Hi Guys,

Just wanted to start off by saying I absolutely love the job you guys do on the podcast and here at clearadmit! I've been binge listening to the podcast for the last month and really appreciate the time and care you spend on each wire taps applicant.

A bit more information about me, I'm an international applicant from Hong Kong / UK who studied mechanical engineering at a T30 UG school in the US. Since graduation I have been working in a project engineer role at an industrial automation company, and got a fast promotion (started in sales engineering 1yr - avg promotion time out of sales 3yrs) to a project engineering role.

I have strong EC's (toastmasters, mentoring immigrant students post graduation, lots of involvement in engineering and international student clubs whilst at university).

I have not taken the GMAT yet but am generally a strong test taker and have a lot of time to take and retake since I will be applying next Sept. Shooting for 730+ score.

While I am mostly enjoying my current job, I would like to pivot more towards the business side of engineering, where I am still involved in engineering + tech but not as hands on, looking more at the bigger picture, etc. Roles like strategy and PM interest me but I have yet to narrow it down to an exact position/company/function.

My big concern here is my W.E. and my GPA. First and foremost, as I am not American and I have not gotten any luck in the H1B visa lottery, I will have to return to HK/UK after my 3 year OPT is up, leaving me with only 3 years of work experience. Since I am getting booted out of the US, I will be unemployed for a few months before B school apps are due too.

My other concern is my GPA, 3.27 is quite pedestrian (although as an engineer it did mean I qualified/ graduated cum laude) and I worry that the combination of this and my WE means that the schools I want to go to are out of reach.

Do you have any advice for me in terms of where my candidacy might stand in terms of the schools listed, or anything I can do now with my year of OPT remaining that could boost my chances?

Just to add further colour to my application - apologies for the wall of text - I am also maybe an ORM as an east asian in engineering applying from Hong Kong, but I may move to the UK after my OPT is up to spend time with family - if I apply from the UK does that make me a URM? How does adcom typically determine the bucket you go into?

Again, really appreciate you guys as well as the clear admit community for all the thankless help everyone gives out on this site!