Profile Eval + School selection

Hey there ramalo,

Thanks for posting! Love the detail so, without further ado, let's get into this!!

Academics

It seems you're on the path to retake the GMAT which is a great decision. A 710 is a strong score but a upper second finish during uni means your GPA is a bit on the lower side. So a stronger GMAT is really going to help there. What I like, however, is that you studied abroad and you majored in business. So, with the right GMAT, you're going to get past the first screener - which is almost entirely stats based!

Professional Experiences

Wow, you've done and seen a lot! There's a lot here I like. You're in some pretty interesting industries across some awesome functions and you've held some impactful positions! Specifically, here's what I like. You're coming from something other than IT and, on top of that, you've diversified your experiences. That's really memorable! Secondly, you're making BIG moves in these places. Diversifying an industry vertical isn't easy and the fact that it was your idea and that you're leading the team to do it is amazing. Lastly, you being the youngest person in a senior managerial role says a lot about you. Having that come across in your essays and, more importantly, recommendations will be key!

Involvement

You're involved which is great. What's even better to see, however, is that you have impact and scope. It's also really diverse which can be great. Conveying consequences and numbers behind some of these accomplishments will be critical. For example, your work with the environmental NGO is great but communicating why your efforts mattered will be what help you stand out. I also think your efforts with blood camps are commendable - I'm sorry you lost your father to cancer but it's absolutely worth noting that it spurred you to try to make a difference!

Goals

Consulting is a perfectly fine short term goal to have. After all, most people refer to MBAs as consultant factories anyway and there's definitely a bit of truth to that. However, with such a generic goal, you're going to have to be specific and memorable. WHY consulting? WHAT industry(ies)? WHO have you talked to? WHY do you think it's a good fit? HOW will you do it? Most folks who say consulting say a sentence or two. That's not enough. You have to SELL this when you have a goal that's so commonplace.

Your longer term goal needs some work. Starting up your own consulting firm in the long run isn't a bad goal but there needs to be a discussion here.

Schools

If you goal is Tier 1 consulting, you need to go to as highly ranked program as you can BUT you need to pick programs where those firms will hire YOU. What do I mean by that? Just because you get into Harvard, doesn't mean you'll be RELATIVELY good enough to be picked up by Bain. You would have better chances at a tier of school right below that. Relativity is key!

INSEAD is a great program but you lack international experience. That's something INSEAD really likes. However, you have experience across industries and across value chains which is pretty rare for someone in your applicant pool and at your age. Before we get into the rest of your list - a question for you. How did you pick these programs? The programs in your list are pretty different from one another and it'd be great to better understand your reasoning.

I hope this helps - if you have specific questions, please let me know! If you want to chat in detail, sign up to chat with us [here] for your free consultation.

Cheers,

Bhavik