Hi,
Would love your feedback on my profile.
Basic Background/Demographics:Current age: 26 - will be 28/29 when matriculating (thinking of applying in 2021 for Fall 2022 admission - explanation below)
Ethnicity: East Asian (not China)
Gender: Male
GRE: 331 (166Q - 89% ; 165V - 96%; AWA: 5.5 - 98%)
Reason for 2022 admission: Will get Canadian citizenship around then; ideally working in US post-MBA so having Canadian passport is much easier for work authorization because of the TN-Visa that allows management consultants to work in the US
Fun fact: Lived/attended school in 5 countries (US/Canada/Asia)
Educational Background:Undergrad: Top 3 university in CanadaDates: Sep 2012-Jun 2016
GPA: 3.3/4.0
Major: Mechanical engineering; minor in aeronautical engineering, minor in finance
Performance: Mixed - some A's, some C's - no upward trend; mixed each semester
Note: School known for grade deflation and extremely theoretical (think proofs, etc) - prefer a B average
Extracurriculars in undergrad:- Business/Engineering club
--Climbed ranks (became president) and turned around lackluster business/engineering club to become top club in engineering faculty for companies to look for engineering undergrads to work in their business fields
--Launched first annual business/engineering case competition where a Yale SOM assistant director attended + 10 large companies + 3 sponsors - Joined novice rowing team in 3rd year; was on varsity team in 4th year
Study abroad semester: University of Hong KongDates: Jan-June 2015
Performance: Pass/Fail; Failed one course abroad
Explanation: Supposed to take 4 "easy" classes abroad but took 6 advanced courses
Summer MBA Program: M7 Business SchoolGPA: 4.0/4.0
Dates: July 2016
Note: much more interesting since it was more "applicable" and "tangible"
Work Experience:Global Tier 2 consulting firm (outside of MBB and Big 4 accounting firms)Dates: late-2016-early 2019 (~2.5 years)
Location: Canada
Achievements: - Team won 1st place in North American innovation challenge (51 teams total - teams all across US + Canada)
- One of the youngest analysts to lead a team of 4 analysts for my project workstreams (even consultants - a level above analyst - have maybe only one or two analysts under their wing)
- Turned around one of our client's relationship at one of our largest clients which resulted in extra deal signings
- Promoted to consultant before receiving short-term notice of mandatory military service
Extracurricular: was on board of international board of business/engineering club; increased outreach to other schools + initiated process for schools to join our organization before being called to military (same club as in undergrad but parent organization)
Mandatory military service in East Asian countryDates: early 2019-early 2020
Location: East Asian country
Achievements: - Created and launched an algorithm for employee scheduling to be used across all 9 divisions that's currently reducing time spent on employee scheduling by 80%
- Only conscript out of ~100 to get promoted by our commander (not supposed to happen for conscripts)
- Only conscript to be able to work in international affairs - specifically requested by the section leader
- Received medal for exemplary service since I helped as a translator for our commander on multiple occasions
Returning to Tier 2 consulting firm after military serviceRecommenders:Mid/high tier management in consulting firm
MBA location:Indifferent - small town, big city, close to hub, far from hub, etc are all fine
Ideal MBA curriculum/styleMore flexible curriculum + ideally have Grade Non Disclosure
MBA brand:Looking to work abroad 3-5 years after MBA graduation, so international brand recognition is important
MBA Goals:Get formalized education in strategic/global leadership since I'm working with senior executives and would like to understand the fundamentals of how they make decisions and to "speak their language" more effectively because what I know is from observation and trial/error
Post-MBA Career: Management consulting right out of bat (open to others if offer similar comp/opportunity for advancement)
Post-MBA location:Ideally US for a bit (no region/city/town preference), then ideally Europe/Middle East/Australia (like to move)
Ideal school choice (M7 minus Sloan + Dartmouth Tuck/Yale SOM/Duke Fuqua):- Stanford GSB
- HBS
- Wharton
- Booth
- Kellogg
- Columbia
One or two of the below:
- Dartmouth
- Yale SOM
- Duke Fuqua
Questions:1. Is my school list too ambitious? More specifically, which 2-year MBA schools should I keep/remove/add? I'm thinking of applying for 6 or 7 schools where:
*1 or 2 schools are a "reach"
*2-3 schools are "average probability"
*1 is more of a "safety" school that is still in the top 16 MBA programs in the US, else I would not consider doing the MBA.
2. How should I address my mixed academic performance in my undergrad (including study abroad)?
3. What other things in my profile/application should I consider patching up/improving?