Hi Dcrage,
Thanks for your post. Please see my comments below:
’m 26 year old male from Iran.
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Academic:
Master’s: Software engineering from a university ranked second (or maybe first) among Iran’s tech institutes
GPA of 17.7 (of 20)
Ranked :2nd in my class
Bachelors: Computer engineering from a university ranked first in Iran (and second in Middle East last year)
GPA of 13.5 (of 20)
Reason for low GPA: had to take care of my father and also in Iran GPA is not of much importance because academic progress usually will be done through national exams and as long as you’ve been to a top school your GPA doesn’t matter much to employers.
GMAT: Not taken yet but I expect:
Total: 700-730
Quantitative:54-58
Verbal:46-50
I can't fully evaluate this part of your profile until you have your GMAT score. That being said. Your plan to score between 700-730 is essential not just for the school on your list, but also to compensate for your low undergrad GPA.
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Work:
I have 2.5 years of work experience.
In my recent job (which I took after my master’s degree)I worked as senior software developer for 8 month and after that I’ve got promoted to project manager of one of companies two products (by the time I apply I’ll have 6 month experience as project manager)and I’m in charge of a very important project in my work right now.
I’ve also started a small web design and e-commerce consultation firm about 6 month ago
I’ve been doing some personal real estate investments for last 5 years.
It appears as though you've had a solid career trajectory to date. Hopefully you'll have some good leadership and teamwork examples that you can use in your essays.
While it's nice that you enjoy personal real estate investing, the adcom won't really view this as a job or as professional experience. This would fall under a personal interest or a hobby.
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Extra:
*During school:
Member of main computer site administration team for 2 years.
Head of network laboratory administration team for 2 years.
Elected class president ,for 2 years
* Community:
I’ve initiated and leading a group to raise awareness about environment. Part of things of that I’ve done:
Managed fund raisings
Conducted seminars on how to live green , recycling ,….
*Sports:
Captain of Department of Electrical and Computer engineering soccer team for 1 year.(I had an injury so I had to stop playing soccer)
Electrical and Computer engineering soccer team Coach Assistant for 1 year.
Playing squash and member of a group that tries to spread squash among kids. (8-12 years old)
It's great that you have so many extracurricular activities. It's not clear, were all of these during college?
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Goals:
Short term: getting a job in a major tech company in US
Long term: Entrepreneurship in IT or Entertainment
and media
You'll want to expand on your goals. What kind of a role do you want in the US tech company? How will an MBA combined with your work experience to date help prepare you for this role? As for your long term goal... You should plan to select just one of your options. You should also be able to explain how your short term goal can help you achieve this long term goal. In other words, you need to connect the dots for the admissions committee.
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Target schools:
Stanford GSB
HSB
UCLA Anderson
Columbia
Berkley Hass
USC Marshal
This is a solid list of schools. I am curious as to how you have selected this list. I would suggest that you consider adding a couple of top 20-30 programs to your list so that you potentially have some back up options.
Your GMAT score will help you determine if school like Haas, Columbia, Stanford, and HBS are within your range. Keep in mind that the average GMAT at most of these schools is 720+. Once you have your score you'll be able to identify which schools should remain on your list and whether or not you should add other schools in the top 20-30.
