Do I have a shot at Wharton with this profile??

[Guesssssst]

Well truely the subject was just to catch your attention.
I would like to know as to which of these schools do I stand a chance for an admit....Kelloggs, Duke, Johnson, Stern, Tepper and UNC. And an evaluation on my profile wud be awesome too.

Profile:-
GMAT: 710 (V:35 M:50)
Profession: Environmental Consultancy with 4 years of experience by June '09.
Age: 27
Nationality: Indian (yep..another Indian engineer !)
BTech: Chemical Engg., National Institute of Technology, India
MS: A scholarship program in Enviromental Engineering partly at Stanford,USA and partly at N.T.U., Singapore.
Interests: Strategic Mmt.

+ves:-
* I am an Environmental Design Consultant building Waste to Energy plants, Composting Plants, Eco-cities etc. all linked to environmental field only. Given that the environment is such a hot topic thesedays with not many applicants into it, maybe I stand differently and better positioned than others?
* Stuck with the same company for all 4 years, no job hopping..so easy to fix a goal for me (shows honesty and intent)
* Worked 1.5 years in Belgium, 1.5 years in Singapore, 4 months in Australia, 2 months in China, and now in Qatar (Middle East) for the last 3 months and running. Never worked in India. (except for some supplier meetings and univ. internships long ago)
* Can speak bits of Chinease, Dutch and learning Arabic

-ves:-
* yet another Indian engineer facing strong competition with my segment
* late application..took my GMAT only yesterday so can apply by end Nov. to mid-Dec.
* lack of guidance on how to apply
* not so great GPAs

Thanks in advance !

Regards,
Guesssssst

[MBAApply]

I'd say Wharton is a stretch, but you have enough of an outside chance that it's worth at least giving it a shot. What it comes down to is how well you execute your applications -- yes, there's tons of Indian engineers applying, so the onus is still on you the individual to put together an application that best allows the adcom to see you as an individual. Being in environmental engineering helps a little (assuming it's "hard hat" engineering and not "code geek" engineering if you know what I mean) - professionally, it comes down to how well you can convey your non-technical, non-analytical skills and accomplishments (i.e. your interpersonal, leadership, judgment, decisiveness, etc.)

Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com

[Guest]

Hey there,

I'm not Alex or Jeremy, but I thought I'd throw my two cents in here. You may be "just another" Indian engineer, but your presentation and writing show a lot of personality! Bring that through on your applications, because that will make you stand out!

I'm applying too, so maybe I'll see you in school! Good luck!

[Guesssssst]

Alex,

Thanks for your reply. Yes I am a 'hard hat' engineer literally. I wear a safety helmet to site and its all construction business out here....managing day in and day out the progress of the construction of environment related plants. This does differentiate me from the software techies.

Wharton is a strech as you say, although you never know that some ppl. at the adcom cud be passionate about all the recent non-fiction books and articles about environment, and maybe they can be persuaded to take me in. I'll try my best for a competitive application.

But, can you evaluate my chances of getting an admit in the other schools mentioned in my original post above? How about Stern?

Guest,

Thanks for your appreciation. Your 2 cents are worth 2 million $ for me :wink:
Hope to meet you in some school in the future.

Best Regards,
Guesssssst

[MBAApply]

For all the other schools you listed, you should be competitive for, assuming your applications are rock solid. There's no way in taking out all uncertainty in the process, but you've chosen a good range of schools that you should get into at least one of them.

As for the "hard hat" you know what I mean then (that it's not just a literal term) - that the nature of the job is more managerial than what a software techie will do. It's old school, but in a good way. Make sure you emphasize that - you're managing a crew. It's one of the reasons why "hard hat" engineers (i.e. civil, manufacturing/industrial, petroleum, auto, etc.) tend to do better in the admissions process then their techie counterparts - because the old school engineering jobs tend to give folks the opportunity to develop a broader range of organizational and managerial skills.

Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com