Berkeley / Haas - 07-18-2019 | Clear Admit ApplyWire

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July 18, 2019 5:47am ET

Applying: Berkeley / Haas, Harvard Business School, INSEAD, MIT Sloan, Northwestern / Kellogg, Stanford GSB, UPenn / Wharton

Intake Year: 2020

Pre-MBA Career: Military Officer

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Entrepreneurship Companies: Bain , BCG , McKinsey

GMAT: 730

GPA: 3.85

Years of Work Experience: 6

Location: Singapore

Post MBA Location: United States

Notes:

I am a Singaporean military officer who is planning to make my transition from military to business by pursuing my MBA. I was educated at an American service academy, where I attained a GPA of 3.85, majoring in political science. I am also a member of the LGBT community, and am seeking this transition out of the military in order to be able to live openly as a gay person (it is still technically illegal to commit homosexual acts in Singapore). I aspire to become a management consultant post-MBA, in order to put the organizational management skills I have gained in the military to good use, and continue to build on those expertise to become a leader in the business world. I hope to become a role model for other LGBT people from Asian societies, and show them that one can succeed despite the cultural and social stigma against LGBT people. I also hope that by becoming a successful LGBT person in the business world, I can make advancements in reducing workplace discrimination against sexual minorities in Asian societies, thereby chipping away at the cultural stigma embedded in Asian societies.

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Show Comments (5) Last: July 29, 2019

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1676 You should have a strong profile for top programs. Good numbers, military experience is typically seen as strong, with good leadership experiences. Your experiences of being gay I never a non-inclusive environment will also be interesting. Becoming a role model for the community, long term, is very laudable. The only piece I think you could strengthen is having a more specific long term goal. You want to be a business leader, but do you have any vision for a particular industry etc? (0)

grichmond Verified User. Likes Earned: 1235 There's an awful lot to like here; and as Alex mentioned, military profiles are generally viewed in a favorable light. I agree that the goals need some more work, and I would encourage you to think about how your career might evolve if you return to Asia post-MBA too. One final note: there are also some dos/don'ts for military candidates, but Alex and I will try and talk through that in the next episode of the Clear Admit 'Wire Taps' podcast. Best of luck!
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anon12276 Likes Earned: 0 Thanks Graham and Alex for your positive comments. I'd be sure to catch the next episode of Wire Taps. In response to Alex's question, my post-MBA aspiration to become a management consultant, focusing on the field of international business. I see my dual identity of being an English-educated individual with a Singaporean Chinese heritage as an advantage I could tap into, and I hope my bilingualism in English and Mandarin Chinese could be beneficial in creating bridges between Asia and the West. I also believe that management consulting would be a great way for me to build on the organizational management skills I had gained in the military and help companies find solutions to their problems, letting change-making and value-creation become the core function of my job. The international business field is also how I see myself becoming a role model for other Asian LGBT people, whether I am working in the US or going back to Asia in the future. It would be great if you could let me know what you think of the above. I am also taking the GMAT again to try to get it up to maybe a 750, especially since I assume the Singaporean pool is going to be a competitive one. (0)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1676 I'd still like to see some form of industry focus, long term. Being international, and a connection between two cultures is great, but most large companies are now international in scope. Are there particular industries in which you can see yourself lead? Improving the GMAT seldom can hurt, but your GMAT/GPA combo is already strong. (0)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1676 More detailed feedback on this candidacy in this episode of Wire Taps: https://www.clearadmit.com/2019/07/episode-42-wire-taps-advice-on-timing-of-applying-post-mba-goals-military-background-and-more/ (0)