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Former aspiring medical school applicant who transitioned to considering business school as a possibility after working for the family business. I currently manage a team of 20+ drivers providing non-emergency medical transportation to Medicaid/Medicare clients and have ultimate responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the city I manage.
Target School: Duke Fuqua
Considering: Rice Business, McCombs School of Business, Emory Goizueta
Invited to Interview: McCombs School of Business, Emory Goizueta
Accepted: Rice Business
See More Profiles For: Duke Fuqua
Application Status: Open
Undergrad School: Think Vanderbilt/Rice/Emory/WashU
Undergrad Major: Neuroscience & Biology Double Major
GPA: 3.1
GRE: 328
Age: 27, Ethnicity: Black or African American
Other Degree/Certification: Certificate in Public Health
School Name: Flagship State Graduate Public Health Program
Extracurriculars: Rapping/Making Music, Alumni Interviewer, Local Food Bank volunteer
Title: Operations Manager
Industry: Transportation
Company: Medium-Sized family business co-founded by my older brother with operations in 5 cities and counting
Length of Employment: 1 yr, 10 mos
Title: Customer Account Representative
Industry: Banking & Finance
Company: Top Firm
Length of Employment: 2 yrs
I’m the first person in my family to graduate from college and graduated high school with my Associate’s degree along with my high school diploma. I got through a years-long depression to help the family business and improve revenue for the city I manage by 67% while simultaneously improving trip performance and decreasing driver turnover.
I wish to gain the analytical and presentation skills needed to attain a brand management position within a CPG or tech company post-MBA. Long term, I wish to become a C-Suite executive with responsibility for global marketing strategies.
Join in! Click here to assess the odds of Mr. Operations Manager
Mr. Operations Manager: Emily here, Master Consultant at The MBA Exchange. You’ve got a lot going for you and MBA programs like to see applicants with management experience as well as those from family businesses. Those experiences add a lot to any MBA class. I think your biggest hurdles will be the lower GPA (which you may have explained in applications), as well as your story about your goals. Business schools want to see goals that make sense with your professional background and are aspirational as well, so you’d need to show how your goals in CPG or tech are tied to your past professional experience. If you have any upcoming interviews, think this through because they will certainly ask …
Mr. Operations Manager: Emily here, Master Consultant at The MBA Exchange. You’ve got a lot going for you and MBA programs like to see applicants with management experience as well as those from family businesses. Those experiences add a lot to any MBA class. I think your biggest hurdles will be the lower GPA (which you may have explained in applications), as well as your story about your goals. Business schools want to see goals that make sense with your professional background and are aspirational as well, so you’d need to show how your goals in CPG or tech are tied to your past professional experience. If you have any upcoming interviews, think this through because they will certainly ask to see if you’ve really thought this through realistically. Congratulations on Rice and best of luck with your remaining schools!
Hi, it’s Nisha from mbaMission. Props to you on being the first college graduate in your family, coping successfully with depression, and being accepted to Rice!
Not sure when you’re planning to apply to Fuqua (if your application is pending ,R3, or next year) but if you have time before your application, in order to maximize your chances at Fuqua I’d 1. use the optional essay to explain your lower GPA (though your majors were very challenging, so that will be taken into consideration) if you haven’t done so for your other applications, 2. Thoroughly research Fuqua, including talking to students/alumni, so that you can make a strong case for the program in the application – Fuqua is HUGE on community engagement …
Not sure when you’re planning to apply to Fuqua (if your application is pending ,R3, or next year) but if you have time before your application, in order to maximize your chances at Fuqua I’d 1. use the optional essay to explain your lower GPA (though your majors were very challenging, so that will be taken into consideration) if you haven’t done so for your other applications, 2. Thoroughly research Fuqua, including talking to students/alumni, so that you can make a strong case for the program in the application – Fuqua is HUGE on community engagement and 3. Explain your motivations behind entering brand management since it is a big switch from what you’re doing now – how have your professional and personal experiences led you to this goal? What are your transferrable skills, and what’s your backup plan if brand doesn’t work out?
Fuqua is big on community leadership as well, so if you have time to do so before you apply (for example, if you’re aiming for R1 next year if you forego the other programs) see if you can elevate any of your current extracurricular involvements to a leadership capacity.
Because you are an African-American male applicant with an outstanding GRE score and an undergraduate degree from an elite school, I think that your low GPA will not be a barrier.
Agree that your career goal does not connect with your work experience, but clients of major law firms and of major corporations want to see more diversity so the disconnect will be viewed as a desire to enter the corporate world. Good luck ! I am confident that you will do well.
Mr. Operations Manager – Thanks for sharing your profile. Susan Cera, Director of MBA Admissions, here. Congrats on the Rice admit!
Having spent ~!0 years evaluating applications at Duke Fuqua, I’m very familiar with what they are looking for. I love that you nailed your GRE as it will allow adcom to look past your softer UG GPA which may also be explained by being a first generation college goer. With the limited information I have, I don’t see how the work you have done to date connects with your goal as a product manager in CPG or a tech company. These two tracks are entirely different and you would need to have and/or develop different skills, knowledge and relationships during business school to be a compelling candidate for either. I feel like you could have a really strong story leveraging your bio/neurosciene with what you have observed in the family business to position yourself as a candidate for role in the healthcare space (especially if you take advantage of the HSM resources at Duke!) Right now I’m giving you a low chance of acceptance based on the disconnected background/goals. Don’t hesitate to reach out to discuss – free consult link below!
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