Ask AdmissionsConsultants

[MBAhopeful2008]

Dear Admissions Guru,

This is such a great forum. Thank you in advance for all the feedback. I need advice on whether I should apply to Haas.
My interests are in international development/global management. I am looking at Thunderbird and Haas for this reason, though dream school is Haas. Also interested in the Master's in International Studies. Most of my leadership experience was in undergrad.

My stats:
29 yr/female
GMAT: 640
Work Experience: 7 years in progressively challenging sales/marketing within mortgage industry (currently account exec in B2B for Fortune 50 firm)
Undergrad: Sociology, state univ, 3.55 gpa, cum laude, McNair scholar
Leadership: president of college council, president Soc. Students Assoc, Red Cross Society, Social Justice Committee.
Extra Curricular: rape hotline counselor, neighborhood association. International Experience: immigrated to US from Philippines at 10 yrs old, study abroad in Italy.
My interests: microcredit, protection of children's rights/women's rights, third world country economic systems.

[shak5555]

Hi David,

Thank you so much for answering all of our questions - it is very helpful to read through these posts.

I am thinking of applying to an MBA program in the near future. Here are my basic stats:

Female/25/White

University of Chicago undergrad, Econ
GPA 3.3 (not very high, unfortunately)

GMAT: 770 (89%Q and 99%V)

Work experience: 1 year in operational/healthcare consulting, 2 - 3 years in economic consulting (highly quantitative and involved with litigation)

Extra Curriculars: Not much in college frankly as I went abroad for a year in Berlin. Currently though in my office I head up community service and have been one of the leaders in the recruiting process at the analyst level. I also was chosen to be head of one of our key marketing efforts.

Languages: English (native), French (native), German (more or less fluent), and Spanish (beginner)

I am interested in an MBA in part for more career flexibility. I am interested in moving into policy, but with a business slant. Perhaps an international body (OECD) or a business-oriented not for profit (I am interested in environmental econ). I would like to work internationally for at least part of my career. I also would like to stay in a quant focused field. I have also considered applying for joint MBA/MPA programs, although shy away a bit at the huge cost and application requirements. I am attracted to an MBA because I think it will provide me contacts across a broad spectrum in business/policy/not for profits and government, which in turn will help me to remain flexible throughout my career.

A few questions for you:
1) From my interests, do you believe that b-school will be the right place for me? Or should I instead be focusing on MIA/MPA programs?

2) Is it within my reach for me to be targeting top 5 MBA programs in the US and a couple of European programs?

3) I am interested in potentially taking a year "off" before starting school again. One of the things I was thinking of doing is teaching English in Spain - a great way for me to learn the language, and, frankly, enjoy myself while I don't have tons and tons of debt. Is this going to be a huge problem for my applications? Is doing something like this common amongst b-school applicants?

4) Because I am interested in policy and not i-banking, I am fully aware that I may not be getting a stellar salary when I get back into the workplace. Will programs take that into account when thinking about any potential aid packages? Are there specific grants that I can apply for?

Thanks so much for your help! Please let me know if any other information would be useful.

Best,
Anna

[ambitiousvik]

Hi David,
Here is basic information about myself:-
Education: MS(Computer Science) Australia, B.Tech(Computer Science) India
Work Experience:
About 2 year of leadership experience , Overall IT Consultancy 6 years experience.
Citizenship Australian
Age : 28

Now I am at that point of my career, where I feel the need for leadershp MBA to get in senior management team, so i thinking about doing MBA.
MY long tern goal is to be part of Senior Management/Director in 5 - 10 years.

In my short research, I have thought of INSEAD,IBS.I am only interested in 1 year program.



few questions for you:
1) Weather E-MBA or MBA.?
2) How MBA programme can move me up the ladder?
3) How much GMAT score I need to be comfortable in the Premier school.
4) I am currently on 120 K salary, so i am expected atleast 20 % after getting out of the school.

Please let me know If i could give you other information which would help you in answering the questions.

Regards & Thanks

Vik

[pratik.kohli]

Hi David,
Could you please advise me which schools I should apply to.
Just gave my GMAT. Score 720 [ v 40 q 49 ,89 percentile in both] overall percentile 95.

My profile:
BE from Mumbai, Computer science.
66% average in college.
Working for 2.5 years with Top IT company in INDIA.

Looking forward to your reply.

[AdmissionsConsultants]

Originally Posted by kushal_kp

Hi David,

Thanks a lot for analyzing our profiles and guiding us. Iam in a bit of a fix and need certain help. The following are few details about my current profile.

GMAT score : 760
Undregrad GPA : 3.4
Undergrad major : Engineering (Electronics and Communication - 4 yrs)
College level affilitions : Worked with Elec. and Comm. Org. and served as the Public Relations Officer for 1 year and Secretary for 1 year (Planning and execution level)
Extra curricular : Worked with a marketing agency for marketing campaigns of well known brands (At the lower execution level). I am working with an NGO part time along with my full time job at this point of time (volunteer and mentor).
Achievements : I have won few papers presentations and busniess case studies. Nothing great. I have very strong oratory skills.
Short term goal : Starting up my own newspaper or periodical in my state
Long term goal: Getting actively involved in the politics of my state


Currently, I am working with a services company in India since the last 7 months. Work ex will be 24 years before I join - IF I get accepted. Even though my company might be categorized as ITES, I work in the semiductor business unit. My job is really challenging and is not a simple support or maintainence job. So I am not just another "Indian IT Male w/ 2-years work-ex". Now my situation:

I am working and doing well in a field which I love more like a hobby. A 2-year or a 4-year work experience is going to be the same for me in this field. My short and long term goals will be time consuming and will involve a lot of effort and planning. I do not wish to work in this industry for 4 years. But I dont think I can leave it unless I have a proper oppurtunity.

My reasons behind pursuing an international MBA: the cultural exposure, learning business with people who have known it and cultivating new ideas that can be applied in my country. After that I wish to work in the media sector for 3-4 years before I start-up my own venture. I do not wish to waste 2 years of my life.

Can you please tell me whether I can target the top 10 or not? I wish to study in New York (NYU or Columbia) because of the huge presence of media industry over there. One more plus point about my application will be that I have already started doing research in the media industry. I am trying to make contacts and get as much information as possible.

Please analyze my profile...

Thanks and regards,
Kushal

Hi Kushal and thanks for your inquiry.

You certainly have some interesting long term goals – I have worked with many applicants and I must say that there are not a large number of applicants voicing interest in journalism or politics as a long term goal. This can certainly work in your favor. However, your challenge will be connecting your past with your future. In addition, you will have to interweave “why b-school” in your story as well. The extracurricular activities you have been involved in throughout college and post-graduation will help support your interests but you will have to make sure that the connection is well defined.

Although 2 years of work experience is a bit under the average for most schools, this is not something set in stone. If you are able to article the “why now” aspect of the essays, this can be overcome. It will help to have strong letters or recommendation. Your recommenders should support your decision to enter b-school at this point.

If you are able to address these key issues, you certainly stand a shot at the top tier schools.

Best of luck with your applications!

Sincerely,

David Petersam
President

[AdmissionsConsultants]

Originally Posted by GMAT_07

Hi David,
Thanks for all the feedbacks. I want to evaluate my chances in top 10 MBA programs.


Background

• male - citizenship India
• BS in EE from a reputed Indian university (REC), topped in my branch.
• Did part time MS in EE from San Jose State Univ. GPA 3.97. Received excellence in academic award out of 12 branches.
• GMAT 690 (1st attempt).
• Work ex - 10 years (8 years US). Initially worked for big companies Motorola and IBM in lead roles and for last 4 years working in a startup involving consulting and pre-sale activities in semiconductor industry.

Extracurriculars:

• Play Basketball and soccer. But just in company's team.
• Other than that almost non-existant. From 2004-2006 was doing part time MS..

My main objective is to take my experience from semiconductor industry and start my own company.

Concern:
I am sure schools get tons of applications from similar background (Indian Engineer). Can my good GPA and experience give my application a "wow" factor. What more can I do to solidify my application.

Hi and thanks for your inquiry.

I would first advise you to retake the GMAT if you believe you can boost your score with additional preparation. For your particular demographic pool it will be to your advantage to try to score a 730+. Your graduate GPA is quite strong and will help validate your academic potential, but the GMAT is also a major factor, thus take your time to study and prepare.

You can peruse our free GMAT prep section at www.admissionsconsultants.com/gmat if you want an additional resource.

In regards to your work experience, 8 years is a little on the high side for an average applicant. Given your substantive work history, it will be important for you to highlight your career progression in a way that showcases your growth, ambition, drive, and overall success. The fact that you have little extracurricular involvement also creates a need to explain your commitment to work or other arenas that may have not allowed you to be so active outside of work.

Best of luck with your applications!

Sincerely,

David Petersam
President

[AdmissionsConsultants]

Originally Posted by mazzoni82

Hi,

I'm just wondering what my chances are of getting in to a top 20 school for next year?

My work experience - 4 years as a language teacher in Japan.
Academic - engineering degree GPA equiv 3.5 (UK) and aiming for +700 on GMAT

I can also speak Japanese fluently and have run a small adult conversation class.

Do you think business related experience would be more useful?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Hi and thanks for your inquiry.

Admissions committees read through an array of applications thus diverse backgrounds always are present and many admitted. Therefore, I would not dwell on your lack of “traditional” business experience; rather I would focus on examining the larger questions that must be answered in order to make you competitive when you apply. You must outline your career goals and overall objectives for “why” you wish to attend b-school and “why” the specific schools you have chosen. In addition, you will have to address how your past experiences helped to create your future objectives.

On another note, scoring well on the GMAT (700+) will be key for you will have to confirm your ability to thrive and partake in such quant focused courses.

Best of luck with your applications!

Sincerely,

David Petersam
President

[AdmissionsConsultants]

Originally Posted by BME_Fanatic

Hi David,

I am interested in getting an MBA and MS, or MBA and PhD (in Biomedical Engineering).

Why I'm interested in MBA:
I am an entrepreneur in heart and very driven and independent, and also a scientist/researcher at heart.
I have always been interested in owning/operating a business doing research to come up with new technologies as opposed to just doing it at a university since business is much more far-reaching (i.e - medical devices companies helping millions of people as opposed to an academic).

Profile:
Undergrad at top-15 engineering school of top-10 liberal arts university (in US)
B.S. Biomedical Engineering AMET-Certified
GPA: 3.800 (one semester of freshman year was 2.9, rest were 4.0 )
GMAT: 790 first try!
4 years of research experience (did research from fresh-senior year)
-extensive paper publications (3) in major journals!!! tons more in smaller journals
-thesis award, senior honors thesis
-business plan competitions across the country, from Cali to Wisc to MIT...won $10k at one of them
-side businesses (e-commerce, campus ebusinesses) that i made with some friends of mine in CS
-leader in an undergrad research program, attracted both funding and talented undergraduates (and was a fellow myself )

is there a way to do an MBA and PhD simultaneously (finishing MBA in ~3 yrs and PhD in ~5-6) or should I look into a 1yr. MBA and then PhD? or PhD and then 1 yr MBA? (because it would be much easier to get the best PhD fellowships first, without a year gap in research)

what b.schools would reject a 790/3.8 engineer?
i'm us born but an indian, does this put me in the pool of it indian guys?

Hi and thanks for your inquiry.

First, let me state that your academic profile is exceptional and probably one of the strongest that I have seen in my many years in admissions. However, it appears that you are not yet confident in your decision regarding what type of degree you seek now. This is something you must decide upon and then put confidence into your decision. There are so many well qualified applicants applying to top tier programs and indecisiveness is not a characteristic that a committee is looking for in its MBA candidates. Therefore, before you begin your research on a joint program, you must decide if this is indeed the chosen route.

Finally, sketching out a career outline will help to get you on the right path. If you decide that a joint degree is indeed your best choice, please do not hesitate in contacting our office and we can discuss your options further.

Best of luck with your applications!

Sincerely,

David Petersam
President

[AdmissionsConsultants]

Originally Posted by iwineuro2008

Hi David,

Can you please help me? I have got admission in University of Ottawa in the Masters of Engg management(Meng). I wanted to know about the job prospects after my completion of the degree. I have a two years expereince in a IT company. Please help me as i have to join this september.

Iwineuro2008.

Hi and thanks for your inquiry.

Congratulations on the acceptance to U of Ottawa. Choosing your career path after any degree completion is complex and many factors must be considered. One helpful avenue that you may want to consider is the alumni connection. You may find it useful to talk to some alumni from the program. Moreover, you may want to speak to the career services department to better understand the resources that will be available to your during and after your studies.

Best of luck!

Sincerely,

David Petersam
President

[AdmissionsConsultants]

Originally Posted by mahersadaty

hi i am maher
i have worked as assitant in a university in egypt since 2005 and i still working
i have a question and i hope any one answer me about it that is
can i make my master in economics in U.S or U.K ? and how much does it cost ? and can i work in my career in U.S or U.K ?

i only have 1 dream to have noble and i hope u help me to get this wonderful price in one of u universities ?

thank u so much for helping me

Hi Maherand thanks for your inquiry.

International students can certainly apply to US or UK programs although it is a competitive process. But with well executed applications and a strong profile, this is a possible accomplishment.

In terms of expenses, each school has different tuition rates and financial aid packages for international students. Please contact the schools directly for this information.

Best of luck!

Sincerely,

David Petersam
President