Dear Team,
I took the GMAT (twice) and now want to get your feedback on my profile and to know whether I am competitive at my target schools. I am an Indian female candidate, currently working in the IT sector (insurance domain, mostly) and below is my profile:
GMAT
-2nd attempt (09/06/2012)
650- (48Q, 31V)
-1st attempt (06/01/2012)
680- (47Q, 33V)
Education
- Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical Engineering) with 79% marks (My university did not have the GPA system of scoring as most Indian universities don't)
Work Experience
-Systems Analyst at Patni Computers Ltd. , India - 2 years.
-Test Engineer at Patni Americas Inc, US - 2 years.
-Lead Test Engineer at Patni Americas Inc, US - 3 years and counting.
Other Activities
-NTSE Scholar
-INS 21 certified professional
-INS 22 certified professional
Target Schools
-Tepper School of Business
-Johnson, Cornell University
-Mc Combs, University of Texas
-Mendoza, University of Notre Dame
Reason for MBA
For the past 5 years I have been working in the insurance domain and want to move into a strategic position where I can use my skills to make business decisions.
Here are my questions:
1. Of the two scores, can I take the liberty to report my highest score to business schools? Will a lower score in my second attempt lower my chances of acceptance in any way? And, will schools average out my two scores and then make a decision on my profile?
2. What are your thoughts on my profile? Strengths/Weaknesses?
3. Are my target schools reasonable? How beneficial would it be to wait another year before applying?
4. How important is a GMAT score? Would it be good for me to retake the GMAT? I want to apply in the first rounds of my target schools to maximize my chances, so should I retake the GMAT or focus on writing my essays?
About my second GMAT test:
I was very disappointed with my recent score as I was consistently scoring in the 720s and above on my last four Manhattan Practice tests and the GMAT Prep tests. I didn't have any nerves during the exam and managed my time well (I had problems managing time in the verbal section in my first attempt but I worked on it and retook the test) so I was shocked when I saw the 650 pop up. Would it be wise to give it another shot? It would be my third time and I am in a fix as to what negative impact could taking the test thrice have on my overall chances of getting into a MBA program?
Thank you for all your help!
Ridhima Choubey
GMAT Forum
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- ridhima.choubey
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Re: Request to evaluate my profile
Hi Ridhima,
Thanks for submitting your profile. I think your profile is very typical of many Indian applicants, with the exception that you are you female! Business schools are going to evaluate you on a few different dimensions - so let's explore these:
Academics: They want to know that you can keep up with their curriculum and perform well. You have good marks in undergrad, but a somewhat average/slightly lower than average GMAT (for your target). I don't think you stand out in this area, but don't think you're too far behind, either.
Professional Experience: They want to see that you have the capacity to lead an organization one day. It seems like you've been in a purely technical role over the past several years, and I worry that this means that you haven't had as many opportunities to demonstrate leadership or business proficiency. I think your work experience is very common, and unfortunately, not quite as robust as we might like.
Extracurricular and Community activities: I don't see any of these listed in your profile; yet, they are very important components of your candidacy. They want to see they are bringing in people with strength of character, who make positive contributions to their communities, and who are actively and passionately engaged in their own interests. Ideally, you can showcase leadership through these activities as well. This will be a gap in your profile.
Your target school list is pretty well balanced - Tepper and Cornell are going to be tough but they aren't necessarily impossible. I would say that you need to figure out what is going to differentiate you from other applicants though - it may be buried in a personal story or two.
To improve your profile, you could consider waiting a year, but the only benefit I would see from that is if you used the year to develop really robust leadership experiences inside and outside the workplace. I'm not sure how realistic that is - it's probably worth applying now and seeing what happens - - worst case, you can always reapply next year. As to whether you retake the GMAT, you certainly could if you feel confident that you could do better than your first two attempts - certainly a 700+ score would help your application stand a better chance! The schools only consider your highest score, so don't worry about the impact of the 2nd test attempt. The speed with which you complete your application (R1 vs R2) matters less than the quality of your application, so if you feel you could really improve the score, go ahead and retake it asap and then get cranking on apps. But, you've really got to be sure that you'll do well - otherwise, like you said, the time that you would have spent on essays would be wasted.
Hope this helps,
Mili
Mili Mittal
Senior Consultant
http://www.mbamission.com
Read the mbaMission Insider's Guides (16 individual school titles)
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Thanks for submitting your profile. I think your profile is very typical of many Indian applicants, with the exception that you are you female! Business schools are going to evaluate you on a few different dimensions - so let's explore these:
Academics: They want to know that you can keep up with their curriculum and perform well. You have good marks in undergrad, but a somewhat average/slightly lower than average GMAT (for your target). I don't think you stand out in this area, but don't think you're too far behind, either.
Professional Experience: They want to see that you have the capacity to lead an organization one day. It seems like you've been in a purely technical role over the past several years, and I worry that this means that you haven't had as many opportunities to demonstrate leadership or business proficiency. I think your work experience is very common, and unfortunately, not quite as robust as we might like.
Extracurricular and Community activities: I don't see any of these listed in your profile; yet, they are very important components of your candidacy. They want to see they are bringing in people with strength of character, who make positive contributions to their communities, and who are actively and passionately engaged in their own interests. Ideally, you can showcase leadership through these activities as well. This will be a gap in your profile.
Your target school list is pretty well balanced - Tepper and Cornell are going to be tough but they aren't necessarily impossible. I would say that you need to figure out what is going to differentiate you from other applicants though - it may be buried in a personal story or two.
To improve your profile, you could consider waiting a year, but the only benefit I would see from that is if you used the year to develop really robust leadership experiences inside and outside the workplace. I'm not sure how realistic that is - it's probably worth applying now and seeing what happens - - worst case, you can always reapply next year. As to whether you retake the GMAT, you certainly could if you feel confident that you could do better than your first two attempts - certainly a 700+ score would help your application stand a better chance! The schools only consider your highest score, so don't worry about the impact of the 2nd test attempt. The speed with which you complete your application (R1 vs R2) matters less than the quality of your application, so if you feel you could really improve the score, go ahead and retake it asap and then get cranking on apps. But, you've really got to be sure that you'll do well - otherwise, like you said, the time that you would have spent on essays would be wasted.
Hope this helps,
Mili
Mili Mittal
Senior Consultant
http://www.mbamission.com
Read the mbaMission Insider's Guides (16 individual school titles)
Download mbaMission’s Free Personal Statement Guide
Visit the mbaMission Blog
Follow mbaMission on Twitter
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