Candidate:

Mr. Boutique Hospitality

About Me:

Having grown up in a hospitality family–literally in hotels still to this day, I firmly believe the hotel industry while thriving is in need of a disrupt towards becoming more personal and can accomplish this through data. I find it incredibly interesting where tech is making life simpler and would love to apply that to the industry I am rooted.

Schools:

Target School: USC Marshall

Considering: MIT Sloan, Cornell Johnson, Tuck, Harvard

See More Profiles For: USC Marshall

Application Status: Open

Details:

Undergrad School: Loyola Marymount University

Undergrad Major: Communication

GPA: 3.1

GRE: 315

Age: 29, Ethnicity: Asian or Indian

Extracurriculars:

Work History:

Title: Dr. Corporate Partnerships

Industry: Real Estate

Company: Boutique Firm

Length of Employment: 2 yrs, 4 mos

Title: GM

Industry: Hospitality

Company: Boutique Firm

Length of Employment: 10 yrs

Big Life Wins:

After LMU and working under a Reward Monetization Start-Up (acquired), I was pouched from my family business by a well known Commercial Real Estate Dev. We built a tech-centric boutique hotel franchise in the heart of Silicon Beach (LA). In 6 months our corporate clientele roster consisted of Google, Snap, FB, Sony and $500k revenue annually.

Post MBA Goal:

Developing a boutique hotel franchise via a rebrand of 15+ family hotels or new acq. I’d focus primarily on data to min. expenses and max profit as hotels are a gold mine (living preferences, temp, tv, sleep habits, f&b, location of travel, etc). Focused on minimal client interaction but custom to their preferences through tech and data integration.

Odds:

Join in! Click here to assess the odds of Mr. Boutique Hospitality

The Experts Rate The Odds At: 18%

See what the industry experts have to say:

mbaMission Odds Assessment: 15%

Hi, it’s Nisha from mbaMission. You’ve made a great career in the hospitality industry – I’m impressed by your revenue and client roster!

Are you seeking a full-time or part-time MBA? I think that full-time could be challenging because of 1. your level of work experience, which is basically double that of the average FT applicant and 2. Your academics – these aren’t out of range for Marshall, but will be tough to overcome for the other, more competitive MBA programs you’ve listed. In any case, overall I think that a PT MBA makes more sense because you’ll get to apply what you learn in the classroom immediately in your current franchise while establishing your knowledge foundation for building the new one down …

Hi, it’s Nisha from mbaMission. You’ve made a great career in the hospitality industry – I’m impressed by your revenue and client roster!

Are you seeking a full-time or part-time MBA? I think that full-time could be challenging because of 1. your level of work experience, which is basically double that of the average FT applicant and 2. Your academics – these aren’t out of range for Marshall, but will be tough to overcome for the other, more competitive MBA programs you’ve listed. In any case, overall I think that a PT MBA makes more sense because you’ll get to apply what you learn in the classroom immediately in your current franchise while establishing your knowledge foundation for building the new one down the line, and your age and academics won’t be as much of an issue. In addition to Marshall’s PT program, definitely look into UCLA’s FEMBA as well. Hope that this helps – best of luck!

5 years ago Read the full review
Stratus Admissions Counseling Odds Assessment: 20%

Mr. Boutique Hospitality – thanks for posting your profile. Susan Cera here from Stratus. You have a very unique background and, based on your age, I presume that some of your years of work experience were while you were an undergrad and working for the family business while simultaneously taking classes. If this is the case then admissions committees may be more forgiving of your softer undergraduate GPA.

I encourage you to retake the GRE and get closer to the average for the schools you are targeting – ideally above 320. You want to be able to demonstrate that you are prepared to take on the rigor of a top MBA program.

I like Cornell as an option given their strength in hospitality. Having worked with several …

Mr. Boutique Hospitality – thanks for posting your profile. Susan Cera here from Stratus. You have a very unique background and, based on your age, I presume that some of your years of work experience were while you were an undergrad and working for the family business while simultaneously taking classes. If this is the case then admissions committees may be more forgiving of your softer undergraduate GPA.

I encourage you to retake the GRE and get closer to the average for the schools you are targeting – ideally above 320. You want to be able to demonstrate that you are prepared to take on the rigor of a top MBA program.

I like Cornell as an option given their strength in hospitality. Having worked with several clients with either backgrounds in hospitality or goals of transitioning to hospitality with a focus on using tech to disrupt the industry, I’m familiar with some of the programs that are well suited for your needs. I would suggest that you take a look at UCLA and possibly UNC (which has great strength in real estate). You might also consider Kellogg and Ross which have clubs in the hospitality/travel sector and offer strength in analytics.

Wishing you the best on your MBA application journey!

5 years ago Read the full review

The Community Currently Rates The Odds At: 15%

25% | 5 years ago
5% | 5 years ago

I think your odds at USC are maybe 20%? You don't make a competitive applicant at the other schools you listed. Low GPA, low GRE, and a very bland profile. You'd need to improve your scores dramatically.

I think your odds at USC are maybe 20%? You don’t make a competitive applicant at the other schools you listed. Low GPA, low GRE, and a very bland profile. You’d need to improve your scores dramatically.