Please Evaluate My Profile

[vaibhav.tripathi]

Hello world,

I took the test on 12/14 and scored a modest 660. Though i do not like the score a lot (expected to score atleast 720) but think i would do myself a bigger favor by concentrating on my LORs and SOPs, instead of taking another test just to raise the score by another 50 point which, given the nature of the test, may not happen after all.

Can any guru out there please evaluate my profile for admission chances and suggest me some schools where I still stand a chance of acceptance (and financial aid)? I know Stanford and Kellogg are not going to accept my application, but whats the best i can get?

Here's my profile.

GMAT:
660 (Q48, V34, AWA 5.5)

Professional Exp:
Total 4.8 years of Experience, currently working in a leading IT firm in India (Infosys) in banking domain. Have worked on projects for major international Banks (cant disclose the names here, but they are under top 10). My responsibilities include leading a team, interacting with clients, and providing technical solutions. Have got a consolidated yearly ranking 1 (1-4, 1 being the top) throughout my career in Infosys. Have cleared a couple of certifications in Banking and Financial Services domain. Joined as trainee, promoted to Software Engineer, and now Technological Analyst in my career of 4 years in Infosys.

Prior to Infosys, worked for IBM, where my responsibilities included communicating with US clients to assist them with their technical issues.

Academic Profile
B.Tech (Information Technology) RGTU, Bhopal, India - 71%
(Indian equivalent of 4.3 GPA, source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_grading_in_India)
Senior Secondary School, India - 68%
(Indian equivalent of 4.0 GPA, source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_grading_in_India)
High School, India - 68%
(Indian equivalent of 4.0 GPA, source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_grading_in_India)


Extra Curricular:
Used to participate in various activities at school level like NCC (National Cadet Corps), Science Exhibitions, various "nerdy" contests organised by various academic clubs in the city (have certificates too, thank god i saved them ), etc.

At Infosys, became a part of adventure Club, Adventura, and was involved in the events like organizing and managing wild (forest and mountain) treks for a team of 15-30 people, publicizing and promoting the club activities, route exploring expeditions etc.

Creative writing is my another skill which has not been professionally used and i never tried getting anything published, but i sure do have my anthalogy. I am not sure if I should add this in my essay, any word of advice to that end would be heartly appreciated.

I am looking forward to have my concentration in Finance and would like to opt for the schools where they assist students with jobs/internships and some financial aid. I plan to attend the class of 2010.

Please suggest.


Thanks and Regards,
Vaibhav
(tripathi.vaibhav@gmail.com)

[mbamission]

Thank you for your inquiry. You asked several questions which I'll try to answer.

Starting with the last, I think showcasing your creative writing would be a net positive, helping to differentiate you. You can do this of course subtly by making sure your essays have interesting openings and tell your stories well, and more explicitly by including it on your resume under hobbies. Without knowing the various essay topics you're writing about, I'm not sure how you can fit it in to your essays, but you may be able to do so.

Overall you have some strong elements in your profile - good academics, strong work experience showing increasing leadership and responsibility, some international exposure, results, and with almost 5 years at one company, you're likely to have very strong references. I think your involvement with the Adventure club is also a differentiator, especially if you can use those activities to highlight a different side of your leadership skills - motivation, inspiration, working towards a common goal, etc.

The challenges you face are, as you identify, the GMAT. While a 660 is a respectable score, in your demographic (Indian technologists), it's low. That demographic is another obstacle because it's an extremely competitive one (as if this process weren't competitive enough anyway).

I agree with your assessment that Stanford and Kellogg are stretches. There are so many factors that go into school selection that I would be irresponsible to just list schools, but start by looking at the schools' average GMAT scores, so that you can find those where your GMAT won't stand out negatively, and also look at their career services' websites to get a sense as to how helpful that department is.

Best of luck

Jessica Shklar
Senior Consultant
mbaMission
www.mbamission.com

[vaibhav.tripathi]

Thanks for the reply Jessica.

Could you also tell me about my chances in following schools, since they are my primary targets:

1. Sauder Business School, University of British Columbia, Canada
2. HKUST, HK
3. MBS, Australia
4. Kelley, Indiana University, US
5. Warwick, UK
6. Manchester, UK
7. Nanyyang, Singapore
8. HEC Montreal, Canada


Waiting for your reply,
Vaibhav

[mbamission]

Thanks for the follow up. I'm not that familiar with most of the schools you mention, with the exception of Kelley where I believe you would be competitive. From the little I do know, they all seem like reasonable choices for you but please do more detailed research rather than taking my word for it!

Best of luck,

Jessica

[vaibhav.tripathi]

Thanks a lot for the advice Jessica.

Regards,
Vaibhav