Hi, I would really appreciate if you evaluate my profile.

I took gmat last week and scored 700 (V38, Q48 & AWA 5.5). I can improve my Quant score to 50 easily (not prepared for Quant at all other than taking 3-4 practice exams). But I am not sure if retake is needed as I am just below the average score of Haas which I will be targeting.

I work in the Bay area and i would like to apply for part time programs at UC Berkeley (Haas), Santa Clara Univ (Leavey) & UC Davis. Can you evaluate my profile and let me know if I have a shot at Haas.

I am an Indian (Male) and completed by Bachelors in Electrical engg in one of the best schools in India (GPA: 8/10). I did Masters in a 2nd tier university in US (GPA: 4/4). I have about 3.5 years (total) work experience as Hardware Engineer in two S&P 500 companies. I was a project lead for some projects even though my employee rank is an engineer.

I don't have a lot of extra curricular activities (about 2-3 I did can be useful)

Can you kindly provide some guidance on these questions

1. Provided I have an admit from Haas & Leavey, is it beneficial to go through with Haas as the tuition cost is almost twice as for Leavey.

2. As Leavey's part-time is also ranked in top15, will Haas provide me any future benefits with respect to salary, ease of finding a job (as this is a career change)

3. How do you compare Leavey to UC Davis program?

Thank you in advance for the help. I appreciate it very much.

Hi t.sunny.82,

Thanks for sharing these details. Deciding the cost-benefits tradeoff between programs is really a personal decision that depends on current salary and financial situation, as well as future income expectations.

1) The career office at each of these schools should be able to provide you with the median post-MBA salary of its graduates. From there you can decide if the difference in long-term expected salary is worth the short-term cost.

2) The career offices can also provide you with a list of recruiters as well as companies where alumni work. Since Haas has a strong name brand it may be possible that there could be more opportunities for the career change you are looking for.

3) Unfortunately I am not too familiar with the differences in these programs, so cannot offer good insights as to which would be more appropriate for your needs.

Best of luck!

Jessica Shklar
mbaMission

Thank you for the suggestions.

I just have another question. Is my profile good enough for Haas (as I don't have a lot of extra curricular activities), assuming I do a decent job with the essay questions. I should be able to get good recommendations.

Hi tsunny,

It is a bit tough to predict the role of extracurriculars in a profile evaluation -- while it is definitely good if that area is strong in your application, it's hard to predict the overall impact if it is weak. Putting that aside, your academics appear competitive for Haas, but you will need to clearly differentiate yourself from the engineering applicant pool to ensure the admissions officers remember your application.

Best of luck,
Daniel Richards
http://www.mbamission.com

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