Cocoa wrote:
Hi Paul,
I just bought your book, it is great. Now I only need your valuable insight and feedback on my chances to get into this school.
My background :
1. Indonesian male, age 29, 6 years MNC experiences as a Food scientist in Singapore.
2. Bachelor of Applied Science (Food Technology), from University of Western Sydney Australia, graduated with distinction (not sure how to convert this into GPA), Faculty Merit List.
3. GMAT 750 (Q49, V42, AWA 5.0)
4. Employer history (4 different companies)
DAIWA FINE PRODUCTS
FUJIOIL SINGAPORE
ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND COMPANY
JM HUBER CORPORATION
5. Professional expertise : R&D and Quality Assurance.
6. Extracurricular activities : (This worry me a lot)
Above average club level badminton player
Taekwondo instructor, Taekwondo Modus Club Indonesia
Tutor & Mentor, International student house, at University
Gold medal, junior Jakarta Taekwondo Championship 1995
Short term goal / post MBA : Equity research analyst at fortune 500 finance company.
Long term goal : Manage my own fund, concentrating particularly on developing countries in South East Asia such as Indonesia.
Paul, the reason why I want an MBA is that I feel "underutilized" now. I love research and analytical work, investigating and solving problems, however, I am not born to be a scientist (I am not going to take master in science for sure, 110%), I think I am too "business mined". I want to be in a career that have fast pace and a lot of pressure, and that require plenty of analytical skills. My research direct me to the finance and banking industry.
Do you think my "career switch" is reasonable ?
I am planning to apply to the following schools :
Wharton
Chicago
Columbia
NYU
LBS
MIT
Tepper
Cornell
I think these schools are pretty strong in finance. Please give me your advise. Am I reasonable in my choice of schools ?
Last question, from my profile, what kind of competitive edge do I have? You can ask more info from me anytime.
Thanks a lot, Paul, your time is really much appreciated.
Cocoa,
Your career switch will seem reasonable to the schools if you can explain where it came from. That is, do you know people in equity research or fund management? Second, can you show that you've done the due diligence to learn what these fields are really about -- i.e., informational interviews, etc.? And finally can you point to achievements in and outside of your career that suggest you might be good in these fields? If so, then the adcoms will have no problem with your goals.
As a research person you have the challenge of showing that you have led people and projects. That will be your challenge. Your extracurriculars are not great but probably good enough. Your competitive edge is your country of origin (relatively unusual as a source of B-school applicants), your industry and functional area (also unusual), and perhaps some personal stories that you could identify with some introspection.
Chicago, Tepper, MIT, and Cornell look like your best shots to me. I could see 2 or more of them coming through for you. The other four look tougher, with Columbia probably the toughest and NYU perhaps the "easiest."
Your essays should focus on demonstrating leadership and business exposure and savvy.
Good luck,