Profile Evaluation

[O&G MBA]

Hello, I will be applying to MBA programs for the class of 2020 and am curious how I could fare with the profile details below. I would appreciate any recommendations to help strengthen my candidacy.

Target Schools
Wharton, Harvard, Stanford, Dartmouth, Duke, UT-Austin

General
Age: 25
Ethnicity: White
Sex: Male

Education
School: Texas A&M University - College Station
Major: Petroleum Engineering
GPA: 3.1 / Major GPA: 3.4

First two years of engineering were not too stellar (lots of "weed out" classes), but my last 60 hours were around a 3.3.

GMAT
710 (49Q 38V)

Only issue was my IR which was a 4. However, the first time I took the GMAT (640 - 41Q, 37V) I scored an 8, so I am not sure how B-schools will view this.

Profile
I currently work in Midland, Texas within the energy industry as an engineer for one of the super-major oil & gas companies (Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, BP). I have been working with the company for the past 3 years. I interned with the company for two summers in college before receiving the full time offer.

I have been taking on significantly increasing amounts of responsibility (despite the downturn), however, my title has remained the same. My company is very flat on titles - I have a co-worker with 8 years more experience than I do and we share the same title on paper. Will this be much of an issue to admissions councils?

After graduation I plan to stay in the oil & gas industry, but want to transition to the financial/management side. I still need to explore exactly what type of finance I wish to pursue, but all of the schools I have listed have robust energy programs and/or clubs.

Any help is welcome and appreciated!

[mbaMissionKate]

Hi there! Thanks for reaching out.

That's great you've been able to take on increasing responsibility. I'm not too worried about the title issue, what matters is that you can show things like increased leadership, impact, clear results, and other impressive accomplishments. Plus, you can always have one of your recommenders explain the lack of title progression when it comes time. On your post-MBA goals -- right now, that sounds like a reasonable path, and a specific one too, which is great. But it can't hurt to familiarize yourself even more with what those roles entail, so you can present a really solid plan to achieve that goal when it comes time. Think about the long-term goal / impact you want to have too, you'll want that to be a part of your goal story in your essays eventually.

Any extracurricular activities / leadership outside work / etc.? If not, that's definitely an area to improve and you've got time to do it, which is great. Could be volunteer work with a charity, could be something like involvement in a professional or alumni network, or lots of other options!

Lastly, your academic stats -- your overall GPA is good, but not stellar. It will help that you studied engineering, and that there was an upward trend. But since a 3.1 is going to put you below average for those top schools (average is usually 3.5/3.6), I encourage you to give the GMAT another shot and see if you can get a 720+ score. Your score now is great, and an impressive improvement too , but if you want to maximize your chances at those top schools (like H/S/W), you'd be in a much better position if you were closer to their GMAT average (which right now is around 730). I would not worry too much about the IR score, that section is not heavily weighted still, and the fact that you got an 8 on one of your attempts will look good.

Hope this helps, and keep us posted with any additional questions!
Kate

Hello, I will be applying to MBA programs for the class of 2020 and am curious how I could fare with the profile details below. I would appreciate any recommendations to help strengthen my candidacy.

Target Schools
Wharton, Harvard, Stanford, Dartmouth, Duke, UT-Austin

General
Age: 25
Ethnicity: White
Sex: Male

Education
School: Texas A&M University - College Station
Major: Petroleum Engineering
GPA: 3.1 / Major GPA: 3.4

First two years of engineering were not too stellar (lots of "weed out" classes), but my last 60 hours were around a 3.3.

GMAT
710 (49Q 38V)

Only issue was my IR which was a 4. However, the first time I took the GMAT (640 - 41Q, 37V) I scored an 8, so I am not sure how B-schools will view this.

Profile
I currently work in Midland, Texas within the energy industry as an engineer for one of the super-major oil & gas companies (Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, BP). I have been working with the company for the past 3 years. I interned with the company for two summers in college before receiving the full time offer.

I have been taking on significantly increasing amounts of responsibility (despite the downturn), however, my title has remained the same. My company is very flat on titles - I have a co-worker with 8 years more experience than I do and we share the same title on paper. Will this be much of an issue to admissions councils?

After graduation I plan to stay in the oil & gas industry, but want to transition to the financial/management side. I still need to explore exactly what type of finance I wish to pursue, but all of the schools I have listed have robust energy programs and/or clubs.

Any help is welcome and appreciated!