I am still in the very elementary phase of research, trying to see if business school is even for me and what I can do with it. I am URM (immigrant; political refugee; woman). Graduated from UCLA w BS in Neuroscience 3.3GPA. I got a lot of C's and 1 D because my familys business went under and I had to move back home to help out. I was commuting 80+ miles (didn't have my own car so had to borrow from friends/fam) daily to get to school and it was just not sustainable academically. After graduating, I did a one year science post-bac at UCLA where I took upper division science courses while working full time in research and got a 4.0. After my first year and a half of working in research, I was published and promoted to a project management position leading my company's largest COVID related project (maybe even in SoCal too). It was the first project of its kind and I led multiple departments, groups and organizations to reach our goals. I was once again promoted to another supervisory role (in addition to my project management role), all within 2 years of me working there. I did not meet the minimum requirements for these positions (masters required, PhD preferred), but my work ethic and skills outshined that.

I'd like to explore getting an MBA to see if it will allow me to explore more career opportunities. Coming from a heavy research/medicine background with no business experience or knowledge, I wonder what career opportunities it can open for me post-MBA? Can I get into consulting? Venture capital? I have a lot of research to go but my decision stems from my background in research. While there is power in research and the findings it yields, I realized it is not enough to produce social change and have an impact. Spearheading one of the biggest COVID projects in my region, I thought I would be a credible source for people on COVID, but as a lot of my colleagues in the scientific community and I have experienced, there is a lot of mistrust in science and many people are just not willing to listen. So I want to try a different approach and go at it from a business angle to merge my background in research with business and policy to produce greater social change in diversity and inclusion (what a lot of my research and EC's revolve around). Am also considering applying to programs with a joint MPP. Corporate social responsibility. Can I work for a venture capital firm that is dedicated to diversifying its portfolio and giving a chance to start ups from underrepresented groups? Can I work in tech on the governance and development of new technologies so that I can have an influence on the communities that they impact directly? I'd also like to refine my leadership skills and gain more formal skills in strategy, organizational behavior, finance, etc. I know that HBS is big on preparing future managers and I'd like to work with future managers on helping them be more diverse and inclusive. The credibility and network that I would gain from brands like Harvard, Stanford and Wharton would go a long way in helping me bring impact and change in the areas that interest me. It will also serve to inspire kids who come from a similar background as me and like me, were once told that their dreams were too big and didn't match their background. I am very big on mentoring first generation students from underserved communities.

Lastly, I took a GMAT diagnostic and scored 690 (with some quick initial studying to warm up and remind myself of some concepts). Given that I have some flaws in my UG academic record, I plan to overcome that with the GMAT. I hope to score 730+. I was a math/physics tutor in UG so that was very helpful during my diagnostic. I hope my UG record, while not pretty, is not a serious hinderance at top schools.

Greatly appreciate any feedback and advice in advance. Thank you.