Hello Graham, Alex, and Clear Admit Community,

Awesome podcast (gave a 5 star rating on Apple Podcast!!)!! I’ve gone through 5 Clear Admit podcasts every week on my way to and from work and am now caught up to the most recent episode (only took 3 months to get through all of them). I love the insights and would love to be featured on Wire Taps!!

With regard to my MBA candidacy - in addition to assessing my chances of admission to the programs listed - I have also listed some further questions I had about admissions. Some of the information below is redundant, but is organized in the typical format I hear on the podcast. Please be brutally honest about my candidacy:

Application Round: Fall 2022 (Round 1)
Age at Matriculation: 27
Work Experience: 4 years at matriculation Demographic: Asian-American Male (ORM)
GMAT: 740 (49Q, 41V)
(2nd attempt; thinking about retaking the GMAT again for a third time to achieve a score of 760+ due to my demographic)
GPA: 3.54/4.0
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Minor: Finance
Undergrad: Top 10 U.S. News Ranked (Not known for Engineering)

Occupation:
Engineer (Manufacturing) at Fortune 100 Aerospace Company

Extracurriculars:
• Leadership position for company sponsored professional networking association in my city (just started so I’m working on making an impact both in the group and the broader community)
• Volunteer at local schools for STEM activities

Short-Term Post-MBA Career:
Consulting (MBB) focused on tech and engineering related industries
Long-Term Career:
C-Suite at Tech/Engineering Company (which out of CEO or COO would make more sense?)

School Selection:
Far Reaches: HBS, GSB, Wharton
Reaches: MIT, Columbia, Booth
Target: Kellogg, Haas

I plan to narrow down my school selection, but I'm currently not sure which to whittle it down to before I visit the campuses because all of the schools listed are great for consulting.

Additional Questions:
1.) Since I will be applying in 2 years, what can I do to improve my candidacy for H/S/W other than achieving a GMAT of 760+?
2.) How would my path look like if I wanted to take the consulting route to the C-Suite?
3.) Am I reaching too high in terms of school selection?
4.) I understand that the majority of candidates for the schools that I am applying come from finance, consulting, or engineering. However, I believe the engineers are mostly from design or analysis/research rather than manufacturing so I was wondering in what ways can I leverage my atypical production/manufacturing experience for my MBA candidacy.
5.) How can I make the most out of my visits to schools other than exploring the campus and clubs, sitting in for classes, and talking with current students? What should I be looking for or comparing with other schools during the visit?
6.) I have heard schools like Tuck and Haas require intensive networking and almost tunnel visioned interest in the school and it’s culture. How can I best express my strong interest in a school such as those mentioned above?
7.) What questions should I be asking alumni to understand the school culture, fit, and other important aspects of the school?
8.) I feel that my candidacy would be a roll of the dice at some of the schools listed above and that I don’t really have an X-factor. This being the case, what are some of the X-factors that I can work on (as a candidate that does not have a multi-million dollar startup or has not founded an international organization to help those in need) to differentiate myself in an impactful way?
9.) How can schools tell that you visited the school? How can you subtly show in the application that you have visited the school and express your interest in that way?
10.) Which M7 schools provide rejection feedback?

Any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated and please be brutally honest.

Thank you in advance!!