Profile Evaluation : 730 GMAT 4 years work-ex, Indian

[catalan1984]

Hi Stacy,

I'm an MBA Aspirant with the following profile:

730 GMAT (Q50, V39) AWA 5.5
GPA : UG (3.2) My weakness
PG: 3.4 GPA ( MS Biomedical Engineering, USC)

Work Ex:

1 year in a Hospital in India
3 Years in Regulatory Affairs (with a Leadership Rotation in Clinical Affairs) in a Fortune 500 Company( Medical Device) - Decent job growth

Notable Accomplishments: Work on Clinical Trials. Solely, conceived, refined and implemented a Clinical Strategy (change to the Biostats plan) that allowed Product launch in market 4 months ahead of time. Won Company wide Award for this. Net impact in the Millions.

Led the formation of a special group, partly in response to healthcare reform (with team charter, roles and responsibilities etc) . Led Clinical Trial for next-generation medical device. All this in addition to job in Regulatory Affairs (which was being involved in Core Teams from day 1, leading product from bench to bedside).

Quite a lot of Customer Interaction (FDA and Key Opinion Leaders in Vascular Surgery)

Extra currics:
Editor of College Magazine
on the cusp of starting an online community based venture
Led American Heart Association Fundraiser. Exceeded previous year's goal by 120%
Heavily involved in the Company's Employee resource groups
Heavily involved with the volunteerism council at Work
Represented College in table tennis


Reason for MBA: Complement existing regulatory/clinical/reimbursement experience with financial and economic acumen to further development within the healthcare industry.


My question is that I'm applying to some really good programs and am worried about being too lofty in my goals. I want to move into Corporate Development/Business Development. That's why i'm looking at some specialty finance schools as well.

My School picks are :

Harvard
Wharton (for Healthcare management)
Stern (for Finance)
MIT
Columbia

I'm getting good recos (from an MD/MBA from Harvard, and a MBA From Chicago (my manager))

I'm just worried if i'm being too optimistic.

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear catalan1984,

Based on your post, you are wanting to stay within your current industry but transition into a different functional area. I would not say that is too lofty, and this type of transition is why many people get an MBA. Perhaps you did not provide enough detail on your post-MBA goals for me to have a clear picture? It is fine to dream big and have ambition; the question is do you believe that those goals are attainable and realistic based on your past experience plus an MBA? In terms of your schools, I see all reach programs on your list. These are highly selective schools that are tough for any profile to receive a positive decision from, so you might think about adding 1-2 reasonable to safety options to your list.

Good luck,
Lisa