Hi,
I am trying to decide whether I should apply for MBA or not (2010). Due to my visa status, if I am to study full-time, I will have to make radical changes soon.
The problem is, I am clueless about my standing among applicants. Therefore, I am having a difficult time weighing the risks and benefits. Could you give me a guestimate on the range of schools which I have a good shot at? Of course I know that a lot depends on the essays/references etc. So I would appreciate it if you could run a couple of scenarios.
Secondly, do you think it would be wise to wait the economic downturn out? Would age become a problem if I did?
And lastly how would getting consultant services affect my chances?
Cheers,
Levent
Profile:
- Male/28(.5)
- Turkish citizen / not a native speaker
- I have not taken GMAT yet; but my practice test scores are in the 720-740 (Q51-55, V34-38) ballpark. I have 2 more months to study before I take the exam.
- won a fellowship for the entire undergrad
- B.S in Electrical Engineering from Bilkent University, Turkey / GPA 3.42
- 2 summer internships
- M.S in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Purdue University, US / GPA 3.2
- My niche is being able to contribute both as a hardware engineer and a software engineer.
- I worked as a design engineer for a startup for a year. I had to deal with situations which were well above my skill set and pay grade (Such as doing research and advising on vendors; or coming up with proposals on topics that I didn`t know much about etc). Unfortunately company went bankrupt (not my fault:).
- I have been working for a fortune 500 semiconductor company for the last 3.5 years. My title is "staff software systems engineer" (I got a promotion 1.5 year ago).
- I have good references; but I am afraid they will praise my technical skills rather than my leadership.
- I have never played an official leadership role and I had limited customer interaction. I have mostly worked independently or in pairs.
- I was the social director of a student club (~200 members & 7500$ budget) for a year. Aside from that I don`t have a bright record in the extracurricular activities area.
- I am interested in economics/finance as a hobby. Also I spend a lot of time reading on politics and I blog.
My motive:
My current position is not in a straight line with my personality. My job is pushing me to become a specialist. However I am a generalist and I prefer to look at the big picture. So I am trying to get some leverage for a more suitable position. Also I have observed certain problems/trade-offs which my intuition and education fail to attack. I am curios about these problems and I would like to learn how to deal with them.
What I am interested in:
Corporate strategy, project planning/financing, flat organizations.
My end goal:
Consultant/engineering manager in consumer electronics or defense industry.
I am trying to decide whether I should apply for MBA or not (2010). Due to my visa status, if I am to study full-time, I will have to make radical changes soon.
The problem is, I am clueless about my standing among applicants. Therefore, I am having a difficult time weighing the risks and benefits. Could you give me a guestimate on the range of schools which I have a good shot at? Of course I know that a lot depends on the essays/references etc. So I would appreciate it if you could run a couple of scenarios.
Secondly, do you think it would be wise to wait the economic downturn out? Would age become a problem if I did?
And lastly how would getting consultant services affect my chances?
Cheers,
Levent
Profile:
- Male/28(.5)
- Turkish citizen / not a native speaker
- I have not taken GMAT yet; but my practice test scores are in the 720-740 (Q51-55, V34-38) ballpark. I have 2 more months to study before I take the exam.
- won a fellowship for the entire undergrad
- B.S in Electrical Engineering from Bilkent University, Turkey / GPA 3.42
- 2 summer internships
- M.S in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Purdue University, US / GPA 3.2
- My niche is being able to contribute both as a hardware engineer and a software engineer.
- I worked as a design engineer for a startup for a year. I had to deal with situations which were well above my skill set and pay grade (Such as doing research and advising on vendors; or coming up with proposals on topics that I didn`t know much about etc). Unfortunately company went bankrupt (not my fault:).
- I have been working for a fortune 500 semiconductor company for the last 3.5 years. My title is "staff software systems engineer" (I got a promotion 1.5 year ago).
- I have good references; but I am afraid they will praise my technical skills rather than my leadership.
- I have never played an official leadership role and I had limited customer interaction. I have mostly worked independently or in pairs.
- I was the social director of a student club (~200 members & 7500$ budget) for a year. Aside from that I don`t have a bright record in the extracurricular activities area.
- I am interested in economics/finance as a hobby. Also I spend a lot of time reading on politics and I blog.
My motive:
My current position is not in a straight line with my personality. My job is pushing me to become a specialist. However I am a generalist and I prefer to look at the big picture. So I am trying to get some leverage for a more suitable position. Also I have observed certain problems/trade-offs which my intuition and education fail to attack. I am curios about these problems and I would like to learn how to deal with them.
What I am interested in:
Corporate strategy, project planning/financing, flat organizations.
My end goal:
Consultant/engineering manager in consumer electronics or defense industry.
