Please evaluate
[#permalink]
03 Jun 2013, 15:58
(Clone of the general thread, but I'd very much appreciate a professional opinion).
Hi! I really need an advice on what I should do, and what I should expect with these stats (below). Like what schools do I have a shot at, how could I improve my chances et cetera. My ultimate goal is management consulting or strategy, preferably tech corporations. Should I consider some sort of MBA/M.Eng dual degree, like Kellogg's MMM (MBA+M.Eng.Management), or MIT's MBA/MSc.Eng. Or would a regular MBA be better for me?
I do realize I can hardly hope to get admitted to the H/S/W, but should I try anyway, just in case I get wildly lucky? Or would it compromise my future chances of applying there some other time (maybe with a couple more years of experience or something)? Same with the others, if I don't have a shot at top-10 this year, should I apply anyway or wait another year and then apply?
24 y/o (25 in September, thus 26 in the Autumn '14) male, Russian (Moscow), 100% fluent in English though.
760 GMAT (50Q, 42V).
Yet to take the TOEFL, but I'm pretty confident about it.
Education:
* 2009 - 2014 (graduating July '14): A 5-year diploma degree from the Moscow Aviation Institute, no-name worldwide but rather well known in Russia. A double major-like degree in Computer Science and Economics. Top-1 student of my class, honors analogous to magna cum laude (there aren't going to be any summa cum laudes in my year). Approx. 4.85/5 GPA, that's like ~3.9/4.
* 2005 - 2008: studied, but did not graduate, at the Moscow State University, department of Mechanics and Mathematics. GPA not worth mentioning (worth not mentioning actually lol). Was just a young (matriculated at 16) romantic idiot with interests other than study (like sports, adventures etc). Thus I've quit the school and volunteered for the army service.
Work Experience:
* April 2013-August 2014 (as per contract): Strategic Marketing Intern (full-time) at General Electric, kind of a huge deal for Russia. I might be able to convince my HR manager to change the title to a "junior analyst" or something like that after this Summer, it's not a standard practice to have people without a completed degree other than as interns though. Anyway, I'm going to have an almost 1.5 years of full-time experience by the Autumn '14. What I do here is very diverse, ranging from market analytics to B2B relationships to working with financial reports (clients & competitors), tons of experience.
* 2009 - April 2013: freelance and/or part-time as a software developer/architect/designer etc. Nothing really serious to show for it, mostly low-profile database projects and a couple of browser-based MMOGs. Just enough to pay the bills (added with the scholarship).
* 2008 - 2009: a year of army service. Elite paratrooper unit similar to the USMC, completed the service as a "senior combat engineer (sapper)". Received an excellent-grade army recommendation letter, including "leadership and command skills" etc.
International Experience:
* May-September 2012: Work&Travel USA. Explored almost the entirety of the US North-East and South-West, worked as a lifeguard.
* June-July 2011: Travelled across the Central Asia, visited ancient cities such as Bukhara and Samarkand.
* August-September 2010: South Africa, tourism and English practice.