My Goal:
I am looking to go to a local (Chicago) part time evening MBA program starting the winter of 2018 when my wife finishes her graduate degree. We have an 8 year old daughter and I need to continue working to help support the family, so a full time program is out of the question. On top of that, I am very doubtful that I could get into the more prestigious programs in the area. My goal admissions are Booth and Kellogg evening MBA programs. If I get my pick between the two, I am really not sure which one I would pick, since both appeal to me heavily. I know and have worked with/for alumni of both part-time programs, and I always hear about how great they were. I want to spend more time at admissions events for Booth to get a stronger feel for what they are about, but a former supervisor was especially complimentary of their options for budding entrepreneurs.
I am not sure that it would be worth it to go to DePaul or Loyola on an ROI basis. I would consider a weekend program at Wisconsin, Purdue, or Notre Dame, but Kellogg and Booth are my top goals.
My stats:
Ethnicity: Indian American (born/raised in USA, US Citizen)
Age when applying: 29
Work Experience when applying: 6 years (4.5 years full time salaried, 1.5 years as an extended 40 hr/wk hourly)
Current position: IT Project Manager
Certifications: Certified Scrum Master, Certified Product Owner (Agile/Scrum), working towards PMP
Undergrad Institution: University of Miami
Undergrad Major: Industrial Engineering
Undergrad GPA: 2.66
GMAT Overall: 710
- Verbal: 39 / 89%
Quant: 48 / 71%
Analytical Writing: 5.5 / 81%
Integrated Reasoning: 5 / 54%
Extra-curriculars:
Active Engineers Without Borders charter member (executive board) during undergrad
Phone banked during elections
Very active participant of Chicago music scene as band leader, booking agent, songwriter, etc.
Why do I want to get an MBA?
I derive the most enjoyment at work out of the interaction and organization of resources (human, capital, tech, and otherwise) to achieve goals. I love being a project manager for these reasons, and I do think that I am on the right track, but I want to have a more active role in setting business strategy. I want to have the opportunity to hear, understand, influence, and ultimately be accountable for strategic decisions on how a brand/company will develop and exceed the needs of its customers while developing an in-house culture that makes employees happy and proud to work there. I want to be less about the day-to-day, and more about the overall direction.
I see an MBA as being an avenue towards the goal of such influence. I look at the job the CEO of my company does, and it looks exactly like the type of work I would like to do. He is a Kellogg MBA grad, by the way. For more context, I work for a 200+ person eComm subsidiary of a Fortune 500 company located here in the Chicago area.
Recommendations:
For recommendations, my current supervisor is an Iraq War veteran, PMP, CSM, and a damn good project manager. I think he would have a very strong recommendation for me but we have only worked together thus far for about 6 months. I am not sure how much punctuation, grammar, and spelling factor into how a recommendation letter is rated, but I will say that my boss does sometimes struggle with these things. If the letter reviewer can get past that, I think that my boss would deliver a very strong recommendation.
Other available in-house recommendations would be our company's CIO (Kellogg grad), Engineering Director (Booth grad, and a former supervisor). My former supervisor, in particular, would probably have quite a bit to say about me, particularly regarding my ability to manage upwards, ask good questions, and challenge ideas.
If it's to be someone outside of the work context, a former bandmate of mine could probably deliver a very strong recommendation on my organization, tenacity, work ethic, personality, and leadership potential. He might even mention some of my schmooze tactics that helped my band get into some of the tougher venues or sponsorships.
Why the low undergrad GPA?
Honestly, I just wasn't very mature. I had an awesome freshman year of college, then slid downhill from there. Way more partying than I should have done. I really have no good excuse.
What have I done since to show that that GPA is no longer reflective of who I am?
Since graduating, I've had to work extra hard to turn myself around. I started as an hourly employee at a local business and have worked my way up from $18/hr no benefits to where I am now. It has taken time, hard work, and a lot of humility and, very honestly, a little bit of luck. I could elaborate much further, but not sure how much detail to get into.
I'm happy to answer any questions, and I truly appreciate your advice.
Thank you,
-GB
