Help for profile evaluation and select B school

[jb_avinash]

I am schedule to take my exam on 18-09-2013. Please evaluate my profile and help me to select the B school.

BRIEF PROFILE:
Age : 26 years

Education:
10th ICSE board year 2003 91%
12th ISC board year 2005 91%
Graduation : B E (Marine Engineering) Year 2010 75% from DMET Kolkata (known as T S Chankya also) affiliated to Jadavpur University. Admission thru IIT JEE merit list.
Always in top 10% in the class

Extra Curricular activities:

Very good in extra curricular acitivities and many certificates to support in sports, organization & management at school, college and national meets.
Work Experience: I am Marine Engineer (Mariner Profile) with more than 18.5 months of sailing experience with overall 3 years of work experience. Will be prepared for additional work experience to get to top business schools6.

GMAT Prep. Scores:

Varitas 720 (Q50 V39) on 25-07-13
Kaplan 760 on 29-07-13
MGMAT 1 720 (Q51, V37) on 09-09-2013
MGMAT 2 720 (Q50, V38) on 14-08-2013
GMAT Prep1 730

Business Schools preferences:

Interest in : HRM, General Management, entrepreneurship, logistics (based on School).
ISB top preference, Schools in Asia, Europe (but will be prepared to go anywhere if get top 20 colleges)
Cost will be of consideration.

I would be highly thankful, if you could kindly suggest me a tentative list of business schools to apply. As I am aiming for Top Schools, kindly also let me know what should be my GMAT score to get to top business schools.

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi there,

Thanks for posting and good luck on that GMAT-- it can make a big difference in terms of what tier of school you should aim for!!

Otherwise the marine experience will stand out slightly, but there are a huge number of engineers from India who apply to b-school so you'll have to work hard to show why YOU should be accepted over everyone else. Lots of brainstorming and hard work on those essays is required!!

It's pretty difficult to suggest specific schools at this point as it really depends upon 1) your GMAT, 2) your career goals, and 3) what you are looking for in a school.

Have a look at the FT rankings for ideas on global reputation: http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolra ... nking-2013.

Have a look at our e-book on tips for selecting schools:
http://info.mbamission.com/Selecting-Yo ... ram-E-Book.

Keep us posted, good luck!

[jb_avinash]

Hi there,

Thanks for posting and good luck on that GMAT-- it can make a big difference in terms of what tier of school you should aim for!!

Otherwise the marine experience will stand out slightly, but there are a huge number of engineers from India who apply to b-school so you'll have to work hard to show why YOU should be accepted over everyone else. Lots of brainstorming and hard work on those essays is required!!

It's pretty difficult to suggest specific schools at this point as it really depends upon 1) your GMAT, 2) your career goals, and 3) what you are looking for in a school.

Have a look at the FT rankings for ideas on global reputation: http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolra ... nking-2013.

Have a look at our e-book on tips for selecting schools:
http://info.mbamission.com/Selecting-Yo ... ram-E-Book.

Keep us posted, good luck!

Hi Jenifer,

Thank you very much for your kind reply.

1. Will update you on my GMAT score on 18-09-13.

2. Looking for Best B Schools in India and Asia.

3. Post MBA would like to work for multinational companies in the area of marketing or HR (not yet finally decided).

Thanks & best regards,


Avinash

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi Avinash,

Good luck and keep us updated !

Certainly the Financial Times ranking I posted is a good place to start in terms of looking at the more reputable programs in India and Asia, and if you do identify the types of jobs you might be targeting and/or companies, some do 'informational interviews' to ask about the job and company and also what programs that hiring manager would love to see, etc, as part of their research process.

[jb_avinash]

Hi Jenifer,

Thanks for valuable help extended to me.

Sorry for delayed response. Took my GMAT on 18-09-13 and scored 710(Q50-89%,V35-75%), AWA 5, IR 8.

Before my actual GMAT, took few Prep. tests and scored:

MGMAT 3 720 (Q51,V37)
MGMAT 4 770 (Q50,V45)
GMAT Prep1 770 (Q50,V44)
MGMAT 5 730 (Q51,V38)
GMAT Prep2 760 (Q51,V45)
MGMAT 6 780 (Q51,V45)

The dip was because of some disturbances at testing center (Power breakdown) resulting loss of my concentration.

I will be applying in R1 round in 2014 and have amply time for retake and by that time I will have WE of more than 4 years.

I am in a bit confused either to retake or not, the GMAT to score to my potential. If , yes, what should be my study plan and what courses I should take up to increase my V score.

Looking forward for your valued suggestions.

Thanks in advance.

Avinash Deori

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi Avinash,

Congrats on a solid score. You are right in sensing that you are borderline; I don't feel it's urgent that you either re-take or not with a 710. In general, you've demonstrated that you can handle the academic rigor of b-school with a strong GMAT score, at or near the average of all top global MBA programs, which generally means that schools will make the decision based on the rest of your application, knowing you did well on the GMAT.

Normally I don't really advise a re-take as being necessary with a 710. Your marine background will also help you stand out some from the crowd which is a plus. However, for a few reasons, I also feel it would be fine to consider re-taking if you are up for it, namely:
1) among Indian engineers, the average GMAT is quite high
2) you hit 760+ on multiple practice tests
3) you have the time.

So, if your high-scoring practice tests were accurate (i.e. you weren't seeing repeated q's by doing them multiple times or anything), and you feel you are capable of a decent increase and are willing to go for it, then I'd support trying once more, because a 750+ will give you an extra edge.

As for when and how, I would actually suggest re-taking as soon as you can. If you felt the test center issues were the reason for the lower score than your PTs, then re-taking asap you should be able to score higher. You are likely already prepared (but should keep up some practice of course until then), and waiting longer may not take advantage of what sounds like you being in prime testing timeframe overall.

Hope that helps, good luck and keep us posted!