tyler1123 wrote:
Hey, thanks in advance for taking a look! Appreciate all the candid feedback I can get.
Two main questions:
1) How can I refine my applications for the target schools listed?
2) Based on background and stated objectives, do any of the target schools listed seem to have a more natural fit for me?
1) Background
Hired out of school as a logistics engineer/business analyst for a Fortune 500 transportation services company
4 years of experience at the time of intended matriculation (Fall 2015)
Received 2 promotions within the same company:
one vertically within the engineering department
one diagonally into a pricing/marketing management role
Sales Engineering
Initial work consisted of developing decision support tools for the CMO and senior sales VPs
Designed and automated a customer score card
Quantitatively analyzes customers on several dimensions: quality of revenue, growth potential, operating characteristics, compliance to long term network design, etc.
Currently used by the executive team as a barometer for customer relationship development
Sustainability Engineering
Acted as an internal and external subject matter expert on green transportation practices
Liaison to the EPA
Steward of an internally developed carbon emissions calculator
Conducted capital investiture analysis on green technology before and after purchase
Marketed carbon offset sales from the company's "green" services
Pricing and Marketing Management
Recently accepted an offer from the COO to transition into the company's business management
Business division had been losing money; asked to help turn it around
Directly responsible for the financial and operational performance of several Midwestern and Northeastern markets
Managing $50 million in annual revenue and growing
No direct reports under me in the hierarchy
However, I do provide the corporate strategy for the implementation teams in my markets
Act as an integration point between the sales, operations, and engineering/IT support teams
Over the past year, all KPIs associated with my markets have improved considerably
Youngest of my professional peers in a similar role; among top tier in performance
2) GMAT
730 47Q44V
3) Undergrad
University of Arkansas, 3.6 GPA, B.S. Industrial Engineering, 2011
4) Extracurriculars
Minimal community involvement since undergrad
Undergrad extracurricular activity included work as a peer mentor for freshman engineering students
Coordinated schedules with 20+students weekly throughout their first years
Provided guidance on how they can achieve their academic and personal goals
5) Certifications
No certifications
6) Target Schools
Northwestern, MIT, UC Berkeley, Duke, Texas
7) Application Timeline
Applying in R1/R2 2014-15
Matriculating in Fall 2015
8) MBA Goals
Career switching in a sense
Plan to specialize in General Management during MBA
Intend to work in a consulting firm/supply chain company/tech innovation company for the first few years after graduation
Long term goal is to work for Google, Amazon, or similar industry disrupter in a product/services development role
Important to me to work in a capacity that is directly relevant to improving quality of life for the average American
Hey there,
Thanks for dropping by. Let's start with your second question. Cause it's a bit easier to answer: What does it mean to be a "natural fit"? You are going for general management, so basically you are a natural fit anywhere (although you may have personal preferences for location, region, etc.) In fact the rule of thumb is relatively simple - go to the best school you can get into. So, yes you fit into these schools, but would fit just as well in any other top 15-20 programs.
I think your school list is relatively fair while remaining ambitious (by Texas you meant McCombs, right? or Rice?). You have a bunch of top 10 schools (though not top3) plus one safe, so that seems to me to be a good reasonable strategy.
Basically things look pretty good. The only real weakness I see is your lack of volunteer work. Otherwise things are all sweet.
You have good grades, seem to have a good job and just as importantly, a great promotion schedule. GMAT is fantastic!
So, see if there's not anything you can't do about that volunteer work (even if it's little and even if it's late, it's still better than nada)
And other than that, just get started as early as you can on your apps.
If there's any way we can help, just drop a line,
Best,
JF
close
28 May 2014, 12:53
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