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10 Mar 2020, 14:16
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi! I am new to this forum & am still in the process of getting to know the whole GMAT and B-school application thing. I have a technology background and was wondering whether you could take a look at my profile and provide some reviews. THX.
Education:
- Undergraduate: A top 10 university in mainland China. ENgineering major (world top 30 by QS subject ranking). CGPA 85/100, ranked top 20% but there is no document for that. A patent (about energy recovery). Two primary-authored SCI journal papers (of which one is on the top journal) and several co-authored top journal publications. GPA is not excellent but I think my publications could make up for it.
- Undergrad exchange student at a top Italian university for undergraduate thesis (The only awardee in the college).
- Ph.D. Am currently a direct Ph.D. student in ME major at a public university in the U.S. (engineering school ranked top 15 nationally). CGPA 3.9/4.0. Over 10 top journal publications. Several co-authored top journal pubs. Over 10 conference presentations and papers. Two or three universities and department -level fellowships, conference funds, and awards. A scholarship from a national professional association of my profession. G-scholar citations > 200.
- BTW, I am 26 yrs old.
GMAT/IELTS/GRE
- GRE: 156 (V)/ 170(Q)/3.5 (AW). (I only prepared for this test for 2 weeks).
- GMAT: I have not taken a GMAT test yet, but I am assuming ~730 - 740 (I know this sounds ridiculous to "presume" a GMAT score. This assumption is based on my GRE score. And I will work really hard on this test.).
- IELTS: 7.5 ( I could retake IELTS/TOEFL if it helps).
Internships & Work experiences
- Undergrad & Graduate Research Assistant at my universities.
- Two full-time internships at U.S. DOE National Labs.
- No other work experience.
Extracurricular:
- Department head at student union during undergraduate. Held some events which attracted over 1000 attendees.
- Part-time photographer. Do not have any awards yet
but will try to get some (hopefully).
- I know some Spanish and may be able to get a certificate
Target:
- Really don't know my chance of getting into a top b-school. If possible, I wanna aim at HBS, Stanford, Wharton, MIT, and Chicago. Is this tangible? What's the chance for Haas, Anderson, or Fuqua?
Post-MBA:
- Earn a position in consulting firms (it would be perfect if I could make it to MBB, but 2nd-tier firms would also be great to me judging by my background). This goal sounds vague and not specific enough. But just as said, I am still trying to figure out more details about the consulting industry, and am still shaping my career goal. I want to do some real things with my practical skills, instead of doing theoretical research in labs and writing proposals. I know my current understanding of this industry is far from enough to make me stand out. I am working on that.
Summary
So I think both my strengths and weaknesses are obvious: I have a strong technological/engineering background. I have a lot of publications, presentations, and citations, and I have internships in top national labs in the world (I was planning to get a position in academia but then thought I may want to achieve my value in another field since I am really tired of papers and simulations & I am really interested in solving real-world challenges). Despite that, I have no experience with business/consulting/finance at all. I could take some business courses in the last year of my Ph.D. but I really doubt that would help a lot on my b-school application.
BTW, I may have a chance of a post-doc researcher position at one of the HYPSM, continuing my research at Ph.D. Should I apply for that? Would a 1- or 2- year research experience at HYPSM add up to my profile (irrelevant to business tho)?
Thanks a lot for reviewing my profile!
Education:
- Undergraduate: A top 10 university in mainland China. ENgineering major (world top 30 by QS subject ranking). CGPA 85/100, ranked top 20% but there is no document for that. A patent (about energy recovery). Two primary-authored SCI journal papers (of which one is on the top journal) and several co-authored top journal publications. GPA is not excellent but I think my publications could make up for it.
- Undergrad exchange student at a top Italian university for undergraduate thesis (The only awardee in the college).
- Ph.D. Am currently a direct Ph.D. student in ME major at a public university in the U.S. (engineering school ranked top 15 nationally). CGPA 3.9/4.0. Over 10 top journal publications. Several co-authored top journal pubs. Over 10 conference presentations and papers. Two or three universities and department -level fellowships, conference funds, and awards. A scholarship from a national professional association of my profession. G-scholar citations > 200.
- BTW, I am 26 yrs old.
GMAT/IELTS/GRE
- GRE: 156 (V)/ 170(Q)/3.5 (AW). (I only prepared for this test for 2 weeks).
- GMAT: I have not taken a GMAT test yet, but I am assuming ~730 - 740 (I know this sounds ridiculous to "presume" a GMAT score. This assumption is based on my GRE score. And I will work really hard on this test.).
- IELTS: 7.5 ( I could retake IELTS/TOEFL if it helps).
Internships & Work experiences
- Undergrad & Graduate Research Assistant at my universities.
- Two full-time internships at U.S. DOE National Labs.
- No other work experience.
Extracurricular:
- Department head at student union during undergraduate. Held some events which attracted over 1000 attendees.
- Part-time photographer. Do not have any awards yet
but will try to get some (hopefully).- I know some Spanish and may be able to get a certificate
Target:
- Really don't know my chance of getting into a top b-school. If possible, I wanna aim at HBS, Stanford, Wharton, MIT, and Chicago. Is this tangible? What's the chance for Haas, Anderson, or Fuqua?
Post-MBA:
- Earn a position in consulting firms (it would be perfect if I could make it to MBB, but 2nd-tier firms would also be great to me judging by my background). This goal sounds vague and not specific enough. But just as said, I am still trying to figure out more details about the consulting industry, and am still shaping my career goal. I want to do some real things with my practical skills, instead of doing theoretical research in labs and writing proposals. I know my current understanding of this industry is far from enough to make me stand out. I am working on that.
Summary
So I think both my strengths and weaknesses are obvious: I have a strong technological/engineering background. I have a lot of publications, presentations, and citations, and I have internships in top national labs in the world (I was planning to get a position in academia but then thought I may want to achieve my value in another field since I am really tired of papers and simulations & I am really interested in solving real-world challenges). Despite that, I have no experience with business/consulting/finance at all. I could take some business courses in the last year of my Ph.D. but I really doubt that would help a lot on my b-school application.
BTW, I may have a chance of a post-doc researcher position at one of the HYPSM, continuing my research at Ph.D. Should I apply for that? Would a 1- or 2- year research experience at HYPSM add up to my profile (irrelevant to business tho)?
Thanks a lot for reviewing my profile!
11 Mar 2020, 17:41
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi there,
Your background is surely impressive. You come across cerebral and academic. However, the gap in your profile is that you do not have business experience. The key traits that top b-schools look for in business experience are leadership and teamwork. If you have demonstrated those traits in meaningful ways in your prior experiences, then that might offset your lack of business experience. However, if your prior experiences didn't require teamwork, you should probably consider doing an internship or getting at least a year of business experience instead of getting a position in academia before you apply to business schools.
If b-schools just look for credentials and academic achievements, you have the ideal background. However, schools do look for candidates to have hands-on real-world business experience. If you're someone in research or academia, having that one year of business experience will send a message to the schools that you're working towards the transition into business/consulting, and now need an MBA from their school to get there, which makes your story more compelling and convincing. This will also benefit you in classes as well as your classmates will be giving examples from their past work experiences; therefore, if you have some business experience, you will feel more relatable to your classmates. If you applied today without any business experience, your story may seem a bit loftier and more theoretical.
Hope this helps and feel free to drop us a line if you would like more holistic and in-depth assessment of your background: https://admissionado.com/free-consultat ... sultation/
Your background is surely impressive. You come across cerebral and academic. However, the gap in your profile is that you do not have business experience. The key traits that top b-schools look for in business experience are leadership and teamwork. If you have demonstrated those traits in meaningful ways in your prior experiences, then that might offset your lack of business experience. However, if your prior experiences didn't require teamwork, you should probably consider doing an internship or getting at least a year of business experience instead of getting a position in academia before you apply to business schools.
If b-schools just look for credentials and academic achievements, you have the ideal background. However, schools do look for candidates to have hands-on real-world business experience. If you're someone in research or academia, having that one year of business experience will send a message to the schools that you're working towards the transition into business/consulting, and now need an MBA from their school to get there, which makes your story more compelling and convincing. This will also benefit you in classes as well as your classmates will be giving examples from their past work experiences; therefore, if you have some business experience, you will feel more relatable to your classmates. If you applied today without any business experience, your story may seem a bit loftier and more theoretical.
Hope this helps and feel free to drop us a line if you would like more holistic and in-depth assessment of your background: https://admissionado.com/free-consultat ... sultation/
