Profile evaluation of a PhD holder

[tulipnuwal]

Hello Jennifer,

I have a unique profile as mentioned below-
-Indian, Male, 28 years, GMAT score of 690 (q48, V37) 87th percentile
-B.Tech in Industrial Biotechnology from a reputed Indian University (Anna Univ).
-UG GPA of 8.89 on scale of 10. 3rd rank in 95. Was offered a job in a top IT company but I declined it.
-PhD in Neuroscience from Germany (reputed lab in my field of research). Published in scientific journal
-Postdoctorate researcher at Uni. of California, San Francisco (UCSF) for 32 months. Published in scientific journal
-Business plan competition winner while at UCSF (25000 USD). Helped my colleague start the company
-Certificate course in Bioentrepreneurship (1 week international course taught by UCSF and UC Berkeley staff)
-10 months part-time Internship while at UCSF to make UCSF more sustainable. I was the team leader
-Active participant in sports such as table-tennis, badminton, basketball and running. Won many prizes in school and UG.

My Goal- I have the technical knowledge and I want to gain a business degree to complement it as I eventually want to move into business side of life sciences preferably as a business development manager. I would prefer working in India but I am willing to stay and work in EU or US for couple of years as a life science consultant if thats what it takes to become a Business dev. manager.

Target schools- ISB, Stanford, Harvard, Wharton, Haas

Please let me know your opinion of my profile and also if you have any suggestions for schools that I must include or exclude to my list (I am willing to go to schools in US, EU, India and Singapore). Any constructive criticism of my application and the whole process is welcome.

[mbamissionjenK]

Hello,

Thanks for your post. Overall you have an interesting profile and a lot of positives (strong academics, research, extracurriculars, the bioentrepreneurship course, international experiences, and it sounds like you've put some thought into your goals). However am I understanding correctly that you only have 10 months of work experience? I understand that is often the case when you obtain a PhD, but I wonder if this is truly the right time for you to apply to business school if that is the case.

PhD candidates can and do get MBAs, but preferably after some full time work experience. If you think about it, the average MBA applicant has 5 years of full time work experience, so even with the PhD and great in-depth academics, it could be challenging. The rationale behind the work experience is that b-schools want to ensure that each student brings a wealth of real-world professional experiences to draw on in classroom discussions and projects, beyond just academic or research experience. I don't doubt that you have a diverse wealth of experiences, I'm just letting you know that that concern will be raised. Additionally you don't want the question to come up of- is this applicant a 'degree collector' so to speak.... the term is occasionally used when in doubt! ;)

So no matter what you would have to make a really strong case for why you do need the MBA and why NOW is the best time for you. Alternatively, you may want to work a year or two or three first!

The schools you've listed are some of the top in the world, as you know, so it's difficult for ANYONE to get into those programs. Stanford in particular has the lowest acceptance rate and smaller class size than many top schools. HBS & Wharton are tops as well, and ISB and Haas also very competitive. I'd encourage you to do some more research into the specific career path you may take and what schools might make the most sense for that, and also look at some schools outside the 10-15.

Keep us posted on questions and decisions!

[tulipnuwal]

Thank you Jennifer for the detailed response. I guess I was not clear with my post. I have 32 months of full-time work experience as a researcher at UCSF post PhD. Also during this full-time work I was also a part-time intern with a non profit organization for 10 months.
Now, what do you have to say about my candidacy :) ? Still a degree collector?

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi there,

Thank you for clarifying, I had not understood that amount of work experience, thank you! That eliminates that concern of lack of work experience. And please note-- I am not saying I personally think you are a 'degree collector' or anything at all, but it's my job to provide you with my objective view of all of the potential criticisms or concerns that COULD possibly be raised by an admissions committee, and when candidates have other advanced degrees especially PhD's WITHOUT much work experience, it can be a challenge to gain acceptance to business school.

Otherwise your profile is fairly strong; certainly a higher GMAT would make things a little brighter for those top schools. A lot will depend upon your essays-- that is where you SHOW the school a) what you'll bring to the class, b) why you want the MBA and why now, c) what you'll do with the degree post graduation, and d) why their program is a great fit for you. Essays can make a big difference in a competitive environment so I encourage you to invest significant time and effort on them!

In terms of other schools, have you looked at Cambridge? They are known for ties to science and technology and biotechnology, both among the b-school and university as a whole. There are other top ranked programs in Europe too if considering the EU as another option post-graduation, have a look if you haven't yet at the Financial Times Global MBA ranking for a better idea of global programs.

Keep us posted on q's and progress!

[tulipnuwal]

Thank you Jennifer for the frank responses. This helps a lot. I have not considered applying to Cambridge yet as my first preference is schools in India and US. I will see how my first round of applications go and then decide on the schools for the second round.

Thanks.

[mbamissionjenK]

Hope it was helpful in some way and please let us know how it goes and if you have any other q's!

Also have a look at all the dates for your specific schools but just keep in mind that sometimes there are instances where you don't know the final answers from R1 before R2 deadlines hit. Just something to look into.

Good luck!