Mr. Defense Contractor

Hi, it’s Nisha from mbaMission! It sounds like you’re building a great career in the manufacturing/defense industry, with increasing responsibility and progression, and your career goal is perfectly logical. Your GPA is below the average for Kellogg (though the rigor of an ME major certainly would be taken into account) – since you are applying from a competitive demographic (male engineer) and your GMAT is about average for the program, it could really help to boost it by 10+ points to offset your GPA and to get above the average of Kellogg and some of the other programs you’re targeting: Wharton, CBS, Stern. Otherwise, I think these particular programs would be a stretch.

Kellogg greatly values leadership – you mentioned intramural sports and church volunteering. Do you do these in a leadership capacity and if not, is there an opportunity to pick up a leadership role within one of these involvements? That would boost your profile further. If you’re able to do this, boost your GMAT score, explain clearly in your applications the motivations behind your career goals within defense, and make a strong connection between yourself and each target program, you’ll be in stronger contention. Best of luck!

Hi Mr. Defense Contractor—This is Donna Bauman, Senior MBA Admissions Counselor at Stratus Admissions—and a Kellogg MBA—reviewing your profile. First I love your background of coming from a small liberal arts school and yet also having the engineering background. Combined with your percussion background in your college orchestra, you look to have the makings of a poet and a quant! I like that you have been promoted twice and that you bring manufacturing expertise to the MBA class discussions. These are all positives—and your scores are in the strike range even if your gpa is a bit soft—hopefully it can be seen on your transcript all the difficult engineering courses you have taken. With your background in defense, you will bring valuable industry knowledge to make your career pivot into a strategy role in the defense industry easier. I’d like to know more about your leadership since college and I encourage you to reach out to students and clubs at Kellogg now to get a better sense of how the clubs can help you grow—and also for you to gain insight on how you can add value to the Kellogg community. Your profile is one where you need a strong application—you absolutely have the stuff to be admitted—if you write about the right leadership challenge and present yourself in the best light. I’d be glad to talk to you further if you want to schedule a consultation. Best wishes to you—and I also would say the same advice applies to the other schools on your list—you have the potential to be successful with strong applications! I’d also consider adding Darden and Georgetown to your list for the proximity to connections in the defense industry since that is your goal.