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17 Sep 2016, 10:57
Kudos
Bookmarks
Education: Graduated 2008 from a top 40 school with a B.A. in Business Economics and a 3.6 GPA. My Econ/Stats grades are all A's and I am strong in the quant department. I don't doubt my ability to score around 750 on the GMAT with enough study/prep. I scored a 5 on AP Calc BC in high school - I can do the maths.
Resume/Work Experience: Pretty dreadful. I graduated into the recession without a job and a lot of personal problems. I worked in technical recruiting for five years, one year as a Lead Recruiter, then did a coding bootcamp and have been working as a Software Engineer for the past two years. All no name companies, though I will consolidate some of the positions to avoid seeming like a job hopper. The only theme I can think of relates to my passion for technology. As you can imagine, I am not sure I can overcome this area.
I don't have tons of leadership experience and recruiting is a sales job, which I know business schools don't value much.
Recommendations: I can probably muster a few from solid individuals I worked for before. Hopefully that is.
Why I want to go: I want to move into a Product Management role, build my network and hopefully get into venture capital one day. I am a passionate technologist and I want to increase my strategic thinking skills.
Personal Story/Essay Material: I am a first generation college graduate who moved here from overseas at the age of 16. My Mom is bipolar and my Dad is an emotionally abusive college dropout. Im not crying a river, but I want to know if I can work that into my essays and if they will care?
Target Schools: Booth, Kellog, Tuck, Haas, Anderson, Wharton (super reach)
Given I score around 750 on the GMAT, what are my odds at a top 10 given I am 30, turning 31 in December, and would be hastily applying for round 2 in early January? I'd also be ok with UCLA.
If I dont stand a chance at UCLA, then I won't pursue an MBA as the opportunity cost/ROI won't be worth it in my opinion.
Resume/Work Experience: Pretty dreadful. I graduated into the recession without a job and a lot of personal problems. I worked in technical recruiting for five years, one year as a Lead Recruiter, then did a coding bootcamp and have been working as a Software Engineer for the past two years. All no name companies, though I will consolidate some of the positions to avoid seeming like a job hopper. The only theme I can think of relates to my passion for technology. As you can imagine, I am not sure I can overcome this area.
I don't have tons of leadership experience and recruiting is a sales job, which I know business schools don't value much.
Recommendations: I can probably muster a few from solid individuals I worked for before. Hopefully that is.
Why I want to go: I want to move into a Product Management role, build my network and hopefully get into venture capital one day. I am a passionate technologist and I want to increase my strategic thinking skills.
Personal Story/Essay Material: I am a first generation college graduate who moved here from overseas at the age of 16. My Mom is bipolar and my Dad is an emotionally abusive college dropout. Im not crying a river, but I want to know if I can work that into my essays and if they will care?
Target Schools: Booth, Kellog, Tuck, Haas, Anderson, Wharton (super reach)
Given I score around 750 on the GMAT, what are my odds at a top 10 given I am 30, turning 31 in December, and would be hastily applying for round 2 in early January? I'd also be ok with UCLA.
If I dont stand a chance at UCLA, then I won't pursue an MBA as the opportunity cost/ROI won't be worth it in my opinion.
20 Sep 2016, 04:07
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi there! Thanks for reaching out to us, and see my notes below...
Overall, I see a lot of strengths in your profile. Good luck, and keep us posted if we can help with anything else!
cyberminer
Education: Graduated 2008 from a top 40 school with a B.A. in Business Economics and a 3.6 GPA. My Econ/Stats grades are all A's and I am strong in the quant department. I don't doubt my ability to score around 750 on the GMAT with enough study/prep. I scored a 5 on AP Calc BC in high school - I can do the maths. Great GPA. Especially the Quant grades. A 750 would be awesome. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to reach that target score, and take a full practice test to see how far away you are from that.
Resume/Work Experience: Pretty dreadful. I graduated into the recession without a job and a lot of personal problems. I worked in technical recruiting for five years, one year as a Lead Recruiter, then did a coding bootcamp and have been working as a Software Engineer for the past two years. All no name companies, though I will consolidate some of the positions to avoid seeming like a job hopper. The only theme I can think of relates to my passion for technology. As you can imagine, I am not sure I can overcome this area.
I don't have tons of leadership experience and recruiting is a sales job, which I know business schools don't value much. I actually think you're being really hard on yourself here. You graduated in a tough economy, got a good job, got promoted, and made a difficult transition from a more sales-type role to a very technical role. I'm actually pretty impressed! I also don't think it's true that business schools don't value sales jobs, I've worked with some successful applicants from sales. You do need to be able to show show analytical/quant skills (should be no problem for you), and an understanding of other areas of business too.
Recommendations: I can probably muster a few from solid individuals I worked for before. Hopefully that is. These could really help you stand out. Think some more about who will have the best examples and share the most glowing things about you. You can coach them too on what you'd like them to highlight (without writing it for them).
Why I want to go: I want to move into a Product Management role, build my network and hopefully get into venture capital one day. I am a passionate technologist and I want to increase my strategic thinking skills. I like the technology theme too. Product Management makes sense since you have the development experience to back it up, and you have the sales skills to influence others, partner with others, etc. I actually think you could put together a really cohesive story around these goals.
Personal Story/Essay Material: I am a first generation college graduate who moved here from overseas at the age of 16. My Mom is bipolar and my Dad is an emotionally abusive college dropout. Im not crying a river, but I want to know if I can work that into my essays and if they will care? Yes, you can definitely work some of these personal factors / stories into your essays. You'll need to do it in a way that is not looking for sympathy as you say, but in a way that relates to the journey you've been on and where you're going in the future.
Target Schools: Booth, Kellog, Tuck, Haas, Anderson, Wharton (super reach)
Given I score around 750 on the GMAT, what are my odds at a top 10 given I am 30, turning 31 in December, and would be hastily applying for round 2 in early January? I'd also be ok with UCLA. I think you've got a good shot at UCLA, especially if you can nail that high GMAT score. I think you've also picked a pretty good list of schools that tend to have a wider age range of students in their classes. I agree Wharton could be a reach though, but give it a shot if it's a dream. Also, see this blog post: https://www.mbamission.com/blog/2015/10 ... ss-school/
If I dont stand a chance at UCLA, then I won't pursue an MBA as the opportunity cost/ROI won't be worth it in my opinion.
Resume/Work Experience: Pretty dreadful. I graduated into the recession without a job and a lot of personal problems. I worked in technical recruiting for five years, one year as a Lead Recruiter, then did a coding bootcamp and have been working as a Software Engineer for the past two years. All no name companies, though I will consolidate some of the positions to avoid seeming like a job hopper. The only theme I can think of relates to my passion for technology. As you can imagine, I am not sure I can overcome this area.
I don't have tons of leadership experience and recruiting is a sales job, which I know business schools don't value much. I actually think you're being really hard on yourself here. You graduated in a tough economy, got a good job, got promoted, and made a difficult transition from a more sales-type role to a very technical role. I'm actually pretty impressed! I also don't think it's true that business schools don't value sales jobs, I've worked with some successful applicants from sales. You do need to be able to show show analytical/quant skills (should be no problem for you), and an understanding of other areas of business too.
Recommendations: I can probably muster a few from solid individuals I worked for before. Hopefully that is. These could really help you stand out. Think some more about who will have the best examples and share the most glowing things about you. You can coach them too on what you'd like them to highlight (without writing it for them).
Why I want to go: I want to move into a Product Management role, build my network and hopefully get into venture capital one day. I am a passionate technologist and I want to increase my strategic thinking skills. I like the technology theme too. Product Management makes sense since you have the development experience to back it up, and you have the sales skills to influence others, partner with others, etc. I actually think you could put together a really cohesive story around these goals.
Personal Story/Essay Material: I am a first generation college graduate who moved here from overseas at the age of 16. My Mom is bipolar and my Dad is an emotionally abusive college dropout. Im not crying a river, but I want to know if I can work that into my essays and if they will care? Yes, you can definitely work some of these personal factors / stories into your essays. You'll need to do it in a way that is not looking for sympathy as you say, but in a way that relates to the journey you've been on and where you're going in the future.
Target Schools: Booth, Kellog, Tuck, Haas, Anderson, Wharton (super reach)
Given I score around 750 on the GMAT, what are my odds at a top 10 given I am 30, turning 31 in December, and would be hastily applying for round 2 in early January? I'd also be ok with UCLA. I think you've got a good shot at UCLA, especially if you can nail that high GMAT score. I think you've also picked a pretty good list of schools that tend to have a wider age range of students in their classes. I agree Wharton could be a reach though, but give it a shot if it's a dream. Also, see this blog post: https://www.mbamission.com/blog/2015/10 ... ss-school/
If I dont stand a chance at UCLA, then I won't pursue an MBA as the opportunity cost/ROI won't be worth it in my opinion.
Overall, I see a lot of strengths in your profile. Good luck, and keep us posted if we can help with anything else!
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