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My chances for an MBA

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scorpioguy
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My chances for an MBA [#permalink] New post   02 Dec 2005, 09:52
Hello

I am sorry about the huge post but I hope you will get time to answer my queries.

Please find below my details:
Indian Male - Age 30.
Undergrad Education - Electronics Engg - graduated in sep 1997.
Marks (GPA) - Approx 67%
GMAT - Scheduled in late December

I should point out that the undergrad marks is an exception to the rule. I have been a good student and I can show this using my grade X and grade XII scores in public examination. I had 78% (7 in class of 40) and 77% (6th in class of 35) in grades X and XII. I also have a certificate for being in the top .01% of candidates who appeared for Maths in grade X.

During my undergrad I scored 67% which is a low score. I also had about 6 papers in which I failed the first time. (2 each in 1st, 3rd and 6th semester). Except for the 6th semester, when there was a family tragedy during my exams, the reason for failure is immaturity.

After graduation I got a job with a leading IT Outsourcing company and have been with them since feb 1998. I have exhibited decent growth with many responsibilities in my job. Some of my achievemnets and high lights are given below

* Was the best trainee in my batch of about 40 people (no certificates from the employer but I am sure this will be there in my records)
* Working with clients in USA and Netherlands
* Been in the USA since Nov 1999 handling various projects at various client locations
* International Exposure - Simultaneosly managing people in both USA and India.
* Contributed to business development endevors like sales brochures, white papers, presentations
* Received the quarterly award (in Q4 2002) from the organisation for my contributions to 1M project win.
* Two professional certifications (and planning for more)

Extracurricular activities and Community Activities
* Cordinated and Organized various events (day trips, overnight trips, get togethers) for the team members and theor families at various client locations. The number of people would range anywhere between 15 - 50.
* Was part of a toastmaster club for a short period (could not continue due to work reasons)

Why getting an MBA - Currently I am an IT consultant. I would like to change my career and for that I would need more exposure to various other aspects like strategy, finance and GM. My goal is to join the corporate finance division of an MNC or go into commercial banking. I am sure that my international exposure (working with various teams across timezones) would help me in my future career.

I am planning to apply to the following schools for Fall 07.

Cornell
Chicago
Duke
NYU
Michigan
Kellogg

I have settled on the above using the following criteria:

* Mode of instruction - Not exclusively case based
* general info gathered from the websites and various internet sources

My questions are:
1) What are my chances at the above schools?
2) What about the gaps in my resume and how can I best address them?
3) What would be a good safety school?
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quixx23
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[#permalink] New post   03 Dec 2005, 10:05
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I think that your chances are okay, but you face the same challenge that most Indian applicants face: How will you differentiate yourself from a very crowded pool of similar applicants? Your work experience sounds good, but not necessarily that unique. So, you'll need to rely on things outside of yoru job (you mentioned Toastmasters) to help set you apart. I would say that community involvement/leadership experiences beyond yoru day-to-day job are the biggest opportunity for improvement that I see in your profile.

If you're interested in finance and are looking for safety schools, consider Rochester and Indiana.

Scott
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scorpioguy
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[#permalink] New post   04 Dec 2005, 09:36
Thanks for the response.

I was under the impression that Kelley was a marketing school. I haven't done any research on Rochester.

Also part of my strategy is to take classes in accounting / finance before next years admission cycle. I think this would help me in my transition to classes (in case I get accepted) and also help in offsetting my undergrad scores.

I also probably need to start working on my extra curricular activities (I think toastmasters and voluteering at the local library would be interesting).

Do you have any other inputs?

Once again, thanks for your inputs.
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quixx23
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[#permalink] New post   04 Dec 2005, 09:57
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I think your plan is a good one. Definitely take some classes like that now in order to offset your undergrad graded and show your interest in / dedication to getting a business education.

Yeah, Kelley is good in marketing, but I think they also place a lot of people in corporate finance. BTW, it's not a safety school, but if you're interested in finance and are already looking at NYU, you may as well consider Columbia, too!

Scott
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scorpioguy
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[#permalink] New post   05 Dec 2005, 06:50
Thanks for the suggestions.

I was planning to look at Columbia once again some time in january.
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scorpioguy
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[#permalink] New post   31 Dec 2005, 15:19
Scott / Omari

I just wanted to inform you that I took the GMAT today and scored 700 (Q46, V40).

Can you let me know whether the score of 700 makes me competitive at the following B-schools keeping in mind that my undergrad GPA (from India in Engg.) translates to about 1.8 in US (as per the survey after GMAT):

Cornell
Chicago
Duke
NYU
Michigan
Kellogg

Also on further retrospective I have decided that what I want is a management program with a good finance faculty that would help me in getting a job in the Corp Fin / cmmercial Banking or help me in falling back on my consulting background.

Do you think that Columbia might be a better fit for me than Chicago GSB based on my career aspirations?

Thanks a lot.

Have a wonderful new year.
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quixx23
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[#permalink] New post   31 Dec 2005, 15:43
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First of all, congrats! A 700 score is something celebrate! No need to take it again. That score is more than enough to get you into the schools that you mentioned. (But remember, of course, that you still have a lot of work to do. The GMAT is just one part of your application.)

No matter what your undergrad GPA was, a 700 is great. And, a score of 780 won't help overcome a low GPA any more than a 700 does. Once your score is at a certain level, they know you're "smart enough." It comes down more to how serious & disciplined you are, which you will have to demonstrate in your essays and recos.

Re: Colmbia vs. Chicago, it's almost a toss-up. If you really want finance, I'd pick either of those over Duke (although Duke is strong overall, too).

Scott
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scorpioguy
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[#permalink] New post   01 Jan 2006, 09:05
quixx23 wrote:
First of all, congrats! A 700 score is something celebrate! No need to take it again. That score is more than enough to get you into the schools that you mentioned. (But remember, of course, that you still have a lot of work to do. The GMAT is just one part of your application.)

No matter what your undergrad GPA was, a 700 is great. And, a score of 780 won't help overcome a low GPA any more than a 700 does. Once your score is at a certain level, they know you're "smart enough." It comes down more to how serious & disciplined you are, which you will have to demonstrate in your essays and recos.

Re: Colmbia vs. Chicago, it's almost a toss-up. If you really want finance, I'd pick either of those over Duke (although Duke is strong overall, too).

Scott


Scott

Thanks for the reply. I guess I will focus the rest of the year on building up my profile. As I understand my weak areas are community involvement and low GPA.

I will keep you guys in loop regarding my MBA search.

Once again, thanks a lot for your advice. And a Happy New Year to you and Omari and you folks.
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scorpioguy
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[#permalink] New post   03 Jan 2006, 13:54
Scott

In order to offset my low GPA I was planning to take some extra course over the next few months. I was thinking on taking some accounting and business economics related courses.

Do adcomms look into where you take the course? EG. I can take an accounting course online from UCLA, UC Berkeley, Harvard etc. Or I could go to the community colleges to do the same. Does taking the course online from UCLA give me an advantage over taking it from a local community college.

Also would it be a problem if I take UG level courses?
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quixx23
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[#permalink] New post   03 Jan 2006, 16:51
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Don't worry too much about the reputation for the school. The main point is to show that yo uhave the smarts and the motivation to do well in any class. I'd probably recommend a classroom-type class over an online class, since it will more closely approximate what your actual b-school experience will be like.

UG classes should be fine.

Scott
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scorpioguy
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[#permalink] New post   04 Jan 2006, 05:58
Thanks for the advice.
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vikvp
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low undergrad GPA from India [#permalink] New post   04 Feb 2006, 13:26
Hi Guys,

I've the same dilemma as the scorpioguy. I did really bad in my bachelor's degree in Chemical Engg. in India. My percentage score was about 56%. That means a Second Class position in India. I have a US masters with 3.4 GPA. If you are wondering how I got into a US masters with that kinda undergrad GPA, I did pretty well on GRE.

Now I plan to take GMAT, and I'm fairly confident that I can well in it.

But I looked at the application forms for Part Time MBA at UCLA and USC and they say that indian applicants must have a first class position in bachelor's degree.

So does that mean I can't even apply to those programs ? That would really suck. Even UCI has the same guidelines for Indians.

It seems that no matter what I did after the bachelor's won't count at all.

Any ideas, suggestions.

Should I even go for GMAT ? If I can't even apply then no point of taking GMAT even if I get perfect score, is that right ?

Thanks for your time.

Vik
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quixx23
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[#permalink] New post   04 Feb 2006, 17:08
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It sounds like that might mainly be a U. of Cal. policy. (I haven't seen that at many other schools.) If you're willing to, I'd recommend targeting other schools that will consider your application. Don't give up just because of one school system's policy.

Scott
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vikvp
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[#permalink] New post   04 Feb 2006, 17:31
>>I'd recommend targeting other schools that will consider your application.

Please do. I live in southern california, so wanted to join a part time program here. But if that doesn't work, I would surely like to try somewhere else.

I'm fairly confident that I can beat the average GMAT scores of top schools and other wow factors in my application might not be bad too.

I may not get admission anywhere in the top schools, but that would be ok.

Not being able to apply would suck.

Thanks for taking the time to help me.

Vik
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quixx23
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[#permalink] New post   04 Feb 2006, 17:57
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Start with this list if you're looking at part-time programs. Obviously, rankings only matter to a point, but this list should give you other ideas. I bet a lot of these schools will consider you for admissions regardless of your undergrad GPA:

https://www.careerdynamo.com/mba/mba_ran ... n2001.html

Scott
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vikvp
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[#permalink] New post   06 Feb 2006, 10:52
quixx23,

Thanks for your help.

I have emailed USC, UCLA and UCI to get the exact information about the GPA for candidates from India.

USC says, I can apply.

I'm waiting to hear from UCLA and UCI.

Vik
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