Profile evaluation request for global b schools

[notickee]

Hi,

I just took my GMAT for the first time and could manage a 700 (Q 49, V 35). Not planning to take it again. Not to mention that I am a male Indian IT professional by choice (being a Computer Science Engineer, always wanted to pursue this field). Now I am looking for a career in IT Strategic/ Corporate consulting in some of the leading consultancy firms such as Deloitte , IBM, Capgemini and Bain .

I have 8.0 years of experience with around 1 year leading a team. I am currently based in Singapore for the last 2.5 years. My work-ex is in leading organisations such as Oracle, Lehman Brothers and Nomura. I want to get my profile evaluated and schools to be suggested for applications.
I know that based upon the demographics , top 10-20 US B schools are out of the picture but neither am I aiming for them. However, I want to know if my profile is good enough to give a shot at some of the European schools such as HEC, INSEAD or Erasmus and UK schools -Cambridge, Warwick, Oxford. Can I try for other US schools as well - CMU/UCLA/Austin/Duke/Tuck?

Academics
UG (Engineering) - 79.3 % (CGPA 7.33 on a scale of 10)(Ranked 20th in a batch of 95) from BIT Mesra (Ranked among the top 10 engineering institutes in India).
12th-77 %
Top 0.1% for Mathematics in Std X. Had received Silver medal for it .
Earned state level certification by Mathematical Society for having a potential to excel in Mathematics.
Was ranked 10th in my state level engineering competitive examination.
National Talent Search Examination scholarship that was offered to only the top 500 candidates in a calendar year (1998).

International Exp
Deputed on special assignments to Tokyo, Japan on two occasions as part of business resumption in the Electronic Trading Space, for the revival of lost business to ex-Lehman clients as a fallout of Lehman Brothers bankruptcy.

Working in Singapore as AVP in one of the leading global banks. Prior, to this , I used to work for the largest Japanese firm Nomura in Mumbai and was in a mid-level lead role mentoring a team of 3 employees.

Additional information
Member of Alliance Francaise - Can speak and write French well. Have Intermediate level DELF A1/A2 certificaitons, which is offered by the French Ministry of Education and would be taking the Advanced level at the end of this year. Have continuously topped in the internal examinations of the institute.

Have been an active member of an initiative in Hyderabad,India for the opening of bridge schools for needy children and teaching. The initiative is a grand success and it runs around 80 schools currently and provides educational aid to children of poor people. Recently , got registered as an NGO.

Played an active part in the yearly release of the alumni book for our senior batch of students graduating in the year 2004.

I had got a final admit from SP Jain School of Global Management (Dubai/Singapore) for Global MBA program 2008 in Information Technology specialization but decided to not join on account of financial constraints.

Participant of organisation's Music Video for celebrations pertaining to the 200 years of completion of Citibank.

I am afraid I might lose out a little bit on the extra-curricular side . Though I am trained in Classical Guitar and do have a 3rd year certification, my involvement was mainly limited as a hobby and not on stage . To make matters worse , I even lost my highest level certificate in my hostel.
Not much into sports either.

Thanks

[mili]

Hello,

Thanks for all the detailed info. I definitely think you can try for HEC, Erasmus, etc. You have strong academic scores and have worked at very large companies. Your NGO work sounds very impressive as well. I think your biggest disadvantages are: IT field and 8 years experience (longer than most). The leadership angle is crucial -and even if you aren't able to show it through work, you should be able to show strong leadership through your NGO.

I'd target the programs you've listed and also add one stretch and one safety to your list - e.g., Tepper as a stretch and Georgia Institute of Technology perhaps as a safety.

Good luck,
Mili





Mili Mittal
Senior Consultant
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[notickee]

Hi,

I received my official score card and would say I am relatively happy.
AWA -5.5 and IR -6 (given that I completely freaked out while comprehending the lengthy passages ). I however notice that I had mentioned my gpa ona 4.0 scale as 2.9(from simple calculation from 79.3 %) which is too low and is displaying on the official scorecard in the Optional Self reported section. Now when I talk to some of my friends who are in bscools already and also to some admission consultants, I realize that American gpa on a scale of 4 cannot be directly computed form Indian %ages like that. Some of them have also reported their GPAs as 3.6 from a 65% in undergrad. I am worried that this would ruin my chances of even getting my application shortlisted. Should I call up GMAC and inform them of this blunder ? I doubt if official scorecards can be changed.

Thanks

[notickee]

Hi Mili,

Thank you very much for the evaluation. I have further queries. I attended an information session at INSEAD couple of weeks back and realized that there were very few intakes from IT background. However, when I talked to the students and the admins, I got to know that being in IT is not a deterrent and each application is reviewed in its entirety and in an exclusive manner .
Also, personally, being a Computer Science engineer , IT was definitely my first choice during graduation and I did not come into this field by default, unlike graduates from other engineering streams.

Now, I am not aiming for any drastic career change(changing to Finance or Marketing) at this point in my career and looking to practically build my overall job experience after mba to widen my knowledge into Consulting areas. Also, at a senior level in the decision making phase , I will require knowledge of Finance and Strategy making as well.

I want some suggestion regarding what else can I do from now to the point of application (in about 6 month's time) to better my chances to the top schools.

Best regards
Notickee

[mili]

Hello,

I would suggest that you call up the admissions offices for the schools that you are applying for and ask them if they consider the GPA score that is listed on your GMAT scorecard. I'd think they would look at your transcripts as the official record (as well as your self-reported score in the application itself), but this would be a good thing to double check with them. I don't think it will be an issue.

As for improving your application, I would say take on as many substantive leadership roles as possible at work and in your personal life and NGO.

One thing to think about since you aren't looking to make a career change -- have you considered part time programs? Might be worth looking into.

Cheers,
Mili




Mili Mittal
Senior Consultant
http://www.mbamission.com
 
Read the mbaMission Insider's Guides (16 individual school titles)
 
Download [url=http:// http://info.mbamission.com/MBA-Personal-Statement-Guide/]mbaMission’s Free Personal Statement Guide[/url]
 
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[mahua0613]

Hi,
I'm an aspirant for a marketing MBA course, Fall 2014.

Professionally, I am a business journalist (print media - B2B) with one of the fastest growing media conglomerates in India - Network 18, since July 2010. I cover the food & chemical industries with stories/interviews with specific interest towards:
future & current trends analysis in the sub-sectors; market forecasting; strategic marketing/branding case-studies; technology trends; retail/consumer interface scenario

At Network 18, in the past 3 years, I have also handled special projects ranging from:
- two brand relaunches (which included market research/dipstick analysis/content development/marketing communication)
- streamlining of editorial operations
- online-content development

Also, I'm a regular speaker at various academic/business conferences. Notable among them:
- International Retail Conference, SCMS Pune
- Brand management & product recalls, St Xavier's College, Mumbai
- Advertising & communication for NGOs, XIC, Mumbai
- Career Development Circle, ICT Mumbai
- Careers after Chemistry, Ruia College, Mumbai

Academically, I hold a Master's Degree in Organic Chemistry from Mumbai University.

Besides this, I have substantial experience (1 year and counting) in social work. I was Vice -President - Fundraising (Mumbai Chapter) of an NGO called - Make A Difference (one of the largest youth networks in India, present in 23 cities. Focus area - Education). This year I am the President - Fundraising (Mumbai Chapter) I handle a team of 40 volunteers and am responsible for the funds raised for sustenance of 3 chapters. With this profile, I oversee:
- fundraising events (planning & execution)
- sales & marketing of merchandise
- publicity drives/marketing communication/media relations
- corporate engagement,
- recruitment, motivation, training & youth development.

I plan a career in Brand Management in the FMCG industry. Can you please evaluate my profile and suggest B-schools, and a target GMAT score?

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi mahua,

Thank you for your detailed profile info, it sounds like you have a lot of great experience. (Side note-- next time feel free to start a separate discussion thread for a new profile, thanks!).

Your experiences in journalism, project management, marketing exposure, social work experience, public speaking, and science background are interesting and likely mean that you'll bring a lot to your business school class discussions which is important. It's good that you have a general feel for what your post-b-school goals are.

A couple of key points missing from what you provided are-- what country do you hope to work in after your MBA? and related-- do you have a preference on what geographic area you go to business school in?

Hearing the overview of your experience, solely based on that, you certainly could apply to a variety of competitive business schools. Your GMAT score might be a major factor in what tier of schools you apply to. I would suggest you take a practice full-length test soon if you haven't yet, to get a rough feel for what you are capable of, and/or start your GMAT preparation process and focus on that to get your admissions process started. Most people prepare for 2-3 months for the GMAT, depending on where you start at, part time evenings/weekends if you are working, and this can make a big difference in you application, as well as the schools you apply to. If you look up a rankings list (for example for US Schools, US News & World Report or BusinessWeek), you'll see the average GMAT scores at top ranked schools. For the top tier they are above 700.

Wishing you luck as you start this exciting process!

Jennifer Kedrowski
MBA Admissions Consultant
www.mbamission.com
jen@mbamission.com

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[notickee]

Hello Mili,

I wanted an opinion. Though my involvement in extra curricular has been immense, I have only a couple of appreciations that will fall under an 'Award/ Honor' category. Of course I do have merits in academics though. In INSEAD application, there is a small section devoted to 'List any awards/honors earned in extracurriculars'. I wanted to know that is not having many awards a significant weakness that one needs to justify in the optional essay?

Regards

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi there,

Jumping in for Mili... no you do not need to address limited awards in the optional essay. It is not required, it's just a place for people to be able to list honors if relevant. And if you did have 1 or 2 that is impressive as it is. Hope that helps!

[notickee]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply , guess its too late. Realize I have been away for quite a while and also realize I might have missed all the fun with the apps. Well, I missed all the R1 deadlines owing to family issues and could only apply to a handful of schools in R2 (& R3). Got dinged by INSEAD, was kinda expected after I re-read the horrible essays I wrote and got them reviewed by an expert. Later , I took help from an admissions consultant and applied to Ross. Was of great help in contextualizing my experiences into words and I did receive Ross interview invite , Waiting for Cornell and UCLA, and that's it. Now, I am in a real fix .

1. Should I patiently wait for these 3 and hope for the best to happen?

2. Should I apply to the 3 schools that I have been contemplating for R3 (Yale/Tuck/Darden) ? Is it realistic to apply to so many schools in R3 , what if I need to apply next year, re applications won't include any path-breaking colors to my profile.

3. Should I retake the GMAT to better my score (and hence my chances)if I need to apply next year- I guess I found the answer as 'No' as it seems a well-known mythical fact that US b schools love to see astronomical gmat scores for Indian males, I wouldn't have expected the Ross invite either.

4. Should I take business courses such as CFA to complement my tech background to some extent if I need to wait for next year? But my first aim is to get into any of the schools this year itself.

Any advice is truly appreciated.

Regards

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi there,

So, you are waiting to hear from Ross and a few others from R2? And deciding whether to apply to some for R3?

Certainly you can apply anywhere that you are passionate about and don't want to regret NOT applying... but that said, keep in mind there often are not many places left in R3 at all!! Especially at top schools, which those you have listed are. So it will be a big challenge. Up to you on how strongly you feel about going for it, vs waiting a handful of months for next R1 if you don't get in to those already applied for.

I believe you have a 700 GMAT? So once you get to that threshold, arguably, the increases aren't going to impact your decision quite as much as the REST of your profile and application will.... your resume, experience, leadership & management experience, recommendations, ESSAYS, your goals, how you fit with the school, etc... all of that makes a HUGE difference in admissions decisions!

As for other coursework, it can't hurt, but up to you on timing/schedule etc and priorities. As you've discovered, the applications and essays are hugely time consuming especially to do well, so be sure to prioritize those (as well as interview prep!!) as needed. Good luck! Keep us posted!

[notickee]

Hello,

So I got dinged by Ross after interview, should be rare as most people relatively crack interviews with ease . And hence, have no choice but to wait till next year (No interview invites from UCLA or Johnson yet ,but things look bleak with decision dates fast approaching). I will need to do a thorough ding analysis first. Ross however sent a link to some reapplication tips and one point mentioned is 'If your GMAT score is below our average, we encourage you to retake it to improve the competitiveness of your file'. Not sure if 700 (Ross's avg is 703) pulled me out of the admit list though. Hence, should I retake it ? I will have to spend enormous amount of time to make it even to 720.

Instead, I was thinking of spending a little more effort at work and earn an upwardly functional role change this mid-yr as it does demonstrate an increase in responsibilities (not exactly a promotion as hierarchical structure is quite flat at my exp level - already had 3 promotions in my last 8 yrs). Will this be considered another leadership quality?

By the way , to take my French learning to newer heights, I am thinking of enrolling in a course of French music + horse riding in an institute in the suburbs of Paris this summer. Is this something that I can highlight as another int'l experience in my extra curricular for next year? This is only a course that anyone can take after a certain level, but I really want my learning to happen with a full cultural immersion.

Regards
Notickee

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi Notickee,

Sorry to hear your admissions goals have not been met this season. I know that can be frustrating. We do offer full ding analyses if interested, fyi. With your GMAT right at their average I would not think that would be the only reason you were not admitted; there are a lot of factors at play for sure. Certainly a new role and increasing responsibilities would help for next application season. An extra international course is a small plus. And overall you'll have to look at what you are bringing to the program, and how you might stack up against other competitive applicants, and how you are presenting yourself and your story in the essays. We would be happy to help just let us know. We do have a free 30 min consult if you haven't done so yet, fyi. Good luck and keep us posted!!

[notickee]

Hi Jenifer,

Thanks for the insights . I will enter the ding analysis phase after I am done with this year's apps. Actually I sort of know what didn't work for Ross, my interview in which I now realize had given some vague answers to demonstrate my fit for the school. Quick update - Got wait listed (without interview)at Cornell. I need to provide updates to following-
"We look forward to receiving relevant updates such as improved test scores, transcripts from additional courses, details about career developments, or an additional recommendation letter. "
Is there any difference between getting waitlisted with or without interview .
I think this is probably a generic response and not a personalized one . But still, I might only be able to provide 1 more recommendation and some additional responsibilities about my work . Also, is it ok to wait for about 2 weeks to send them, it now has rolling admissions till Apr 30? If I don't send them too soon, even then my file will remain under their review ? In addition, should I ask for an interview?


Regards
Notickee

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi Notickee,

Good to hear there's still a shot at least, with being waitlisted with the opportunity to submit additional info. I would submit anything you can certainly... the sooner the better, but if you need 1-2 weeks to get things together that is fine. You can always ask the admissions office directly for logistical questions like that though and get the best information! ;) It doesn't sound like asking for an interview is an option if it was invite only and you weren't invited, but again chat with admissions if needed. Good luck and keep us posted!