Manager
Joined: 14 May 2011
Status:Rising College Senior
Posts: 51
Given Kudos: 2
Concentration: Technology, General Management
GPA: 3.7
Re: HBS 2+2 Class of 2016 (Entering 2014)
[#permalink]
15 Aug 2011, 04:45
[quote="FacePalmist"]Hi,
I have finished my sophomore year at a top-ranked US public school as a double major (Electrical Engineering with Finance) and have a 3.65 GPA. I've been shadowing the forums for a while now and though I still have a while before MBA applications, I felt it's never to early to start working in the right direction - so I'm on here for advice! Again, I'm not looking for a "recipe" on how to get into HBS (dream: to get into the 2+2 program) or any other top program (after working a few years i.e.) - but more of a "you're completely off-track/you're on the right track but doing this or focusing on this would be good" been-there-done-that advice!
So here's my current profile (after two years of college):
GPA: Slightly over 3.65 (average for the engg school is sub-3.0 but I still think it's low for 2+2)
GMAT: Haven't taken it yet - but if it's an indicator of anything, I had a 2290 on the SAT
School: Large, Public (consistently top 2-3 in the US)
Other factoids:
* Interned at a major entertainment company (Fortune 500) last summer in their new technologies department. Did a project on my own and was called back this year. It was a great summer and got a good recommendation letter out of it too!
* Interning at the research lab of a Fortune 500: Top 50 company (technology) this summer.
* Started and currently president of an on-campus business student organization. Club grew from nothing to over 60 members in less than 6 months. Is now a prominent business club on campus.
* Vice-President of an engineering society on campus and treasurer of another one
* Been on two major engineering research teams and contributed significantly. Might get a great recommendation out of one of them! Continuing one of the projects and taking a role as a research assistant on a public economics project this coming year.
* Taking the CFA Level 1 either this December or next summer (I don't know if this affects anything)
* Won a bunch of national olympiads at high school level and am currently learning French as a fourth language. (Again, I don't know if this affects anything)
* Am an international student and spent four years in another country (other than my home country) before coming to the US
* Heavily involved with a community service group for autistic children and we're planning an international community service trip for this December.
Since I'm doing a double major, I will probably take 4.5 years to graduate - so I have two years before I apply for the 2+2 and several more before I apply for regular admissions. I would really appreciate any advice, suggestions, comments - anything, really!
In terms of what I want to do in the future, I am very interested in management consulting and large public enterprises. More than that, I want to do something that makes a difference (but then again, who doesn't!) Thanks for reading this long post and for your comments!
PS: Right now, my focus is HBS 2+2, but other schools I am interested in (after working for a few years) are Stanford, Wharton, Chicago, Kellogg, Duke, UVA. Though this is probably going to change considering I have a few years left![/quote
Yale and Stanford have program for college seniors too. check them out. they might be more "traditional" then the 2+2 program.