Pre-MBA industry: Non-Profit and Government
Post-MBA industry: Non-Profit and Government
2 years ago
24 Oct 2023 12:10
Dear Community,
I have a BSc degree in civil engineering (cgpa of 3.01) and a MSc degree (cgpa of 3.64) from one of the best engineering school in Turkey. For about 5 years, I have been working on financial modeling of infrastructure projects. Although I have no previous finance education, I am able to build complicated models from scratch. May I use this info to impress the admition committee? Also, if I get admitted to a business school, the institution I am working will finance my mba education.
Is it possible for me to get admission(s) from the top 10 business schools in the U.S.?
Regarding your other question - your modelling skills and the engineering degree show a quant focus/ analytical abilities that will be useful at b-school and adcoms will appreciate it. That said, so many engineers change career tracks after their education- so there's only a limited way you can milk this info by stating it explicitly- perhaps via one or two lines in the reco or in an essay.
A few thoughts:
1. You want to have a clear need/goal for an MBA. MBA is a tool for something. It is a great transformation experience but it is not useful without a goal after your MBA. Having a goal makes it easier to see the best path and the best tools. What is the purpose of getting an MBA and going through this experience?
2. In terms of chances, 322 is a bit on the lower side. We have been seeing Average GRE's around 329 for Top 10. Potentially you can dip a bit for certain groups and demographics where things are not as competitive but a combination of 10+ years of work experience and lower score is not helpful.
3. It is good you have a higher GPA in your masters. that's what will get evaluated. You want to explain to the AdCom why you want an MBA by the way and indirectly answer why you want one after the Masters.
4. In terms of you doing high end financial work, I think it counts but it can't be you saying - there has to be some proof and indicators - e.g. awards, promotions, pay increases, etc.
5. It will be harder for you to find a job than for most due to international background and greater experience where you will be "too experienced" for some of the jobs. It seems you are planning to remain in your industry, which is good. Are you planning to go back to your country?
6. Top 10 or nothing is hard to judge without knowing your goals or reasons. I would say any MBA program is valuable but you may not want to pay $200K for some of them. I think you have chances in the lower-ranked schools. You can check the decision tracker filters for GRE. I tried this one https://gmatclub.com/forum/decision-tra ... 4&score=36 and it seems there not that many data points. I tried Fuqua
I have to go back to my country after the mba. I understand that adcom will appreciate it. Also, my recommendations may confirm my modelling skills. Will it be helpful?
I am grateful for your advice!
Congrats on your applications. bb and MBADecoder already gave some great answers, so here's my condensed take since I'm also going through the admissions process. A good GRE/GMAT score can help compensate for your GPA for some of the top programs though that's still no guarantee for admission as they look at the applications holistically (career, resume, essays, LoRs). My suggestion would be to have a list of reach, match and safety school based on your profile and your goals (i.e. programs stronger in finance) as opposed to only applying top 10. You never know which school will admit you and which school will reject, so it's good to diversify your admissions portfolio.