Profile Eval! Please and Thanks!

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thor5517: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 23; Joined: Mon Apr 15, 2013 3:18 pmFollowed by: 3 members; Thanked: 1 times

by thor5517 » Wed Jun 10, 2015 9:22 am

Hello,

Could you please give my profile a quick evaluation.

Schools considering - Harvard (2nd time applying), Wharton (interviewed last year), Columbia, Northwestern, Michigan (safety)

-25 year old white male

-3.56 GPA in mech engr, started at 3.0 and trended up each year (3.65 in major) - small liberal arts college in midwest

-740 Gmat (Q50/V40)

- 1 year , mechanical engineer for a major manufacturing company (in charge of getting a manufacturing line fda approval) - worked in operations

-2 years working for a pharma consulting firm - work in operation projects - will have a promotion (did not have during last application)

-Volunteer - have coached 3 separate youth basketball teams, and started a non-profit youth basketball camp - continued involvement in coaching sports

-Goal is to continue to work in the pharma industry as a consultant once i graduate to gain more experience, then long term goal to become a COO of a pharma company to be able to fix some of the problems within the pharma industry - relates back to growing up and my father having a life threatening illness and the bills that ensued after.

Let me know if I have a realistic chance at the schools i stated above and how should I approach my application and camouflage any obvious weaknesses.

Or any schools you think i am leaving out of the mix!

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!!

Source: Beat The GMAT — Ask mbaMission | Wed Jun 10, 2015 9:22 am

GMAT/MBA Expert

mbaMissionKate: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 71; Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2015 1:05 pmFollowed by: 4 members; Thanked: 19 times

by mbaMissionKate » Fri Jun 12, 2015 10:09 am

Hi there! Thanks for sharing your profile.

It's funny that you write about camouflaging obvious weaknesses, because I really don't see any.

You've got a good overall GPA in a technical field, a great GMAT, solid operations experience which is not the most common pre-MBA field, a passion for pharma which should make for a compelling career goal story, plus leadership outside of work in another area you're passionate about. Lots to like!

The fact that you got a Wharton interview is a great sign too - which round did you apply in? How did you feel the interview went?

I'd say the only real challenge I see for you is getting over that reapplicant hurdle for Harvard and Wharton. It's great that you've got a promotion but it's just tough to show real improvement, so think about other ways your application could have been improved. Tone/topic of essays? Recommender choice? Just some ideas. I also think your age could have been a factor last time, 25 is quite young, so I'm betting you'll do better with another year of experience.

I like that you're adding in a safety school too, hopefully you won't need it but it's a smart call. Perhaps also consider Duke (strong in healthcare) or Darden (similar case method to Harvard).

Good luck with the process and keep us posted if we can answer any more questions!

thor5517: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 23; Joined: Mon Apr 15, 2013 3:18 pmFollowed by: 3 members; Thanked: 1 times

by thor5517 » Mon Jun 15, 2015 1:05 pm

Thanks for the response.

I thought the Wharton interview went really well actually. I think the one mistake I made is I didn't choose my recommenders wisely, this year I am going to make sure they talk about leadership and make sure they have a personal story. Also I think I had a compelling essays but I think my goals will be clearer this year. As well as spending more time on the little components of the application (250 character responses).

I have heard that Wharton likes re-applicants, and since I interviewed I assumed I was close. Also this "reapplicant" hurdle - what is that? I have read that they won't compare the two applications - maybe some notes from the application but not the entire thing. Can you give me anymore more background on this "hurdle" and how to overcome it?

Thanks!!

GMAT/MBA Expert

mbaMissionKate: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 71; Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2015 1:05 pmFollowed by: 4 members; Thanked: 19 times

by mbaMissionKate » Mon Jun 15, 2015 1:53 pm

Sounds like you've been doing some honest reflecting about what worked and what didn't and that's great! With recommendations, it's important that they include a lot of specific examples about your unique qualities and areas for development too, so make sure you choose people who have observed you in multiple situations. And make sure they are excited to help you too - that enthusiasm can make a real difference between an OK recommendation and a standout one!

Wharton is definitely open to re-applications and yes, they would not have interviewed you if they didn't think you were qualified. I believe that Wharton does review your prior application, but I'm not sure at which stage and whether this has changed, so you may want to verify that with someone in the admissions office. As for the "hurdle"...it's not that you are held to a higher standard as a reapplicant, but you do need to show tangible improvement since your original application. Wharton asks you to write a separate reapplicant essay where you can demonstrate this...anything from increased test scores (which you don't need), promotions (which is great you'll have), new projects / responsibilities at work, clearer career goals, a recent personal accomplishment, etc.

By the way, I believe for Wharton you need to submit completely new recommendation letters, though you can use the same people. You also need to create a separate online account with a DIFFERENT email address than the one you applied with previously.

If you'd like to discuss any of these questions in more depth, feel free to sign up for a free 30-minute phone consultation with me or one of my colleagues. You can sign up here - https://www.mbamission.com/consult/

Good luck!

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