imnk wrote:
Advice needed…
Indian Female
GMAT : 680 (Q48, V31, AWA 5 IR 7)
Schools I wish to apply to : HEC Paris, IESE, ESADE, ISB, NUS,
10th : 86%
12th : 96%
B.E(Hons) : 7.7/10 (electronics and instrumentation) from a top 10 college in India
Class of 2011
Work experience :
1. 2 years small sized IT company as Software Engineer II.
2. 1 year in a start-up NPO as Director
Extracurriculars:
1. Got elected as cultural representative of hostel(hostel strength:300) in College
2. Received Rashtrapati Puruskar in Bharath Scouts and Guides program
Reccomendations:
1. Director at the IT company I worked for. Due to small size of the team, the Director was able to look at me closely to give recommendation. He has 20 years of Industry experience.
2. Vice president of a company whom I approached for raising funds at the NPO.
I am keen on studying MBA from the top schools in Europe. After graduating , I want to be non-profit sector. And want to expand the NPO that I am working in.
I have the following questions:
1. Does the work exp in NPO provide me an edge over the other Indian applicants to these schools ?
2. If 650 is not enough, will a score in a range 680-700 good ?
3. How to strengthen the point of needing an MBA at this point of time ?
4. Are the schools that I am targeting in my range? If not, what other schools will you suggest ?
Thanks in advance
Hello there,
So first let me try and answer your questions the best I can, although to it all, I will need some more info from you.
In general, having work as a director of a non profit it probably stronger and more unique than continuing as a software engineer. Of course it depends on WHAT you are doing WHERE. And also how big and effective your non-profit it. So those would be my first questions: How many people do you lead? How much money did you raise? What does your non-profit do? What achievements have you lead your non-profit towards?
Also, what are your post-MBA goals? What would you like to do?
Finally, you have a 680 right? (and not a 650?) Although it's a pretty good score, if you believe you can get higher, it might be worthwhile for you to try, esp. since as young as you are, you probably aren't in any rush...
Here's a post about Indian candidates retaking their GMAT that might help you out:
to-retake-or-not-to-retake-that-is-the-question-indian-153716.htmlGet back to me with more info, and I'll do my best to fill in the missing info!
Best,
JF