Profile Evaluation

[anishparulekar]

Hi,

I gave my GMAT recently and scored extremely low on it. My total score was 680 with 48 in Quant and 35 in Verbal. (83 and 73 percentile resp)

I am planning to apply for Summer/Fall 2011 MBA programs. At the time of my application my profile would be

Business Manager with 4.5 years work experience in a top 10 US bank (Financial Service/Banking Sector).
4 different roles (Credit Risk Management, Marketing Strategy, Portfolio Optimization and Small Business Banking).

Masters in Industrial Engineering (Operations Research) from a US University (3.7/4 GPA)
Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from India.

I am also planning to give the FRM exam next year.

The schools which interest me are ISB, INSEAD, Booth and Stern.

I know these are top schools and practically impossible to crack with a low GMAT.

Can someone help me evaluate the chances of getting into these schools or recommending some other schools fit for my profile ?

Thanks a lot in advance
Anish

[mbamission]

Hi Anish, and thank you for your inquiry.

First, I think you're being a bit hard on yourself. A 680 is not "extremely low". It, and in particular your verbal 73%, is slightly lower than the "ideal" for top schools of 700+ with an 80%/80% breakdown but plenty of people get accepted to top schools with scores of 680.

Your work experience seems varied and interesting; my concern there would be to make sure you showed that all of the moves were logical and built on each other and towards your career, so that they don't seem merely random.

Other than that, you don't give me enough information to advise on your chances. I don't have a good picture of your leadership and initiative at work, your global perspective, your ability to drive results, or what you do and how you have demonstrated those traits outside of work. If you can provide those, I may be able to give some more insight.

Good luck,

Jessica Shklar
Senior Consultant
mbaMission
www.mbamission.com

[anishparulekar]

Hi Jessica

Thanks a lot for replying !

Here is my current profile in a top 10 US Bank (by asset size). Not sure if this helps, but I was promoted twice during my current 3.5 year stint at the financial service firm/bank.

Business Manager (Credit Strategy, Small Business Banking) Oct 09 - Present
Carving out a credit strategy for the small business banking unit including the credit policy, product strategy and economics of local US markets. This is going to be my leardership role in which i would be responsible for carving out this strategy.

Sr Business Analyst/Business Manager (Portfolio Optimization - Credit Cards) Nov 08-Oct 09
Optimized the credit account acquisition volume to keep lending portfolio (>$50 B) within company guardrails while ensuring maximum profitability. Used analytical optimization algorithms. Created a decision framework which allocated the entire $20M marketing budget each month (annual budget of $240M) to the most profitable segments

Sr Business Analyst (Direct Mail, Marketing Strategy - Credit Cards) Feb 08 - Nov 08
Targeting a section of US population with the right product using the customer credit behavior

Data Analyst/Sr Data Analyst (Credit Risk Management - US Lending) Jun 06 - Feb 08
Supported the US lending loss forecasting team with data and reports.

Masters in Industrial Engineering (Operations Research) -- US University 3.7/4 GPA Sep 04 - Jun 06

Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering -- Indian University June 00 - June 04

Proficient in SAS and Teradata.

Outside of work i am currently planning to create a microfinance model for social groups and NGOs

Please let me know your thoughts on my profile. I am currently planning to apply for fall 2011 so my work experience will be 4.5 years at the time of application and almost years at the time of joining the school

Thanks
Anish

[mbamission]

Thanks for the follow up Anish.

Your work experience does show increasing responsibility and driving results, and internal promotions, especially two within 3.5 years, is well-regarded.

The bigger weakness to me on your profile is your lack of activities outside of work. Planning (someday) to create a microfinance model is simply too vague to be meaningful. If what you mean is that you're actively involved in developing its plans and establishing it, then that would be more positive. Are there other activities you've been involved in, or personal stories/challenges you've overcome that you can address in your essays to show a more multi-faceted profile?

I think Booth will be a stretch for you, but you'll probably be competitive at ISB. NYU and INSEAD are also reasonable, but by no means guarantees. INSEAD tends to be somewhat GMAT-focused, but less interested in extracurriculars than the American schools so that's a tradeoff.

I hope that helps.

Best of luck,

Jessica Shklar
Senior Consultant
mbaMission
www.mbamission.com