Please evaluate my profile!!!

[NguyenL542]

Please help me to evaluate my profile!

Short term: I want to continue pursue the project management either in construction field or in industrial service, manufacturing industry. Working in US or in EU.
Long term: entrepreneurship, normally in SEAsia, after working a long time in industrial service, you will get a lot of contacts and it is worth to open a company to use them.

Do I have any problem with my short- and long -term goal? Because I worry that my goal is too strange, isn't it?

I want to apply at top 20 US with at least 75% tuition fee or top 30 US with 100% tuition fee. In EU, IESE is the best school that I consider because they gave about 50% of tuition in average last year.

Do you think that it is possible for me to make it?

Profile overview

Nationality: Vietnamese
Occupation: Electrical Engineer
GMAT: 700 Q50 V34 IR3 AWA? (not yet get the score for AWA)
TOEFL: not yet take
1. Working Experience: 4.5 years
- From 7/2011 to 4/2012: Electrical assigned engineer for an EPC contractor (we designed the whole industrial plant, procurement the equipment+system, constructing and finally commissioning that plant), designed Electrical system
- From 4/2012 to 7/2013: Electrical assigned engineer at head office in Bangkok, Thailand; designed electrical system for a project in North Vietnam (about 200 million USD in total)
- From 7/2013 to 11/2014: Electrical Supervisor in North Vietnam for that Project
- Later I come back to work for the Vietnam office and work as Electrical Leader
2. Academic
- Graduated on 4/2011 at a rank of 11 over about 200 students from Vietnam National University - Ho Chi Minh City of Technology, GPA 7.2/10
- High school: 1 Silver medal and 1 Bronze medal in Olympic 30/4 in South of Vietnam, Subject: Physics; 1 Encouragement award in Vietnam National Competition for all Vietnam High schools, Subject: Physics
3. Extra activities
- Teaching Vietnamese for Thai colleagues (I learn Thai during the time I was there) for 3 months when we worked together in North Vietnam
- Managing an event to celebrate when our project gain 1,000,000 hours without incidence
- Evaluate healthcare suppliers and lead other colleagues to take annual healthcare
- Frequently leading tours for Thai & Vietnamese (from other regions) colleagues to travel in North Vietnam
- Leader of PR-Marketing department in a soft skill club in University
- Part time jobs when I was a student: Logistic officer for 2 event events about Int’l Tourism Estate and Industrial Estate in Ho Chi Minh city

[mbamissionjenK]

Hello,

Thanks for your post. So the strengths I see in your profile include your progression over your career; some supervisory experience; project management and analytical/quant skills; teaching experiences demonstrate communication skills; grades sound solid; some international exposure. In terms of what schools to apply to, there are many factors to consider, in addition to just where you could get in; check out our free download on choosing schools at: http://info.mbamission.com/Selecting-Yo ... ram-E-Book.

Re: scholarships, keep in mind that scholarships are not super common for b-schools, and those given are offered to top applicants by far. Most b-school students finance their degree with low-interest rate educational loans, paid back over 5-15 years with their post-MBA salary. Perhaps you mean financial aid based on need, or loans... not sure as those may be more available, but you'd want to research each school as they are all pretty school-specific. For actual scholarships, you'd want to apply to schools where you have strong chances, and where a school may wish to recruit you so to speak, for better chances.

Given the limited amount I know of you I'd say that top 15 or so in the US might be tougher but beyond that there are some options if you put together a strong application. And the goals don't worry me per se if you can support your rationale, show that you've done your research and know what you are talking about, and can demonstrate what you'll bring from your past experiences to your future goals as well.

Let us know if we can help further!

[NguyenL542]

Many thanks for your detail answer!

By the way, is that possible for an international student like me to apply job in energy sector (such as GE, BP, First solar, etc), assuming that I will graduated at McCombs TX or Rice? Another case, industrial jobs for MBA in Seattle after MBA in Olin for an international student. When I review school on Bloomberg's website, there are plenty of statistic information about school and also after MBA salary. I saw that Asian student normally receive the salary below average? Is it because of discrimination? (just ask, no offend).

Is there any industrial sector in which your international citizenship precludes your success in job landing? I do a search over the internet but I did not find a better answer.

If my target schools are: Ross, Fuqua, McCombs, Olin, Tepper, Foster (I think they all are in industrial area - my quick research) and IESE in EU.
How many is my probability to be admitted for each school? I just need an imaginary number - to quantify my expectation, no need to be accurate.

About the financial aid, because it will be gradually harder for international MBA candidates to get HB1 visa, so that I need to be careful with my debt, just in case I have to come back my country, I worry that it might be a burden for me. High FA is all about exit plan.

Thank you a lot!

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi there,

Sure thing, I know it can be tough to research everything via online searches! I would also encourage you to really connect with some of your top choice schools as that can help you as you gather info... participate in some of their online sessions and ask q's; read their sites and look for student blogs; email career services centers and such; ask to be put in touch with current students or recent alum. Many have pretty good employment stats on their websites too.

Re: jobs by sector and with international status in mind, it really varies as if you get a company that wants to support you and help with the visa process etc it can work out well, but there again I'd ask the schools about their international grads and where they end up and how challenging visas are etc. No I would not broadly say discrimination is a job/salary factor , there are so many variables but I'd say salary is a factor also influenced by PRIOR salaries; by function; and by region/geography-- wages when translated to US dollars in other parts of the world may not look as impressive for example.

Really can't give odds by school AND the way you tell your story in your applications still has a huge role... you can look up selectivity/admissions stats by school; many on your list accept 20-35% or so of applicants for example. So broadly your odds are around that; perhaps higher than that at Olin, Foster, and Tepper. Hope that helps!