Hi java_ka_jalwa,

I don’t think your school list is overly ambitious. Additionally, the average MBA student has 3-5 years of professional experience so you would fall into that category after a year or two of additional work experience. Having said that, the critical component for you will be distinguishing yourself from the *many* other candidates with similar engineering backgrounds (and there are a lot of them!). It’s also important that you strongly articulate why an MBA is necessary for you to achieve your professional goals in light of the fact that you have already pursued a Masters degree at USC.

Focusing on building that non-professional dimension over the next year or so will be very important for you. And you are right, it is never too late to improve on that dimension of your candidacy. We encourage our clients to pursue activities about which they are genuinely passionate. Simply showing up at a soup kitchen once a month is not going to be compelling to an admissions committee. They want to know that you are genuinely committed to and passionate about the things you involve yourself in and how that commitment and passion will translate in the bschool environment. Think carefully about how you want to spend your time and find a way to weave your involvement into a coherent story about yourself and your interests.

I hope this helps. Feel free to reach out to us if you have additional questions or if we can be of additional assistance.

Jill
Elite MBA Consulting
877-655-7277
https://elitembaconsulting.com/

Jill, thanks a lot for your evaluation !

I agree with Jill's advice. The only additional input I would offer is to be careful how many schools to which you apply. Every school needs to be treated with focus. Admissions Officers and tell right away if you have cut and pasted essays from a different school. They look to see that you made personal connections at their school and have done significant research into the program. Finally, they appreciate it when your recommenders write respond to their questions directly.

I've found that most hard working applicants can complete 4 applications very well and then the quality does drop off for any remaining applications.