Profile eval and career question

[Guest]

I would appreciate an evaluation of my profile and an answer to a career question that I have:

Profile:
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GMAT: 760 (Q50, V44)
Undergrad GPA: 3.2 (IIT Bombay, top engg. school in India)
Grad GPA: (UCSB) 3.64
Work exp:
- 8 years in Semiconductor Industry
- Plenty of innovation at workplace/mentoring young engineers
- Some leadership background as well
- No direct reports
Extracurricular activities:
- Maths Olympiads, Captain of High School Quiz team, Played keyboard in School Orchestra in India
- Awarded National Talent Search in India
- Studied Japanese during junior/senior years of undergrad - Stood 1st in Japanese exam
- 2 yrs of social work in India (promoting literacy among underprivileged)
- Teaching assistantship/Teaching for standardized tests in USA

I am thinking of a part-time/executive MBA in one of the top 3 schools.

Career question:
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Do I need to have an established history as manager with people reporting directly to me, to be considered for admission to an executive MBA program?

Thanks for your feedback!

[MBAApply]

You don't need formal experience with direct reports to be considered for an exec MBA, but any formal managerial experience certainly helps. What exec MBA programs target are mid-career professionals who are looking to move up the ladder within their industry (or to transition from a technical job function to a managerial/business function at their current employer). As such, many of the students are sponsored by their employers.

In your case, given your level of experience you'd be appropriate for an exec MBA or part-time program, assuming you're not looking to switch out of the technology sector.

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

[Guest]

Thanks for your feedback. Do you consider my profile strong enough for me to be a serious contender for an exec-MBA program at the top 2-3 business schools? Would also appreciate any suggestions to further improve my chances.

[Guest]

Also forgot to add. I am not looking to switch out of the tech sector and I am specifically targeting the Wharton/Kellogg exec-MBA programs.

[MBAApply]

At this point, you can't change who you are in a few months that negates your last 8+ years of post-college adult life.

Focus on doing the best you can on the b-school applications, and you should be in the running for the exec programs.

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

[Guest]

Thanks! Appreciate your feedback.

[Guest]

I would also appreciate an evaluation of my profile with regards to a full-time MBA at Harvard, Stanford, Wharton or Sloan. Do I have a good chance of getting in or would it be a stretch?

[MBAApply]

Your chances are slim at HBS, Stanford and Wharton. Too many hurdles -- IT engineer (not what they really want, too many of you), and too old (most of the admits from banking/consulting/engineering have around 3-5 years experience).

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

[Guest]

Ok, that's exactly what I feared. Given my engineering background, would MIT Sloan be a more reasonable bet for a full-time MBA? Also, are there any programs in the top 5-6 that you would consider reasonable bets for me for a part-time (non-executive) MBA? Thanks again for your insights.