Ms. Female Engineer

Ms Female Engineer: It’s Emily here from The MBA Exchange. I was an admissions reader at Wharton and also an Associate Director of Admissions at Columbia Business School. I think your background as a woman in engineering, your non traditional work experience and your diverse commitments outside of work will shine in the MBA application process. Your 323 is on the low side for top MBA programs and while your goals make sense with your background, you need to work on them to make them stand out. You want to think about what is currently happening in these industries and how an MBA can uniquely help you meet the challenges of a changing industry so you are ready to lead it! If at all possible, try to drive the test scores up—like it or not, they are important factors to schools like Stern and Wharton. You’ve got a lot to offer any MBA community. Good luck!

Hi, Ms. Female Engineer, Julie-Anne Heafey here with mbaMission. I’m going to rate your chances higher than the other experts so far– your leadership shines in your profile, and I’ve worked with multiple successful female engineer applicants who have had great success at Wharton. I think your GRE is probably fine – the total is on par with both schools – 324 at Wharton and I have 324 as the most recent GRE at NYU Stern too (see the P&Q article from March 2019 – I think their numbers are from US News and World Report). I’d just double check that your strengths are not overwhelmingly skewed to one side or the other – if that’s the case, I’d work on the lower side to bring it up and retake. If I had one piece of advice for you about Wharton, it’s to really show them your love for the school. Best of luck!!

Hi, Melisa here from Stratus Admissions. Congrats on the nomination for SWE president in NY – that is quite an accomplishment! I think your STEM background and extracurricular activities make you a strong candidate. Your GRE score is in line with Wharton’s published average of 324 and while Stern doesn’t publish their GRE scores yet, I am sure you would fall in their range. Your double major with a good GPA shows your solid ability to handle rigorous coursework. As you approach your applications, you’ll want to focus on the leadership experiences you’ve had both professionally and extracurricularly – and how you’ve been able to positively influence those around you. I just recently worked with another female in construction management in NY who is completing her first year! An area I think you need to focus a bit is your goals. I can logically see operations consulting, but struggle to understand (based on the limited info here) the tie to tech. This would be something to dig deeper into as top programs will want to understand this more clearly. You may want to take a look at MIT, Tepper or Ross given your STEM background and goals. Best of luck!