Current Student
Joined: 20 Aug 2007
Posts: 810
Location: Chicago
Schools:Chicago Booth 2011
Re: The evolution of your B-school pursuit
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11 Apr 2008, 10:55
How has your B-school plan evolved? When did you decide to pursue this, what were your goals and have those changed, and of course the rotating decision on what schools and which is your top?
When: About the middle of last year. My friend, who is an engineering like myself, told me he wants to move into finance because he's sick of engineering. I took a look at the MBA degree and saw that it would give me the most flexibility in terms of career paths. So I decided last summer that an MBA degree is perfect for me. Since I'm a career switcher wanting to move into consulting, a PT program won't do.
What: I am an engineer, having also worked in sales and operations. I majored in EE and did poorly in undergrad. Currently in the process of completing my Masters in engineering degree with a high GPA. I also smashed my GMAT so that should help offset the low UGPA.
I enjoy engineering, but I am afraid of being pigeoholed: stuck to a life of narrow, focused design work. An MBA degree will allow me to move from a "grunt" role to a leadership, decision-making position. I want to go into strategy consulting post-MBA and work in other industries that I've been interested in but never had a chance to try: energy, finance, healthcare. I think a consulting role at a top 3 firm will give me that opportunity. In the long run, I want to move into a high-tech management position and improve the decision-making process at that company. Too often, engineers at the bottom of the ladder have good input about projects but are ignored by upper level management that doesn't appreciate the complexities of engineering projects. That's something I hope to help change.
Where: Initially, the list was long...HBS, Stanford, Wharton, Chicago, Kellogg, MIT, Columbia, NYU, UCLA, Haas, Fuqua, Darden, Yale
1st round eliminations: HBS (too competitive, little collaboration in school, I'm too old (30 yrs old at mat)), NYU (too finance focused), Yale (small class size, location)
2nd round eliminations: Darden (location), UCLA (too west-coast oriented, I want to be east coast), thinking of dropping MIT (wasn't impressed at admissions event)
What's left (in order of preference): Stanford (dream), Wharton (2nd dream school), Chicago GSB, Kellogg, Columbia, Haas, Fuqua (safety)
The decision: TBD. I will be applying this coming fall and hope to put in 6-7 quality apps.