{"id":48531,"date":"2020-05-03T21:46:20","date_gmt":"2020-05-04T04:46:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=48531"},"modified":"2020-09-29T10:27:32","modified_gmt":"2020-09-29T17:27:32","slug":"indian-banker-with-a-low-gmat-multiple-admits-with-scholarships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/indian-banker-with-a-low-gmat-multiple-admits-with-scholarships\/","title":{"rendered":"Indian Banker with a Low GMAT &#8211; Multiple Admits with Scholarships"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Introduction: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pravin, a Branch Manager at the State Bank of India, in a remote village in Tamilnadu, India, had applied to few good MBA programs in the US. He worked with MER on his application for 3 schools. His greatest challenge was his non-competitive GMAT score (660). Learn how he overcame this challenge and received admit offers from multiple B-schools with generous scholarships. (Terry, Smith, and Babson and waitlisted by Vanderbilt Owen). Parvin is heading to Smith, Maryland, in Fall, 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"797\" height=\"497\" src=\"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Pravin_3-Schools-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-50013\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Pravin_3-Schools-1.jpg 797w, https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Pravin_3-Schools-1-300x187.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Pravin_3-Schools-1-768x479.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 797px) 100vw, 797px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a>I<strong>n this video interview with Poonam, Pravin talks abou<\/strong>t:<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And now presenting Pravin\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Indian Banker with low GMAT -Multiple Admits with scholarships\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bS59r8qRL14?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam:<\/strong>\nHello Pravin! How are you doing? Thanks for taking the time for the meeting at\nthis critical time. I know your work responsibilities have increased as the\ncountry is under lockdown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pravin: <\/strong>You are welcome. And\nyes, the entire country is under lockdown, and as you know, I am working with\nSBI as Branch Manager. Banks, like hospitals and police stations, are some of\nthe few essential services that are not under lockdown. At the same time, it is\nmy duty as a branch head to take care of the safety of both my staff and\ncustomers, and I am taking all the preventive and precautionary measures that I\ncan do to ensure safety. Since it is a complete lockdown, there is no public\ntransport for my staff to come. So, I have to make alternate arrangements for\nthat also. It is a tough time, and I hope things will settle down fast<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam<\/strong>: I understand. In\naddition to taking care of your staff, you should take care of yourself. Congratulations\non receiving multiple admit offers from 3 schools. How does it feel?&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pravin:<\/strong> Thank you, Poonam. As you said, I have received offers from three schools, namely the University of Georgia Terry, University of Maryland Smith, and Babson Olin. Terry has offered me a scholarship of $5000 with assistantship for two years- Assistantship and the stipend amount covers the entire tuition fee. Smith has offered me a scholarship of $50000 and assistantship for the first year. Babson Olin has offered me a scholarship of $50000 as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam:<\/strong> Wonderful, it is a great achievement. Pravin, can you tell us a little about yourself? Where are you from? Where and what did you study as an undergrad? What you do now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pravin<\/strong>: I am from Chennai, Tamilnadu, India. I grew up here,\ndid my under graduation from Anna University- Madras Institute of Technology,\nmajoring in Electronics and Communication Engineering. After my graduation, I\nstarted working with Creative Switchgears. Parallelly, I was preparing for\nIndian Civil Services and various other competitive exams. In 2015, I joined\nSBI as a Probationary Officer, was promoted twice, and presently I am working\nas a Branch Manager in a branch located in the rural part of Tamilnadu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam<\/strong>: When did you start thinking about an MBA? Why now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pravin: <\/strong>Exactly a year ago, I guess. Last year I was trying to apply to a few other schools and the deadline was very close. I was not aware of the procedure to apply for an MBA, how to articulate my essays, how to project myself, and how to prepare my resume. So basically right now why I want to do MBA, I am working in a bank; with growing technology, the mobile banking, and internet banking application, I believe that the role of a retail banker will be very limited in the future, so, to progress in my career, I want to push myself to the management side of the company. To make a change from Finance to Consulting and see myself in the Management side, an MBA degree will be helpful in this transition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam:<\/strong> Sounds good. Can you tell us your GMAT prep? Given\nyour super demanding job, I understand it was pretty challenging for you. &nbsp;You finally decided to apply with your 660\nscore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pravin<\/strong>: Actually, I started my GMAT preparation in July\n2019. I was looking for various online courses since most of the classes are\nsimulated under online practice tests. I was using two or three websites to\nfind out which one suits better. Most of the online courses had a pre-planned\nschedule. If I give my GMAT exam date, they have a particular timetable, and I\nwasn\u2019t sure which course should I cover, and when should I take my practice\ntests. Because of my demanding job, I could not stick to the schedule, so I had\nto skip a few classes and practice tests. Last year, when I was applying, my\nGMAT was just 590; I retook the GMAT exam and improved my score to 640, retook\nin November, and improved my score to 660.&nbsp;\nI decided to apply in Round 1 and Round 2 with a 660 score. I thought\nthat with this score and my leadership experiences and extracurricular\nactivities, I might be able to get a few offers, and gladly, I received three\noffers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam<\/strong>:&nbsp; Yes, you had\nstrong leadership stories. What are your career goals, Pravin?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pravin<\/strong>: My\nimmediate career objective is to switch from Finance to Consulting. An MBA will\nhelp me make this transition. My immediate goal is to work as a Senior\nConsultant in a consulting firm. During my academic course and my initial\ntenure in a consulting firm, I should be able to learn the basics of consulting\nand understand the work culture and market situation. My long-term goal is to\nbecome a Senior Consultant in a consulting firm. Being a senior consultant\nmeans bringing in new projects and negotiating deals with clients, that is\nwhere my present experience of dealing with customers will be useful and will\nenable me to bring in more sales for my Consulting company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam<\/strong>: You received admit offers from 3 schools with\ngenerous scholarships? But you accepted Smith. How is Maryland Smith the best\nschool for you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pravin: <\/strong>I am glad that all three schools have offered me generous scholarships. I was not expecting it. At the same time, it is not just about scholarships or numbers. I have to look into which program is the right fit for me. Smith is the right program for me for more than one reason. First, since I am looking for a transition from Finance to Consulting, and a high percentage of Smith MBAs are getting placed in Consulting firms. Also, there are excellent leadership opportunities at Smith. Apart from this, I know quite a few friends who are alumni of Smith. Based on the positive feedback and their experience, I decided to go ahead with Smith. Though other schools have offered me more financial aid, I think Smith is more aligned with my career objectives.&nbsp; Also, it is located in the city of College Park near Washington DC, so I think this location will offer me great exposure and opportunities in terms of networking and placement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam<\/strong>: &nbsp;Can you share your application strategy,\nplanning, and preparation with our audience\/ readers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pravin:<\/strong> My\napplication strategy was pretty simple. My GMAT score was 660, so I was looking\nfor schools with an acceptable range of GMAT score from 640 to 700. My second\nfilter was the schools that had more placements and job opportunities in the\nfield of Consulting. With these two filters, I could limit my search to four to\nfive schools. The third filter was deadlines. When I started in November, I\nmade sure that the application deadlines were in December or the first week of\nJanuary so that I get at least four to six weeks for the application. Since\nevery school has at least two to three essays, I thought a month, or a month\nand a half would be sufficient to prepare well for each of these schools.\nFollowing this simple strategy worked out well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam<\/strong>: Looking back, what was the most challenging aspect\nof the school admission process? How did you approach that challenge and\novercome it? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pravin:<\/strong> There were two challenging aspects of my application. One is my GMAT score. It is not in the expected range, especially for a student coming from India. US B Schools expect Indian applicants to have a 700 + score. I overcame this challenge by organizing my thoughts in essays. Based on whether it was a behavioral question or leadership story in an essay, I tried to put my best stories in the best possible manner.&nbsp; I applied to only those schools where the GMAT score range was 640 to 700. My firm belief was that if they are shortlisting the student with a score of 640, they are looking at other factors of the application as well. That strategy did work out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam<\/strong>: What would you advise other MBA applicants who are\nfacing similar challenges? Would you like to give some pointers to the prospective\napplicants? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pravin:<\/strong> The second biggest\nchallenge that I faced was getting my recommenders to submit the\nrecommendations on time. I have a demanding job with minimal time for myself.\nMy recommenders are top-level management with very little time to submit the\nrecommendations, and I can only request them. So what I did was if the deadline\nis 15<sup>th<\/sup>, I would call them around 5<sup>th<\/sup> or 6<sup>th<\/sup>\nand tell them that the deadline is 10<sup>th<\/sup>. Thus, I made sure that I\ngive them a one-week time before the deadline so they would submit the\nrecommendation at least one week before the deadline. It paid out. Last year,\nwhen I applied to a school, I was looking only at my part of the application,\nmy resume, my essays, and I completely forgot about my recommenders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam:<\/strong>\nThis time, I was there to remind you all the time to keep following up with your\nrecommenders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pravin<\/strong>: Yes. It became challenging for me to catch hold of\nthem during the deadline. This time when I applied, I told them that the\ndeadline is at least one week before the actual deadline date. They submitted\nthe recommendation letter well before that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam:<\/strong>\nHow did you overcome your challenge with the essays? We collaborated on three\nschools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pravin:<\/strong>\nFirst, I simply followed every approach you had recommended. For every essay,\nmy understanding of the question was very different from your understanding of\nthe same question. You gave me an outline- how to approach what the school is\nlooking for in that question. One thing I understood right from the start of my\napplication process was that I had all the stories and achievements, but I did\nnot know how to present them in an organized manner. That was the first thing I\nlearned from you. You were there to guide me and help me organize my essays.\nYou gave me a structure as to how to showcase my candidacy. To be very honest,\nI merely followed the steps you suggested; I did not go any far or any less.\nWhen I looked at the final versions, I could not believe that I wrote such good\nessays. Though those were my stories, even my best shot would not have been\neven closer. The corrections and the suggestions that you made would have never\noccurred to me. I think that the best possible way to narrate my stories was based\non your inputs, support, and suggestions. Once again, I want to thank you for\nall the help and support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam:<\/strong>\nYou are most welcome. It was my pleasure to work with you. What would you advise\nother applicants who are facing similar challenges? Would you like to give some\npointers to prospective applicants?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pravin<\/strong>: As I said, my GMAT score was comparatively low. Though I got into good programs with the low GMAT, I will suggest working for a good GMAT score because it not only decides about the admission but also helps in getting scholarships and other funding after getting admitted. There are so many online GMAT prep <a>companies<\/a>. Most of the companies offer a one-week free trial, and the minimum purchase is one month. Whichever company appeals to you, you can go for it and prepare for your GMAT. You can decide about this by taking the free trial, and if it seems to be working, go for it. Each company provides different strategies, and you need to pick the one that appears to be right for you.&nbsp; All the companies prepare a calendar for you; once you plan for a date for GMAT, they give you a timetable and schedule when you should be reading a particular topic when you should be taking a mock test. You should simply follow the program. I was not able to do that because of my work schedule. Please do not make the same mistake that I did. I strongly advise that you stick to the plan, keep at least 6-months for GMAT, and crack the GMAT. Another major mistake I did was that I devoted more time to the Verbal part since I was strong in Quant. As a result, I improved my Verbal but didn\u2019t improve Quant. You should concentrate on both the parts equally. If you are strong in Quant, prepare Verbal, and in the end, concentrate on Quant as well so you can improve both Verbal and Quant. Every single point scored counts both for admission and scholarship. If you are dedicated, a six-month time period is useful for achieving a strong GMAT score. The benefit of online classes is that you can take them anywhere and at any time, at your convenience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a><strong>Poonam:<\/strong><\/a> Absolutely. It is a\nvaluable suggestion. Do you have any advice on the application prep?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a><strong>Pravin<\/strong><\/a>: Every\napplicant should look into two things. First, you should pick the schools that\nmatch your GMAT score; secondly, make sure that your career goals align with\nthe curriculum of the specific schools. Once you figure these out, even though\nyou may have decent essays, resume, and recommendation letters, it is crucial\nto have advice from an expert in the field. <a href=\"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/reviews\/comments\/multiple-school-package-345358196\">In\nmy case, that expert was Poonam of MER.<\/a> It is valuable to be\ncoached by an expert who understands your profile and the application process.\nYour essay and resume may be the best as per your expertise, but there is\nalways room for further improvement and refinement, which can come only when an\nexpert is engaged in your application process<em>. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam<\/strong>:\nThis is very true. Even accomplished writers go through multiple edits. Pravin,\nwe have talked about the strong leadership stories that got you admits to\nmultiple schools of your choice with scholarship despite your low GMAT. You had\nimpressive leadership stories both at work and outside of work. I was particularly\nimpressed by your involvement with the IAS Association Club that you founded\nwith some of your friends. Could you please throw some light on your engagement\nwith this organization?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pravin:<\/strong><strong> <\/strong>&nbsp;After college, I started preparing for the\nIndian Civil Services examination. Typically, coaching for such exams in cities\nlike Chennai and Delhi is very costly. So, to support myself financially, I joined\na company called Creative Switchgears.&nbsp; I\nused to prepare for the exams in the evenings and on weekends. I was taking IAS\ncoaching with a group of five people. Unfortunately, I couldn\u2019t qualify in the\ninterview stage. So, in 2014, I,\nalong with five classmates,\nstarted this IAS Association Club-\nCoaching Center with the help of a local church. The primary objective was to\nimpart free coaching to IAS\/ Civil Service aspirants. We provide free coaching\nand study material to underprivileged people who cannot afford it. We teach\nclasses, give mock tests, and provide interview support. I have been doing it\nfor five years now. Apart from Banking and helping people by providing loans to\nneedy people, this is something that I dearly value because it changes the\nlives of so many young aspirants. I find it very satisfying when some of our\nstudents pass the exams and get placed in various banks and departments across\nthe State. I think this is my most memorable achievement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam: <\/strong>Definitely. It must have been a fulfilling experience. Finally, given the turmoil and uncertainty created by Kovid-19, what challenges you are anticipating in your MBA experience as an international student in the US? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a><strong>Pravin<\/strong><\/a>: To begin with, I think, there will\nbe Visa restrictions since most of the Embassies are closed. Usually, the visa\nprocess takes about two to three weeks, but under the prevailing circumstances,\nit may take two to three months. My classes are to begin in August, and if the\nsituation gets normal by May or June, I will be able to make it to the USA on\ntime for my classes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam<\/strong>: Yes. Definitely, and the schools are also working tirelessly to make things comfortable for the current students and the incoming students. Have you received any updates from Maryland Smith so far?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pravin<\/strong>: Only yesterday I attended a webinar with Smith and\nwas informed that the classes are going to begin on August 24, as scheduled.\nThey have planned a welcome weekend and other events for admitted students in\nApril and May. These have been converted to virtual events. Apart from this,\nthey are not postponing or changing any other event. At the same time, they are\nalso processing our I-20. They are not halting or stopping the I-20 process.\nThey are doing their best not to delay our Visa process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam:&nbsp; <\/strong>Good\nto know that. The show must go on. Currently, what we need the most is\npatience, perseverance, and resilience. We all will emerge stronger after this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam:<\/strong> &nbsp;Pravin, it was nice chatting with you. Thank you for sharing your story with us.&nbsp; I wish you success in your MBA career and continued success in your future career. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pravin<\/strong>:\nThank you, Poonam. Once again, I want to thank you for your patience and your\nguidance throughout the application process. Even though some of the times I\ncould not stick to the schedule, you were patient and generous enough to return\nmy essays on time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam:<\/strong>\nThank you, Pravin. It was a pleasure working with you. If you were sometimes\nlate in submitting your essays, it was only due to extreme work pressure. I\nunderstand that, and I enjoyed working with you. Good Luck with all your future\nendeavors. Bye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can connect with Pravin via LinkedIn <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/pravin-kumar-aaa52947\/\">https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/pravin-kumar-aaa52947\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;Since 2011, MER (<a href=\"https:\/\/myessayreview.com\/\">myEssayReview<\/a>) has helped hundreds of applicants get accepted into\nthe top 20 MBA programs (Poonam is one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/reviews\/myessayreview-345345505?fl=menu\">top 5 most reviewed consultants on the GMAT Club<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\nmay email Poonam at <a href=\"mailto:poonam@myessayreview.com\">poonam@myessayreview.com<\/a>\nwith questions about your application for the 2020-21 admission cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<strong>Related Resources<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/myessayreview.com\/category\/student-interviews\/\"><strong>Success Stories of MER Students<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/myessayreview.com\/category\/case-studies\/\"><strong>Case Studies<\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> This <a href=\"https:\/\/myessayreview.com\/student-interviews\/indian-banker-low-gmat-multiple-admits-scholarships\/\">interview<\/a> was published in <a href=\"https:\/\/myessayreview.com\/\">myEssayReview<\/a> blog. <br> &nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Introduction: Pravin, a Branch Manager at the State Bank of India, in a remote village in Tamilnadu, India, had applied to few good MBA programs in the US. He worked&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":141,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,943],"tags":[327,1219,147,883,2228,2229],"class_list":["post-48531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-myessayreview","tag-babson","tag-gmat-and-mba-admissions","tag-mba-application","tag-mba-essay-tips","tag-smith","tag-terry","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/141"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48531"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48531\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50014,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48531\/revisions\/50014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}