Guidance for MBA apps 2007

Question

Hi paul,

I would like some advice and guidance for my apps for fall 2007. I am 22 yrs old and fall under the most common pool of Indian IT MBA aspirants. Though this doesnt deter me from presenting a good application, i still feel that some inputs for distinguishing myself especially in my essays would do me a whale of good. 

 My academic profile&scores:  I have completed my B.Tech with honors in Electical engineering. Just wanted to have a taste of work experience and hence joined top I.T firm thru campus placement. I've never really had permanent employment as my ultimate objective and i'd started to think about management career in my 2nd year itself. Now, with a year of experience and also knowing the fact clearly that working in this industry will not get me close to my career goals, I have thought of applying to FT MBA. My GMAT is 730(Q50,V38,5.5 AWA). I have given my toefl also(280). My CGPA is 9.5/10 and consequently i am the university/dept topper in my college.(translates to about 1/700 rank). Ok!! guess enough of statistics. Though i am quantitatively very strong, I believe more qualitative stuff has to be presented if i am going to get an admit. Anyways, I will continue.. 

 My experiences:  As for leadership and team experiences, I have had good number of them in my school,college and company. I have had accountable leadership positions as student chairman,magazine editor etc. My skills in music and sports have given many good experiences of working in teams. Music especially has been my highlight of community service ventures as well. I guess they must do good for somepart of the essays. As for my role in the company, it is predominantly a team member role, but i can give examples of my work having had a positive impact on my project on a larger basis. I plan to get my recommendations from my dean at college and my Project leader here in my company. I suppose that should do fine. I guess i will be able to bring out some uniqueness in my application with all these experiences. 

 My career goals:  Well, i plan to do my MBA with specific learning in Operations Management. This has been an area of interest for me and over the last year, i have quite considered lots of options before deciding to take this course. I think my quantitative aptitude and domain exposure would make this course the 'fit' choice. Also thinking of entering either financial or manufacturing sector after graduation. I have completed certifications in banking competency in my company and i am working for banking clients only. 

 My target schools:  Considering the facts that i am very relatively young in applying to an MBA program and only certain schools look postively towards younger applicants, i plan to apply to MIT Sloan,CMU Tepper,UCLA Anderson,USC Marshall. I am not sure as to whether applying to just 4 schools is a safe bet and i am waiting for some inputs from you. From what information i have gathered,I think all the 4 schools are very good in Operations( dunno whether i am wrong??). They encourage younger applicants and want diversity in application. They seem to take note of extra-curricuar activities which will be my forte in my application. Anyways, How does Ohio(Fischer) fare in operations? Just for your information, i got an email from Ohio saying that they will give full tuition aid if i apply and i replied asking them about my work experience. They asked me to apply with 2 years experience which would be beneficial for me.Can you just provide me with this information? 

So, finally we come to the end of a long post!! What do you think Paul? How are my chances in the 4 schools and do you advise any other school(s) for my portfolio? Waiting to see your reply. 

Cheers, 
mbadart07

Accepted.com · Answer

mbadart07,

MIT Sloan and CMU Tepper are very strong in operations management. UCLA Anderson is moderately well ranked in that discipline, but several schools that are no more selective than UCLA are ranked even higher. For example, Purdue Krannert is *always* ranked near the very top in operations. Michigan is another. Ohio is also well regarded in operations (#6 by WSJ, #13 by USNews). I have not seen USC Marshall ranked among the leaders in operations. 

To get into a top school, even one that favors younger applicants, you will have to show that you have already demonstrated substantial leadership. If you can do that, then you should have a chance at MIT and an even better chance at CMU and Purdue. See Accepted.com's  advice for younger applicants .

Good luck,

mbadart07 · Answer

Thanks paul,

That was an encouraging as well as an informative reply. I went through the article for younger applicants. I personally have listed out all my acheivements,my growth and leadership events that i have experienced as of now. It's been done after lots of introspection and i still feel room for improvement especially in the time before applying. Some of the qualities of an younger applicant are really visible in my portfolio but some others are surely not( For eg; exceptional professional growth,impact on company). I am counting on my experiences in my college in various events to make up for the lack of such experiences in my company. Do i stand a chance in these schools, given the fact that i will be mostly emphasizing college life, academics, extra-curriculars and voluntary services.

Since its been only a year in my company, i am thinking of presenting it as an opportunity for enhancing my team-skills in a corporate setup. I am able to feel that my work profile is not that strong in terms of leadership and growth. But, i hope my vast experiences in leading as well as in working with teams outside of company will do me good. 

You'd mentioned about purdue. But to my knowledge it does not take younger applicants. Can you clarify on this? Also, i am not aware of Michigan admitting young guys!! I am still researching on schools and i would like some inputs from you also. They would be really helpful. Looking fwd to hearing from you.

Thanks,
mbadart07

Accepted.com · Answer

mbadart07,

Well, if your stories are powerful enough then, yes, you do stand a chance, even if your accomplishments are from college and extracurriculars. Because, like you, most young applicants don't have opportunities for big impact at work right out of school. Your chances really depend on the quality of the material you have.

Purdue does in fact take younger applicants, just not that many. Last year, 15% of their admittees had 1 year or less of work experience. And the middle 80% of their admitted applicants had between zero and 126 months of work experience. You are correct, however, that Michigan is much tougher on you young guys: only 2% admitted with 1 year or less of work experience, and their middle 80% of admittees were between 25 and 34.

But Purdue might be worth a shot.

Good luck,

mbadart07 · Answer

Hi paul,

hope you do remember me, i guess sometime back we discussed my chances and also about my case of applying for mba with relatively less work experience. Well, as of now, i am just going to ask you about the schools. After doing some research, i found that ucla and usc are not that known for operations. so i decided to scrap them from my shortlist. I have decided on Carnegie, Ohio, Purdue as all the 3 are very good in operations. I am struggling to decide when it comes to MIT. I know its very competitive to apply to the other 3 also but MIT looks a very long shot for me. I am hoping for guidance from you on this Paul, as you have seen my profile already. I am also thinking about Georgia tech, since i heard its one of the best in operations though on the overall ranking, it fails to attract. Can you give some comments on this Paul? 

Thanks,
mbadart07

PaulBodine · Answer

mbadart07,

I don't think someone with a 730 GMAT should be applying to Georgia Tech just because his age is uncomfortably low for most B-schools. You could apply to MIT as a longshot--there's no harm in trying. Before you apply to schools like Georgia Tech I would encourage you to just get some quality work and leadership experience under your belt and apply in a year or two when your GMAT will open more doors for you. 

Good luck,

mbadart07 · Answer

Thanks for the reply Paul. Well i investigated georgia tech primarily because it ranks well in operations(16 by us news). Since the school ranks in the top 5 in engineering,i thought operations will be very good here. I havent yet made up my mind though. As for the case of waiting for 2 more years before applying, i guess i mentioned in my previous posts that working in this industry will not align with my career goals. Maybe, i would have to switch industry. Well, given the fact that i have good enough leadership and team experiences and that my stats are fine, i believe i would able to exploit the fact that these schools admit young applicants. I will surely consider MIT though it seems a far cry. Can you recommend any other schools for my profile and interests,Paul? Maybe, some more study into the process will help me. Looking forward to your reply.

Thanks,
mbadart07

PaulBodine · Answer

mbadart07,

I think I've given all the help that I can in this forum. If you'd like me to look at your application strategy more closely, I'd be glad to work with you on a consultant-client basis.

Good luck,

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