aravindanv wrote:
Dear Linda,
I am from India and I am targeting fall 2007 for applying to B-Schools in US. I have a master’s degree in chemistry. I am working as a scientist for the past year in a pharma company and will have 3 years of work ex by the time I start B-School. I have a decent GPA and very strong extracurricular (played basketball for my college, won championships).
I wanted some info about b-schools with good pharmaceutical/healthcare mba programs. My research shows Duke (Fuqua) as my top choice. It has a MBA in Healthcare Management program which is very good.
Rutgers also has a MBA in pharmaceutical management program. It seems that all top pharma companies have funded that program. And since New Jersey is a hub for all pharma companies it makes sense to apply there. I wanted to know if you feel it is a good program to apply to.
Wharton and Harvard also have some good healthcare components in its MBA program.
My questions are as follows:
1. Which programs should I target if I want to focus on an MBA in healthcare/pharma management? It does not matter if it is a traditional MBA program with a smattering of healthcare/pharma courses.
2. Is Rutgers a good school to apply to? Are there other such schools which offer a MBA specialized in pharma/health management?
3. Will I be considered a non-traditional applicant from India by the B-schools, as I have a non-engineering, non-IT, non-finance background which (according to me) makes up the biggest pool of applicants from India?
4. Besides getting a strong GMAT score and good essays what else do you think I should do to enhance my application?
Thanks in advance.
regards,
Aravindan
You are looking at the right programs and asking the right questions. Duke certainly has an excellent reputation in healthcare, as does Stanford and Haas along with the other schools you mentioned. Rutgers is a fine program and it may be as good as the others you listed in pharma, but it doesn't have as strong a brand overall as Duke, Harvard, or Wharton. So if you earn a competitive GMAT, my advice to you would be to apply to Rutgers as well as the schools with the (inter)national brand. If you are accepted to a Harvard or Wharton or Duke, which has the healthcare focus to rival Rutgers, then go to one of those so that you will have the focus and the national brand. If you don't get accepted to one of those program or obtain much more financial aid from Rutgers, then go to Rutgers because it supports your goals.
To answer your questions:
1) see above.
2) See above. You may also want to consider CBS and NYU.
3) I don't know that a science background makes you "non-traditional," but you certainly won't be lumped in with the INdian IT applicants.
4) Here are a couple of suggestions:
Quote:
1) Make time for community service or an extra-curricular commitment.
2) Try to assume responsibility for business functions at work -- not purely scientific ones: negotiation, budgeting, management, etc.
There are more suggestions on how to prepare for you MBA application in
Best Practices for 2005 MBA Admissions.Good luck!
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16 Apr 2005, 18:44
