cipher17 wrote:
Hi Paul
I have read "Great Applications for business school" and I really found it very helpful in understanding the essay writing. Could you or anyone in your team answer my below queries?
How many schools should be ideally applied in one round ? I am giving a brief description of my profile. Could you help me in categorising schools that would fall into the following criteria and also any other tips for the admission process:
- Stretch or dream schools
- Reach schools
- Safe bet schools
GMAT Score: 760 (v 44/q 49)
Nationality: Indian
Gender: Male
Work Ex:
1. 5 years in IBM as an IT consultant, providing technology solutions to my client at&t.
2. Currently a team lead of 7 members.
3. Have almost 2 years of international experience i.e in US.
4. Have won 4 awards in 5 years.
Career Goals: Want to a career in Consulting.
Undergraduate Degree: Mechanical Engineering in NIT Silchar, class of 2006
CPA : 8.5/10 i.e 8.5 in a scale of 10.
Leadership and Extra Curricular Activities:
1. Co founder of organization HOPES to educate underprivileged children during my college days. Unfortunately could not keep the organization alive after college days.
2. Currently a member of a similar organization .viz HELP.
3. Was the prefect in college hostel. Have organised events and provided internet facility in my hostel.
You seem to have your ducks in a row and are ready to apply: your stats are good, your experience seems solid, and your extracurricular leadership ability also seems clear. While this does not mean you are a shoe-in anywhere, you do stand a good chance at your top choices. I would recommend applying to 6 schools in the first round (4 highly competitive programs (Harvard, Wharton, Stanford, MIT, for example) and 2 less competitives (Ross, or Darden, or Tuck, or Cornell, for example)), then try for another 3 or 4 in the second round. Do not make the mistake of assuming that you will get into one of those less competitive programs that you applied to in the first round - there are just too many factors involved to predict adequately and it would be a shame to lose the second round opportunity because of hubris.
As with any MBA application, the key to defining yourself beyond just the statistics is going to be your essays! Make sure you highlight your accomplishments and the interpersonal abilities that helped you achieve them.
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