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Profile Evaluation Request

This topic has 3 expert replies and 2 member replies
kaunasMBA Just gettin' started! Default Avatar
Joined
03 Sep 2011
Posted:
3 messages
Profile Evaluation Request Post Sat Sep 03, 2011 11:51 am
Hello,

I'm a 27 y.o. Lithuanian male - lived in US for the last 10 yrs

Undergrad:
3.27 Double Major, Computer Engineering & Psychology, U of Illinois @ Champaign
Semester GPA Progression (3.5, 3.5, 2.8, 3.5, 2.5, 2.8, 2.9, 3.7*, 3.6, 3.7*)
*Deans List

GMAT:
680 Q43 (65%) V40 (89%) AWA 5.0

Resume:
Jul 2011+ Lead Developer at a student loan lender (promotion)
Dec 2010 Senior Developer at a timeshare company (promotion)
Aug 2010 Web Developer at same student loan lender (more resp.)
Jan 2009 Web Developer at same timeshare company
Aug 2007 Developer at a medicare auditor

Extracurrics:
-Undergrad:
Did neuroscience research - Abstract published in a scientific journal
Ran a computer business (May 2004 - Aug 2007)
Resident Adviser in student housing (70+ students)

-After undergrad:
Organized monthly group hiking trips
Built several small websites pro-bono
Earned several org. leadership certificates from eCornell

Other Personal Facts:
Born in Lithuania, came to US as a teenager.
First in family to earn US degree.
Self-financed undergrad (part-time work, own biz, loans)
Undergrad research involved writing software to guess what people are thinking from MRI data - ie "mind reading"
In previous job, organized & led a coalition of managers to implement major process improvements in my department.
Then was recruited by my current boss to bring in my own crew, lead the rewrite of company website, & help develop the main product.

Post-MBA Plans:
Want to gain management and product development experience in a software start-up. Then develop a prototype of my ideas and put together a team for a start-up of my own.

Target Schools:
Berkeley Haas EWMBA
MIT Sloan (full-time 2yr)
Cornell Johnson (full-time 2yr)
Carnegie-Mellon Tepper (full-time 2yr)

I would love to hear your feedback regarding my school selection and areas of my profile I should emphasize or de-emphasize.

Greatly appreciate your comments,

-kMBA

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Post Sat Sep 03, 2011 11:05 pm
Hey There Kaunas,
Okay so the good stuff in your profile in that they don't see many Lithuanian candidates, and that you had your own computer business (which would be even better if you had lots of people working for you and if it was relatively successful). Quite frankly, your GMAT is scraping the low end for the most part of the schools you are applying to, and if you really want to make sure you get an admit, you might need to add a school or two in which you have a bit more than the average GMAT. Main thing to de-emphasize for you - the Tech stuff. Schools don't necessarily need yet another computer programmer. Also, I don't know what else you might have buried in your profile, but if you could pull out some totally unique story, it would help out a great deal too.

cheer man,

_________________
Jon Frank
Harvard MBA, 2005
Founder and CEO, Admissionado

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Thanked by: kaunasMBA
kaunasMBA Just gettin' started! Default Avatar
Joined
03 Sep 2011
Posted:
3 messages
Post Sun Sep 04, 2011 10:29 am
Hey thanks for the feedback Jon -- greatly appreciated.

Regarding the computer biz - I organized a group of my friends to do it and we made about $100k in sales. We split the profits even, so I'd say it was closer to a partnership than them "working for me".

I can definitely play down the tech stuff, and could find a unique story.

And now for the GMAT... If I don't want to lower my school standards and I don't end up getting in to any of the schools despite the fixes you suggested, then it sounds like toughing out the GMAT once again and pushing the score over 710 should up my chances.

-kMBA

Post Sun Sep 04, 2011 12:25 pm
No problem,
The computer biz sounds interesting. And like you can get a good story out of it.
As for the GMAT, it's a tough call. You are a bit on the borderline, and if you could make a great app, you could have some pretty good chances. So, the question is, how long would it take you to prepare? Would it mean delaying till next year? Is that what you want? Is it better to take your chances now and see what happens? And worst comes to worst reapply next year with a better GMAT?

Lots of options to consider here.

_________________
Jon Frank
Harvard MBA, 2005
Founder and CEO, Admissionado

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kaunasMBA Just gettin' started! Default Avatar
Joined
03 Sep 2011
Posted:
3 messages
Post Sun Jun 24, 2012 10:41 pm
FYI, as a followup, here were my results:

Sloan - did not apply
Haas EWMBA - Applied, Interview, Denied
Johnson - Applied, Interview, Admitted
Tepper - Applied, Interview, Admitted, Enrolled

Thanks again Jon!

Post Tue Jun 26, 2012 2:51 am
Thanks for the update sir! And really happy to see that it all worked out for you.

_________________
Jon Frank
Harvard MBA, 2005
Founder and CEO, Admissionado

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