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ayushrastogi82
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Profile Evaluation Request

by ayushrastogi82 Mon Nov 23, 2009 5:27 pm

Name: Ayush Rastogi
Age: 27
Education: BTech (Information technology)
GPA: 69% of 100

GMAT:
First attempt : 660
Second attempt : 640
Third attempt : 740 (M50, V40)

Full time Exp: 5 years 4 months (6 years by the time i'll join college)
Company: Fidelity Investments (Finance domain)
Designation: Software Engg (finance related applications)
Role: Team lead of 5 team members from 1 and a half year
Expertise: Technical as well as finance domain such as mutual funds, fixed income etc. Consistently rated "outstanding" performance.

Activities:
1. Associated with an NGO working for slum children developement from last 3 years.
2. Associated with donation and welfare camps
3. Technical events and presentations
4. Organiser of Personality developement programmes
5. Group dance competitions - Lead dancer

Hobbies:
- Fine Arts: Since childhood, arts remains my passion. Presently, I enjoy sketching faces and female models portraits. My latest portrait is of Mr. Abdul Kalam.
- Dancing: I love dancing and participated in a few college events. Presently, I'm gromming myself in such Latin dance forms as Salsa and Jive.
- Reading: I prefer reading biographies and insight stories such as The World is Flat to broaden my horizon, and I also enjoy Jhon Grisham's fictions for relaxation.

I'm interested in top US bschools. Could you please evaluate my profile and let me know in which bschools i should apply for?

Thanks and warm regards,
Ayush
mbamission
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Re: Profile Evaluation Request

by mbamission Wed Nov 25, 2009 2:38 pm

Hello Ayush,

There are hundreds of American MBA programs so it’s hard for me to recommend a list of schools you should apply to. If you have no idea what schools you might consider and are just beginning your search, I would advise you to research the profiles of a large number of MBA programs. I recommend reading the profiles developed by publications like BusinessWeek or US News & World Report. You should consider your professional goals (which I do not know) and research the professional specializations of different schools to determine what would be a good fit. You might also consider the size/location of the alumni community, size of class, curriculum, the school’s location and how well your grades and GMAT score fit with those of admitted students.

In terms of your profile, you have a few things going for you including your professional performance and the fact that you manage a team of people. People management experience is something that may allow you to stand out from your peers. You also seem to be very involved in activities outside of work and I would encourage you to write about a leadership experience you have had with one of the many organizations that you are involved with. I am not sure how to interpret a GPA of 69/100. That would be very low using an American scale, but may be average or even above average where you are (assuming that you are outside of the U.S.). If your GPA is low, you may need to explain any unusual circumstances that contributed to it, like a health issue or something very out of the ordinary, or try to increase your GMAT score to try to balance out a lower than average GPA. This may not be necessary of course, but I just don’t know how to interpret your GPA. The other thing that you should be aware of is that since you come from a technical educational and professional background, be careful not to present just your technical abilities in your essays. In my experience people working in highly technical fields often write exclusively about their technical accomplishments. In your essays would include examples of situations in which you have made a positive impact on your team(s) or improved a process in your company in order to show your abilities as a leader, rather than your technical prowess as a great software engineer.

Sincerely,

Akiba Smith-Francis

MBA Mission
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ayushrastogi82
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Re: Profile Evaluation Request

by ayushrastogi82 Fri Nov 27, 2009 9:58 am

Thanks a lot for such a detailed analysis. I really appreciate that.

Starting with what I missed out earlier:
Nationality: Indian
GPA as per US: 1.9 on scale of 4, but as per my university this GPA is above avergae.

mbamission Wrote:If your GPA is low, you may need to explain any unusual circumstances that contributed to it, like a health issue or something very out of the ordinary, or try to increase your GMAT score to try to balance out a lower than average GPA.


I've 740 GMAT score . Do you still think it is not good enough to balance out my lower GPA?

Thanks, Ayush
mbamission
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Joined: Thu Mar 10, 2005 7:20 pm
 

Re: Profile Evaluation Request

by mbamission Tue Dec 01, 2009 1:53 am

Hello,

Your GMAT score of 740 is quite high. If you have done the GPA conversion correctly, a GPA of 1.9 out of 4 is quite low and may still raise questions among the members of the Admissions Committees, even with the 740 GMAT. They may wonder about your committment or dedication to schoolwork. I do not suggesting that you retake the test with a score of 740. But you should take the time to address the low GPA in the supplemental information essays that schools typically offer.

Sincerely,

Akiba Smith-Francis

MBA Mission
646-485-8844
Website: www.mbamission.com
Blog: www.mbamission.com/blog
MBA Mission Insider’s Guides: www.mbamission.com/store.php (12 individual school titles)
Free Consultation: www.mbamission.com/consult.php
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MBAMission