Profile evaluation - from research field
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07 Apr 2013, 07:13
Hi everyone!
I am writing this post because I have quite an unusual background for a MBA prospective and before applying I would be most grateful for any feedback on my chances of getting into one of the Bschools I am aiming to.
Here are my stats:
Nationality: Italian.
Age: 29/30 on matriculation.
Education: 1) BSc in Civil and Environmental Engineering at top Italian university. 2) MSc in Environmental Engineering at the same institution, graduated cum laude - which seems to me to be equal to a 4.0 GPA - and the fastest MSc student ever to get the MSc in Env Eng at my institution. Visiting Researcher at a top UK university in my research field (i.e., water science). 3) PhD in Environmental Engineering at the same Italian university: I published 10 papers until now (in slightly less than 3 years) on peer-reviewed, impacted journals (acceptance rates are less than 10%) and my supervisor (who can be one of my references) openly regards me to be one of his best students ever; my co-supervisor is from the University of Washington, where I spent 8 months carrying out some research on a joint project during my PhD.
Work experience: 1) During my PhD, I began work as a teaching assistant in environmental pollution at a top Italian university. 2) In a few months I will get my PhD and be a research fellow in water and wastewater treatment. The main reason for doing this is that I am trying to show the AdCom that in my field I am the "excellence". 3) Even though I am quite sure that this won't count as work experience, in the last 3 years I also worked on 2 projects as project engineer.
Extracurricular stuff: During my studies, I have been scoutmaster for 6 years and regional supervisor at FSE (Fédération du Scoutisme Européen), member of a local Rotaract club and IWA (Internationa Water Association). I volunteered at a local futsal club for 2 years . I have been mentoring 3 BSc students from Italy and I am currently mentoring a BSc student from India.
GMAT: 690 (Q45V39) (AWA 5.0, IR 6), still wondering whether I should retake it since at the first and second GMATPrep I scored 740 and 750, respectively.
English proficiency: Took FCE in 2011 (Grade A awarded), CAE in 2012 (Grade A awarded) and TOEFL in 2012 as well (113/120).
References: Good, though sort of unilateral. I can get my Italian PhD supervisor to be one of them and there are there is also my UW supervisor who has offered to write a reference letter.
Career objectives: My long-term goal is to go into consulting or pharma/energy industry, either in Italy or in the UK. When I got my MSc, I thought that science problems were something that really raised my interest. Gradually, I started looking at problems involving people since my field has a lot to do with public utilities, so I matured my decision to get an MBA and start solving bigger problems that involve people. This is why I genuinely believe that doing an MBA at a good school will push me into the right direction.
B-Schools: Oxford and Cranfield would be my first and second option, followed by SDA Bocconi.
My major concern about my profile is that I have been in university for a long time and my work experience is, at best, weak. Anyway, I hope that some other elements will compensate this weakness.
Please comment, I really need some guidance!