Profile Evaluation: Not so typical engineer?

Oops, I didn't see Booth on your R2 list.

Actually, I've heard that Wharton is very entrepreneurial and VC heavy. From my understanding, they are trying to focus more on that sector (and so are most schools now). But I think Wharton (which has successful entrepreneurs such as the founders of Warby Parker) can help you as you look for more VC experience. Not that I'm trying to sell the school to you or anything, but it just seems like a good fit. No doubt, Sloan and Stanford are excellent for what you're looking for as they are in Boston and SF respectively.

I'm surprised with your statistics for R1 and R2 admittance (if you have a link to an article or something that would be great!). From my understanding I thought the best chances of admittance were in R1 when there are the most available spots. I've also heard that if you've submitted a decent application in R1, but are borderline, they will waitlist you or bump you into R2, giving you another chance. However, your reasoning to use the experiences from the R1 apps to help strengthen the R2 apps sounds reasonable and I think someone with your profile shouldn't worry about applying to those schools R2 (IMHO).

Good luck and let me know how it all goes! PM me if you ever want another set of eyes to review your apps or if you want to chat about application experiences!

Hi pleezy,

Thanks for your post, and looks like you've got some good dialogue going here. Glad you enjoyed our seminar, and yes you should receive a link to schedule your consult within 1 business day usually (feel free to pm me your email address if not and I can follow up with our admin team).

First of all CONGRATS on that GMAT, nice job. That plus the great academic work really 'seal the deal' in terms of making the case that you can handle the academic rigor of the program. Check! So basically the 'decision' will be based on everything else-- i.e. work experience; what you'll bring to the class; commitment/involvement; leadership; goals and your story and rationale for the MBA and for each specific school (generally most of that is conveyed through the essays; and to a lesser degree your recs and resume).

The following strengths stand out to me at this point:

-GMAT
-GPA and solid academic performance, including the masters and plenty of quant experience
-aerospace engineering is a bit less common
-some leadership (as per your mention)
-obvious technical, quant, analytical skills, plus project management
-your family business experience; could be a big plus and way to differentiate, more so depending upon exactly what your involvement and role has been

Potential weaknesses/questions/challenge areas for you:

-any community involvement at all?
-any other activities, interests, passions, commitments? (something outside of work? when up against applicants with a wide variety of interests and involvements)
-there are an increasing number of engineering applicants to b-school... this means a) it's important to stand out among the crowd (hopefully the family business will help you here if you showcase it well), and b) it's important to go against your potential 'stereotype' and show that you are MORE than just a technical guy-- really highlight leadership; teamwork; communication skills; 'people skills'
-changing to marketing strategy could sound like a bit of a big leap... just be sure to really make the case for why; and to show that you know the area you plan to go into (you don't want any concerns of you not being hire-able for example)

I would definitely dig into the family business experience-- what have you done there; what have you learned; how has it impacted you; what does it mean you'll bring to the class in terms of perspective that may be more unique.

As you probably know, Stanford is basically the toughest school to get into out there, accepting often fewer than 7% of applicants. Part of that is they have a much smaller class size than even say HBS. So they will definitely be a reach no matter what. HBS will still be quite challenging as well. The other schools you have mentioned should be competitive for you. It does make sense, as you've listed, to apply to a few schools of different levels to see what is possible, and to have somewhat of a back-up option or more on-par option too just in case (as long as you only apply where you would ACTUALLY go if all else fails ). A lot for you WILL depend upon those essays to really show who you are and go beyond the GMAT and resume, and a lot will also come down to simply the other applicants and how you stack up.

As for a few of the comments in your dialogue here, I'm not sure how to interpret your suggested school admission stats (i.e. 30% of the school's class is admitted R1? or 30% of those who apply R1 are admitted? very different ways to read that stat for example), but generally the way admits go is pretty much in flux in a given year and at a given school... ie it varies!! Because it depends on the applicants, as it (arguably) rightly should-- there's no quota or # for a given round, at most schools, if they get more great applicants in a given round, they accept more, or vice versa. But yes in Round 1 obviously there are the MOST # of open spots, so always a good option! And at many schools R2 is most popular, so R1 is a good option to shoot for with your favorite schools when possible.

I also agree with choosing schools you are passionate for, as you're right you'll have a much better time getting that across in your essays and schools can often pick up on that. The only other school I'd maybe ask about since you mention energy etc is Haas.

Hope that helps!! Keep me posted on how everything is going and any further q's. And if you haven't received info on signing up for the consultation for any reason just let me know, I can assist or even schedule one with you directly. Good luck!

Hi Jen,

Thank you so much for your input! It is valuable and most importantly, honest. @dtse86, looks like the 30% admission in R1 is one of the many myths I heard I found nothing concrete to substantiate it and as Jen shows, isn't true. I did read from https://mbastudio.net/ (Avi's book, actually), that AdComs try to balance their class profiles in R2. So if you're from an uncommon field (ie. not banking/consulting) you might do best in R2. Myth as well?

Mucha Gracias!
Paul

You are most welcome. As for less-common profiles applying R2, there could be a grain of truth in some specific cases BUT if you think about it, you could make a case for a less-common applicant to apply in ANY of the 3 rounds in terms of 'balancing' so to speak (by which I assume you mean ensuring there is a diverse group in the class)... for ex if a ton of investment bankers apply R1 and so does someone with a very unique profile/less-common background, there's no reason to say that the admissions committee wouldn't want them (if they have a strong profile ) for increased diversity even in R1. Just basically trying to say-- I wouldn't stress all that much about it-- the patterns are often different each year based on when your peers submit etc and numbers etc... and at the end of the day-- it's good to apply as early as you can while being confident in the quality of your application.