mba11tx wrote:
Hi Alex,
I would appreciate your help in evaluating my profile for 2011 application.
Personal: Indian Male; just turned 31; living in US for last 5 years
GMAT: 710 (V38/Q49); AWA 5.5
Education:
Undergrad in Mechanical Engineering from India; GPA 3.712 [Dept. Rank 1]
Dual MS in Industrial Systems Engineering and Engineering Management from one of the Big 10 schools; GPA 3.83 and 3.95 respectively
Work Experience:
2 Years in India for an Automotive Company as a production engineer
-1 year as a rotational training engineer and 1 year as a design engineer
2.5 Years in US in with heavy equipment [offshore rigs] manufacturing company as an operations expert
-Worked on several projects ranging from more than $20M of capital investment in different areas to project manager for a major software roll out
Worked on operations consulting project with 7 different small Midwest companies while in graduate school
Strengths:
Strong background in manufacturing/operations
Good/Decent GPA
Weaknesses:
1) Weak ECs: No community service in US but very active in training/educating employees at corporate level with good results to show. Some community work during undergraduate years.
2) Leadership Experience: Top performer in company but do not have direct reports. However, I work with several different groups on a regular basis.
3) Age: 32 at the start of college is above the average age for all schools
4) Manufacturing focused background.
Interested in: : Stanford, Wharton, Booth, Haas, Columbia, Tuck, Yale
Post MBA I wish to work in the area of operations management or operations/general consulting
Given my background and the interest areas, my questions are:
a) What are my chances in each of these schools?
b) Will my work interest post MBA affect my application to a school which is well know for other specializations e.g. finance, entrepreneurship etc.
c) Is 7 too many to apply in the same round?
Thank You
Hi,
Your chances at each of these schools will be defined by the quality of your application material i.e. essays (your future goals and your professional and personal experiences) and your recommendations. I do not see any shortcomings in your profile that you need to explain. Age may be one of the factors but I would say that 31 still does not fall in the age bracket where adcom would say a straight NO.
Your work experience will define to an appreciable extent your post MBA goals. However through internships in other domain such as finance or consulting, you may as well prepare yourself for a career shift. Seek some professional help or ask people who have already done that. I am sure there are quite a few out there.
NO 7 is not a large number of schools to apply to but the listed schools are quite competitive. Would you like to include in your list some safe schools where you would have a higher probability of getting through? Give a thought to it. I can understand if you have the notion that there is no point in going for a school below rank 20.
I shall be happy to answer if you have any more questionsRegards,
Neha Singh
General Education