piper41955 wrote:
It might be a little early in the game for this, but I was hoping that you might give me some guidance as to how to strengthen my profile for the 09 app season.
White / Male
32 (now) / 33-34 at application
GMAT not taken yet, looking for a 700+
Work history:
16 years of experience in the Tech/IT industry, the last 7 as a Sr. Systems Admin / Network Admin at a top 4 school.
- Significant project management experience, responsible for half a dozen major software and hardware rollouts organization wide in the last few years.
- I have acted as an internal consultant for other groups within the university on a number of occasions, the most interesting of which involved reinventing the entire IT infrastructure of a major campus group including helping to draft their business processes.
(Weakness) – People management, I don’t have employees directly reporting to me.
Academic history:
I started working in the tech industry at the age of 16 and really didn’t focus on my college degree at that point of my life, unfortunately, the class work that I did take was a real disaster due to that lack of emphasis. As I progressed in my career, I found my options more limited due to my lack of formal education, so I refocused my available time on that one goal. I am expecting to graduate from a state school with a BS/MIS undergrad in 09, and would like to move directly to a FT MBA program.
(Weakness) – GPA in the early years was dismal, but ever since I refocused it has been 3.0-3.5 while maintaining a full time job plus extracurricular activities with a steady up-trend.
Extracurricular Activities:
- I am a licensed pilot and fly for the Coast Guard Aux. when time permits.
- I am the President of my Home Owners Association, managing 2.5 million dollars of construction, an $850,000 budget, and have direct customer facing responsibilities with regards to the membership.
Why an MBA? / Why Now?
I am seeking an MBA to provide a broad based business education that will allow me to expand well beyond my technical roots into a more managerial centered career path, ideally consulting as the analytical skills and thought processes are quite transferable between the two fields. In reality the Why Now question is rather unique in my case since the “Why Now?” was reached several years ago, but I had to first complete my undergraduate education before progressing to an MBA program.
Given the above information:
- What can I do to strengthen my profile now that I have some time prior to applying?
- What schools should I realistically be shooting for?
- At what point should I start talking to an admissions consultant to begin the process?
Thanks in advance
piper41955,
Needless to say, you have to get that bachelor's degree and with as high a GPA as you can muster. Then I recommend obliterating the GMAT, so the schools have no qualms at all about your intellectual ability to handle B-school (750 or above would start to do that but of course anything over 700 says you can basically handle it). Your age combined with your lack of formal leadership are negatives, period. You can't do anything about the age but it may force you to lower your sights a bit. So I recommend getting into some serious leadership role in or outside of work. The HOA unfortunately is not strong enough. The flying is an interesting asset but not what your profile really needs. Given your goals and assuming a 700 GMAT I think you could aim for Emory, Ohio State, perhaps Georgetown, American U., George Washington U., UC Irvine, all programs that put a lot of people into consulting roles. No need to get started with a consultant until next spring.
Good luck,