might fit into my crude selection range that I might have missed?

Thanks,
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asimov
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City Year / Americorps program 21 Apr 2010, 09:37
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I don't think volunteering for one year will hurt your chances, as long as you can explain it in your essays.

I took a year off for a volunteer abroad program, but it fits into my theme of "making a difference in the world" along with my previous job. Duke bought that pitch. Although, I think Duke likes the volunteering type. Last year, two applicants (bostonsparky and ntang) got accepted and matriculated at Duke after 2 years of Peace Corp.

As far as school selection, I don't think Columbia, NYU, MIT, and Wharton fit with your interest of consulting and general management. Those are finance focused schools.

I'd recommend applying for 3-4 schools, because b-school application is time/resource intensive not only for you but for your recommenders. You'll be able to put together a better package if you only apply to 3-4 schools.
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coaks
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City Year / Americorps program 21 Apr 2010, 09:56
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I think to frame any school as a "finance" school (or a "general management" or "consulting" school) does a disservice to the many talented faculty members at those schools that have nothing to do with the finance department. And the many interesting and driven students that will never set foot in a finance class other than the basic core requirement. That said, an understanding of finance is key for almost any business venture and would be valued by consulting and general management programs. That's one of the myriad reasons why they're looking for MBAs and not just any mid-career professionals. They know that along with all this other great stuff in your package they're getting an understanding of finance, strategy, marketing, etc.

I guess none of us know what sort of consulting you would like to do -- perhaps you see yourself drawing specifically on your understanding of supply-chains and manufacturing firms, perhaps not. I imagine that you have somewhat of a "higher purpose" streak in you if you're considering volunteering for a year. Maybe you want to consult for non-profit/for-profit companies that are "making a difference" and have a lot of people excited about the cause but not many MBAs that are thinking in certain, specific ways about how to improve their supply chain or what have you. If that's the case, I would mention that Yale, NYU and Columbia all have highly developed Social Enterprise programs, whatever they specifically call them. In fact, one of the reasons I'm headed to NYU Stern is because it has one of the better social sector programs -- despite it being a top finance school. I would also mention that programs such as MIT and Tepper that are very strong in operations or decision modelling would be a huge boost to your consulting profile.

But absolutely do a lot of research about what things each of these schools can offer behind its primary or core focus.