hey guys. here's my situation. i go to a large state school, with a high (3.8) GPA, solid ECs (president of tutoring group, student instructor, volunteer organizer for local congressman's campaign. i'll also be interning under a senator in DC next semester. after i work for a few years out of undergrad, i'll be applying to top b-schools (HBS, Whart, Tuck, Yale). the trouble is that i clearly don't come from a blue chip educational background, and i probably won't be going into blue chip full-time work (IB, Consulting, etc).
i guess my question is: with my work in the future, how can i plan to position myself best to get into the schools im aiming for? should i go try to get into a top think tank like Brookings? as far as WE goes, i've heard a variety of opinions: that top b-schools want diversity of WE in an entering class, and so they value non-traditional backgrounds as long as you show a history of success. on the other hand, i've also heard that if you aren't working in a prestigious firm or organization, you'll have slim chances of admission.
i know i'm probably going at this from the opposite direction i'm supposed to, but any input would be appreciated.