Profile Evaluation:

[garun_77]

Hi Lisa:

I have been visiting this form and reading your responses for a while now. I have to admit that I gathered a lot of information from your responses. I would like you to evaluate my profile, let me know what my chances are, and finally provide me with your insights.

Here is my profile:

Indian, Male, 30 (31 at matriculation), Married
Transportation/Traffic Engineer working for both public agencies and private developers

BS in Civil Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) (received merit/means scholarship for all four years)
MS in Civil Engineering specializing in Transportation/Traffic from UMass Amherst

GMAT : 710 (Q48, V40), AWA 5.0

GPA : 3.5 (BS), 3.6 (MS)

Work experience and Career Progression: 6 years with 3 promotions and related raises. Started as an entry level engineer but now working as a project manager. Expect strong recommendations from two supervisors. Managed and worked on numerous infrastructure development projects with both city governments (planning commission and public hearing) and private developers.

EC : Coached a U-15 soccer team for two seasons and made it win its division (strong leadership). Captain of a tennis team in USTA 4.5 league. Ongoing volunteership for Southern California Forestry Service helping with data collection to study the effects of wild fires and subsequent conservation. Newletter Chair for Institute of Transportation Engineers, Southern California Section

Goals: Short Term: Work as a City Manager for a big city and oversee all operations or a Principal at a large civil/environmental engineering firm. Long Term: Start my own Civil/Environmental engineering firm and lead in innovative and sustainable business, growth, and development.

Target Schools: 2 Year Full time programs at Berkeley, Stanford, and Wharton. I esp. love Berkeley and Stanford because of their "Green" oriented MBA programs that fit my passion towards sustainable growth and development with innovation and socially responsible entrepreneurship.

Thanks in advance,
Arun.

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear Arun,

You have the profile to gain admission to a top MBA program. Now you need to put your application together properly to get to a positive decision(s). While your GMAT might be below the average for some of these programs, you are within range and have a good GPA. Likewise, your work experience shows good progression and is different from the average Indian applicant. You will want to leverage your work experience and career goals to your advantage since they are a little different from the norm. I think you have lots of great examples from both your professional experience and your extracurriculars--try to work in the personal side of you to your application so the committee feels like they know you. Lastly, you definitely want to visit these campuses and establish a personal connection with someone in the admissions office.

Best of luck,
Lisa

[garun_77]

I appreciate your quick response Lisa. Your valuable feedback helps.

Thanks,
Arun.