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Fresh Electrical Engineering graduate, but want an MBA

Kaze

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I'm graduating this June from Cal Poly Pomona majoring in Electrical Engineering. Here's the problem,
I don't like engineering in general. I chose engineering because I was kind of introverted and figured that well engineering is a great job for an introverted. After spending a couple years in college, I found out that being anti social won't get you anywhere in life. So now I figured out that I want to make the switch to management.

I recently applied to USC and got accepted for the MSEE program but really, I like the idea of USA but don't think I can bear doing an ever higher level of engineering studies.

What should I do to get in a top 5 MBA program? Any advice will be greatly appreciated

My stats are as below:
Undergrad GPA 3.94/4.0
Valedictorian of the school of engineering (and the ECE department)2011
Absolutely no work experience or internship experience
I can speak multiple languages, Mandarin/Cantonese/Japanese/Malay/English

Thanks
 

indesertum

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get a job for a few years first. hopefully someplace that'll help you learn the ropes or try out different departments
 

Lord-Barrington

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A MBA right now would be an epic waste. Work a few years and then apply to Stanford/Harvard/Wharton.
 

austinite

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There are non-introverted entry level EE positions. Look into Applications Engineering or Technical
Sales. Do MBA after a couple years of that?
 

ns7

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Originally Posted by Kaze
My stats are as below:
Undergrad GPA 3.94/4.0
Valedictorian of the school of engineering (and the ECE department)2011
Absolutely no work experience or internship experience
I can speak multiple languages, Mandarin/Cantonese/Japanese/Malay/English

Thanks


Your stats are very good. Here's what you need to do:
1) Get into either a sales or marketing role. After you get one work hard but also talk to your manager about gaining responsibility or direct reports. And also do stuff outside of work.
2) Try to get >~750 on your GMAT. If you can't get this higher, 700+ should be fine. Unfortunately engineers are held to a higher standard

If you can do these things you should be able to get into a school like Kellogg, MIT Sloan, Columbia, etc. with a shot at Wharton, Harvard, and Stanford in descending order.
 

alliswell

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Originally Posted by Kaze
I'm graduating this June from Cal Poly Pomona (snip)

No offense; you're not going to a top business school unless you start a major company and cash out. Ace the GMAT, demonstrate consistent promotion at your first job and think of top 20 schools when you're 26.
 

Lord-Barrington

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Originally Posted by alliswell
No offense; you're not going to a top business school unless you start a major company and cash out. Ace the GMAT, demonstrate consistent promotion at your first job and think of top 20 schools when you're 26.
You're a moron. Pick up the resume books of any top 5 MBA program and you will see students from all kinds of different undergrads, some way worse than Cal Poly Pomona and some you've never heard of.
 

alliswell

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Originally Posted by Lord-Barrington
You're a moron. Pick up the resume books of any top 5 MBA program and you will see students from all kinds of different undergrads, some way worse than Cal Poly Pomona and some you've never heard of.

Cal Poly Pomona is tied for 8th in the category of Top Public Schools in the West Region (15 states), according to the U.S. News & World Report 2010 College Rankings: Universities-Master's category (1. CP San Luis Obispo, 2. New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology, 3. Western Washington, 4. Long Beach State, 5. Evergreen State, 6. T-Chico State, Colorado Springs, 8. T-Cal State Fullerton).
 

Lord-Barrington

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Originally Posted by alliswell
Cal Poly Pomona is tied for 8th in the category of Top Public Schools in the West Region (15 states), according to the U.S. News & World Report 2010 College Rankings: Universities-Master's category (1. CP San Luis Obispo, 2. New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology, 3. Western Washington, 4. Long Beach State, 5. Evergreen State, 6. T-Chico State, Colorado Springs, 8. T-Cal State Fullerton).

???????????????????????
 

Kaze

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well my school isn't the best but it is one of the better engineering schools around.

keep the advices coming please.
 

blueprint

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Originally Posted by Kaze
well my school isn't the best but it is one of the better engineering schools around.

keep the advices coming please.


I'm assuming you're in Cali so you're at an advantage in the sense that California is home to some great MBA Programs.

First things first, you should decide what you want to do with an MBA. It's one thing to say you want to go into management, but it would be immensely helpful to you if you knew an industry or two that you wanted to focus on.

If you're looking to get into a top tier program, you should be doing two things right now:

1) Gaining Experience
2) Studying for your GMAT and aiming for 700+.

On the experience side, most programs have a requirement of 3 years as a bare minimum.

For the GMAT, your undergraduate profile is stellar and depending on the quality of your admissions essays, you could have a decent shot with a 680 or so. I think if you hit the 700s, you have a great chance.

The last thing I'll say to you, and this is probably most important, is that an MBA is only as good as your ability to network and your interpersonal skills. You could have an MBA from one of the top schools, but if you can't nail an interview, it's going to be very difficult to get that ideal job.

Hope that helps!
 

pebblegrain

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Originally Posted by alliswell
No offense; you're not going to a top business school unless you start a major company and cash out. Ace the GMAT, demonstrate consistent promotion at your first job and think of top 20 schools when you're 26.
this is wrong. look at any list of graduates from HBS, GSB, Sloan, and there are plenty of ****** ugrad schools on there. I mean a lot. In fact, the OP fits the profile of these top MBA candidates: top dog in a ****** podunk school (or top 1/3 of class at a prestige school...) to the OP, 2 points: 1. nobody, and I mean nobody, gets an MBA with 1 or 0 yrs of experience. Ideally you should get 3-5 yrs, you have to know what kinds of roles are out there so that you know which one you want. This is for your own sake. 2. you don't need an MBA to be a social, managerial, networked kind of dude. Always seek out leading roles in teams, projects, etc and you can have the same career as many other MBAs. Only very few industries or career paths absolutely require an MBA. Engineering/technology in particular does not.
 

newinny

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Originally Posted by Lord-Barrington
You're a moron. Pick up the resume books of any top 5 MBA program and you will see students from all kinds of different undergrads, some way worse than Cal Poly Pomona and some you've never heard of.

You've got to be one of the most unpleasant people on this forum.
 

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