Profile evaluation please

Question

1) Basic demographic info: 26, male, India ( :-D

) 2) Educational Background: B.eng (Computer Sciences), 57%, GMAT-720 (49 AN, 38 Ver) 3) Work experience: I am currently working as a Senior Software Engineer in an IT and Consulting MNC. My career progress has been relatively above average. I have around 5 years of work experience. 4) Extracurriculars: I am a very accomplished quizzer ( won a lot of them in college and at work). I am also involved as a volunteer in my company's CSR team. 5) Short/Long term goals: I want to switch to investment banking. 6) Schools: NYU (

) 7) Uniqueness: I am involved in a couple of startups as an investor. 8) Recommendations: I have lined up my previous supervisors for my recommendations. 9) Gaps: I think my academics and my demographics are my weakest points. Thank you

bakfed · Answer

You have a shot. The hardest thing for you is to identify yourself with a differentiator since the Indian IT stereotype will play a role here. Being lost in the shuffle is the most common thing for the middle-of-the-road applicant. Nothing's wrong with you, but I can't really pinpoint down anything super spectacular either. But yes, with that said, I think Stern is a potential for you.

bizschoolprep · Answer

Yup. Differentiate yourself. That is going to be the key. There are thousand more like you who apply to business schools, why should adcom consider you.

You have few things on your profile that you should leverage the most (e.g. startups, etc).

amarnathvazrala · Answer

Thanks for the responses guys. I would also like to know which clutch of schools I should concentrate on (Elite, Trans Elite or Near Elite).

bakfed · Answer

The thing with IB is that you'd want to go to as good of a school as possible, since most BBs recruit at top places. With that said, anywhere within the top 25 should do you good - the higher the ranking, the bigger the opportunity. I think you can pitch in at least one application in the top 8 (whether you decide to put in a bid in H/S/W is completely up to you), but I wouldn't put more than 2. Your better spots are probably situated in the top 9-15 range, with Michigan, Duke, Virginia, Berkeley, Dartmouth as some examples. I'd throw in 3 applications there. Then I'd pick 2 more applications to do for the schools between top 16-25, such as USC, Tepper, and UNC. All of these schools will attract IB recruiters. Once you veer off into the "beyond-25" range, you'll have to do some studying before you put in the bid. Check out its employment report to see how many people went into IB (though this % is biased since the % only reflects those who made it, but not those who wanted to go in but failed to make it). When you're looking at employment report, also question the employers that recruit on campus. Who are the top employers? How many do they take? Through simple math, you can easily figure out what the percentage of a class that went to a certain top company. When you're within the top 15 schools, all major banks will recruit on campus and it's really just about you distinguishing yourself.

Profile evaluation please

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