Profile Evaluation, and advice for newly inspired MBA seeker

Question

Thanks for taking the time to read through this

My profile:

B.S. Mechanical Engineering, cum laude
University of California Irvine
Overall GPA: 3.56
Engineering GPA: 3.74
Spend 1 semester studying engineering at Hong Kong University as part of a global exchange program

GRE Exam: 167/170 Quantitative (95%ile) and 163/170 Verbal (93%ile)
GMAT: --- currently in prep period, ETS compares my GRE score to a 740 on the GMAT ---

Work Experience - 2 years

I work at a boutique, global management consulting firm focused in major engineering industries such as Automotive, Aviation, and Telecom. We offer services ranging from engineering solutions (system validation, product development etc.) to program management, supplier management, and classical strategy consulting. Globally we have approx 1200 employees, 150 of which are in North America. My industry focus has been Automotive telematics.

I started at this company straight out of college at the lowest rung of the organization: Test Engineer. I wrote and executed test cases, fairly mindless and boring tasks; I knew from the start that I wanted more. I began to push my boundaries by getting involved with the product innovation group within the organization, and it was there that I pioneered automated test software applications within the company, leading to increased business at key clients. Within 1.5 years I transitioned from Test Engineer > Program Management Support > Product Manager > Project Lead for two projects back to back, one of which was in the 6 figure revenue range.

Extra Curricular:

Co-founded an online food-delivery startup targeted towards college students. I was in charge of sourcing and managing developers, building requirements, UX and wireframes. I'll be candid in saying that it failed in less than a year, with 0 revenue. Still, there were a lot of valuable lessons from that project.

My Goals:

Ideally, I'd like to start my MBA Fall 2014, at Stanford. Stanford is my dream school for a few reasons: they offer a joint MS in Computer Science and MBA program that would be perfect for my long term goals (founder, CXO or other leadership at a technology startup), the program has great global experience opportunities, and they are located in the heart of the silicon valley, where the majority of the technology innovation happens.

I'm open to other top 20 MBA programs worldwide, but I'd like to stay with schools that have a pedigree of being technology oriented as opposed to banking, finance or marketing.

Are my goals reasonable? What are some schools that I should look at? Any advice or tips on ways to strengthen my application would be appreciated. Do I need to get involved with community service or non-profit? Is my work experience compelling enough to justify the short length?

Again, thanks for reading and I appreciate any feedback you might have.

bryantmichaels · Answer

What makes your work experience most compelling is the rapid rise to leadership positions from entry level and the clear passion you have for solving problems. I think you are a good fit at Stanford and the fact you hail from a top 50 college and one that will be well known to Stanford admissions will also help. THey love engineering grads, especially ones who have the kind of initiative and innovative chops to start their own company on the side, while achieving impressive gains in their school work and professional life. It never hurts to be involved, and Stanford will want to see some activity in your community where you are making an impact, so if this is not the case, you should thougtfully engage with a group or activity which you can hopefully tie into your past so it looks more continuous and less like simple fodder for an applicaiton. The missing piece in your profile here is your short and long term post MBA goals. Stanford will want to see some clear direction here beyond a goal of going to Stanford. Also look at Berkeley as an alternative.

tgarg · Answer

Thanks for your reply and encouragement. I had mentioned that my post-mba goals would be to be a founder of a technology startup, or join an existing team as a product manager or leadership role. Is this too broad? Could you give examples of what would be an appropriate goal from the adcom perspective -- just something so I can wrap my head around the language and depth I need to go into

bryantmichaels · Answer

Sorry I missed that--I think it's a good goal and your joint degree idea would communicate that you are serious about it. Make sure you can map out the short term route to ultimately achieve CXO.

tgarg · Answer

Thanks again for your response. One last question:

Considering my GRE score, does it make sense to take the GMAT exam? My research so far shows that most schools accept the GRE, though my hunch tells me that they implicitly prefer the GMAT, even if they don't explicitly say so. What is your experience?

bryantmichaels · Answer

Schools have gotten used to seeing the GRE and claim to show no bias one way or the other. I have not seen any problem with people submitting GRE, particularly when the score is high.

Profile Evaluation, and advice for newly inspired MBA seeker

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards