Am I the cookie-cutter B-school applicant?

Watson2Holmes
Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:08:02 +0000

Hey guys, newbie here. I graduated from a Top 15 school with an English major, coming up on two years working as an analyst at a bulge bracket investment bank, and I am looking to go into a top business school. I also have a lot of non-profit experience and worked with a technology incubator for start-ups throughout my college years. I have a 3.7 GPA and a 720+ GMAT. My question is: what can I do to differentiate myself from the other bankers who graduated from top Ivies? I hear that Stanford has a reputation of only admitting successful entrepreneurs, geniuses, et al. I am no such person – I’m just a person who keeps his head down, works hard, and tries to have a good time with everything I do.

I am thinking about delaying applying for B-school and traveling the world for one year to work with various non-profits that deal in a plethora of issues (i.e. renewable energy in the Netherlands, health services work in Haiti, microfinance in India, poverty relief/ economic development in Brazil, etc.). Not just because it’d be good for B-school, but because I’ve always wanted to travel and do good.

Recommended or not? Thanks guys.