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lonewolf
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You're most welcome. To answer your questions:
1) You certainly have a shot at Columbia and probably would enhance it by applying ED -- if CBS is your first choice. Overall I think your school selections are good considering your qualifications and goals.
2) Your international exposure hit me over the head. It really stands out. Also, your leadership experience is impressive -- off the job. And the fact that you continued with Habitat for Humanity in a new country after leaving college is somewhat unusual and something to be proud of.

Concerning leadership, don't think of leadership strictly in terms of title. Think of it in terms of impact, which you seem to be doing above as it relates to Habitat for Humanity. In your last bullet point about your job, you talk about presenting solutions to customers. If they adopt your solutions, you are also demonstrating leadership and you should use the experience. Basically if you really have no on-the-job leadership, go with Habitat for Humanity and your experience organizing events for TBP. You are young and just use what you have. No one is going to expect a lot of professional leadership from you. However, if you have been in a position to influence customer behavior or team behavior, then discuss both professional and non-professional leadership because both are impressive. In fact if you have on-the-job leadership as well as off-the-job, I would encourage you to consider applying to HBS. Admittedly a stretch, but a worthwhile one considering your goals and other qualifications.

3)I think you would be better off waiting until Round 1 for INSEAD.

4) I don't have a good sense of the reputations of the Chinese schools in Asia. You may want to look at the Financial Times rankings to get some sense of that.

Best,
Linda

Thank you for your kind comments Linda.
I am currently considering adding a safety school on top of my list, can you suggest some safeties to look at given my background and goals? (Would USC be one?)
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You're most welcome. To answer your questions:
1) You certainly have a shot at Columbia and probably would enhance it by applying ED -- if CBS is your first choice. Overall I think your school selections are good considering your qualifications and goals.
2) Your international exposure hit me over the head. It really stands out. Also, your leadership experience is impressive -- off the job. And the fact that you continued with Habitat for Humanity in a new country after leaving college is somewhat unusual and something to be proud of.

Concerning leadership, don't think of leadership strictly in terms of title. Think of it in terms of impact, which you seem to be doing above as it relates to Habitat for Humanity. In your last bullet point about your job, you talk about presenting solutions to customers. If they adopt your solutions, you are also demonstrating leadership and you should use the experience. Basically if you really have no on-the-job leadership, go with Habitat for Humanity and your experience organizing events for TBP. You are young and just use what you have. No one is going to expect a lot of professional leadership from you. However, if you have been in a position to influence customer behavior or team behavior, then discuss both professional and non-professional leadership because both are impressive. In fact if you have on-the-job leadership as well as off-the-job, I would encourage you to consider applying to HBS. Admittedly a stretch, but a worthwhile one considering your goals and other qualifications.

3)I think you would be better off waiting until Round 1 for INSEAD.

4) I don't have a good sense of the reputations of the Chinese schools in Asia. You may want to look at the Financial Times rankings to get some sense of that.

Best,
Linda

Thank you for your kind comments Linda.
I am currently considering adding a safety school on top of my list, can you suggest some safeties to look at given my background and goals? (Would USC be one?)

I thought of USC Marshall too. I don't think I would call it a safety , but I do think your chances are good there and it is a good fit for you. I think UT would be more of a good safety.

Best,
Linda
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Thank you Linda.
Sorry for one last question, based on my profile and list of school choices, do you think I should give GMAT another try? Would it significantly change my chances or I am better off focusing on the application
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Thank you Linda.
Sorry for one last question, based on my profile and list of school choices, do you think I should give GMAT another try? Would it significantly change my chances or I am better off focusing on the application

You can never have too high a GMAT. :) At the same time, time is not an unlimited resource. Your GMAT is slightly below average for the most competitive of your target programs. Obviously, that nature of an average means the schools accept a lot of below who have GMAT's below average. Your grades are very strong and from a tough undergrad program. You have good experience. So if you believe you can raise your GMAT with a minimal amount of time invested or you had the proverbial "bad day" and your practice scores were significantly higher, then I would say go for it. Retake the test. If however, your practice exams were all aright around 690 and you studied really hard to get that score, then I would say apply with this score and hope for the best.

You may also want to see a new ecourse we just released "Best MBA Programs: A Guide to Choosing the One for You."

Best,
Linda