Profile Evaluation Request-Indian Male,Project Mgmt. Work Ex

[sandeepreddy4488]

Hi,
I’ve recently taken the GMAT and have managed a 710 (IR-4, AWA- yet to receive, expecting atleast a 4.5). I’m planning to apply for the fall 2015 to the schools that are mentioned later on. I humbly request you’ll to evaluate my profile and give me some feedback.

Indian Male, 24 years

UG: BE Mechanical engineering from Osmania University, India with an aggregate of 81%
XII: 94.2%
X: 78.67%


Work experience - Project Management (3 years till date)

1. Worked for the first 2 years at India’s largest Engineering and Construction Company as a graduate trainee and was promoted within a year to a Senior Engineer. Responsibilities included-
- Project execution in the mechanical department of a Blast furnace Construction project.
- Section incharge for an area that covered approximately ¼’Th of the total scope of the project.
- Optimizing the use of manpower and plant & machinery, to achieve targets within the timeframe stipulated by our client while supervising, training and mentoring a 150+ strong workforce.

2. Currently working in a company that makes pollution control equipment since 1 year as an Assistant Manager (Projects). Responsibilities include-
- Project planning, scheduling and coordination for the mechanical works for 3 pollution control equipment installation projects.
- Planning a project by breaking it down into critical milestones based on overall duration of the projecting and estimating the overall resources (manpower and machinery) that will be required during the execution life cycle.
- Coordinating with the sites to ensure timely availability of materials at the site in order to achieve targets stipulated by the client.


Key Achievements -
1. Was the team leader of a group which, under the guidance of one of India’s largest consulting firm, managed to complete a major portion of the work in my area in a record time, using approximately 45% of the workforce normally used otherwise in different sites.
2. Awarded "˜Best Quality Engineer’ in my division consisting of about 50 engineers in site at my first job.
3. Consistently in the top 10% of my batch during Engineering.
4. Secured a rank in the state entrance examination that placed me in the top 1% of the state(about 200,000 students)
5. Participated in number academic projects at techfests including the SAE BAJA INDIA, where each team was asked to model and simulate a single seater all terrain vehicle that could theoretically be mass produced.


Extracurricular activities-
1. A former cadet in the National Cadet Corps under the Air Force Squadron.
2. Executive Member of the planning committee for the Mechanical departmental fests and activities such as science conference of the college
3. Represented the school in many inter-school sports meet and won many laurels for the Relay team of the school.
4. Active member of an NGO that strives to provide underprivileged children of a few villages an education by enrolling them in schools and bearing the costs. Working in the team that collects funds for the cause.

My aim is to work as a consultant in the operations industry and hope that my 4 years experience till July 2015 (2 years in project execution and 2 years in project planning and coordination) will be helpful to the value of my profile.
The following universities are the ones that I will definitely be applying to for the 2 year program-
1. Northwestern university, Kellogg
2. Duke university, Fuqua
3. University of Michigan, Ross
4. Carnegie mellon, tepper
5. University of north Carolina, Kenan Flagler

I also plan to apply to 4 more schools but I’m still undecided on which ones. I will be grateful for any suggestions of schools that I should apply to where my profile matches the schools requirement.

Thanks in advance!

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi,

Thanks for posting. Sounds like you've got some great project management skills certainly, as well as analytical skills. One of the challenges you are facing is the large number of Indian engineering applicants.... be sure to emphasize anything about you that you feel is unique or helps you stand out vs other similar applicants.

The points you have listed under 'accomplishments' will be important areas where you can begin to differentiate and stand out... and leading a team that accomplished a great deal is one of the things that stood out to me in reading over your profile. Think hard about experiences where you've motivated and influenced others, made a difference, shown teamwork and leadership skills, etc.

Your GMAT and academics are solid, though not outstanding amongst your applicant pool, but decent. ;) NGO/volunteering is a plus; the more you can speak to your rationale and interest in the cause and the more leadership opportunities you take on within your community involvement the better.

As you probably know, Kellogg will be a reach program for you. Others you could look at include Kelley, Goizueta, McCombs. For more on choosing schools, check out our free download at: http://info.mbamission.com/Selecting-Yo ... ram-E-Book.

Keep in mind that most applicants find applying to 3-4 schools is sufficient, and each application is very time consuming and must be tailored to each school, so just keep that in mind-- don't sacrifice on the QUALITY of apps just to up the quantity! May help to spread over multiple rounds too.

Keep us posted on q's and good luck to you.

[sandeepreddy4488]

Hi,
Thanks for providing me with that wonderful insight and as you rightly pointed out, further refinement is definitely needed in terms of showing clarity in the various aspects of my application to the adcoms that will help to set it apart from other applications. I also realized that my original plan to apply to about 8-9 schools might be a bit unrealistic considering the rigour each school's application will require. I hope that you will agree that the schools I have currently chosen are within my reach.
Another issue that has been bothering me is my IR score. I wanted to find out whether my score (4/8) will prove as a major hindrance to my application for the schools I have mentioned and what is the minimum IR score that these schools generally look for in a candidate.

Thanks in advance!

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi,

You are most welcome. Yes I think you've got a good school list recognizing that Kellogg is a reach, but doesn't mean don't try if you would love to go there. And yes 8 schools can be pretty tough. ;)

Re: the IR, I wouldn't stress too much about it. Schools are still determining scales and importance... it is slowly gaining more relevance but even the fact that IR scores aren't published helps it be less of a deal-breaker. ;)