seeker1984 wrote:
Dear All,
Following is my profile:
Age: 27 years
Acads:
• Under-grad stream: BTech (ICT) from DAIICT (not likely to be recognized outside of India as the IITs are)
• Under-grad CGPA/percentage: 2.96/4 or 62.4 (have a couple of Fs too!) – will basically own up to it in my optional essay. Also, after graduating, I have chosen a completely different field (Microfinance), so will build my defense around that.
GMAT: 740
Extra-curricular: Good (Have won a state-level lawn tennis championship, written 2 academic research papers which got published, was active in the student body of my college)
Workex details:
• Years: 4 (on 28th Aug'11)
• Industry: Microfinance (Development Sector) - currently working in Product Development as Senior Manager (at a top 10 MFI in India)
• Work Progress: Good - have done well and consistently moved up in the 4 yrs at Ujjivan
o Currently leading a product vertical within the company
• International Exp (Abroad): None
Recommendations: I am in good shape on that front
Outside Office Work:
• Lead writer for a social sector oriented blog
• Advisor and volunteer for Activist Circle – a discussion+networking platform for local communities of youth involved in the development sector
o I give introductory lectures on microfinance and mentor fellows who join the Activist Circle fellowship
Post MBA career goal (short-term): Social Venture Fund (I believe that my on-ground operational work-ex in Ujjivan plus the hard-skills, i.e. finance learnt at an MBA program will equip me for a job at an SVF). I plan on taking relevant electives (Private Equity, Finance) during my MBA to give myself the best shot at an SVF job
Post MBA career goal (long-term): yet to give shape to that (I have an idea for a start-up, but I have to think through it and don’t want to appear unrealistic)
Other notables:
• Got admitted to IIM-Indore in 2008 (IIMs are the leading MBA schools in India with acceptance rates of less than 1%), but decided to stay in Ujjivan (I had initially joined Infosys after my under-grad and gave my CAT exam during my tenure there. By the time CAT cleared and results came out, I had switched to Ujjivan and then I decided to stay and not pursue my MBA). I am mentioning this because I plan to use it in my essays
Target Schools: INSEAD, LBS, Oxford, Chicago GSB, Cambridge
W.r.t international experience (which is important especially for LBS and INSEAD), I have the following line of thought/defense:
1. I choose to work in India because I wanted to work in the development sector and since I am Indian, to me it made the most sense to work here
2. Post MBA, I want to work in a Social Venture Fund - to understand how companies make decisions on investing in social enterprises. I don't have a preferred location of my job post MBA (India/international) but I am guessing that if I choose India over international, then it might hurt me in my application to these schools
3.My long term goal (potential) is to start-up a end-to-end dairy consulting firm for Indian farmers (I believe that combined with my current on-field experiences and experience in an SVF will provide with the skill sets and expertise to start up in future). I have to refine this further though
In view of 1-3, can I build a logic/defense for my INSEAD/LBS apps which can counter my ZERO international experience?
Also would love to hear thoughts on my chances at other schools - Oxford, Chicago and Cambridge
Best,
Srijan Kaushik
If your microfinance role has offered you opportunities to lead social change, then I do feel you stand a chance at Oxford, Chicago, Cambridge, and possibly even LBS. However, since so much of what INSEAD stands for is international experience, then I do think they will expect you to have gained some international experience - at the very least through personal travel. I am not telling you not to apply to INSEAD though, since you may be able to convince them that your experience in a very different (from you) region of India was just like an international experience. (By the way, excluding INSEAD it does not hurt your application to aspire to return to India with your business education).
In your applications, be sure to highlight the financial skills that you gained and how you have been able to shape your organization and its investees through your personal leadership style.