I am set to graduate in May, summa cum laude (3.91 gpa) with a B.S. in business administration (economics major, political science minor) from a tier-3, Catholic university in the northeast. I haven't taken the GMAT yet, but of course, I'm shooting for 720+. I've been working since age 15 and I have had two high profile interships during college. I recently accepted a post-graduate position at one of the country's top insurers/investment mangement companies.
I believe I have a decent start to a b-school application. My concern is that I really didn't participate in extracurriculars during college. I commuted to school mainly because of the cost of room and board (I'm paying my own student loans and have a merit-based scholarship) and because I had to be able to work 25+ hours per week. I have been inducted into three different honor societies, but never I actively participated in their activities or events. I was a contributing writer for my school's business newspaper. Does my lack of extracurriculars hurt my chances of going to a top MBA program like Harvard? Can I make up for it post-college by being a mentor at my school's career center and excelling at my first full-time job? I plan to go back to school in two years.
First off congrats on graduating. Here's the deal on applying to schools like Stanford & Harvard for MBA: of all your bringing to the table when you apply is a good college GPA & GMAT, and your essay reads like "I work really hard and want to go to HBS sooooo bad...." ding. So does every other kid applying. These schools need to be impressed by what you've put together as a package or body of work.
Fair enough. But my question was, aside from grades and a killer GMAT, can I (or really how do I) make up for the fact that I didn't participate in extracurriculars during college because I was a commuter. And no, I do not plan on starting a new business. Perhaps some community service?
work experience - the more international, the better.
How valuable is international experience compared to US? i.e. my firm has opportunities to do operational consulting work in Asia, etc. (pretty much same stuff I'd be doing in US, except in another country, maybe more responsibility). Of course the issue is being an ex-pat for 1-2 years. Not shooting for HBS here, more like #5-#10.
Generally speaking I would recommend international experience. The only proviso would be if you are out of the loop on other (better) development opportunities or there is some kind of stigma attached to such a move in your current firm (and only then if you plan to stay at that firm longer term) If you are US based and have a choice between doing the same role in the US and Asia, I would recommend Asia for a number of reasons but primarily because:
1) It does look more impressive on a CV to have international experience , 2) It will expose you to new cultures/issues and give you a lot of credibility when discussing anything from a global/international perspective, and; 3) The experience will give you a good story to tell a prospective employer/college
International exposure will always help. I would shoot for the overseas position. Not only will it make your application more attractive, but it will make you a lot more valuable to other employers.
MBA (top) programs are looking for people that are on a "mission" if you will. They look for people with not only a track record of success but also a long term goal. Whether correct or not you should strive to make the admission officers feel the need that they need you instead of the other way around. H/W/S & other top schools want to brand people that are going to promote the program, not people who'll just leverage their degree from job to job. I'm not saying that that doesn't happen, but they want people who'll change the world. Someone told me a good way of showing that is progress in your field of focus. So to the op, your extra-circulars shouldn't be of concern now. Just an idea or suggestion to help you stand out: work in your position & afterwards seek out a role where you could work in a field thats trying to do something different like micro finance or insurance for developing countries. Jobs that change the way other people live their lives can be a big head turner.
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