Indian,
male,
32, (33 next year when get into MBA program)
undergraduate, Jadavpur University (top 10 in India), GPA 3.4
Ph.D., University of Maryland, GPA 3.6 pharmaceutical sciences
GMAT 760, AWA 5
work experinces:
2 years at Schering-Plough
1 year at BMS, with slightly increasing responsibilities.
international work experience: 1 month in Japan
want to apply fall of 2009
want to get an MBA with healthcare focus since I want to come back to pharmaceutical industry after graduation.
do you think I have a chance for HBS, Stanford, Wharton, Sloan or columbia? Can you give me recommendation which school I should consider?
safe school, within my reach school, and stretch a little school?
Thank you very much.
GMAT Forum
5 postsPage 1 of 1
- MBAApply
Honestly I think your chances are slim to none for HBS and Stanford unless you have some exceptional non-academic/non-scientific accomplishments to complement your profile.
As for Wharton, you may have an outside shot, but it comes down to how well you execute your application and whether you can show yourself to be more than a "lab rat" (i.e. you have strong interpersonal/leadership skills).
Columbia and Sloan will be stretches - unless if you'll regret not applying to one of H/S/W, you should focus on schools in this tier as your stretches (Columbia, Sloan, Kellogg, Chicago, and Tuck -- all of which are more or less equally hard to get in). Maybe choose 1-2 schools from this list.
Schools where you may be more competitive for are places like Duke, Michigan, Darden, Haas, UCLA, NYU, Cornell and Yale. Choose 3-4 from this group.
Beyond that, given your age and career path you really should focus on part-time or executive programs if you're planning on staying in healthcare, since you're not making a career switch as much as a switch in job function within the same industry (from technical to managerial). And money-wise it may be more worthwhile for you since you'll be working and studying at the same time with no lost income (not to mention that you'll be studying alongside students that are closer to your age than in full-time programs where most of the students are in their mid- to late-20s).
Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com
As for Wharton, you may have an outside shot, but it comes down to how well you execute your application and whether you can show yourself to be more than a "lab rat" (i.e. you have strong interpersonal/leadership skills).
Columbia and Sloan will be stretches - unless if you'll regret not applying to one of H/S/W, you should focus on schools in this tier as your stretches (Columbia, Sloan, Kellogg, Chicago, and Tuck -- all of which are more or less equally hard to get in). Maybe choose 1-2 schools from this list.
Schools where you may be more competitive for are places like Duke, Michigan, Darden, Haas, UCLA, NYU, Cornell and Yale. Choose 3-4 from this group.
Beyond that, given your age and career path you really should focus on part-time or executive programs if you're planning on staying in healthcare, since you're not making a career switch as much as a switch in job function within the same industry (from technical to managerial). And money-wise it may be more worthwhile for you since you'll be working and studying at the same time with no lost income (not to mention that you'll be studying alongside students that are closer to your age than in full-time programs where most of the students are in their mid- to late-20s).
Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com
- Raj
Thanks.
Alex, Thank you very much for your candid reply.
So you thought my major weaknesses are:
age: I am in my early 30s
background: I have a Ph.D.
Please let me know any other weaknesses I am missing from above. Thanks a lot.
So you thought my major weaknesses are:
age: I am in my early 30s
background: I have a Ph.D.
Please let me know any other weaknesses I am missing from above. Thanks a lot.
- JohnC
Hello Raj, I believe your age should not be a big issue considering you have a Ph.D. degree. As long as you have a clear short term and long term goal after your MBA, you should be competitive for HBS and Wharton. Your age indeed may put you at disadvantage if you apply Stanford. I would recommend you choose both HBS and Wharton, and 2 more among Columbia, Sloan, Kellogg, Chicago, and Tuck. You may also pick you 1 o2 from Fuqua, Johnson, Stern as your safe school. Hope above helps. Good luck.
5 posts Page 1 of 1