Hi,

I'm Chinese-American and have 5 years of work experience. 2 years of work experience in IT corporate sales (promoted in my first year as a top sales rep), and 3 years of work experience in China starting an education services company for a Chinese company where we have trained over 200 Chinese university presidents in partnerships with American universities. Extracurriculars: AmCham Shanghai, and volunteering to teach children of migrant students every weekend who don't have access to the same educational opportunities as children from the city. Born in Ann Arbor, graduated in 2006 from University of Michigan with a BA in Econ, with a 3.1 GPA, was the founding father of a fraternity- which was really my first start-up. GMAT score of 660 (75 math, 70 verbal).

I actually applied to three schools last year (Columbia ED, Kellogg R2, Ross R2) from Shanghai. I did not get accepted to any of the schools, however I received an interview from Ross. They encouraged me to reapply next year, but did not give a reason for why I was denied admission. I also took an online course in Finance from UCLA extensions where I received an A, and submitted that along with my application. For Ross, in addition to the 2 letters of recommendation I submitted from my supervisor (CEO of the company) and former supervisor, I was able to submit letters of recommendation from the VP of the alumni association at Michigan, Vice Provost of the University, and one of the Chinese university presidents I had worked with. I was very actively involved in helping the University pursue its initiatives in China; as my application was focused on how I could help create bridges for business and education between the two countries. Post MBA- my goal is to become a consultant that helps foreign companies from both China and the US with market entry/due dilligence/etc in each other's home countries.

Well, I was let go by my former company in Shanghai, because my boss knew that I wanted to pursue business school. Now, I am back in Ann Arbor, still working as an educational consultant and helping American schools with their Chinese language/exchange initiatives; and taking a MGMT course to try and boost my score to 720+.

My questions are:

1. As a Chinese-American applying from China, do you think that hurt my chances - since there is such a huge group of Asian students who are applying from there with higher GMAT scores/GPAs?

2. My current target schools are NYU, Berkeley, and Ross. Do you see these schools as a reach? If not, what schools would you recommend?

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Andy.

Hi Andy,

Thanks for writing in. I'm sorry you weren't able to reach your goals last year but it is encouraging that Ross encouraged you to re-apply. While R2 is certainly the most popular round, if you can get your Ross materials in for R1 you'll likely increase your odds.

In regards to your questions:

1. I don't think that your ethnicity directly worked against you, but you need to highlight your differentiation points. Your "startup" experience and work in education background are points you can emphasize.

2. If you can get that GMAT score to your target of 720 then I think this is a good list of schools for you. I'd encourage you to add 1-2 schools in the top-25 range to diversify your chances. As of now your GMAT is working against you at those schools, so adding schools where the median GMAT is closer to 660 should help your chances for admission rise.

Best of luck,

Daniel Richards
http://www.mbamission.com

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