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School suggestions - gsb, hbs, booth?

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School suggestions - gsb, hbs, booth?

by asimsim2 » Sat Nov 01, 2014 2:41 pm
Hi!

I would really love to know what you think is a good fit for me for a full time MBA.
I plan to send my application in round 1 of next year.

I think my profile is pretty strong and I can make it to top 10 schools.
I'm 30 year old, male, not American.
GMAT score of 760. Gpa of 3.8 in electrical engineering,
Ranked major and spent the last 10 years in the army.
In my latest job I served as a combat squad commander.
No experience in the business/finance world.

Really interested in the technology sector, however for me it is an opportunity to start a new career so all the options are relevant.
I am less interested in finance. Consulting and GM however are reasonable options.

Optional schools and why I think they will be a good fit:
1. Stanford - proximity to the Silicon Valley and the tech industry. California weather...
2. Harvard - love Boston. Visited there and it was an amazing experience. Most diverse program for me to allow me to go to different directions.
3. Chicago booth - average age closer to my age. Really flexible program. Better scholarships options.

Any thoughts? Or other schools you believe will be a good fit?

Thx
asimsim
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by interviewbay22 » Sun Nov 02, 2014 12:14 am
Hello asimsim2

Overall you have a very good profile. More importantly, it is very unique. You stats are impressive, a 760 with a 3.8 can open many doors for you.

Coming to your work experience, army would have given many leadership opportunities. Can you elaborate more about your experience in the army especially your promotions and your specific role. Business schools would be very interested in you because of your uncommon profile and you should make the most of it in your essays.

The most important part of your application will be convincing the business schools why you want to pursue and MBA and why now? It would help if you were more clear on your post MBA goals. If you want pursue MBA with concentration in tech, you can probably cite your undergrad education in engineering as the reason for pursuing the field. You should be as specific as you can to make a compelling case.

One needn't have experience in the business field for MBA. B-schools see students coming from all kinds of backgrounds and industries. However, if you have taken any steps to understand the business, finance or consulting sector better, it would be an advantage.

Also tell me about the extra-curricular activities you were part of in the army.

For an MBA in tech, you should certainly consider MIT - Sloan schools of Management. If you want to enter the consulting world, Northwestern - Kellogg is the way to go. Despite your profile, I would advise you to apply to some of the schools in top 10 - 20 range as well so that you have a few safe schools. You could take a look at Carnegie Mellon - Tepper, Cornell - Johnson, Michigan - Ross & Emory - Goizueta.

You can take a look at the class profile for MIT - Sloan https://www.interviewbay.com/blog/mit-sl ... t-analysis

Let me know if you have any doubts

All the best
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by asimsim2 » Sun Nov 02, 2014 2:36 am
Hi,

First of all, thank you for responding...
I'll try to elaborate some more:

Army work experience:
* Served as an officer most of my army life.
* Commanded up to several dozens of people.
* Mostly been active in field roles as a combat commander.
* Served 2 years in the army HQ.

Why MBA and why now:
* First of all, I lack the business experience and the knowledge so this is the time to get them.
* I really love managing and working with people. this is what i did through all of my career.
* I can contribute to school given my different perspective and approach.
I commanded and led people in some really hard situations.
* Why now? Because I don't get any younger. Aand I believe I have the necessary traits to succeed in business but lack the experience and professional knowledge.

Extracurricular: it is a weak part because my career was so intense:
* participated in several educational programs through the army - 1 year we did weekly school visits.
1 year we had students from schools come to our unit.
* running 3 times a week. participated in several 10km and half maratones.
* certified as an advance open water diver.


I'll be happy to hear what you think...
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by Personal MBA Coach » Thu Nov 06, 2014 7:10 pm
Your military leadership experience is impressive and will certainly help you throughout the application process. You are older than the average student, so you would want to come up with a story that explains your decisions to date and led you to apply at this moment in time.

While your extra-curricular activities are light, often with some deeper thought, additional things come to mind that may not seem as relevant. In addition, there is time between now and next year so now would be a good time to think about what else you could do to round out your profile. For instance, what activities are you passionate about? Have you taught others in those areas or would you be interested in teaching/mentoring others? This is just one basic suggestion.

You could also target MIT Sloan and Columbia GSB. While not the first school that comes to mind for tech (you have Stanford and MIT), Columbia places a lot of students into some of the jobs you are looking for, both in NY and out west.

Good luck and reach out if you have any other questions or want guidance on what to do between now and next year to prepare yourself.
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by Johnson at Cornell » Fri Dec 05, 2014 11:24 am
Hi asimsim,

I'm going to echo my fellow commenters and say that your leadership experience through the military is attention-getting and impressive. You also have a very strong GPA and GMAT score. Is there anything specifically in the tech sector that you are interested in pursuing?

If you have a chance, I'd like to connect with you to get a better understanding of your expectations from an MBA program. I work with Cornell MBA admissions at the Johnson Graduate School. Are you aware of the MBA program now available at Cornell Tech in NYC? My email: [email protected]

Hope to connect with you soon.

Eddie Asbie
Associate Director, Admissions and Financial Aid
[email protected]
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by CriticalSquareMBA » Fri Dec 12, 2014 12:47 pm
Hey man - you've got a great profile filled with strong experience and awesome stats. You definitely are set up for a successful top 10 run. You can apply to a few safer programs if you'd like but that's up to you. You've got a good profile! If you're looking for consulting, any of the top 10 will get you there. And the higher you go, the more options you'll have open to you. The 3 you've listed are great but look at the rest of the top 10 as well (you've essentially only listed the ultra elite).

I'd like to point you to two resources you might find useful:

[How to Choose MBA Programs]
[Free, Detailed School Profiles]

Feel free to reach out with specific questions or [sign up to chat with us] if you want to roll up your sleeves and speak in more detail!

Bhavik
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by GeneralEducation » Wed Dec 17, 2014 7:01 am
Hi asimsim

Great to know more about your profile. I must say you have strong credentials, and a number of things in extra-curricular going for you. These would definitely make up for a well rounded profile, and strong essays.

In terms of career choices, I think Consulting and GM would suit you very well, given your prior experiences. The lack of business world experience isn't a concern at all, a number of people with army background apply every year to b-schools, so they are familiar with it.

That said, a strong overall story and well drafted essays are still very important, especially when you target scholarships. H/S/Booth are definitely schools you should not pass, but it's always great to have a well defined overall strategy. These schools are on almost everyone's priority list, and then there are other great schools as well which will give you an equally enriching experience. Rankings should only be a part of your decision making, and it's good to see you already have some sort of reasoning for each of these schools.

What stage are you at in terms of applying? Reach out if you need any help!

All the Best with your applications!
asimsim2 wrote:Hi!

I would really love to know what you think is a good fit for me for a full time MBA.
I plan to send my application in round 1 of next year.

I think my profile is pretty strong and I can make it to top 10 schools.
I'm 30 year old, male, not American.
GMAT score of 760. Gpa of 3.8 in electrical engineering,
Ranked major and spent the last 10 years in the army.
In my latest job I served as a combat squad commander.
No experience in the business/finance world.

Really interested in the technology sector, however for me it is an opportunity to start a new career so all the options are relevant.
I am less interested in finance. Consulting and GM however are reasonable options.

Optional schools and why I think they will be a good fit:
1. Stanford - proximity to the Silicon Valley and the tech industry. California weather...
2. Harvard - love Boston. Visited there and it was an amazing experience. Most diverse program for me to allow me to go to different directions.
3. Chicago booth - average age closer to my age. Really flexible program. Better scholarships options.

Any thoughts? Or other schools you believe will be a good fit?

Thx
asimsim
General Education - India's premier GMAT & Application Consulting company

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by mbawisdom » Wed Dec 17, 2014 8:22 am
I can speak to you about Booth. I attended the school and think that the flexible program was a great fit for me. It allowed me to take classes at the level I wanted when I wanted. The school was a lot of fun and I was very impressed by the institution and the calibre of the community (both academics and students). Plus Chicago was a great city to live in as a student.

Tech wise Booth has specific tech class, groups and trips. Lots of students from my class went into tech, consulting and GM.

Scholarships are great too. I was a recipient and it helped out a lot.
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