Profile Evaluation Request

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Profile Evaluation Request

by KngDi45 » Mon Nov 21, 2016 10:52 am
Main Question: I retook my GMAT because some consultants have advised me that my quant score was low. They also advise that I raise my score 10-20 points. I retook my GMAT and scored a 51 on quant but unfortunately my verbal score took it hit. Do I need to retake again or would most of my target schools look at the subscores individually?

Asian American Male *Born in U.S.*, 3 years of work experience but planning on applying after 4 years of experience (Looking at R2 in 2018)
B.S. Chemical Engineering GPA: 3.78/4.00 from University of Oklahoma
Currently working for a petrochemicals company (Think: ExxonMobil; DOW Chemical; BASF etc) as a Technical Sales Engineer
GMAT 1: 710 (91 percentile) Quant 48 (71 percentile-ironically low for an engineer I suppose) Verbal 38 (85 percentile)
GMAT 2: 710 (91 percentile) Quant 51 (97 percentile) Verbal 35 (76 percentile)

Brief Background: I work as a technical sales engineer for Chevron Phillips Chemical Company. I work with commodity plastics, specifically Low density polyethylene and high density polyethylene (recycling codes 2 and 4 on plastic articles). In terms of job functions, there are a few: Responsible for developing new products along with R&D (We field interests from customers as to what products they want us to develop and once developed, we are responsible for conducting trials of the new material at the customers, etc) ; help troubleshoot customers' issues with our products; attempt to increase product volume with customers; technical marketing (creating technical literature for customers).

I think my goals with a MBA are two fold: 1) short term: Over the past few years, the part of my job that interested me most was the product development aspect. I would like to utilize my MBA to help me understand how to make the business decisions and analysis in terms of managing the product portfolio as a product manager. I'd like to understand how to get that business overview when determining what products to add and what products to sever from our product slate. 2) Long term: As i mentioned, I work with commodity polymers. My goal and the reason I became a chemical engineer has always been to try to promote the use of alternative energy in today's world. I would eventually like to start my own company which would deal with specialty polymers that have alternative energy applications; for instance, a company that can be focused on researching and commercializing a speciality polymer that can be used in solar fuel cells to promote the effectiveness of solar power.

Volunteer Experience:
1 year Big Brothers Big Sisters Organization
1 year member of Lions Club
1 year volunteer at Nonprofit Homeless Shelter
1 year literacy tutor for illiterate adults
1 year engineering assistant teacher for a technology program for high schoolers
1 year of local city's park and recreation board

Leadership Experience:
1 year as Treasurer and 1 year as secretary for Society of Plastics Engineers
1 year as President for New Hire Network
2 years as debate coach along with helping start a debate program for high school

(There are other volunteer/leadership experiences from college that I have neglected to post at the moment)

Some of my target schools - albeit I need to do more research into some more schools -
Northwestern
M.I.T.
Berkeley
Columbia
Duke
NYU
U of Chicago

From a self-reflection, I want to say that my weakest areas are leadership experiences and GMAT.

Please advise and I appreciate the feedback!

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by Edison@VeritasPrep » Wed Nov 30, 2016 6:28 pm
Thanks for sharing.

Your GMAT score is within range, and your Quant and Verbal breakdown on the 2 exams do show your academic potential, in addition to your performance at the undergrad level. If you want, you may try a retake and just cancel if you don't improve on your GMAT, but your current scores should not discourage you from applying.

You have done your well reflecting and evaluating on your experiences and why you need an MBA. The next step would be to tailor your essays to show fit with the target schools, showing clearly how you can benefit and what you can bring to the target school community. This would require researching the school culture, specific courses and activities. Attending talks, connecting with alumni, and doing campus visits could greatly help in coming up with a compelling application.

All the best!
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