Profile Evaluation Request

[bholebaba]

Hello Stacy,

First of all, thanks for doing a great job here. Personally responding to every question.

Could you please comment on my profile. I have still not decided if I want to go part time or full time !!

Profile :
GMAT Score : 710 (may be 730 would have been better)
Indian origin

Close to 5.5 years of work experience (4 yrs of US exp) mostly in healthcare industry - currently working with Baxter Healthcare (fortune 500), the best in there field. Worked with research and education based Non-profit for almost 2 years

I have a bachelor's degree in production engineering from India- Was the topper of the class for all the 8 semesters - Have a gold medal .
I have a Master in Mechanical Engineering from US (University of Illinois at Chicago) - I chose it because I was awarded a full tuition waiver for the first year of study. GPA in master was 3.9/4.0.

I have few publications and papers presented in the field of healthcare.

Extracuricular, I have been ok but nothing out of the world sort. Some community work thru baxter, but nothing out the world sort.

So overall what do u think about my profile, I m still not sure if I should go full or part time. Or may be part time initially and then go full time later on.

I want to get into Univeristy of Chicago (first preference close to work) and then kellogs and purdue. Any comments on my chances,

Thanks so much

BB

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear BB,

The best way to determine full-time versus part-time is what makes the most sense for your career goals. If you want to stay on the current path or in the same industry, a part-time program is a viable option. If you want to make a significant career change, then a full-time program is the best way to go.

The competitiveness of your profile is the same regardless of part-time/full-time as they have similar class profiles at Chicago and Kellogg. I think you have the foundation for a competitive profile for the schools you are considering. It will be important for you to convey your leadership and managerial skills in your application as well as a solid rationale for why an MBA and how it fits into your overall career plan.

Good luck,
Lisa

[bholebaba]

Lisa,

Thanks so much for the reply. I want to stay with healthcare management, but move away from the technical field. Do you think its a good option to go for part time first 2 semester and then go full time.

This will be helpful in saving some money. The time I spend during my part time will still be as a Design Engineer, which is probably in the field (healthcare) but not what I would want to do long term.

Other than the money involved, the other reason would be my Visa status. Have you seen people do something like this.

Thanks again for responding to all the queries.

BB

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear BB,

Many schools will not let students transfer from a part-time to full-time program, or vice versa. The reason being that the curriculum for these programs do not align so you will be behind or miss core courses. It is important you select the best program for your future career and that will be a question in the minds of the admissions committees.

Most folks believe it is a financial hardship to go full-time, but I would encourage you to really look at the numbers. You might be surprised how little difference your loans for a full-time program are to a part-time program. While $10,000 or $20,000 sounds like a big difference, when you factor in the interest rate over a 10 year period, your monthly payments are actually not significantly different. Additionally, you might be awarded scholarship funds for a full-time program which defray some of the cost. Scholarships are usually not offered to part-time students.

Perhaps there is a big difference between the cost for part-time versus full-time at the schools you are considering, but I think it is worth it to yourself to really analyze the numbers.

Good luck,
Lisa