Profile Evaluation - India - Male - 4Yrs exp - GMAT 650

[Venkatesh7588]

Hi,

This is Venkatesh. I am new to this Intl.MBA platform. I have given GMAT recently, unfortunately without any prep, and scored a 650 (Q48, V31, AWA 5.5). Not sure how good a score is.

I have given my TOEFL 2 years back and scored a 107. I guess I will have to write it again If I am applying for 2015. But this is just to get the idea.

My acads are
Grad 68% from a state university - JNTU, Hyderabad.
In case it matters - 10th is 78% and 12th is 85%.

Work- ex:
4 yrs at India based MNC. Currently Sr. Software Engineer performing the role of a project-module lead in a team of 25, Where 5-6 report to me. Part of the team which won the Team of the year award. Onsite co-ordinator for new project that came up.

Extra curricular:
1) Worked for NGO put up by my friends, during college days, volunteering various activities like Blood donation camps, orphanage donations (find people who want to donate and have no time and find people who serve orphans/old aged homeless but have no donations and help bridge them in our strengths).
2) Story writer for short films made with my friends in college. (It took a back seat after I took up MBA as my goal)
3) Prizes in univ and school for essay, paper presentations, cricket and table tennis.
4) Help my father in his business often.

All the above were passions that i took up in free time.

Keeping in view the profile
1) What are the schools I can apply, if I were to apply for 2015.
2) What parts of application would you see scope of change and help me get better chances If I were to post pone my plans to apply to 2016. ( I do wish to put for 2015 though).
3) Is retaking a GMAT advisable? (For 2015 or 2016)
4) Any other suggestions are welcome (pls not I am a complete Newbie and may be missing obvious things, pls do correct me If i did).

Appreciate your time and effort. Thanks..

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi there,

Thanks for posting, and welcome to the process!

There are a lot of Indian engineering and IT applicants, so it can be tough to stand out from that crowd. It is good that you've got some management experience and likely can discuss your leadership style and skills, and how you've influenced others, that is a plus. Having some community volunteering experience can be a plus too, especially if you can back it up by supporting it with why you were interested in it.

The GMAT would put you in the ballpark for schools ranked maybe outside top 30 or so, very roughly. You can certainly consider a re-take as schools take the highest score, with some preparation to improve, and yes that can improve your chances.

You have some unique experiences such as the film/story writer experience and family business exposure and others that you should highlight to showcase your personal story of who you are, for sure.

If you were to delay and apply next year, I'd suggest more community involvement, and if possible aiming to make even more impact at work and maybe outside work too, taking initiative and showing leadership wherever possible.

Let us know how else we can help and good luck!