gmat : 680 verbal 80% percentile math 77% percentile
age : 26
race: arab-american from the South
years of experience : 4+ years
double major in finance and accounting
~4.0/4.0 for all my fiance courses
~3.3/4.0 for all my accounting courses
~overall gpa is 3.3 but that includes my previous major (biology), before i switched to finance and accounting
~the last 2 years of college , my gpa is well above 3.5/4.0

a little about me...excuse my grammar.
~son of poor immigrants who did not speak english from the west bank.
~ my brother and i took control of my father's business while i was in college and expanded his retail stores into a portfolio of different retail industries from children to boutiques stores in memphis, tn.
~ we came from pretty much nothing into the american dream.
~dealt with racism but overcame it by tutoring after class .
~ i can connect with people from different cultures with my comedy... i do stand-up comedy on the sides
~entrepreneur spirit runs in me.
~ lived during war with the israeli and palestinians during the intifada of 2000 when i went to high school in the west bank, the war helped me understand myself during risk management situations.
~ managed 25+ people from ages 18 to 55, i learned how to respect people older than me but also making sure they get their jobs done without hurting egos.

schools i'm looking into...
i'm looking to apply to a top 10 school in finance. my choices in this order
harvard, stanford, wharton, chicago, columbia, northwestern, mit, berkeley, nyu, ucla

i'm looking to apply this summer for the class of 2014, i want to put a lot of time into my applications.

also..some schools have been contacting me through the GMASS service via email ever since i took the test such as stanford, wharton, northwestern, chicago, columbia, berkeley, ucla, darden, london business school, kelley ... but i don't know if that really increases my chances.

Good story, good academics, good GMAT. I think you have a good shot overall at your target schools and should consider it a good sign that schools area interested. Since you have so much time, you might consider taking a GMAT prep class, since you'd be close to unstoppable with your story and a GMAT over 700. I particularly love the family connection and the rising above challenges on many fronts to achieve your dreams. Make sure you tie things into a solid post-MBA vision and you should be off to the proverbial races. Let us know if we can help you hone your vision and help cast your story for the adcoms.