Good afternoon,

I was hoping to get some feedback on my chances of getting into a well respected MBA program. Here is my profile:

Summary of Experience
- Graduated from a top liberal arts school with a business management degree and philosophy minor in 2013
- Worked for a well respected financial advisory firm specializing in municipal finance for one year, but did not enjoy the work or culture so I decided to leave...
- Went to the west coast to do a three month program in brand strategy that I was interested in
- Landed a job at a small private investment firm that specializes in making real estate secured investments in distressed businesses of all industries. Very much enjoying it so far, and have gotten a lot of exposure and responsibility right off the bat. The business has also been doubling its revenue each year. I plan to work and get promoted for the next few years before applying to business school.
- On the side, I was a seed investor this year in a fitness/lifestyle startup that has been doing very well.
- I am volunteering for a nonprofit that helps vulnerable adults get back into the workforce.

Statistics
- GPA: 3.46
- Major GPA: 3.61
- GMAT: TBD

Schools
- Duke
- Michigan
- Northwestern
- Columbia
- UC Berkeley
- Yale
- UCLA
- Cornell
- Virginia
- NYU

What do you think I need to get on my GMAT in order to have a very good chance at these schools? And do you have any tips on how I could bolster my resume?

Looking forward to hearing back!

I don't think any GMAT score automatically gives people a *very* good chance at any of these schools. They are highly competitive and most well qualified candidates don't get in. Your work experience is below the average, so I think you should aim to get an above-average GMAT or, perhaps more realistically from your GMAT, wait one or two more years.

As high as possible! Are you applying for fall 2016 intake? You've missed out on the early rounds already, so that might count against you.

In terms of how you could bolster you resume, I would be a bit concerned that there's no real through-line in terms of your work experience. You certainly have to come up with a convincing argument to as why these jobs connect to each other and your career goals, but also, staying in your current field and moving up, even if it takes another year or two, would be the best solution.

Overall dude you have a very good profile.

"What GMAT score should I target?" is always kind of a funny question, because you should target the highest you can get ;).


But I kno what you mean, so let's say that with a 700+ any of the schools on your list become an option, and with a 720+ you become a strong candidate at many of the schools, and competitive at Duke, Kellogg, Columbia.

Obviously I could use some more detail on your profile to really dig in, but overall, looks good.

Just kill that GMAT...

Good Luck!!!

Best,
Yaron

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Premier Admissions Consulting

[Edited by Admissionado on Nov 26, 2015]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! For further clarification, I don't plan on applying for 2-4 years as I'd like a good amount of work experience and one or two promotions to have under my belt. In terms of my story, I recognize that is something I need to fine tune... But the gist is I started out in government finance and realized I was far more interested in businesses, tried a business brand strategy program out for three months as that was something I was interested in, and then ultimately landed in a job at an investment firm analyzing and make decisions on business investments - which I something I'm very much liking and see myself staying with until I go for my MBA. I will do my best to crush the GMAT.

Sounds like you have a good idea of a throughline, and having more work experience would certainly help. Good luck!

I was recently promoted to Vice President at my firm at the age of 25 and after only having been with the firm for 4 months. How much will this increase my chances at getting into a top school?