Hi
I really need your advice on my profile. I have just graduated from university and got my first job about two months ago. I am seriously planning to do an MBA after 2-3 years. Since I'm aiming for 3 schools only, I'm sure I need to plan ahead and prepare a solid profile to make me a competitive applicant for Fall 09 or Fall 10 entering class. Therefore, any tiny piece of advice about how I can fix the weakness areas of my profile, add the "wow" variable in it, and show a unique side of my background. Here is my profile so far:
Personal Info.
Male
Age: 24
Nationality: Kuwait
Languages: Arabic - English
Education
- B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from a decent school in the United States. GPA: 3.69
- Minor in Business Administration. Minor GPA: 4.00
[ financial accounting- financial management - decision making in business - marketing - management .. ]
- I took a GMAT prep test and scored 700. My exam is scheduled in August 11.
Work Experience
- during my junior year in college I did an internship in Kuwait in an IT starting company. Helped developing a marketing strategy and worked as a technical assistant.
- After I returned back to Kuwait last Feb. I got a full time job in an investment firm [Private Equity/Venture Capital/Real Estate]. The company is in its initiation phase and I'm a first generation employee. For the first six months I take different responsiblities as the company is being established. My job, however, is an investment analyst.
Extra Curriculars
- I was very active while in college. The main activity with which I developed my leadership skills is when I becamse the director of a student magazine where I led a team of 15 students [editors - designers .. etc] to initiate the magazine and develope marketing strategies. I succeeded in building a strong reputation for the magazine and after graduating the magazine is now led by another person with a larger number of people working on it.
Community Service
- Now, in Kuwait, I am doing a volunteer work with a non-profit organization. I'm leading a unique project that will have a strong impact on a group of people in the society with special needs. I'm leading a group of 4 volunteers.
Also, I'm working on a high-school internship project where we organize a summer internship for high school seniors and juniors to work for companies in the private sector. We coordinate with the government for funding, contact the hosting companies, and preparing an orientation program for the qualified high school students to prepare them for a first-time internship experience, before even going to college.
- In the future, there are ceative plans waiting ahead for us, in the non-profit organization, to execute that will a huge impact on a large group of people in the society in Kuwait. That'll shape my whole character for the next couple of years, with tons of leadership opportunities. The best thing about this non-profit organization is that it is professionally managed by two Phd's.
International exposure
I had a great opportunity, after graduating from high school here in Kuwait, to get a scholarship from the government to sponsor me for college in the United States. They paid tuition, health insurance, and a monthly stepend. Living in the States allowed me to interact with people from different backgrounds and during college I built friendships and worked in teams for projects with students coming from different parts of the world. I have worked with at least one student from each continent in earth
. That greately helped me build a global interwork.
The investment activity of my current job company is directed at emerging markets in Europe and Asia. This is opening the door for further international exporse to me. I am expecting frequent traveling and now we're opening offices in a couple different countries. I am dealing, on daily activities, with employees from different international backgrounds.
Why MBA ?
I have already switched my profession, with an engnieering degree and a business career. Post-MBA, I plan to keep working in PE/VC and/or Real Estate. With only an Engineering background, I really need a solid education in Business/Finance that will benchmark me against other business leaders in the profession. I believe one of the main advantages of a top 10 MBA program is the opportunity of building a valuable international network. Since I will be working in international investment, I will need to have a network in as many different regions as possible, with true business leaders that will be sitting in my same class at Harvard or Wharton.
Coming from an Arabic background, I realize that not many Arabs went to top 10 MBA schools. Coming from an oil-rich country, I realize that instead of taking an easy, very rewarding, career path in the oil sector, I can both helping growing an alternative income source besides oil exports in the country, foriegn investment, and help the society of under-developed societies in the emerging markets we'll be investing at.
Targer Schools
o Harvard Business School
o Wharton School of Business - University of Penn.
o INSEAD
The Questions !
o With 2-3 years in front of me before entering an MBA program, what can I do to enhance my chances to get into one of the previously mentioned MBA programs ?
o What are the weaknesses/strengths of my profile ?
o For a career in PE/VC, which program will best fit my goal: HBS or Wharton ? INSEAD ?!
o How does my background [Kuwait - Engnieer .. etc] help me stand out with such a competitve applicants pool for HBS and Wharton ?
o What GMAT score do I need to be competitive ?
Thank you so much in Advance.