Mr. Aspiring Social Investor

You’ve put together a really impressive background in your 31 years of life and that profile differentiates you from many other male Indian candidates. What’s more, I like your list of target MBA programs, though I would have suggested Yale SOM given your goals to do social impact investing, an area I believe will see significant growth over the next decade or two. Yes, you’re outside the sweet spot of elite MBA admissions at the age of 31 and would be 32 when you matriculate but there are a good number of early 30-somethings in highly selective MBA programs. What’s more, you sound like a mature person with a strong sense of what you want to do with your life, not a lost aimless soul. So I don’t believe your age will get in the way of an admit at several of the schools to which you plan to apply. It’s vitally important, if your employer is not well known, to spend some time defining the organization and your work in it. That is crucial because many adcoms may not know if your agency is highly selective in its hiring and I would very much doubt that they have seen many applicants from your organization. Your educational background seems really solid, even if your 3.4 undergraduate GPA is slightly below the class average at Berkeley. Your 740 GMAT more than offsets any concern about that 3.4. I honestly think you are in very good shape here. Just make sure you focus on your own impact in the agency and the leadership opportunities it has afford you. Good luck to you.