Intern
Joined: 05 Aug 2013
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Location: United States
GPA: 3.72
WE:Consulting (Health Care)
Re: Profile evaluation - Indian Male 30 Yrs 710 GMAT
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22 Aug 2013, 08:41
Hello and thanks for reaching out!
Here are some responses to your questions:
Based on my above profile- what do you think are my chances of getting into a top MBA program. The schools that I am particularly interested in are:
MIT SLoan, Wharton, Kellogg, INSEAD, and LBS.
As you mention, these schools are very competitive, so it's difficult to make any predictions based on your GMAT and high-level work experience. Most applicants start with strong academic and professional background and a competitive GMAT score. But if you’re targeting a top school you also need an application strategy that allows you to stand out from applicants with strong scores and professional history. To build an effective application you’ll want to identify your “points of difference,” or the things that make you a candidate who is unique in ways that matter to admissions officers. I think that going forward, and recognizing that as an engineer you're in a competitive industry, you'll want to tease out all of the leadership / management experiences you've had that will be relevant to these schools. These schools aren't out of the question given your profile but they are highly competitive so you'll need to find a way to really differentiate yourself.
You'll also want to get much more specific about your career goals, this is another way to differentiate yourself that is often neglected. The goals you stated are fairly general and common so you'll want to create a plan that really gets at career aspirations that the admissions committee sees as unique.
Would i have better chances if I re-take my GMAT? Please mind, I have already taken the test 4 times.
I think that generally 4 times is enough, taking it any more times will likely not move your score. I would recommend investing that time and money into building your application strategy. With your 7:10, you're just below average for the top schools, so you should spend time trying to compensate for that in other areas of your application.
Safer Schools:
I would consider Columbia, Tuck, UCLA and Darden. They are all strong management consulting feeders and offer a great general management education.
I need some help in evaluating my profile. Thanks a lot, in advance, for taking time to respond. Your input would be extremely valuable to me.
Here's my brief profile:
Indian - Male, 30Yrs - Employed in the US for the past 5 years after completing my MS.
Bachelor's: Electrical Engineering from NIT - India. 8.49/10 - Graduated 2005
Masters: Electrical engineering from University of Cincinnati, Ohio - 3.93/4.0
GMAT : 4 attempts {700(49q/35v), 700(50q,34v), 660(49q/32v), 710(48q,38v)}
Experience & Achievements:
Employed @ Sandisk Corporation in California, USA as a Engineering Manager.
Some significant achievements include:
- Led a 52 member team to recover operations in Japan post the 2011 earthquake & Tsunami
- Spearheaded the bring-up and ramp of the latest 8 billion USD production plant in Japan
- Significant international cross-functional experience - Work with international teams based in China, Japan and Israel for 80% of my time. Travel internationally as frequently as once every month.
Extra-curricula activities:
- Bachelor's: Held the secretary position of the college engg. adventure club (managed finances and helped acquire sponsorship for club activities), captain of college cricket team
- Master's: President of Cricket club, Elected member of Student leadership and development community
- Post education: Vice-captain (VIce-president) of a 25 member cricket club that is ranked 2 out of 83 other clubs in the San Francisco Bay area, Coach teenagers interested in the game of cricket
Other volunteer work: Komen foundation - Race for cure, Be the match foundation - participated in drives
Post MBA goals:
- Short-term: Want to get into strategy consulting immediately after MBA
- Long-term: Wish to leverage from the experience gained from the consulting career to get back to the technology industry as a Strategy head.
Based on my above profile- what do you think are my chances of getting into a top MBA program. The schools that I am particularly interested in are:
MIT SLoan, Wharton, Kellogg, INSEAD, and LBS.
Would i have better chances if I re-take my GMAT? Please mind, I have already taken the test 4 times.
Also, please recommend some safe schools for me