Hello, I was hoping to get some feedback as to my chances of acceptance into an EMBA program. Currently I have my sights set on the USC - Marshall Program, but am also considering UCLA, and the Berkley/Columbia Program. I live in Seattle so I would prefer to attend school on the west coast. My background is:

- Attended plumbing apprentice school for 4 years, became a journeyman plumber at 22 years old.
- Worked in a family plumbing business during that same time period (In Los Angeles). The company had approximately 100 employees engaged in industrial, medical, commercial, and service plumbing activities. During that time I spent a few years as an apprentice, and then moved into an office position as assistant service manager part time while continuing my training. Due to a lawsuit the commercial side of the company was sold in 2000, and the rest of the company sold a few years later.
- Moved to Seattle in 2000, worked as a plumber for 1 1/2 years and started my own business in January 2002.
- Current age is 34; total work experience is 16.5 years, 10 of which has been running my own company.
- During the 10 year course of my business I have managed employees 8 of those years.
- I attended college briefly part time at 18 - 19 (a handful of classes) and GPA was a 2.0.
- Went back to college in 2008, granted an AAS with high distinction in 2010 (3.96 GPA), and set to graduate with my B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies, with a Psych and Econ minor this summer.
- My current upper division GPA is a 4.0, but since the old grades are calculated in, I will probably graduate with a 3.58.
- I have not taken the GMAT, and just signed up for the in person course.

Concerns I have about my application:
- My business is small, and in actuality I am currently self-employed.
- At the peak in 2005 I had 4 employees (including myself), and did about 500k in business.
- Last year I was the only employee, and did about 200k in business (though profits were very strong).
- I took stats a few years ago and got a 3.0 (it was a huge mistake for me taking it online), which is the lowest grade I have received since returning to college. I usually do well in math so I am hoping to make up for it with my GMAT/GRE scores.
- My B.S. is from a regional public school (CWU). I am not sure if this will have any bearing or not.

Overall do my chances look fair? As a self-employed individual I am not sure how my chance for admittance stack up against the corporate exec applicants. Thanks for any advice you can offer!

Thanks for sharing your profile. While it's a bit unorthodox, I think your ambition and drive to not only go back to school for UG but to pursue higher ed will be applauded. Plus b-schools love unique stories--it's really all in how you couch it. The good news is, EMBA programs are easier to get into compared to FT programs, so if you can convince them you are committed, that you have something to offer your classmates from the "real world" of running a service business and you have the cash to pay the tuition, you might be in luck. One key will be casting a compelling vision for why you want the MBA at this point and what you plan to do with it. Frankly, the type of business you run would not benefit much from the finance and strategy etc. that the MBA imparts, so make sure you knwo why you want it and how you will leverage it to achieve your goals. Good luck!