So this is more of a general question if you don't mind.

I'm someone who would like to get an MBA eventually but don't necessarily want to stop working for two years to get the MBA---for this reason Executive MBA's seem extremely enticing--the thing is I always see that they have 7+ years of average work experience, and I was hoping to look into the MBA in the 3-5 year range...is it at all common for younger people to apply to/get into EMBA programs if they don't have an enormous amount of work experience? Or is my only real option for something like this a part-time MBA.

In particular, I was looking at Columbia's EMBA if it makes any difference.

Thanks.

how does a fat kid end up at a mil academy?

As for this MBA chances, the standard error of prediction being what it is, I'd give this woman more credibility if she tied her compensation/fees to successful applications of customers to b-schools. Of course, she would never do that.

1) Five years at an equity prop trading arm of a family office, was Rookie of the Year and help out extensively with recruiting on the side out of my own free will. Help train and mentor other trades
2) 700 48Q 38V 6AWA
3) College info: UConn BA Economics minor in biz, 2.71 cumulative 3.34 biz school gpa, was on my own since i was 17 due to chaotic life at home , neither of my parents had graduated high school since they had me while they were in HS and I was first to graduate high school and college as well, worked near full time while in college to provide for myself completely... grew up largely on my own since dad was working overtime to provide for us and mom was in rehab for alcoholism and anorexia from the time i was 5 til 11 when she died (to paint background) ... completed 10 classes at NYU SCPS to earn certificates in portfolio management and risk management and earned a 3.76 total this past year
4) VP of student governmet for a semester in college, treasurer of international relations association (very large student group that did political/humanitarian/cultural events on campus and off), treasurer of tenants association where i lived in harlem post-bacc that took landlord to court (3 buildings of tenants, 150 or so) due to landlord being negligent and not giving repairs to force out rent stabilized tenants in favor of market rate tenants (illegal!) and we won around 300k in damages, do a lot of mentoring at my alma mater and revitalized a dead mentoring program at the school of business, was invited to join a subcomittee of the alumni association on the board of trustees where we are working to implement new programs to get more alumni involved in mentoring and to make undergrads take advantage of the networking resources to improve their internship and job prospects... also in undergrad petitioned the finance faculty to create more courses on investment finance and succeeded in getting an MBA level class on hedge funds created, tried to set up a cfa institute parternship but efforts fell short unfortunately due to budget constraints and bureaucracy
5) Was series 7 and 55 but expired
6) Chicago, Columbia, Tuck, Fuqua, Cornell, NYU
7) Investment management, buy side equity research

1) Have worked 3.5 years in Independent Research, no modeling experience but industry experience in Tech, Media, Telecom and account management experience
2) 760
3) College info: Duke University, 3.5, Graduated with a B.A. in Public Policy studies in 2008
4) College: Investment Club, Fraternity, Business Mentorship Society
Since: Not a ton, CFA has taken up much of my free time
5) Important certifications: CFA, passed all three levels
6) Your target programs: Top schools, particularly: Harvard, Stanford, Chicago, Northwestern, Virginia, Michigan
7) Your post-MBA goal. Would like to work in either Institutional Sales or as a Hedge fund analyst

Thank you so much for your input.

By the time of application will have
1) 4 years of risk management in various roles in a BB bank OR 2 yrs risk management + 2 yrs MM/boutique Investment Banking
2) Shooting for 750
3) Large state university (below top 50 for my program), 3.8, Finance
4) Active in leadership roles within professional fraternity, college's mentoring program, and college newspaper 5) Passed level I & II CFA
6) Top 20 - would like to apply through the Consortium - and independently for long-shot at HBS
7) Private Equity, Venture Capital, or Corporate Development

Thanks!

1.) 3 years at Big 4 economic consulting, early promote at 2 years. 2 years of corporate restructuring consulting (e.g., FTI, Alvarez Marsal)
2. 730
3. I would call it regional second-tier (e.g., Northwestern, Wash U, Emory) 3.6, Economics, Cum Laude
4. Post-grad: Treasurer of State Amateur Sports organization managing 35K budget. President of traveling amateur sports team.
College: President of student organization, Treasurer of Volunteer organization, Internship in the US Legislative branch
5. CFA Level I
6. Harvard, Northwestern, Chicago, Wharton
7. Internal corp strategy/finance or MBB consulting.

Thanks for your opinion!

1) 2 Years at analyst level in investment management at top U.S. bank in Hong Kong
1 Year equity research at smaller bank in Singapore
2) 740 GMAT
3) University of Notre Dame, 3.73 GPA., Beta Gama Sigma
Masters in Finance, Hong Kong Polytechnic University
4) Fluent in Mandarin Chinese
5) Passed CFA level 1
6) HBS, Columbia, NYU, Stanford
7) Work in Investment Management/ Asset Management

Thanks!

1) Global Real Estate Investment Guy... Private equity investment globally (Real Estate & Hospitality Sectors... 3 different funds 2/3 years approx. each.. promotions every 2-3 years). Have done $X billion of deals in USA, UK, Western Europe and some Asia deals. No losses. Have studied/worked/been based in 4 different countries. Volunteered and set-up international operations for one of the funds with the MD for that region (involved hiring the team, setting up processes, originating deals, etc.. the works.). Currently at Post MBA level (Senior Associate/VP level... origination & execution). Have recruited, mentored and managed junior professionals.

2) GMAT: expected 700... trust me, I'll get it.

3) College info: BA Business, Small no-name university. Insignificant GPA (however, As & Bs in all quantitative subjects).

4) No extra curricular activities apart from extensive socialising for personal enjoyment. All leadership is work based.

5) CFA Level II candidate (passed Level I)... rationale was/is to consolidate financial knowledge and understand other asset classes / portfolio management.

6) Target Programmes... HBS, Stanford & Wharton... Will apply round 3 this year, otherwise might consider Stanford's one year Sloan Masters or LBS MiF / INSEAD MBA as alternatives (I don't want to delay getting a brand name credential/degree).

7) Post-MBA goal: Set up my own fund/firm... Safety option if I don't get traction for my own firm during business school is to join an established real estate private equity fund or a Hedge fund / investment bank in their real estate practice upon graduation.

What are your thoughts on my choice of programmes? I can't afford to waste an extra year by applying for round 1 of two year MBA programmes in the autumn of this year.

Hustle

This is mostly hypothetical, I'm just curious whether b-school is a valid option for me down the road. I'm finishing undergrad this semester, and have secured my spot for my masters.

1) Brief description of your full-time work experience.
Plan to start in Big 4 tax, and spend 3-5 years

2) Your GMAT.
760 (50 Q, 42V)

3) College info: The name of the college, your GPA or grade average, your major, year of graduation. For any graduate degrees, please provide the same info. If you grades are low, please indicate if there were extenuating circumstances.
Big 10 school, 3.5 cumulative after recovering from 2.2 freshman year. I know b-schools in particular consider this a weak excuse, but there was severe depression involved.
Top Masters of Accounting

4) Significant college and post-college extra-curricular activities or community service, especially leadership experience.
I hate this garbage and tend to not do it. I tutored accounting during undergrad and participate in VITA. No real leadership to speak of.

5) Important certifications like CFA, CPA, FSA, or CA.
CPA

6) Your target programs.
Lower half of the top 20, McCombs, Ross and Kelley would be some of my favorites. One of these schools is also where I'm pursuing my MAcc, if that helps at all. Would go higher if possible.

7) Your post-MBA goal.
I'd like to start in F500, then transfer to equity research or the buy side (VC in particular). Would be likely to pursue the CFA if I went down this path.

Linda and the Accepted.com team, thanks for doing this!

1) Worked 5 years at US Regulatory Firm (i.e SEC, Fed, FINRA), promoted 3 times
2) 680
3) TX State School, 3.4, Finance, 2007.
4) Active in Bay Area non-profit student mentorship program, Kiva microfinance volunteer
5) None
6) Top 20, but ideally Haas, UCLA, or USC, would consider PT at Haas as well
7) Consulting, Corp Strat, or compliance at somewhere like BlackRock

Thanks!

P.S. -- I think the Haas PT program would be a good bet.

Best,
Cindy Tokumitsu
Senior Editor

Hello,

From the info you provided I'd consider you a qualified applicant to the programs you mention. Since they're all highly competitive, even with your strong profile I'd never say they're less than a reasonable reach -- but with very strong applications to a good number of programs, I think you'd have a good shot at admission to one or more. That said, I do underscore that the applications would have to be stellar, differentiating you within your industry and demographic group and showing you're a person also with "something to say" as part of such dynamic programs.

Best wishes,
Cindy Tokumitsu
Senior Editor

Hello,

Looks good for those schools! Obviously there's a reach element to them all, not because of anything lacking in our profile (from the info provided) but because of their high competitiveness. I do think HBS would be quite a high reach, but worth the effort. You might consider adding a school or two to further enhance your chances, perhaps NYU or Darden.

Best wishes,
Cindy Tokumitsu
Senior Editor

Hello,

I wouldn't say any are out of reach, looking forward - but Stanford will always be a reach to some degree. To be competitive at these programs down the road, undertake as much leadership as possible, but focus on the qualitative aspect too. Develop yourself to be a person with unique insights and initiative, which will be quite helpful with these schools.

Taking my free, online mini-course on the website called "Best MBA Programs: A Guide to Selecting the Best One" walks you through how to determine your competitiveness at various programs while ensuring your own needs are met -- it might be an interesting exercise to do this now, preliminarily, for planning purposes.

Best wishes,
Cindy Tokumitsu
Senior Editor

1) 3-4 years at time of application. Auditing state and local government agencies, both financial and program performance. My boss is ranked within top 20 politically influential in California. Currently a project lead on project team of 3. Expected to be promoted within a year to supervising capacity supervising 2-4 staff.

2) Range of 700-800 based on previous GRE scores

3) Ivy-level school (i.e MIT, Stanford, etc.), Bachelors in social science, 3.7 GPA in 2009. Masters in management science, 3.7 GPA. Completed both degrees within 4 years of undergrad.

4) EC during college. I traveled and worked with archaeological teams in Europe and Turkey during the summers, as well as worked as student assistant to professors' research projects during academic year. I have also worked with a couple of internet startups on business plans and increasing subscribers as a student intern.

Post graduation EC: volunteer as victim's advocate (answer crisis calls and provide mentoring and translation services. I am fluent in Chinese) and fundraising committee member (group of 5-10 that manages the biggest annual fundraiser) at domestic violence shelter. My chief responsibility as committee member is to solicit from corporate and community sponsors.

5) CPA expected by the end of 2012

6) HBS, Stanford GSB, Wharton, and other top 10 programs

7) In the long-term, I would like to work at and manage a non-profit or para-governmental organization in China (as I mentioned above, I am fluent in Chinese). In the short-term, I am also open to traditional business paths such as consulting and banking in the U.S.

Key concerns: I am concerned about my work experience in government, which is less traditional for MBA. I would also like feedback on which ones are my weak areas for HBS (my top choice) and how to best address them within the next year.