Cornell / Johnson - 06-17-2020 | Clear Admit ApplyWire

June 17, 2020 3:50pm ET

Applying: Cornell / Johnson, Emory / Goizueta, Georgetown / McDonough, Indiana / Kelley, Notre Dame / Mendoza, Vanderbilt / Owen

Intake Year: 2021

Pre-MBA Career: Public High School Strength & Conditioning Director; Health/Personal Finance Teacher (3 years); Financial Corporate Trainer (2 years)

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting Companies: Accenture , Deloitte

GMAT: 680

GPA: 3.72

Years of Work Experience: 5

Location: Michigan, USA

Post MBA Location: Midwest/East Coast/Southeast

Notes:

- White Male
- First generation American & college grad
- 680 GMAT (Q46, V38)
- At matriculation: 5 years W.E. and 28 years old

Extracurricular Activities:
- High school athletics coach (strength conditioning/football/track & field)
- Real estate investor
- Active in Catholic church (Reason for Mendoza and McDonough)
- Serves on a catholic school district's academic excellence committee

Extras regarding education:
- Undergraduate degree in Kinesiology from a state school (GPA was 3.72 with transferred credits that did not count towards cumulative GPA. Counting all transferred credits, cumulative GPA would be 3.33)
- Masters in Education from state school with a 4.0 GPA
- Looking into strengthening quantitative background through MBAMath or HBS CORe

Goal:
- Management consulting. Specific areas: education, educational technology, or human capital

Looking for advice on ways to strengthen my profile and school selection - thank you all!

Like (2)

Show Comments (6) Last: June 29, 2020

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1576 GMAT is OK, for top schools. If you thought you could gain a 700+ on a retake, might be worth it. Doing HBS CORe or similar would also be smart. As Director, showing your impact at work will be important. Impact outside of work adds a strong additional element. What is your long term goal? Is there something about which you're passionate to pursue? (1)

anon53793 Likes Earned: 9 OP here. Is there a preference amongst adcom with courses to strengthen quant? Is HBS CORe is more favorable than MBAMath or are they viewed as the same? Long term goal it to stay in consulting and move up the ladder into a principal or partner position. I’ve also thought about possibly leveraging my background in K-12 teaching along with the future MBA and future consulting experience in the education/ed tech space to possibly pivot into a school district as a superintendent as a very long term goal. After speaking to quite a few superintendents, I’ve learned that running a school district is very similar to running a business and many new superintendents are ill-prepared solely coming from a teaching background. Is this a good school selection for these types of goals? Thank you. (1)

anon53793 Likes Earned: 9 Also Alex, to touch on the question about passion: I love developing programs and people. In my experience as a high school teacher and strength and conditioning director, I created/grew the program and curriculum along with developing not only students but also other staff as the co-dept chair. In my current role as a corporate trainer, I develop adults from various backgrounds into successful bankers. I feel this is why consulting in the education/ex tech or human capital field suits me well. (0)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1576 I would imagine running a school district, many years down the line, will be a different proposition to running one today, and a very interesting long term goal to point to (after consulting with a focus on education/tech). I'd explore that as a realistic, yet ambitious pathway. I honestly don't know if one or the other is preferred (MBAMath etc) but I'd take one that has a grade structure, and do very well in it. (1)

anon53793 Likes Earned: 9 Thank you Alex - I appreciate you and your time. Love your podcast and advice as always. (1)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1576 More details on this candidacy in this episode of Wire Taps: https://www.clearadmit.com/2020/06/episode-109-wire-taps/ (1)