Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant

Hello!

I am looking for some advice on MBA vs. EMBA. I am on the older side for an MBA, but probably on the younger side for EMBA. Below is my profile:

Gender: Male
Age: 31 (33 at time of Matriculation in 2017)
Ethnicity: Born and raised in India till age 14. Moved to the US during High School (US Citizen).

The hard stats:
GMAT: 690 Q47 V39/5.5 AWA (test date: 05/2012 before IR)
Undergrad: Small regional state school known for engineering (75% Scholarships)
Major/Minor: Mechanical Engineering/Econ
GPA: 3.68 (Magna Cum Laude)
Graduated: Dec 2006
WE: 9yrs FT (10 yrs at mat.)
Areas: Operations, Manufacturing, Project & Product Management, International Business Development

WE:
- Completed 3 co-ops/internships during my undergrad years with a large Beverage (beer) Manufacturer
- Was hired by same company full-time upon graduation as a Plant Supervisor (training program)
- Promoted within a year to manage 1 of 4 crews at one of our other 24/7 high-speed mfg. facilities. I was the youngest supervisor (23) at the time within the company and had a crew of 35 United Steelworkers on my team that ranged from 30 to 60 year-olds.
- Continued in this role for 3 years, during which time our parent company was acquired in one of the largest acquisitions in the F&B industry, followed by our specific facility being sold off to a competitor a year later. Learned a lot about change management and driving results in a low morale environment.
- Changed career from operations to product management by securing the job as a Product Manager of an Industrial Software product for a large global Precision Measurement Equipment Manufacturer.
- Launched a new product family and 2 major products within a 3 year span, with adoption globally in 12 countries.
- Was responsible for setting overall product vision, business model and product marketing.
- Achieved double digit growth in unit sales y-o-y and surpassed legacy sales by year 2.
- Was promoted to Business Development Manager (new position) of our Business Unit with responsibility for growth in Asia Pacific countries.
- Moved to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2014 and now work directly with our sales organizations in 13 countries in the region on various biz. dev activities including key account dev., partner dev., sales trainings and internal strategy consulting.
- Established the new role quickly within the first year with immediate results (double digit growth) recognized in markets such as Singapore, Korea and Vietnam.
- Expanded the team by hiring a direct report to assist in managing the large geographical area.

Extra-Curriculars:
Unfortunately, all my ECs were before my move to Asia. My new role requires 50-60% travel and 70-80 hr weeks with very little free time.
1) Engineers Without Borders (4 years, while in the USA)
- Served in various roles including President of the Chapter. Was involved with one project in El Salvador from start to finish (all 4 years)

2) Start-Up (1 year)
- Work at EWB inspired me to start a crowdfunding platform. Piloted an MVP with a team of 4 over a 1 year span. Ran out of resources (self-funded) as all team members were moonlighting.

3) Sports
- Played Australian Rules Football for 5 years and was part of a National Championship Team. Was also President of the club that year.
- Amateur Muay Thai Fighter with 2 tournament wins and no losses. Won fights in 2 different weight classes.

Achievements:
1) StartingBloc Social Entrepreneurship Fellow
- Vetted group of 1600+ young Social innovators from around the world accepted for displaying leadership potential.

2) Selected as one of the high-potential candidates within company for flagship Management Seminar Program. 1 of 32 candidates selected each year from all business units and geographies within company.

Goals for MBA:
I like working in technology, but want to be in a more fast paced start-up environment. I naturally gravitate toward more innovative/creative sides of the businesses in which I have been involved. I am extremely bullish about the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)/Internet 4.0 space and would like to join or co-found a start-up that disrupts the large incumbents that are not focusing on the more price-sensitive small to medium sized manufacturers around the world.

I am hoping an MBA from a top B-School with a solid technology/research sister school will expand my network in this space and give me access to the rapidly changing IIoT space. I am currently taking online MOOCs to become familiar with data analysis, machine learning and design thinking techniques.

Staying on my current career path, I could become a GM without an MBA at my company in 5-6 years. However, I want to be closer to the cutting edge and drive a fast paced and disruptive business, rather than manage a mature business through incremental growth. I also think 5-6 years is a long time to "wait for my chance".

Target Schools (MBA): Stanford, MIT, HBS, Haas and Kellogg
Target Schools (EMBA): Haas, MIT, Kellogg, INSEAD, Wharton and Booth

Thanks for sharing your detailed profile.

You have strong work experiences showing early career progression, active community involvement, leadership with large-scale and international responsibilities across functions. These are all helpful to your profile. Details to show your passion, focus, and fit would help increase your chances.

As you are aware, you will be on the older side for an MBA, and younger on the EMBA side. One factor you may consider is the type of people you would need to network with to fulfill your post-MBA goals, are they more likely in the MBA or in EMBA program? Are you looking to start-up from the ground up, or will it be better to pitch your idea to your current firm or similar ones to purse a new business unit towards your passion? Considering these could help you better define whether an MBA or EMBA is a better fit.

Wish you all the best!

Hi Edison,

Thank you for your reply. My post was originally quarantined by beatthegmat's spamming algorithm (no idea why), so I thought this never got posted and didn't check for replies.

Anyways, I appreciate you going through the long profile and providing feedback. To answer your question, I feel that it will be important to also build a network with grad students from other departments and my concern is that my opportunity to do so in an EMBA program will be limited. My biggest concern is whether I will get the opportunity to truly immerse and stretch myself in the experience with an EMBA. At first, I was very adamant on pursing a FT MBA only, but now I can better appreciate the advantages of not foregoing 2 yrs of salary. However, if there is a chance at getting into one of my dream FT MBA (Stanford or MIT) then I want to give it a shot before it is almost entirely prohibitive.

Are any of my target schools out of reach due to my low GMAT or high age for an MBA? Does my WE offset any of these liabilities?

A few perspectives for you snachu:

1. Your experience is clearly your spike area. That said, the transition from mfg to tech has to be articulated well to ensure you get mileage from both. Another thing to consider is, what's stopping you from joining a smaller/IIOT based startup today - many of them are looking for talent and as an MBA, if anything you may become a bit more expensive as a resource. So ensure that MBA is the right next step for your career goals.
2. In terms of the EMBA debate, well in general, the access and networking options will be lesser than FT MBAs. Since you seem to be based in Malaysia, is EMBA even an option though - unless of course your firm is willing to relocate you. The maximum mileage from an EMBA tends to be in your current organization.
3. For reasons mentioned here, I won't really speculate on your chances. That said, the GMAT will be a distinct hurdle to cross. If you do got the FT route, and have the time to (I know am asking for much), another shot will definitely be worth it.
   • Hope this helps some.
     
     Cheers,

To address your concerns:

Retaking the GMAT and scoring better could help increase your chances of admissions to your dream schools, but these are very selective schools, so be prepared with a back-up plan if you don't get admitted.

Regarding the MBA vs EMBA decision, if networking is the main concern, you may consider looking for these opportunities by being more active with industry events and activities. These may allow you to connect with a group with more similar plans as you, and may address your objective of networking for your future venture. In contrast, doing an MBA or EMBA would be with a mixed group from different industries with varied goals. You can then avoid foregoing two years of salary, by doing the EMBA and learn what you will need for the post-MBA goal.

Hope this helps!

Hi,

You can refer to the firm www.mbaessayconsultant.com.

I am an ISB Alum who has been associated with the firm as a free lance essay review consultant for the last 2 years and have provided assistance to 50 plus clients to prepare for and evaluate their essays.

You can reach out to me at [email protected] OR buzz me at +91-970121554

Thanks
Arijit