Hi,
Hi
rahulprasad11, Thanks for reaching out and I will make some comments below...
I am going to apply in Round 1 and Round 2 for an MBA program starting in fall 2017. Please find below my academic record, GMAT scores and work experience followed by a brief description of myself.
I am 28 years old, married(4 years) and have a son(16 months old). Me and my wife have been a couple since we were 12 years old.
And while this is not what you lead off with- I will say... very touching that you've been a couple since the age of 12! Wow- don't see that much! And congrats on having a child- I think for many having a child can bring valuable perspective to one's life work and adds great maturity so those qualities will help with MBA applications and performance.I was a very bright student but lost my way as a teenager and hence spoiled my academic record. Not until did I receive my first paycheck that I realized what I had done and since then I have worked diligently to get my career back on track.
Education:B.E. in Computer Science from Pune University, CGPA : ?
I scored First Class with Distinction (Highest Possible Grade). My university doesn’t follow a CGPA grading system; I have started the process to get an equivalent CGPA score.
Good to have first class- that will matter more than teenage performance.12th: 75 %
10th: 83 %
Work Experience: 5.7 years across 4 different companies.
1. 11 Months: Systems Engineer, Infosys Technologies Ltd (Sep 2010 – Aug 2011)
2. 34 Months: Senior Software Engineer, Genesys Telecommunication Laboratories, Alcatel Lucent India (August 2011 – Jun 2014)
3. 13 Months: Senior S/W Development Engineer, Comverse Network Systems Pvt. Ltd. (June 2014 – July 2015)
4. 8 months: Lead S/W Development Engineer, Workrings R&D Services Private Ltd. (July 2015 – Mar 2016).
No. 4 is a start-up of which I was one of the founding members and a full-time employee. Unfortunately, it did not work out.
I have not gone into the details of every job because it will take too much space. But in brief: I started as a low level s/w engineer and with hard work worked my way up to lead R&D s/w engineer(Team Leader leading a team of 8 s/w engineers) within
5 years and increased my salary 5 times the initial amount.that's impressive.I have to mention the salary because my initial salary was a very modest amount and it was the primary reason why a number of my batch mates immediately went for a Masters Degree (MBA or M. Tech). But I did not do so; I stayed in the I.T. industry till the time I found the reasons for which I would want to get an MBA degree. I found them last year and can now genuinely give a proper answer when asked to do so in an MBA interview.
I have worked for a NGO (not a famous one), teaching children over the weekends for the last one and half years.
I am currently on a sabbatical and the reason is as follows:
My wife had complications during pregnancy and because of medical reasons she had to take break from her job for 21 months starting August 2014(9 months + 12 months after the baby was born). She is a qualified accountant and you can imagine her mental status when she had to stay away from her job for such a long time and be with the baby all the time. She never complained because she is both a dedicated wife and a dedicated mother but I could feel it. Hence, I decided to stay at home and take care of the baby while preparing for GMAT starting April 2016 allowing her to rejoin office. I know that many people will not agree with my decision (my parents included) and that I may get rejected because of this but still I am quite proud of what I did. I have offer letters to prove that it was a conscious decision not to take up a job, not a forced one.
I think this can be part of your story in application process and if you get this story told right and in front of right people, it may be very valuable. And as one human to another- I admire your willingness to help your life partner. This is an example of teamwork at its finest. GMAT SCORE:Test Date - 04 August 2016
Verbal - 40 / 91%
Quant - 49 / 77%
Total -
730 / 96%AWA - 6.0 / 90%
IR - 6 / 69%
I will have one strong LOR given by the guy who was the founder of the startup I worked in.
He is a senior director level guy who has over 20 years of experience working in U.S.A. He has done M.Tech in U.S and a graduate from The Kellogg’s school of Business Management. I was one the 3 people that he cherry-picked, when he decided to float his own start-up in 2015.
I know that some of the information given above can be considered too personal and/or irrelevant, but my gut feeling is to be honest not only on this forum but also in my MBA essays and interviews. I feel more confident if I include these details when I speak or present details about myself as they have made me the person that I am today and I have made peace with the mistakes I have made in life. I also believe that since with respect to GMAT score or Academic record, there would be hundreds of candidate who would be better than me; these are the reasons which will get me through to an MBA course of my choice.
I would really appreciate a strict scrutiny of my profile and if you find any gaps, errors or misunderstandings in my thought process please do spell them out and let me know. Better to be evaluated right now than during an MBA interview.
Target Schools are: 1. INSEAD, Singapore 2. NUS,Singapore 3. NTU, Singapore
These seem all within reach. Are you considering any B schools in US? I feel like the decision you made to support your wife might get more traction in US programs- there is so much buzz on this topic now of partnerships and your story is such a great example. One final question: I did not spend any money on tuition or course of any kind during my GMAT preparation because I knew I could get a good score on my own but I am thinking of investing(not spending
) some money on an MBA consultant, will it be helpful?
So of course asking a consultant if a consultant can help is like going to an oral surgeon for a consult on whether it is useful to have one's wisdom teeth taken out... but I wouldn't do what I do if I didn't see the value in it for my clients or for me personally. Helping people tell their best story- approach this process and strategize on best schools and ways to achieve their long term goals is very rewarding- and having seen people's first attempts at this prior to some coaching, I know that consultants can add value and still keep integrity for the client in the process. You do the work. But it is very helpful to have a sounding board to challenge your assumptions, push you to dig deeper and help you avoid common mistakes. You can do a free consult with us at StratusPrep.com or at this link:https://stratusprep.com/free-consult/ to get some free feedback from us in more depth and also to understand how we can help. Best wishes to you and I have US adcom experience and I have read thousands of Indian male applications and I have NEVER seen this story before- so it would have made an impact on me from adcom side. I think this is what sets you apart and can be very powerful. Thanks and regards,
Rahul