Dartmouth / Tuck - 01-16-2023 | Clear Admit ApplyWire

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January 16, 2023 8:48am ET

Applying: Dartmouth / Tuck, Georgetown / McDonough, Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan, Northwestern / Kellogg, Notre Dame / Mendoza, U. Chicago Booth, UPenn / Wharton, UVA / Darden, Yale SOM

Intake Year: 2024

Pre-MBA Career: Air Force Officer

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Non Profit/SI

GMAT: 670

GPA: 3.04

Years of Work Experience: 7

Location: Texas

Post MBA Location: East Coast - Arkansas - Texas - San Diego

Notes:

27M - Career background involves 2 years as a cyber researcher at the NSA - 1 year doing radar imagery analysis and AI - 2 years as a deputy flight commander and managing contracts for the government. While working, I also had a small business flipping houses. Currently, I am working as a test director for offensive cyber capabilities.

After my experience managing contracts I decided to pursue an MBA to enter strategy consulting. The role was very suited to my strengths and I enjoyed the analytical process of setting priorities and maximizing value under the constraints of our environment. I list non-profit/SI as well because I would like to continue service work after I leave the military.

I took the GMAT practice test cold and got a 670 so I anticipate being able to break 700 and am currently 25% through TTP's GMAT prep course.

I feel like I am a good candidate for an M7 school but my undergraduate GPA is almost a nonstarter. I graduated with a dual degree in electrical and computer engineering and was very involved in research - one honorable mention and a recipient of a NASA grant. I was the president of our school's chapter of IEEE (a global professional association for electronic engineering) and a member of the underwater ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) club.

Currently acting as the 'Electronics Tsar' at a non-profit San Antonio maker space.

Thank you in advance for taking a look - long time lurker on the site and listener to the podcast!

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Show Comments (13) Last: January 23, 2023

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1695 I’d really double down on the GMAT, try to target 740+. Retake the test, if necessary. That will help mitigate your GPA, to some extent. As you note, all else looks very interesting, and showing impact and growth, through your experiences will be vital. What do you see as your long term goal? (0)

bhschristian Likes Earned: 3 I've given myself a few months to continue studying for the GMAT and have time for two retakes after that. I am also considering taking a summer class at a local university to show that I can attend a class and make more than a B. Long term I would like to be a strategy consultant. I like jumping onto projects, absorbing information, and creative thinking. I have good relationships with most of my undergraduate professors (inc. our dean of science) - what should I be looking for in terms of their letters of recommendation to make the admissions officers consider my college career more favorably? I should also mention I have taken the GRE after undergrad with little prep and got a 323. I know some consider the GRE to be a backdoor test when GMAT results aren't coming your way - what are your thoughts on this? (0)

bhschristian Likes Earned: 3 I chose strategy because it seemed to be the intersection of research and management - both of which I have found success with and enjoyed in my career. Does that seem like it is a good fit for the reasons I outlined or are there other career paths I should be considering as well as strategic management? (0)

bhschristian Likes Earned: 3 My long-term goal is to have interesting work - and going to a school with a good network and plenty of open doors is - to me - key to finding compelling roles. Luckily, my wife does well so searching for those left-field or SI jobs won't be as restricted by salary requirements or the need to accept a job/internship offer quickly. (0)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1695 I don’t think I’d be looking back to university as a source of recommenders. Really double down on the GMAT, taking the additional class may be smart. Are there opportunities for someone with your profile re cyber security in the private or public sector, post MBA. That must be a growth field, given the environment of disinformartation and hacking? Even in a consulting capacity? (0)

bhschristian Likes Earned: 3 Yes, given my experience with offensive as opposed to defensive cyber (which is where most other cyber experts live), there is a lot of opportunity in startup and DoD. Are you saying that highlighting offensive cyber as a unique field to the admissions officer would improve my outlook? I.e. they see value in varying the fields of the alumni network. (0)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1695 Yes, IF it’s something you’re genuinely interested in pursuing. That’s key. (0)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1695 … although I’m not sure running a troll farm would be a palatable goal? (0)

bhschristian Likes Earned: 3 If we breed trolls - we create demand for bridges. -- Get in early -- (1)

bhschristian Likes Earned: 3 Ideally, a person could marry hacktivism and state-sponsored ethics while keeping the best of both. (1)

bhschristian Likes Earned: 3 somehow this didn't post but should be above the last reply ------- Yes, I've been spending a lot of time thinking about how I could leverage my background and an MBA into some sort of NGO to assist countries/organizations who are not equipt to deal with criminal or insurgent organizations as both continue to become more technically sophisticated. Hence, the Nonprofit/SI selection. However, exporting offensive cyber expertise is ethically challenging as the places that need help most also likely lack the oversight required to prevent abuse. **I am not trying to draw a comparison, I am just stating an opinion. (1)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1695 Yes, I think it is a challenging path to weave. Personally, it’s an area of particular interest, and I can see how important it is in the disinformation battles being waged. (0)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1695 More details on this candidacy in this episode of Wire Taps: https://www.clearadmit.com/2023/01/mba-wire-taps-272/ (0)