Hi all, I am looking for some advice. I want to get into a top 10 MBA (Stanford/Harvard/Wharton/Columbia/Sloan/Booth/Berkeley) in 2016.
I'm a 27 year old male who, at intake, will have about 5 years of experience, mainly as a marketing/comms associate for a large wealth management firm. I am from the U.S. but have worked internationally for the past two years. My undergrad is in communications, my GPA was 3.3 but I didn't do many extracurriculars.
I've taken some practice GMAT scores and I'm hitting the 720 range.
I would like to get my GMAT score up, that's the number one assignment on my list. But is there anything else I should be doing to more effectively position myself for the top schools? I'm worried that since I don't have many extracurriculars or volunteer experience, then I would not be as well-rounded as the b-schools would like. I'm thinking I should start volunteering at a soup kitchen or something like that but I feel like it would be strange to do so within half a year of applying to the MBAs.
Applying to top 10 MBAs... how should I prepare
Posted May 15, 2015 12:46
I'm a 27 year old male who, at intake, will have about 5 years of experience, mainly as a marketing/comms associate for a large wealth management firm. I am from the U.S. but have worked internationally for the past two years. My undergrad is in communications, my GPA was 3.3 but I didn't do many extracurriculars.
I've taken some practice GMAT scores and I'm hitting the 720 range.
I would like to get my GMAT score up, that's the number one assignment on my list. But is there anything else I should be doing to more effectively position myself for the top schools? I'm worried that since I don't have many extracurriculars or volunteer experience, then I would not be as well-rounded as the b-schools would like. I'm thinking I should start volunteering at a soup kitchen or something like that but I feel like it would be strange to do so within half a year of applying to the MBAs.
Posted May 17, 2015 14:26
I'm not sure what your career goals are, but I think a leadership or organisational role in a voluntary project where you could make an impact would be worthwhile. Does your company do some socially responsible work that you could take part in? How about the alumni association of your alma mater? Those look more authentic and you can hit the ground running.
Posted May 19, 2015 12:41
Even if you don't have many extracurriculars or what have you, try to find a way to connect whatever it is that you start doing now to what you've done in the past. So if you start working at a soup kitchen, and you did similar work in the past, you can tell a decent narrative about how these motivations are connected. I don't think that it's ever too late to start with volunteer experience, etc., but you will need to demonstrate that you are doing it for more than just the admit.
Posted May 20, 2015 15:18
Thanks for the advice. So I'm pretty much right in thinking that my lack of volunteer experience, etc, would be considered a weak point as I apply to MBAs?
Posted May 21, 2015 07:46
I'd think of it not simply as a lack of volunteer experience, but also as a way than many people gather experience in non-hierarchical leadership, develop self-awareness and have to deal with unexpected problems.
Posted May 28, 2015 13:50
Based on the above suggestions, I suggest you go climb Mount Everest. Think about it: you'd definitely be developing self-awareness, deal with unexpected problems, and even maybe get some leadership skills out of it.
Posted May 28, 2015 14:17
It's on the trek already... both physcially http://poetsandquants.com/2013/07/13/a-b-school-prof-climbs-mount-everest/ and virtually http://www.avt.dk/news/avt-students-climb-mount-everest-with-professor-scott-derue/
[Edited by Duncan on May 28, 2015]
Posted Jun 12, 2015 12:09
Ha, right! With the kind of money it costs to do Everest I could easily do a whole MBA program...
Related Business Schools
Other Related Content
The GMAC MBA Tour Lands in Africa Sept. 13-19
News Sep 11, 2023
Back into the Swing: Summertime Preparation for Your MBA
Article Jun 07, 2010
Things you can do this summer to prepare for your MBA
Hot Discussions
-
need information about IBSS and IBAS DBA
5 hours ago 304 10 -
Take GMAT again?
Apr 30 11:48 AM 147 4 -
Mannheim vs WHU
Apr 09, 2024 215 3 -
EMBA - IMD vs HEC Paris vs Cambridge Judge
May 02 06:46 PM 122 3 -
City or Manchester for MiF?
Apr 09, 2024 167 1 -
Two MBAs for the price of one
Apr 12, 2024 246 1 -
General MBA for experienced technologist
Apr 17, 2024 153 1 -
Executive MBA at ESCP
18 hours ago 20 0