jesliwoo wrote:
Thanks in advance!
1. Background: Married Male Chinese American (Green card holder). Transferred to University of Illinois at U-C after finishing sophomore years in a top-10 college in China with a ~3.6 GPA (converted by WPS). In another 3 years, I graduated from UIUC with 3.4 GPA with a B.S in Molecular/Cellular Biology. (In 1st and 3rd semester I had around 2.2 GPA due to immaturity and inadaptability (young dumb), but in other 4 semesters I all got ~3.85. This journey was like a rollercoaster). I am planning to apply Round 1, 2021. So I will have 5 years of working experience when I start my MBA.
2. Work experience: I have been working for 3 years as of now. I am an R&D scientist in biotech. My first employer was a small service firm (biotech) where I was promoted in the shortest cycle which permits the promotion. And my current employer is a mid-size industry leader (MIT Spin-off) in cell therapy. I was also promoted in the shortest cycle which permits the promotion. I joined the current employer ~ 1.5 year ago and I got stock options. Now the company just went IPO. I am working on my next promotion. But there is not a guarantee.
3. Volunteer experience/Extracurricular activities: Event Chair or Event leadership teams in ~3 major events in Boston area held by American Cancer Society starting from 2019. The experiences align very well with my jobs. (Fight cancers). Career mentor for UIUC students. Advocate/volunteer for American Diabetes Association. Varsity soccer team player when I was back in China.
4. Test Scores: 330GRE(V161 Q169) 730GMAT(V40 Q49) ~3.4 GPA (since most schools don't want us to convert Chinese grades.).
5. Career goals: Doing business development/general management in Biotechnology start-up. Grow a company. Then VC in biotech so I can grow a lot of companies and bring new products and technologies to the market.
6. Why Sloan: I am in Boston and don't want to relocate. I like its strong support for entrepreneurship and strong presence in Boston biotech ecosystem. One of the Sloan senior lecturer has talked with me several times and I do like its super strong tie in biotech start-up. Also it's close to my home haha..
Pros/Big Achievement:
1. Contributing directly to the the Investigational New Drug (IND) submission of our cell therapy product to fight cancer. I know IND may sound unfamiliar and not a lot of people know biotechnology industry very well. But I would say I am top 5% in my working peers in this achievement. And definitely my recommenders will mention how important it is.
2. Chief Scientific Officer will be my second recommender. We are close and he knows me very well. He is a Harvard/MIT alumni, a 30 years biotech veteran, and a member of National Academy of Engineering.
3. My full-time employment salary has increased by 85% in 3 years, because of the change of employer, promotion, merit increase and market match.
4. Company is fully supportive of my MBA goal. So I am taking responsibilities in operation/communication/management projects even if my role is R&D scientist.
Cons:
1. Low GPAs in 2 semesters. I think I can explain, and I indeed learned and changed a lot from this failure. But low GPA is low GPA.
2. Being a Chinese/Asian in biotech??? Not sure about this...
Thanks again!
Hey
jesliwoo,
You have an excellent profile. To start off with your strong suits, your CGPA of 3.4 in undergraduate is very impressive and showcases your academic prowess. Also, you have graduated from UIUC, which again works in your favour since schools tend to pick students from top 10 schools of each country.
In addition to this, another significant aspect that schools focus on is extracurricular activities as they are looking for a comprehensive profile. Hence, it is essential to shed some light on the endeavours taken up at any clubs, associations, sports, fest, or events you managed or participated in during your undergraduate. Volunteering initiatives, certifications, or internships undertaken during the course of your study would also count towards your extracurricular initiatives. Herein, you have mentioned that you have led 3 major events by American Cancer Society along with being a career mentor.
Additionally, you have also been involved in sports. This showcases a diverse set of extra-curricular activities in your profile. With this you have also undertaken a project to open bank accounts of 100+ underprivileged kids, which is again very impressive as it vouches for the socially responsible traits in your personality. While you have impressive feats in your profile, you ought to emphasize on what events you have led, what were your roles and responsibilities and what were your major takeaways. Elaborating on these details will showcase a holistically developed profile.
Coming to the professional front, given the fact that you plan to target 2022, post gathering 5 years of work experience, sets you at par with most MBA applicants. In addition to this, a well-reputed organisation plays a significant role in making you eligible for a top B-school. Since you will be competing with candidates from Big 4 firms or other big brands, you need to to differentiate yourself, highlight why you chose this firm, what projects are done so far, how you have gone beyond the role, any initiatives you took, and any kind of impact created to establish a connection with your goals, and portray the knowledge gained from these experiences. Thus, you should focus on the quality of your work to outweigh years of experience under the belts of your competition.
Additionally, also hold a pretty holistic international experience. This works in your favour as it showcases your broadened perspective and ability to adapt seamlessly. You can also upskill yourself by taking some kind of certifications related to your field.
Speaking of your GMAT score, 730 with Quant 49 and Verbal 40 and GRE score 330 (Q169, V161) opens the door for most of the top B-schools in the world.
Coming to your school choice, MIT Sloan comes under the ultra-dream category, where you have a stringent acceptance rate of 40-50%. You would thus require a very well-rounded profile highlighting the kind of work experiences you have had and how you are different from others.
Talking about your concerns, you need not worry as the cumulative GPA is taken into consideration. To compensate for the drop in the initial semesters, you can pose a right alibi by mentioning how extra-curricular activities had kept you busy. Secondly, your academic background wouldn’t at all pose as a negative aspect in your profile as an MBA is pursued by candidates from all walks of life. In order to differentiate yourself, you just need to complement your profile with a strong application that includes essays, letter of recommendation, and resume that highlights all your strong suits, gives reasoning for the weaknesses, and displays how you’d be a good addition to the cohort. As a matter of fact, your application can boost your chances of acceptance by 3x!
On this note, if you have any further queries, I would suggest you take up our FREE consultation call where we can help you to figure out the best course of action for you to realize your goals.
Link for the FREE Consultation call-
https://www.mim-essay.com/book-an-appointment-form/
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18 Nov 2020, 14:38
