Pls help evaluate my profile for MBA program

[kaweewut]

I just wanna share my profiles with some MBA experts whether my current profile is good enough to be admitted in the top MBA program. Please give me some advices.

Age : 26
Nationality : Thai
Degree : Bachelor of petroleum engineering from top-notch university in Thailand.
GPA : 3.74 (1st class honor)
Extracurricular activities : President of SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineering) student chapter in Thailand.
President of Engineering music club.
Work experience : 2 yrs with Schlumberger Oilfield Services as a field engineer based in Australia and Thailand. Working in the remoted area includes desert, jungle and offshore.
: Currently working with PTTEP for almost 2 yrs (Thai national oil company with the 2nd largest market-cap in Thailand stock market) as a strategic planner.
GMAT : 710 (49Q,35V,5.5AWA)
TOEFL : 110/120
Target MBA program : Harvard, Wharton, Stanford, MIT, LBS

[Jessica@VeritasPrep]

Hi Kaweewut,

The information you have provided regarding your profile is all strong, however, it isn't complete enough for me to give you a full evaluation. What I can say is that your grades, GMAT and work experience should not keep you out of the schools you mentioned. However, those are all very competitive schools and in order to be admitted, you will also need excellent essays, fantastic recommendations and very strong extracurricular/community activities.

In addition to the above criteria, you will also need a unique and compelling story about why you need an MBA and why you want to go to the specific school (Stanford, HBS & Wharton are all top schools - you need a reason OTHER than a high ranking for wanting to attend!!).

The schools you listed are notoriously competitive (espcially Stanford) so I'd add a few schools from the next "tier" to your list if you want to make sure you are admitted somewhere.

Let me know if you need further clarification or if you have more questions.

Good luck!

[kaweewut]

Jessica

Thx for your advices. Can you clarify a bit more on the uniqeness of each top shcools??

What I know about these schools are that

Wharton : best for finance
HBS : Geneneral management, cased method
Stanford : " i've heard that most students have quite unique experiences and profiles"

I'm especially interested in general manegment and strategy but, to be honest, I believe that all schools above are strong in overall subjects of MBA. Also, I do not have confidence enough to cut one of those out of my list.

Anyway, thx again for your advices.

Cheers!!

Kaweewut

[Jessica@VeritasPrep]

You are correct when you say that all of the top schools have strong programs. There isn't necessarily something "unique" about the schools (and the points you made are valid - HBS is very team oriented/case method, Stanford is a bit more entrepreneurial/high tech - both schools place a great deal of emphasis on leadership and volunteer/extracurricular endeavors). Wharton and Booth are thought of as Finance schools, of course, all top business schools will do a phenomenal job of teaching finance. You just need to think about where you would best fit and make mention of those types of things - do you like larger business school classes or smaller ones? Do you want a flexible curriculum (like Booth) or a more traditional cohort system? Some applicants really want to be in NYC (Columbia & Stern) while others perfer the West Coast (UCLA, Haas, Stanford).

The scores and "requirements" will be the same at all the top schools - your job it to talk about why a certain school feels right to you (usually applicants do this using information they find online, from visiting, talking to colleagues/friends, attending classes, etc.). You can still apply to a few top schools - just make sure to change your essays to reflect what it is you find particularly appealing about a program. And, of course, there will be appealing things about different programs!

Also, since the criteria are so similar, the applicants that are accepted at Stanford and HBS would usually also be admitted at Wharton or MIT (or Kellogg or Booth or Columbia). It makes sense to apply to a few, but, applying to all 5 of the the top 5 programs isn't a great strategy. You would be mroe likely to get into all or none (and not randomly get in to one program - does this make sense?). If I were you, I'd pick two or three in the top 10 and two or three in the next tier (but no more than 5 total - it is too much of a strain on recommenders and on you!).

Hope this helps!

[kaweewut]

Thank you Jessica.

Your advices will definitely help me.

Cheers!!

Kaweewut