Request to evaluate profile

[smritisharma84]

Hi,
I am a 25 years old female from India. My Gmat score is 720. I am applying in round 2 to most business schools in U.S./U.K. My profile is as under:

a)Total 3.5 years work-ex (would be 4 years at the time of joining)
2 years:Family-owned business (mostly in HR and Business Development)
1.5 years entrepreneurial work-ex:
Co-founder of a digital media agency based in India. Have handled about 6-7 projects.
Co-editor & Co-founder of an independently run local print magazine
Co-founder of 4 online ventures
Co-founder of a graphology club and an amateur photography club

Hobbies: graphology,photography,tarot

Undergrad degree: Engineering
Undergrad GPA: 3.2

Extra-curricular: Vast experience during under-grad degree

Post-Undergrad extra-curricular: 4 year old association with an NGO, Volunteering work done for an NGO, Have tutored slum children

I target the following schools:
MIT Sloan
Michigan
Stanford
Duke
Berkeley
Carnegie Mellon
University of Virginia
Indiana University
UCLA
Oxford
Cambridge

Please evaluate my profile. I thank you for your time.
Regards
Smriti Sharma

[mbamission]

Hello Smriti,

You have a very strong profile, with significant entrepreneurial experience and professional leadership experience. Your grades are good. Although your GPA may be a bit under the average for some of the more competitive schools you are interested in, but you had a highly quantitative major. That fact, coupled with a high GMAT score, will be helpful to you. You should be sure to write about your experiences outside of work as well as your entrepreneurial experiences and your leadership experiences as an employee in your essays.

You have listed 11 schools and I am not sure whether you plan to apply to all of those schools, but if so, I do not think that is a realistic number if you want to submit high quality applications. I would try to cut that down to 4-6 or so. I would select that list based on your interest in schools in terms of fit, how well their resources will help you achieve your career goals and your risk tolerance. Take into consideration the number of schools that your recommenders will need to write for as well. I think that you would be competitive at all of the schools you have listed. I am not sure where you are in the application process, but if you have not started yet, you should begin working on your applications ASAP for round 2 deadlines. Best of luck to you.

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

[smritisharma84]

Thanks a lot for your help. :)

[smritisharma84]

Hi Akiba,

Would you please take out the time to answer another one of my queries?
I would like to take your help in further shortlisting the schools to which I should apply based on my profile (stated in an above query).

Among the following, in which schools do i stand a good chance of getting through?

1. NYU Stern
2. Stanford
3. Harvard
4. Wharton
5. U.C. Berkeley
6. MIT Sloan
7. INSEAD
8. Duke Fuqua
9. Michigan Ross
10. LBS

I have tried various other fora, but have not been able to get any specific answers.
Please do help. Thanks for your time.

Regards
Smriti Sharma

[mbamission]

Hello Smriti,

It is not possible for anyone to tell you definitively which schools you will get accepted to. I would say that you should considedr Stanford and HBS as stretch schools, as they are for most people. I think that you will be competitive for the other schools you have listed. Good luck!

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

[smritisharma84]

Thanks Akiba