Profile Evaluation for Wharton, Columbia & Booth

Question

Education :

GMAT 730 Q50 V38 AWA 5.5

Undergrad
Mechanical Engineering (with concentration in Mechatronics)
Gpa 3.22*
University: UOIT, Oshawa, Ontario.
Graduation: April 2010.

Masters in Engineering and Applied Science
UOIT.
Expected date of graduation: April 2012
GPA so far: 3.6

Work Experience: 
Production Engineer
16 month internship at CAMI Automotive Inc. May 2008- August 2009
Actively assisted engineering team at CAMI Automotive Inc. in the launch of two new vehicles.
Lead the project on organization of tools and punches in stamping shop which helped company to save money and minimize downtime.

General Motors July 2010-March 2011
Production Supervisor

Lead a group of 40 people.
Started up a whole new shift and facilitated training for new employees, who were re-hired after 7 years.
I was able to develop excellent working relationship with everyone working for me and my supervisor while I was at GM which helped me in accomplishing my goals and build up one of the most effective teams in Chassis, General Motors. 
Proposed and successfully implemented many changes in the jobs on line to minimize downtime and increase product, while improving quality.

BCA Construction

Project Manager/Estimator March 2011-Current

Prepare mechanical estimates and supervise site projects.

Volunteer

First generation student mentor April 2011-Current

Assist first generation university students at UOIT to overcome hurdles they face.
Organizing meetings and events for first generation mentors.

Random Note : When I was working at CAMI Automotive and General Motors, my supervisors consistently recommended me for being a hard working, committed individual and for smart ideas I brought to improve things.

Low GPA in undergrad:  Worked part time during first two years of school.

A+ in calculus and all other math related courses.

Tough Engineering program based on projects. It made it hard to score well because scoring was solely based on success or failure of the projects.

Lastly,I finished the curriculum designed for 8 semesters in only 7 semesters.

I'd actually write finishing my degree in 7 semesters and working part time for 2 years of my undergrad degree as my strengths.

Thank you very much for looking at my post. Hope to get some feedback from you.

cvsmech · Answer

Anyone?

LadyRoadWarrior · Answer

My layman's opinion is that you would be a stronger candidate with a year or two more of work experience. Killer GMAT - check

Extra-curriculars - semi-check Work experience - hmmm not as clear to me Perhaps it was how you presented it here, but it looked to me that you hadn't be in one place longer than about a year. I'm not at all saying that you're not excellent at what you do, just that it might be more difficult for adcomms to see sustained leadership and growth with a shorter work history? Correct me if I'm wrong here... What about your demographics? Age/Minority Status/etc

cvsmech · Answer

Thanks a lot LadyRoadwarrior. Appreciate the feedback.

Good thing that you pointed out something that I otherwise would've overlooked, that is short term employment at GM. GM derated its assembly lines and eliminated some of the jobs, so I got laid off from GM after 9 months with others. At CAMI Auto, it was a 16 month internship. And I plan to be at BCA until I go to MBA school whether its next year or an year after.

I'm 26/male/Indian-Canadian- Primary citizenship-Canadian.

Targeting R2. Schools: Wharton, Tepper and Ross plus Cornell(Deadline January 25th)

And two canadian schools.

Might also apply to stern for R3.

LadyRoadWarrior · Answer

Particularly with your length of work experience, I would imagine you will have better results applying R1 in 2012 for 2013 admission. Although you (and everyone else) will continue to work between the time you submit your applications and when you matriculate, none of us get "credit" for the accomplishments achieved in that span, just the months.

The schools you mention average 4-5 years of work experience, and you're going to be on the low side of that regardless. Then you add the closeness of the R12 deadlines and the slim chances that anyone has in R3... and add that as an Indian male you're in a really tough demographic.

I just think you'd have most positive outcomes in the 2013 batch. You'll have time to really work on your essays, address any gaps in extracurriculars, and have some more accomplishments at work.

To me, the GM layoff is understandable and I expect you'll be able to cover that off in supplementals. I'm a Detroiter so I get it.

Best of luck to you on your applications - whenever and wherever you decide! :-D

cvsmech · Answer

I completely agree with everything you said. In fact, I've been thinking the same.

But, I think I should apply to Wharton, tepper and ross since I've been working towards my applications for these 3 schools. Although I know I might have to reapply next year to all these schools, hoping that these schools don't look down at re-applicants.

LadyRoadWarrior · Answer

Well, it's your $250 a pop 8-)

I don't think anyone looks down on re-apps, particularly if your primary weakness was lack of work experience... but you will need to demonstrate in re-apps that you've significantly strengthened your application from the previous year and point to several relevant examples... I would think pretty hard about your upcoming year and what standout stories you anticipate you can convey on your re-app essay. If they're not awesome, perhaps you don't apply this year and just avoid the whole re-app thing altogether. I mean MAYBE you are a matriculate in '14 guy, rather than a '12 or '13... who knows. You won't be getting "too old" in that timeframe. Of course I should reiterate that I am a layman here going through my own app journey so my perspectives are just that - my own perspectives. best wishes and happy holidays, LRW

Profile Evaluation for Wharton, Columbia & Booth

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards