MBA ApplyWire

Long time listener first time caller. Love the podcast! Adding my profile just because I want to be part of the community.

R2 applicant for Fall 2025 entry.

Background: mid-to-late 20s US citizen, lower-income single parent upbringing.

Work experience: currently a manager at a humanitarian INGO in active / post-conflict settings (think Afghanistan, Yemen, etc.) with several million in project budget under management and overseeing multiple teams. Will have been in emergency aid for 2 years upon matriculation, career before that was 1 year quantitative analyst ---> 1 year teaching English abroad. High impact job, recently promoted.

Academics: 3.27 cumulative. Small state school for first year with a 4.0. Transferred to an Ivy, but had to work full time to support family, had just above a 3.0 at the Ivy. I've also done a masters since at a top 5 UK (shout-out to Alex!) with distinction (3.9+ equivalent). Additionally, took Calculus this year (got an A-) to give schools a bit more reassurance on quant abilities since my quant record in college had its ups and downs, and to demonstrate respect for the rigors of the Y1 MBA curriculum.

Test: took the GMAT only once, 685 (86V 82Q 84D). First mock exam was a 625 with a terrible quant score, but brought quant up to 76th percentile with a couple months of study. Internet is too slow to take online, so only had one chance to do it in-person while I was on leave -- retake physically impossible even if I wanted to.

ECs: Very focused on social entrepreneurship. Have also been helping teach / support one of the foreign language programs at the state school I originally went to and transferred out of. Community service award as well, and mountain climber.

Post-MBA goal is social entrepreneurship that can help people in crisis contexts.

I've listened to enough Wire Taps to guess exactly what the advice will be: "You might want to cast a wider net due to the lower GPA, right now you're only targeting top schools." -- Absolutely fair call. However, what I want to do is extremely difficult and will require a ton of resources. I've selected the programs I think best fit my goals / have a strong social and entrepreneurial mission. I don't particularly mind getting dinged everywhere and reapplying next year if need be.

Long post, thanks for reading! Have a great holiday!

I wanted to get your thoughts on my R2 Strategy.

I've 2.5 years of work in Deloitte Strategy Consulting (promoted)
Worked at a unicorn tech startup for a year in a strategy team
Founded my own startup, after multiple side projects for an year
Currently working at another early-tech startup as a program manager

In the long and short term, I'm looking at entrepreneurship. with short-term flexible to be PM in Business Technology companies

I'm interviewed at Columbia MBAxMS, Cornell Tech MBA, USC Marshall
Waitlisted at NYU Tech MBA.

What should be my R2 strategy. Thinking to go optimistic and target dream schools.

Professional Experience:
- Founding sales member in 3 startups at Series A/B stages. Each startup grew to 7-15B valuation during my tenure. All three companies are brand name startups, in the CNBC Disruptor 50.
- Strong track record of working cross-functionally to drive product innovation, consistently over-performed with 7 performance-based awards and 5 promotions.
- Led a team of 10 representatives for about a year, and was able to turn a struggling vertical into one that accounted for 30% of all new business revenue
- Worked directly with CRO/Senior management to overhaul sales methodologies and created account ranking with sales operations leadership.
- Multiple internships in the financial services sector

Education:
- Top 40 Unversity (UC School), graduated with a 3.44 in Economics
- Employed by the school to tutor calculus, statistics, and economics
- Leadership positions in the school's investment fund and marketing association

ECs
- Worked with women and children's shelter non-profit for the last 18 months or so to assist with community outreach and charity events.
- Amateur cycling, surfing, hiking, and volleyball

Post-MBA Goals
- Short term- Gain skills in financial modeling and leadership to work in tech as a Sales Operations Manager. Applying to LA-based programs to open up opportunities for working in tech in LA.
- Long-term- Work in senior management in Sales Strategy and Operations at a larger tech firm.

I am aiming to pivot from Software Engineering to Product Management. My undergrad degree was in Computer Science from an Ivy League school where I was a D1 varsity athlete. EC's outside of that are pretty slim, although I am involved with charities and volunteer organizations sporadically. Have organized and led a small handful of hobby groups among friends and colleagues as well. Work experience includes solid brand recognition, and my previous 2.5 YoE are in the music/entertainment industry.

I am a woman of color and a Product Manager at a major streaming service with three years of experience thus far. I hold a degree in Cinematography from a CUNY school and began my career as an NBCUniversal Page. Since then, I’ve worked for prominent media companies like NBCU, Peacock, A+E Networks, and Paramount+. While I didn’t initially plan on pursuing an MBA, my career trajectory has naturally led me in that direction due to my rapid career growth. I’m preparing for the GMAT (focus edition) with a target score of 655 or higher.

As a non-traditional candidate, are there any potential red flags in my profile? Additionally, are there other MBA programs I should consider? Thank you!

Undergrad was at a Service Academy. Also earned a Masters of Science with a GPA of 4.0, Project Management Professional certification holder, and volunteered for two years at service to schools helping veterans get into an undergraduate program.

I took a gap year in college and switched majors taking longer to graduate so I’m 30, would matriculate at 32 and graduate at 34. Seems like I’m an outlier and worried I’m too old.

I have varied and deep experience in community organizing, leading several notable local organizations. Also have recommendations from

I just got rejected for WashU Olin and I have an interview invitation with Questrom. GPA continues to bother me but I addressed it in my supporting essays.

I got cancer when I was undergrad that's why my undergrad GPA is low. After MBA I want to work in consulting then make a social impact in Africa through entrepreneurship

UG Degree: BBA Financial Markets at an Accredited Institution.

Civilian Work History: 3 years as Wealth Advisor under an RIA in Minneapolis and Denver. Total AUM of ~$350-400M, served as a salaried advisor in a primary and secondary capacity. Holistic services to include investment management, estate planning, retirement planning, insurance planning, tax planning, etc.

Military History: 4 years as a supply/logistics officer heading efforts for air/ground mobility, defense contracting, supply and procurement, and fiscal budget management while located at various bases within CONUS and multiple forward deployed locations.

Professional Certifications: Obtained Certified Financial Planner designation (2022) and Series 65 (2019).

Education:
- Combined Major in Economics and Statistics
- CFA Charterholder (passed all three levels on the first attempt)

Professional Experience:
- Manager at a Big 4 firm Specializing in capital projects and infrastructure, with a role similar to investment banking
- Seven years of experience, mainly in financial services in Ghana

Extracurricular Activities:
- Pro bono capital-raising services for SMEs
- Aspiring to run a full advisory firm for SMEs in the future
- CFA exam coaching and tutorial classes for candidates
- Founder of a travel and tour club offering affordable trips to explore beautiful and historic scenes in Ghana

Will being 32 years old affect the attractiveness of my candidacy?

Asian, female, USA. Top 10 Undergraduate school in USA, majored in Biomedical Engineering. Worked for Salesforce, Accenture, and Microsoft within sales department. Major accomplishments within sales roles. Strong personal essays. Letters of Recommendations from direct managers. Founder and held multiple leadership positions in school clubs during Undergrad. Just a really bad test taker and cannot seem to get my scores up no matter how many times I take it specifically in the quant section. American trying to stay in Europe post MBA and only applying to European B-schools.

GMAT Note:
* The score is an unofficial practice test. I am beginning my studies for the real thing now.

Undergrad Majors:
* Economics
* Business Management

Work Experience Notes:
* Insurance experience is at a family business
* I implemented data analytics into business operations since that was not a practice beforehand.
* I help with sales, customer service, bookkeeping, and marketing.

Extracurriculars & Volunteer Activities:
* Worked as an economics research assistant during my undergrad where I consulted public and private entities
* Was part of an economics research project that won a national award for its work in community economic development
* Published 2 university-sponsored economics articles
* During my senior year, I was appointed to a university faculty committee to help plan university award ceremonies and delegate student scholarships
* Won a leadership award from my university
* Economics honor society member
* President of a student club (1 year) and a club's Senior Advisor (1 year)
* Started and led 2 initiatives that installed free smoke alarms in rural area homes (received a leadership award from the American Red Cross for this)
* Ironman triathlete

Pakistani male, looking to get into the financial services industry short term, and long-term make a significant contribution to the family business or pursue entrepreneurship. Studied engineering from UT Austin for undergrad followed by three jobs (roughly 2 years each) and a nine month break in between job 2 and 3. Planning to take the GMAT again in 3 weeks to offset GPA. Goal score is 695. Mitigating circumstances around GPA are just illness and general family/self issues but doubt they will be very convincing.