Handicapping Your Shot At A Top School

Mr. Design Engineer

 

• 730 GMAT
• 3.55 GPA
• Undergraduate degree in physics from a top public university
• (Berkeley/UCLA/Michigan/UVA)
• 3.6 GPA (master’s)
• Master’s degree in mechanical engineering from same university
• Work experience includes two years as a design engineer for a private-equity backed company in the optoelectronics industry in Silicon Valley; have substantial experience in everything from production manufacturing to sales and customer support; responsibilities have included training production workers on manufacturing processes, product design, and customer support visits around the world, a job that requires quarterly trips to China, Japan and Korea.
• Extracurricular involvement as the founder of a fraternity (was one of 20 members to re-charter the house which is now a full sized fraternity of 80-100 members); volunteered for Habitat for Humanity, Boys and Girls Club and now an organization of scientists and engineers that teaches science lessons to underserved elementary school classes; heavily involved in rock climbing and mountaineering and have led many group trips into the wilderness
• “I can get a solid recommendation from my boss and his boss (neither have MBAs). I also have a couple of family friends who are Kellogg and HBS alums but I’m not sure how much that can help.”
• Goals: “This is where I’m a bit shaky. I always want to be involved in the tech world, but I’m not sure in what capacity. I’d love to get into consulting and use it as a steppingstone towards the goal of ultimately running a large tech company. I’d also like to get into VC, but i recognize that the chances of that are pretty slim.”
• 24-year-old white male planning to apply in Round one of 2015

Odds of Success:

Harvard: 30% to 45%

Stanford: 20% to 30%

Wharton: 40% to 50%

Northwestern: 50%+

MIT: 40%+

Berkeley: 50%+

UCLA: 60%+

Sandy’s Analysis: Lots to like including: Rock climbing (B-schools like this for some reason, often rock climbers are humorless in a good way to adcoms, who are not a barrel of laughs themselves), 730, physics major (more humorlessness, I know, I should be in the lab at 3 a.m. when you guys do your “Ergs on first, Watt’s on second, Kelvin is an absolute zero” routine) 3.5 at top school, tech guy at PE-backed “optoelectronics” firm,  “managing the technical aspects of the product line for all of our customers in Asia. This has included quarterly trips to China, Japan, and Korea,” and lots of solid extras including Frat Founder and this three-point buzzer beater  . . .  “I now volunteer for an organization of scientists and engineers that teach science lessons to underserved elementary school classes.”

That could be Stanford for sure. You just need a serviceable and smart essay set that ties it all together along with some Why Stanford mojo, and confirming recs.

You ask, “I can get a solid recommendation from my boss and his boss (neither have MBAs). I also have a couple of family friends who are Kellogg and HBS alums but I’m not sure how much that can help.” The fact that your boss and his boss do not have MBAs is not a big deal. You just need to collaborate with them on your story and prep them about all the solid things you have done for the company. That should not be hard, actually, since it is apparently true. Family friends who have HBS and Kellogg MBAs are not, without more, much in this mix, but you don’t need any super extras, just work your very strong basics.

“Goals: This is where I’m a bit shaky. I always want to be involved in the tech world, but I’m not sure in what capacity. I’d love to get into consulting and use it as a steppingstone towards the goal of ultimately running a large tech company. I’d also like to get into VC, but i recognize that the chances of that are pretty slim.”

Your actual chances of getting into venture capital with a background like this, plus an MBA from a top school, are quite good, but I agree, this does not read that way, so leave it out. You don’t need that for you app. Your original idea, consulting as a steppingstone to tech leadership is perfect.  As often noted, consulting is a great short-term goal for adcoms since consulting firms hire lots of B-school grads and consulting kids often grow up to do big things.

What you need to do, well, you don’t need to do this, but it would help, especially at Stanford, is fashion your tech leadership long-term goal with some PC-twist, probably re-introducing your early experiences with training production workers and work in Asia and “optoelectronics” to fashion some yarn about creating hi-tech products and great jobs in under-served areas of the world, including the USA, or sumpthin like that.

I’d say chances at HBS and Wharton are also solid, and even more solid as you go down the pecking order to MIT (they will totally like you), Kellogg (not a natural fit but they go for rock climbing physics kids who have sales experience) and Berkeley. I don’t think you need UCLA as a safety school. You will get in to one or more of the above.

You can also apply next year, year three on your job, instead of year four, as you propose above. Your story is real strong and not getting any stronger. Get this show on the road.