MattMcD03

I could definitely try to take 1-2 classes this fall on top of studying for exams. I figure it would be review and local college can't be terribly hard. At the same time Princeton is the only school that won't take GMAT and also I'm not sure they would like my profile as I'm interested in working with the public sector, not necessarily in the public sector (well not immediately anyway) and they're also not that friendly to joint MBA candidates it seems.

Hi All, I'm looking for some advice as to where to prioritize resources ahead of applying this fall to business/public policy school. My background... Basics: 25, African-American Male College: Non HYP Ivy League 2.92 GPA* in History GMAT/GRE: Yet to take; 660 GMAT diagnostic Work Experience: College: Worked full time during school; Internships: Major Investment Bank Sales & Trading, Top Think Tank Strategy Group, Business School Research Assistant (2x), Business School Non-Profit Consulting Group, Local Business-Education Partnership that works with corporations and at-risk kids Post College: Founded a tech startup after college (raised money, had advisers from McKinsey, UBS and several VCs) that didn't work out, 2 years of consulting at top consultancy (not MBB, but right below that...ahead of Big4), 3 months each at two Top tech startups doing business development & marketing contracts (both have Top teams & VC backing, top name recognition) Awards: Congressional Citation for Public Service, Excellence award from consulting firm, Nominated for White House Fellowship for leadership & public service at consulting firm Extracurricular: College: co-founder of Club Lacrosse Team, VP of Club Tennis, Campus Paper, 501©3 Non-Profit I founded in high school working with at-risk kids, founded Black Legal Association, Public Speaking Group, Active Minds Post-College: Several LGBT non-profits (strategy, fundraising, suicide hotline, etc.), Diversity initiatives at consulting firm Interests: Social & Domestic Policy, Strategy, Entrepreneurship and its applications in the civic, private & public sector Long-Term Goals: I want to successfully start and exit a tech company, but more important I want to have a seat at the table - and sometimes be at the head of the table - in addressing our major strategic challenges in the civic, private & public sectors. Specifically, I'm interested in how we can create public-private partnerships to address major social and domestic policy issues leveraging the power of technology and together as a community make things better - particularly for under-served groups such as women, minorities, LGBT people and children. All of my consulting experience is around strategy issues involving the intersection of the public and private sector (i.e. how an investment bank can re-organize due to Dodd-Frank, or how a retail pharmacy can re-strategize its product placement to optimize revenue/sq. ft anticipating bans of tobacco in their stores). I could see myself working at McKinsey's DC office for 2-3 years doing strategy for the public, finance, tech & civic sectors, then starting a company that hopefully does well then pursuing various entrepreneurial projects in social enterprise to tackle different domestic & social issues until running for office. Target Schools: MBA: Stanford, Harvard, Wharton, Kellogg, Columbia, Tuck (alma mater); MPP/MPA: Harvard, Princeton Woodrow Wilson School, Penn, Stanford, Columbia Essays: Mainly going to talk about whats motivated me along the way, how i've overcome adversity and why we're only going to get anywhere through working together as a community to not just seek change, but create change - and how i've been trying to understand and build the skills to do that (whether it be strategy, finance, marketing, etc.) Recommendations: My managers have all really liked me and are big advocates. Only way I've gotten anywhere with my GPA. Coming from Harvard Kennedy, Kellogg, HBS and GSB alumni So my big thing is my GPA is awful. Including a D in Price Theory, a W in Microeconomics, C+ in Calculus I, C in Game Theory and F in Calculus II. All of these classes were taken Freshman or Sophomore year and I had a general upward trend into Junior and Senior Year, but with a bump at the end when I was more focused on my startup (I got a B+, C+, C senior spring). I have explanations for the two terms were I had my lowest GPAs as I had some serious health issues, but even still quant is not my bread and butter. I did however get a B- in Macroeconomics and then a B in Advanced International Macroeconomics with a professor who used to be in the IMF & World Bank, and who actually got her MPA and Ph.D from WWS. So my question is the following: Should I take a semester of classes this fall, or just focus on rocking the GMAT/GRE? When I visited Stanford as part of their many voices program, I talked to each of the admission officers and they all said not to worry about extra classes and that they look at the application holistically - their advice is to just focus on doing well on the Quantitative section of the GMAT. With MPP programs however, those might be hard to get into without additional quant training. Thoughts?