Events & Promotions
|
|
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Nov 2007:30 AM PST
-08:30 AM PST
Learn what truly sets the UC Riverside MBA apart and how it helps in your professional growth
Nov 2010:00 AM EST
-10:30 AM EST
If you’re applying to Columbia, NYU Stern, or Yale SOM, you need more than strong stats. Each school defines “leadership” differently, and your essays must reflect that. Join Sia Admissions founder, Susan Berishaj on November 20th
Nov 2009:00 PM IST
-10:00 PM IST
Join our free expert-led Essay Workshops to discover how to choose impactful stories, highlight your core values, and align your background with each school’s distinct culture, making every word truly count.
Nov 1201:00 PM EST
-11:59 PM EST
Get expert MBA strategy, instant essay feedback, and personalized advice on your entire application. Join My Admit Coach, the AI-powered MBA admissions platform built on 10K+ successful application docs for HBS, Stanford GSB, MIT and other top programs.
Nov 1909:00 AM PST
-10:00 AM PST
What’s in it for you- Live Profile Evaluation Chat Session with Jenifer Turtschnow, CEO ARINGO. Come with your details prepared and ARINGO will share insights! Pre-MBA Role/Industry, YOE, Exam Score, C/GPA, ECs Post-MBA Role/ Industry & School List.- Nov 19
10:00 AM EST
-01:00 PM EST
Get expert MBA strategy, instant essay feedback, and personalized advice on your entire application. Join My Admit Coach, the AI-powered MBA admissions platform built on 10K+ successful application docs for HBS, Stanford GSB, MIT and other top programs. - Nov 19
11:00 AM PST
-12:00 PM PST
Round 2 is here — and it’s your chance to make your MBA dream happen! Join GMAT Club’s LIVE discussion with two top experts from The Red Pen, Gunjan Jhunjhunwala and Natasha Mankikar, as we break down everything you need to know 
Nov 2108:30 AM EST
-09:15 AM EST
Get the inside scoop on what makes Emory’s Goizueta Business School great, learn how you can present a strong MBA application, and connect with an Admissions Director to get your questions answered.
Nov 2109:30 PM IST
-10:30 PM IST
Learn how to craft powerful, authentic essays by mastering the 3 “WHYs” every top MBA program looks for: Why MBA, Why Now, and Why This School.
Nov 2408:00 PM PST
-09:00 PM PST
Inquire for a free profile evaluation and guarantee statement for possible admits and scholarships!
finalgears
22 May 2013, 17:53
Kudos
Bookmarks
Just joined this forum and soaking in the community here. It's awesome everyone is so helpful.
I work in the Aerospace/Defense industry and thinking about getting an MBA. Thinking about which schools I should apply and realistic have a chance at. I know...I know...I can look up the average stats of admitted students but there so much more to admissions than GPA/GMAT, so please, any advice you can offer would be appreciated.
Basics
Undergrad: University of Southern California (USC) Aerospace Engineering BS with 3.69 GPA
Grad: USC Aerospace Engineering MS with 3.92 GPA
GMAT: 49V/40Q/730 - 89%/85%/96% percentile
Work
Work Experience: 5 years at matriculation
Industry: Aerospace/Defense
Company: Big 3 Aerospace (Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Boeing)
Role: Flight Test Engineer on 5th rotation. Currently working in team as youngest member (coworkers 2x my age - Aerospace industry, you know
) with our work being nominated for highest award in the division
On the Side
Founded and manage credit repair company. On track to meet $700k annual rev.
Founded and manage real estate investment company. On track to own and manage 9 units producing $50k annual rev.
Founded and manage textbook sales company. On track to meet $30k annual rev.
Can run each of the companies on 5 hrs sleep/night
Volunteering
Coach individuals on public speaking and interpersonal skills
On leadership committee that tutors refugee elementary school kids
On leadership board of company affinity group
Manager/Coach for company basketball club
"X-Factors"
Low-income background
Single parent upbringing
First-born in extended blue collar family
First to grad college
Goals
Short term: management consultancy
Long term: leverage aerospace and consulting experience into blue-chip leadership role w/ P&L responsibility
I work in the Aerospace/Defense industry and thinking about getting an MBA. Thinking about which schools I should apply and realistic have a chance at. I know...I know...I can look up the average stats of admitted students but there so much more to admissions than GPA/GMAT, so please, any advice you can offer would be appreciated.
Basics
Undergrad: University of Southern California (USC) Aerospace Engineering BS with 3.69 GPA
Grad: USC Aerospace Engineering MS with 3.92 GPA
GMAT: 49V/40Q/730 - 89%/85%/96% percentile
Work
Work Experience: 5 years at matriculation
Industry: Aerospace/Defense
Company: Big 3 Aerospace (Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Boeing)
Role: Flight Test Engineer on 5th rotation. Currently working in team as youngest member (coworkers 2x my age - Aerospace industry, you know
) with our work being nominated for highest award in the divisionOn the Side
Founded and manage credit repair company. On track to meet $700k annual rev.
Founded and manage real estate investment company. On track to own and manage 9 units producing $50k annual rev.
Founded and manage textbook sales company. On track to meet $30k annual rev.
Can run each of the companies on 5 hrs sleep/night
Volunteering
Coach individuals on public speaking and interpersonal skills
On leadership committee that tutors refugee elementary school kids
On leadership board of company affinity group
Manager/Coach for company basketball club
"X-Factors"
Low-income background
Single parent upbringing
First-born in extended blue collar family
First to grad college
Goals
Short term: management consultancy
Long term: leverage aerospace and consulting experience into blue-chip leadership role w/ P&L responsibility
26 May 2013, 07:10
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi there,
Thanks for sharing your detailed profile, and congrats on your impressive GMAT score!
So far, based upon the info you provided, you have a strong profile for most top MBA programs.
Your strengths so far based on profile:
-strong GMAT, above average at top programs
-solid GPA and outstanding grad-school GPA which is more recent/relevant
-solid quantity and quality of work experience
-less-common industry background (aerospace/defense) (you'll probably have a variety of interesting experiences to draw from both for your application and in b-school classes)
-lots of determination, leadership, project management, entrepreneurial experience as demonstrated by the companies you have started
-activities outside of work demonstrate that you have other interests, will likely be involved at b-school
Weaknesses/questions:
No glaring weaknesses; but "questions" that may come up in the mind of the admissions committee--
- "WHY?"--- why do you want to shift careers? why management consultancy? how do you see the whole picture fitting together-- your past, plus the MBA, leading to your short and long term career goals? (things to think about/prepare to answer in essays/interview)
- be prepared to be asked in an interview about the businesses you started and how you juggled it all (as you said, sounds like lack of sleep! while for the most part these are positive and impressive achievements, there is sometimes a slight concern about being able to manage it all-- and one q would be, are you going to put all of those businesses on hold during b-school? since b-school is very time-intensive if going full time...)
- just a note that engineering is a common applicant background, and it's always important for engineers to demonstrate the balance of having strong people and communication skills
As for schools, a lot of it is personal-- depends upon what you are looking for in terms of geographical location, class size and profile, curriculum, school philosophy, etc. We have a free downloadable e-book on choosing schools here that might be useful: https://info.mbamission.com/Selecting-Yo ... ram-E-Book.
Your profile would qualify you for a shot at most top b-schools, the decision would likely be based upon your essays and interview since most of your profile is strong. You will need to convince the admissions committee that their b-school is right for you, and that you need the MBA from their program to reach your career goals.
If you are set on management consulting right after b-school, you may want to focus on schools that are known for lots of consulting hires after graduation, including Harvard, Kellogg, Wharton, Booth, Columbia, Duke, MIT, Stanford.... generally most top-ranked programs do have a lot of grads go into consulting. This Vault.com article has lists of top programs for consulting in different geographic regions of the US if you have any thoughts on where you'd like to start a post-MBA career. https://blogs.vault.com/blog/admit-one-v ... -get-into/. By the way this assumes you are looking at US programs, but international programs such as INSEAD are strong for consulting as well.
Hope that is helpful, please keep us posted on everything and good luck with the upcoming admissions cycle.
Thanks for sharing your detailed profile, and congrats on your impressive GMAT score!
So far, based upon the info you provided, you have a strong profile for most top MBA programs.
Your strengths so far based on profile:
-strong GMAT, above average at top programs
-solid GPA and outstanding grad-school GPA which is more recent/relevant
-solid quantity and quality of work experience
-less-common industry background (aerospace/defense) (you'll probably have a variety of interesting experiences to draw from both for your application and in b-school classes)
-lots of determination, leadership, project management, entrepreneurial experience as demonstrated by the companies you have started
-activities outside of work demonstrate that you have other interests, will likely be involved at b-school
Weaknesses/questions:
No glaring weaknesses; but "questions" that may come up in the mind of the admissions committee--
- "WHY?"--- why do you want to shift careers? why management consultancy? how do you see the whole picture fitting together-- your past, plus the MBA, leading to your short and long term career goals? (things to think about/prepare to answer in essays/interview)
- be prepared to be asked in an interview about the businesses you started and how you juggled it all
(as you said, sounds like lack of sleep! while for the most part these are positive and impressive achievements, there is sometimes a slight concern about being able to manage it all-- and one q would be, are you going to put all of those businesses on hold during b-school? since b-school is very time-intensive if going full time...)- just a note that engineering is a common applicant background, and it's always important for engineers to demonstrate the balance of having strong people and communication skills
As for schools, a lot of it is personal-- depends upon what you are looking for in terms of geographical location, class size and profile, curriculum, school philosophy, etc. We have a free downloadable e-book on choosing schools here that might be useful: https://info.mbamission.com/Selecting-Yo ... ram-E-Book.
Your profile would qualify you for a shot at most top b-schools, the decision would likely be based upon your essays and interview since most of your profile is strong. You will need to convince the admissions committee that their b-school is right for you, and that you need the MBA from their program to reach your career goals.
If you are set on management consulting right after b-school, you may want to focus on schools that are known for lots of consulting hires after graduation, including Harvard, Kellogg, Wharton, Booth, Columbia, Duke, MIT, Stanford.... generally most top-ranked programs do have a lot of grads go into consulting. This Vault.com article has lists of top programs for consulting in different geographic regions of the US if you have any thoughts on where you'd like to start a post-MBA career. https://blogs.vault.com/blog/admit-one-v ... -get-into/. By the way this assumes you are looking at US programs, but international programs such as INSEAD are strong for consulting as well.
Hope that is helpful, please keep us posted on everything and good luck with the upcoming admissions cycle.
finalgears
12 Jun 2013, 11:54
Kudos
Bookmarks
mbaMissionJenK
Jen,
Wow, thank you so much for a long, detailed response!
One last thing if I can get your opinion on:
How should I be going about selecting a recommender? I have to decide between current boss or my boss from previous project a year ago. One is a good salesman and good talker but I am not too sure how he feels about me. The other is your vanilla manager who cares about his people but isn't really eloquent but I feel that he likes me alot. Which would you pick and what criteria should I be considering in choosing?
Thanks in advance.
