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February 2, 2026 9:14pm ET
Applying: Columbia Business School, London Business School, Northwestern / Kellogg, NYU Stern, Yale SOM
Intake Year: 2026
Pre-MBA Career: U.S. Diplomat
Post MBA Career: Marketing
GRE: 319
GPA: 3.2
Years of Work Experience: 10
Location: Moscow, Russia
Post MBA Location: NYC
Notes:

Background:
U.S. diplomat with 10 years experience across Latin America, Asia, and Eurasia, currently posted in Moscow. Career focused on crisis response, policy analysis, stakeholder coordination, and public-facing engagement in complex political and diverse social environments. Have led interagency initiatives, advised senior leadership (ambassadors, U.S. congresspeople, foreign supreme court justices) and managed high-stakes issues involving reputational risk, public trust, and institutional decision-making.

Academics:
Undergraduate GPA: 3.2.
Graduate GPA: 3.7, including strong performance in graduate-level quantitative coursework.
GRE: 319 (169V 150Q) - planning to retake and update on Feb 21 - anticipating a quant increase to 155-158

Career Goals:
Short term: transition into brand or experiential strategy roles (agency or in-house) with exposure to senior brand leadership, partnerships, and investment decisions, particularly within marketing, media, and consumer-facing organizations.
Long term: build a boutique strategy firm focused on helping brands engage LGBTQ+ audiences in durable, values-driven ways that hold up under political and cultural pressure.

Why MBA / Why Now:
Seeking formal business training to complement public-sector leadership experience, gain analytical and financial grounding, and credibly pivot into strategy-facing commercial roles. Interested in programs that combine rigorous general management training with proximity to marketing, media, and cultural ecosystems, particularly in NYC.

Target Schools:
CBS, Kellogg, Yale, Stern, LBS (in that order)

Demographics / Other:
37, Public-sector background, extensive international experience, LGBTQ+.
Post-MBA location preference: NYC.