I recently graduated from undergrad last month, and I took the GMAT last week. I'm completely confused as to when is the best time to apply to business school. I suppose the traditional route would be to work for a couple of years and then apply. However, I do know of some people who applied as undergrads or shortly after graduation and then deferred their enrollment until a later time. I'm interested in H/W/S, Sloan, Columbia, Berkeley Haas, UCLA Anderson, NYU Stern, Chicago. Based on my profile, what do you suggests? Also, how do you suggest I strengthen my profile if I were to apply 2-3 years down the line.

GMAT: 750 (98%) 48Q (85%) 46V (99%)

Undergrad from USC: Double major in Finance and Accounting with a 3.93 overall GPA.

Future Work Experience: I interned at Ernst & Young as an auditor last summer and plan to start full-time in October.

Extracurricular Activities:
I'm a highly active member at my church. I currently serve as a youth volunteer. My responsibilities include the day-to-day responsibilities of running a program and administrative responsibilities such as the recruiting/hiring of a youth pastor.
In 2006, I traveled to China with a Christian organization to teach English.
During undergrad, I served as a VP in an internationally recognized accounting Fraternity and was a TA for business/accounting classes.

Thank you for your inquiry.

Generally, those who are successful in applying early have achieved at an inordinate level at a young age. Generally, these candidates don’t just have high scores and strong extra-curricular/community involvement, but already have a formidable history of initiation (started a non-profit, a small business or a campus club) or have profound leadership skills (captained a college team, led student government, etc.) In short, there is something that really stands out about these candidates.

In your case, you certainly seem to have a very strong foundation for an application going forward. However, it seems to me that you need a stronger professional track record and some additional leadership experience to challenge for a place at the top schools. This is not a negative – you are on the right track, but you just don’t seem to have it all in place right now.

There is no “right” amount of experience. You should apply when you have a certain quality of experience. In the meantime, you should maintain your community involvement and continue to reach for personal goals. I have attached a link to our long term planning section on our website. It should help you develop a plan going forward. And, of course, we offer a free consultation if you would like to discuss your path forward.

http://www.mbamission.com/blog/category/long-term-mba-planning


Sincerely,
Jeremy Shinewald
MBA Mission

www.mbamission.com
646-485-8844
Skype: MBAMission