mst wrote:
Paul,
I would really appreciate if you could evaluate my profile and let me know what my chances are for a full time MBA at the following schools: Insead, Kellogg, GSB (Chicago), Cornell and Oxford.
Background: 28 year old female, Singapore citizen, Indian origin, currently working in the US: thus studied and worked in 3 countries.
GMAT: 730 (Quant: 95%, Verbal: 85%)
Education:
Received full scholarship with stipend to pursue undergraduate studies in Singapore.
Undergrad: Electrical Engineering. 2nd Upper Honors. From my conversion, GPA is approximately 3.3 /4 (my weak point). Dean's list in the final year.
Postgrad: Part time MSc in Electrical and Computer engineering. GPA: 4.45/5.
Community Involvement
The most recent ones include:
1. Volunteer tutor at a children's home.
2. Member of BPW (Business and Professional Women), USA.
Technology Chairperson of the local BPW chapter.
3. Volunteer at Donors Choose. Help screen and approve grant proposals submitted by the public school teachers.
Work Experience
Have been working for 6.5 years. Currently in Automotive Telematics industry as a Lead Engineer. Though I do not have anyone reporting to me directly, my job description includes: Project schedule management, resource allocation, vendor evaluation, requirements gathering, defining high level architecture etc. As a team lead, supervise, mentor and train engineers in US, Singapore and India.
Was based in the US as an expatriate for 1.5 years to coordinate between Singapore and US teams before being asked to transfer permanently to the US.
Post MBA Goals
Interested in Business development and Strategy, preferably in the telecommunications industry.
Thanks in advance!
mst,
You have a good strong profile and I would say your chances would be decent at all these schools (especially at Cornell) if you could do something between now and next fall to beef up your leadership profile. It may not be possible to do so at work, but I recommend seeking out a real group-leading or organization-guiding leadership role outside of work and accumulating some impact stories there. If you could do that then I think you'd have a decent shot at these schools. Otherwise, I think the schools you would be most competitive at would be slightly lower on the food chain: Cornell, Duke, Darden, CMU, Michigan, UNC, etc.
Good luck,