request for profile evaluation

Question

Hi,

I have been considering to apply for MBA programs for several years and finally I decided to apply. I would be glad if you could evaluate my profile:

1. GMAT Score: 700

2. Timeline: I am planning to apply on Round 1 for all schools.

3. Education: I was awarded to a Fulbright scholarship and have a Masters degree from Carnegie Mellon in Technology Management with a GPA 3.96/4.0 (%5 percentile)

I studied Computer Science and Management as a double major in Poland, my home country with a GPA of 3.86/4.0 being 1st in class in both programs.

4. Work exp: I worked as a software engineer at one of the top IT companies' Global HQ in San Francisco bay area for 1.5 years, then because of my Fulbright status, I needed to leave USA and my company transferred me to Switzerland. I worked several months and moved back to Poland and worked as a Product Manager at one of the relatively bigger Polish companies for two years. I have a total of 3.5 years work exp.

My current educational/professional background can open doors for me in terms of functional management but I am more interested in general management and strategy at IT companies. I love California and my two target schools are Stanford and Berkeley. Though in the east coast my top choices are Harvard, MIT and Wharton. How competitive does my profile look with respect to those schools? Do you have other recommendations for me to think about?

Thanks

thecandidate · Answer

I actually have a further concern and an additional question to the previous post. My GMAT score 700 is of 50 Q and 34 V. Now that I know it would look nicer if the score were distributed evenly, I was thinking whether I should retake the test.

On the other hand, I already hold a Masters degree from a reputable US university and have work exp in a top tech company in USA, which all I hope would convince adcoms to neglect the imbalance in my GMAT score.

Am I right in my judgement or should I retake the GMAT?

thecandidate · Answer

sorry for the defragmented message. I forgot to mention the e/c activities and certifications.

e/c: i play drums and have a band for almost 10 years. i used to play soccer in a major team's youth squad. i have participated to many volunteer events.

certificates: ITIL, ADF

boomtangboy · Answer

I suggest you should apply as per your schedule.

You do have a strong / competitive profile, even the GMAT looks good

jenniferbloom · Answer

The low  verbal GMAT  score concerns me, so I would definitely recommend boosting that: there's no reason to leave a question mark about your English ability in applications to 2 of the most competitive programs in the world. Assuming you succeed at that, I do believe that your profile is competitive for  Stanford  and  Berkeley  - though as always, I recommend applying to other programs as well. In your case, since you are interested in California and IT, I would recommend looking into  UCLA  (20% of grads enter the technology industry) and  USC  (16% of grads enter the technology industry).

westsidah408 · Answer

Perhaps the TOEFL can offset the low verbal score? I imagine that since you have a graduate degree from CMU you wouldn't NEED to take the TOEFL but can anyone comment on whether a high TOEFL score (i.e. 110+) would help offset that?

Accepted.com · Answer

HI candidate,

Before I reply can you provide the percentile breakdown on your GMAT score?

Thanks,

Linda

FYI, my mother is from Poland.

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