What can I do in the next 2-4 years to improve my chances of admission to a top MBA program? 
I have my mind set on going to get my MBA in the near future. I have debated between part-time/full-time programs, but I'm leaning towards full-time. I want to go get my MBA for pretty normal reasons including: career change (possibly consulting), location change, salary boost, etc.
So here's where I'm at now:
- Received my BSBA from OSU in Finance (ranked 11th) and Accounting (ranked 10th) with a minor in Economics in June 2011
- GPA: 3.5
- Had some great leadership experience at OSU, taking a club from 8 members to 80 and planning some large-scale events while managing a 14-student board
- Had a stint as an entrepreneur in my dorm room my freshman year running an incentivized marketing website (aka "freebies") for about 9 months; made decent money and partnered with a guy in Israel
- Had a 1yr part-time internship in Accounting at large ($5B rev), local company
- Currently working at a decently large bank (think US Bank/PNC type) as a financial analyst in a 1-year rotational program; should be able to move up pretty quickly to senior financial analyst within 6-18 months
Part-time is an option too since I live 15 minutes away from a top 20 school with a highly ranked part-time program, but I'd like to break into consulting so I think having full access to the career services office as well as having a summer for an internship would be beneficial.
I'm confident that I can do well on the GMAT (700+) and have started studying a bit. So what can I do, other than get a decent score on the GMAT, to improve my chances of getting into a top MBA program (preferably M7)?
Philanthropy. You need
Philanthropy. You need volunteer work, international travel, some kind of story you can weave about giving back. Right now you have ECs, an average GPA, and less-than-stellar work experience. You need a major hook to get an M7 school to bite.
A lot of people do certain things to add days to their life. I do things to add life to my days.
I have no clue what you can
I have no clue what you can do to improve your chances of getting into a top program but I wish you luck.
-Bretton
Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.
With some post-grad ECs and a
With some post-grad ECs and a solid gmat score, I don't see why you wouldn't be competitive at top 15 schools.
A Posse Ad Esse
Philanthropy. You need volunteer work, international travel, some kind of story you can weave about giving back. Right now you have ECs, an average GPA, and less-than-stellar work experience. You need a major hook to get an M7 school to bite.
Ah, I didn't realize that those things were important to adcoms. The student org I ran was a community service organization. I planned the club's largest fundraiser to date, traveled to Lima, Peru for a service project, planned the club's first domestic service trip, etc, etc.
I also spent 4 months studying abroad in Hong Kong at Asia's top business school. So check and check on community service and international travel.
I'm worried that my college experience will become less relevant 2-4 years down the road so I'll look into getting involved in some community service in my current location...possibly with a young professional organization or something. Thanks for the tips!!
Your profile is fine, it just
Your profile is fine, it just doesn't pop off the page. I had a friend who had higher stats - 3.8 / 760 from a school that is roughly equivalent with Ohio State, BBA finance, worked at a similar company with a good promotion schedule (he was in insurance though). He didn't have anything amazing for ECs and was in the dreaded Asian male in financial services category (equally bad as white male). It took him 3 tries to get in, and he eventually settled on Ross. There's nothing wrong with Ross, but he was definitely aiming higher and couldn't crack it.
Another guy I know had similar stats, 5 years of sales experience, nothing particularly on ECs and ended up at Kelley a few years ago (white male). Again -- great stats, management experience at work, etc. but it's not enough.
The point is, if you are in a bad demographic, you need something to help you stand out.
Time to think out of the box,
Time to think out of the box, professional organizations are like the key club in HS, everyone joins it cause they know they need to put something on their resume. Start something! What are you good at? Could you teach something you know to underprivileged kids/families? Is there some way you can give back to your community? And make sure it's something you actually like to do...
Based on your input as well
Based on your input as well as some of my own research and thoughts, I've decided that I need to devote my free time to one (or more than one) of the following projects. Which course of action do you guys think would benefit me the most in regards to applying to b-school?
- Found a young professional organization - my current city is severely lacking in this department especially given its size
- Start a 501(c)(3) organization - this is something I've always wanted to do, but I'm not sure what the focus of the org would be
- Seek out more prestigious department at the bank I work at currently (mezzanine capital, M&A, etc) - this will be an uphill battle for sure since these departments usually require an MBA
- Search for a new job in different industry (i.e. mgmt consulting)
- Study my ass off for the GMAT
Thanks for all of the input so far...it's been very helpful!
Sounds like you have had some
Sounds like you have had some pretty solid international experience. Why not build on your experiences from college and start a 501(c)(3) organization for young professionals in your city to volunteer abroad? Maybe organize a Bankers Without Borders type trip where you can use your professional skills to work?
Based on your input as well as some of my own research and thoughts, I've decided that I need to devote my free time to one (or more than one) of the following projects. Which course of action do you guys think would benefit me the most in regards to applying to b-school?
- Found a young professional organization - my current city is severely lacking in this department especially given its size
- Start a 501(c)(3) organization - this is something I've always wanted to do, but I'm not sure what the focus of the org would be
- Seek out more prestigious department at the bank I work at currently (mezzanine capital, M&A, etc) - this will be an uphill battle for sure since these departments usually require an MBA
- Search for a new job in different industry (i.e. mgmt consulting)
- Study my ass off for the GMAT
Thanks for all of the input so far...it's been very helpful!
Founder, Volunteer Forever
http://www.volunteerforever.com