Hi,

Please kindly evaluate my profile.

Male, 28, Chinese American

GMAT: 770 (first and only attempt), Q:50, V:46, AWA:6.0

Education: University of California, San Diego
Undergraduate GPA - 3.78 (BS in Computer Science)
Graduate GPA - 3.67 (MS in Computer Science)

Work Experience: 4 years of industry experience in a reputable and well-known software company as a software developer

Other Experiences:
- Associate board member of the Chinese employees diversity group at my company, involved with leadership roles in cultural and community service activities
- Volunteer for a local charity organization, focused on providing financial assistance to rural children in China. Lead several charity fundraising events over the past few years.
- Career mentorship at my company, helped new employees in my team develop their technical and leadership abilities

Foreign Languages: Fluent in Mandarin Chinese

Goals: I wish to leverage my highly analytic skills, solid software development background, and first-hand experience in cloud computing to become a consultant for new businesses and help them design and develop cloud-based business infrastructures. For the long term, I plan to continue my involvement with charity organizations that provide financial assistance to impoverished rural children in China, and help them excel in academic and professional careers.

Target Schools: Harvard, Wharton, Chicago, Columbia, NYU

I am planning to apply first round this year. Please kindly provide your comments and suggestions. Specifically, I would like to know how I can stand out in the midst of the "Asian American engineer" crowd that may be a bit over-represented in the MBA applicant pool.


Thanks in advance,
Richard

Hi Richard,

Thanks for writing in, and congratulations on an excellent GMAT score. Indeed your biggest challenge will be standing out in the "Asian-American engineer" pool, where your competing peers will also likely have high GMAT score. There are a few tools you have to help achieve this differentiation:

1) Your community service involvement seems strong and an important part of who you are. Hopefully you can leverage this experience to focus on one of your essays, rather than just talking about work.

2) Achievements at work. Try and emphasize anecdotes that show leadership, upward trajectory, and demonstrate personal maturity.

3) Your goal statement. You'll want to make sure this is very well-defined. How do you plan to rely on your analytic background to be a cloud computing consultant? How will an MBA help you achieve this? And how will you make the leap from consulting to charity work in China, or is that always going to be a side project? If so, explain the role it will have in your life.

Good luck!
Daniel Richards
http://www.mbamission.com

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Thanks a lot Daniel for the evaluation!