desibabuji wrote:
Hi Linda,
Can you please review my profile and share your thoughts?
Background: 35, Male, Indian (working and living in the US for past 14 years)
GMAT: Still have to take but targeting and hoping to get around 725-750 (based on practice tests)
Academics:
BE (from India): Major: Electronics Engineering, had 58% from a reputed university .
MS (from USA) : Major : Computer Science.
Did not graduate, it was back on 2000-2001 during the dot com bubble and got an offer from a company that was to hard to resist and refuse. Once started working was very difficult to go back.
GPA was a low 2.67. Was very good for the first few semesters but then because of family emergency/circumstances could not focus, had to leave for India and then when I came back just couldn’t concentrate on the degree.
Work Experience:
Total Experience around 10 years.
Started working at a startup for about a year before it was bought over and then majority of the team eventually let go after the dot com bubble bust.
Started working as a software engineer for a small company and rose to the management role in the next 3-4 years.
Since then have been working in one of the big4 consulting firms, started as a consultant and now I am a Manager. (Left the consulting for about a year to work for a fortune 100 company but then came back to consulting).
I have experience in managing teams ( varying between 2 to 25 resources) across different continents and working with clients across Asia and NA.
So a total of about 6 years is with big 4 and the rest of 4 is "industry" .
Extra Curricular:
• Am PMP certified.
• Certificate from HBS in Management.
• Enrolled in the Stanford Advanced Project Management certification.
• I am a board of director for a local school and lead a couple of committees around strategy and technology enablement in schools.
• Have worked on a couple of start-ups from scratch to becoming a stable revenue generating business.
• Organized and lead "community of practices" around products and services.
I want to do EMBA and my target schools are:
Booth
Haas
Marshall
Kellogg
Fuqua
Anderson
Long Term Goal: Take my career to the next level within the "big 4" into management consulting.
My main questions are:
1. Will my low GPA affect my chances of getting into an EMBA program? I tried going back to my university to check if I can complete my degree or atleast take some courses to increase my GPA and was told that since it's been over 10 years, I will have to re-start everything all over.
2. Will the low GPA and incomplete degree work against me? What can I do to offset the effect?
3. Based on my background and profile, what can I do to ensure getting into one of those programs.
4. My company (might be willing) to sponsor me to attend EMBA, will that improve my chances to get into a program or it does not matter if I am a self-sponsored or a company-sponsored candidate?
I will really appreciate your feedback.
Thanks for your post.
To answer your questions:
1. Yes, your grad GPA does affect your chances of acceptance, but I don't think it dooms those chances. Was your coursework at Stanford or HBS graded? make sure those grades are shared. You also have your PMP certificate.
2. Show that you know how to apply yourself in a demanding academic setting. Was your coursework at Stanford or HBS graded? make sure those grades are shared. You also have your PMP certificate. Also, provide the context for your GGPA. Tell them about the offer and tell them about the family situation that prevented you from proceeding with your planned studies.
3. You can't "ensure" acceptance; you can increase the likelihood of acceptance. Get a high GMAT. Right killer essays. Address school concerns about that GPA. For more tips, please see
[i]Ace the EMBA,[/i] our special report for EMBA applicants. Also, check out the resources at
EMBA Admissions and
Executive MBA applications.
4. Yes. It matters. Sponsorship is seen a major endorsement of your candidacy, not to mention a solid source of funding for a paying student.
Best,
Linda
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Linda Abraham
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