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Dear Applicant lab,

I have asked this question on several forums without a good response - so please see if you can help me.

For applicants who will be between 32-35 at graduation - what are the specializations/majors that would suit a role in corporate strategy?

I know some companies have rotational leadership development programs (please share any relevant names in the EPC or Energy sector if you can) - but what are some of the Job Titles that are common in this function post-MBA?

Since international students have restrictions on which firms will do work sponsorship, should one limit their pitch to those companies that do sponsor visas? Or pitch a career goal with that firm/industry in country of origin?

Hi bb10! I'm SO sorry -- I didn't see this post until just now!

I suspect that you haven't gotten a solid answer to your question yet because I'd be very surprised if a large firm would take someone in their mid-30s into a rotational program. There are many reasons for this -- for example, perhaps an issue arises when someone in their early-30s finds themselves managing the post-MBA hires.

The best way to find out your job prospects? Well, why not reach out to people who work at those target firms and ASK them if they hire people with backgrounds like yours into their post-MBA rotational programs? Someone who is currently *IN* one of these programs might be in a much better position to answer you, vs. an admissions consultant who may not be fully aware of these programs.

Another place to look is the schools' "Career Placement" reports -- you can usually find these in the career services section of their websites. There, they will tell you which energy companies have hired their graduates in the past.

If you don't have visa sponsorship, then I'd advise applying with BOTH stories: a "plan A" of getting sponsorship at a US firm, and a "plan B" of going back to your home country. Hopefully, you're in a financial position to pay for as much of the degree as possible, so that way the "plan B" doesn't worry them re: your ability to pay back the student loans.

As an alternative, if you have visa concerns, look into Canadian programs. They have generous visa policies, and also a lot of energy companies are located there (turns out "being nice" isn't the ONLY natural resource Canada has!).

Someone at your age level may want to look to Europe -- programs like IMD that specifically seek more seasoned candidates. If you've been a "star" at work, especially at a multi-national firm, this might be a good option. Aside from that, you can try applying to some full-time programs this year, but you may need to look to executive programs as a "plan B".

Oh, and to answer the first part of your question, for what it's worth, "Corporate Strategy" usually is a blend of strategic thinking plus M&A. So, the most common paths to that career are investment banking, or strategy consulting. Aside from that, in order to get a job in strategy directly? I'd advise you to "major" in strategy and also take electives that will teach you heavy-duty financial modelling so that you can build the DCF analyses needed for M&A deals.


Thanks!,
Maria
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Hi Maria,

Greetings for the day.

Could you please let me know your feedback on my Profile.

Name : Utsav Jha
Nationality: Indian
Sex : Male
Age : 27

GMAT Score: 680 (Ist GMAT)

Education Background:
a. Chartered Accountant from Institute of Chartered Accountant of India (58.6% - First Attempt) [ It is a premier finance course in India, with a passing rate of 5-12% similar to CPA in USA and ICEAW in UK]
b. Certificate Course on valuations from Institute of Chartered Accountant of India
c. Certificate Course on business Finance from Institute of Chartered Accountant of India
d. Bachelors of Commerce , Delhi University (55%)
e. 12th Standard (89%)
f. 10th Standard (91.6%)

Work Experience:
- Total 6 Years (post qualification) as at 20 August 2017 (additionally i have also undergone 3.5 years of internship).

Currently working with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu as a Risk Consultant, managing a team of 3.

- Started AUKS Associates (during my initial years), a CA Practicing firm

Extracurricular:
- Started Orrizen Foundation to support people in need.
(also i don't have much extracurricular activities to share, as I have been a reserved person for long)

I am getting lot of feedback to retake my GMAT Exam, but I really want to apply in Round 1 and get selected (my preference is top 20 B-schools, and first preference is NYU Stern). Please let me know if I stand a chance for R1 or what should be an appropriate strategy for me. Should I retake GMAT ?

I shall be really thankful to you for your advise.

Warm regards
Utsav Jha

Hi Maria,

I have been in search of a community or a forum, to find out the best-suited courses in MBA or MSc aligned with Corporate Social Responsibility and green/sustainable management. So far it's been a struggle to find a similar pool of applicants or threads for such courses and I'm really not able to find some good measure of rankings.
General information that I'm looking for is - Job prospects after degree, ideal profile with median GMAT score, and usefulness of the course.
Following are some courses that I know of and would like to know more about -

1. The Università Bocconi MAGER - MSc in MSc Sustainability and Social InnovationGreen Management, Energy and Corporate Social Responsibility
2. HEC Paris - MSc Sustainability and Social Innovation
3. RSM Erasmus University -MSc Global Business & Sustainability
4. UBC, Vancouver - MASTER OF SCIENCE IN RESOURCES, ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY (MSC)
5. Oxford University - MSc in Environmental Change and Management
6. University of Toronto -Master of Science in Sustainability Management (MScSM)
7. Columbia University - Master of Science in Sustainability Management

Bit about me - Background - Indian Female, I.T. Consulting with 40 months of Experience in a Big Four Company
Cumulative Percentage - 78% (Honors Degree in Bachelor of Technology (IT major) tier 2 institute.
Extra Curricular- Associated work with WWF and a few Non-Profit driven educational institutes.
GMAT Score - 650

Please evaluate this profile and in reach schools for my score. What extra is needed for profile to be considered strong.

Posted from my mobile device

Posted from my mobile device

Hi Acacia,

Thanks for reaching out! I think part of why it may be challenging to find good forums, etc., devoted to this topic is that it's an emerging field of focus. Therefore, it hasn't yet merited the sorts of attention that other, more established, programs receive.

In ApplicantLab, I urge people to do a TON of research on their own -- and it seems that this advice applies here as well.

The MBA (or related masters degree) could very well be the largest financial investment you ever make -- so you need to be assertive and become an informed consumer. I can't remember off the top of my head who said this (will happily edit / give attribution if someone corrects me!), but most people spend more time and agony over researching which smart phone, which laptop or which car is the right fit for them, vs. which MBA is the right fit for them -- even though the MBA is WAY more expensive, and does not offer refunds / the ability to swap into another program if the first program isn't a good fit! If I buy the wrong phone, I can trade it in for a new one. If I choose the wrong masters' program, I'm going to be miserable for two years and possibly beyond, and I can not go back and swap it for another degree.

This is why you need to:

- Reach out to student groups at your target schools; try to connect with someone whose background is as similar to yours as possible

- Research the Career Placement report for every program you are considering:

- What percentage of their class goes into your target field?
- Which companies recruit there; are they the ones you'd like to work for?

You'll especially want to try to find Indian graduates of these programs and see if they were able to find employment in the EU, etc. afterwards. I do believe that visa / job issues are one that not enough Indian applicants research ahead of time, so please do make sure you know the visa / hiring situation first, and have a financial "Plan B" in place, should you need to return to India.

Regarding rankings, I would not worry about them. What matters more is placement history, especially for Indian citizens. My understanding is that Canada has easier regulations re: getting a job, but this is not my field of expertise so please do verify that on your own.

You may find this general blog post I wrote to be useful: https://blog.applicantlab.com/mba-admissions-chances-determine-odds/

In the absence of a handy-dandy "rankings report" available (and again, "rankings" may not mean much on a pragmatic level), more of the research does need to be done by the applicant, but given the investment we're talking about, it will be time and effort well-spent.

My particular specialty is in helping people position themselves and their experiences as strongly as possible -- for example, which of your accomplishments should you write about, and how should you write about them? Which elements on the resume should be emphasized, and which ones left out? What should you ask your recommenders to say about you? That's my focus and expertise. Should you find programs that suit your needs, and are having trouble articulating your accomplishments via the essays, recommendations, etc., then that's where my service really shines.


Thank you!,
Maria
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Hi,
So, I did my MBA in HR from one of the borderline premier institutes in India.
Currently am a HR Manager working with a major sales and distribution firm in India. My role is of HR Business partnering for sales division of an entire state.
Prior to this, post my engineering I had 2 years of solid work ex with a major battery manufacturing firm in the role of product development.
I plan to take the GMAT and go for a second MBA with the sole purpose of transitioning my career out of HR, preferably into general management or strategy.
My query is, would my workex in HR be a major hurdle in getting admitted in the top B schools? Are professionals with work ex in HR given a differential treatment?
Also, will my workex in HR be detrimental to the career transition that I am planning to make while getting a job post the MBA?
Please help!

I havent found any examples of people with HR workex getting into the top B schools. would be great if someone shares such profiles.
Also can anyone guide me regarding whom or where should I talk with regarding my queries?

Here is my profile:
X-92%
XII- 85%
Btech from National Institute of Technology India - 7.31 CGPA
2 years of work ex in New product development role in major battery manufacturing firm. (Market Leader)
MBA in HR from borderline premier institute in India
3-4 years of work ex as HR manager in HR Business Partner role.


TIA

Hi Tia,
I am a current Kellogg MBA student. I saw your query and thought of giving it a response. You may wait for a response from Maria as well. Here is my $.02:

Your background will not play against you. To my best understanding adcoms don't give any differential treatment for people coming from HR background. Having said that, I must mention that people with HR background are not a whole lot in a typical MBA class but I am pretty sure that's because the number of applicants itself is much smaller as compared to lets say engineers, finance folks, consultants etc.

What matters more is how you connect the dots. You need to have a really strong pitch of how you have progressed in your career and why MBA (and MBA from that particular school) is the obvious next step to achieve your career goals. As long as your story is strong and you have good hard factors in your profile (professional achievements, extra curricular, GMAT, career progression etc.) I see no reason why you can't make it to a top program.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
Rohit

Indian 24 gre 307 Q159 V148 and I intend to take another attempt.
Btech Mechanical Engineeering with 7.39/10 cgpa.
I have internships experience with cummins india ltd in supply chain for 2 months. Trainee experience with RK Forgings Ltd.
I have done various automotive projects including BAJA, solar car, go karting.Active in co curriculars.Participated in Modal United Nations and won special mentions award. Participated in many workshops lile RC Aircrafts and AutomobilesAwarded distinction and credit by royal australian chem. institute.
Im working as SAP MM Consultant currently since 1.5 yrs and intend to pursue MBA.
Can you please suggest me how to go for it if I'm aiming top 25 colleges

Sent from my Redmi Note 4 using GMAT Club Forum mobile app

(Thanks for jumping in, Rohit! I started to draft a reply to this morning, and then the phone rang and the rest of my day was off to the races before I could post!)

Tia,

Great to hear from you!

HR is becoming an increasingly important aspect of a corporation's competitive advantage. In the knowledge economy, a company is only as good as its people, and thus I think HR is on the vege of being viewed as far more than "the people who fill in the paperwork" and MUCH more as a thought-leader and partner to the C-suite.

For HR backgrounds, it's certainly possible to get into business schools. Some folks worked in HR consulting prior to business school, and others worked directly for a large corporation.

I think the thing that every candidate needs to prove, whether they work in HR, IT, TfA, PE, or any other acronym you can think of, is proving positive impact to the organization.

There are 2 key things every applicant needs to prove:

1) That they are a leader; that is, that they have the fundamental personality traits needed to drive positive change in an organization -- be it a company, non-profit, or anything in between.

2) That they really need an MBA, and that they really need it from School X.

I think the reason a lot of HR folks don't go to top business schools is primarily that one can advance -- quite far!!! -- within HR with far less expensive degrees -- e.g. an "HR Management Certificate" can often be received via online study, for a teeny fraction of the price of an MBA. When HR folks do apply to business school, if they happen to face challenges in getting accepted, I wonder if it's because sometimes certain folks in the field aren't exactly the types who rock the boat to launch bold new ideas, and thus maybe (???) it's a bit tougher to demonstrate the sort of leadership examples that folks from other backgrounds may be able to more easily point to.

The good news is, if you've been a positive change agent at your company, it may mean that you stand out (in a good way) vs. the other folks in the HR competitive pool.

The one thing you'll need to address is why another MBA. Perhaps you did your original MBA directly after college, and now that you have more "real world" experience you truly see the benefits of MBA studies. And / or perhaps your MBA focused too much on just one specific topic, and you realize now the importance of broader general management skills. And / or maybe your MBA was focused on a very theoretical, very "academic" approach to business that didn't have the sort of real-world applicability that many other MBA programs do.

Regarding the "story" of wanting to change to "general management or strategy", of the two, I'd pick the first one, since often "strategy" roles in a company would ideally require prior experience at a strategy consulting firm or i-banking (since sometimes "strategy" = "mergers and acquisitions"). So the general management story is probably an easier, more intuitive "sell" -- especially if you've been able to work on cross-functional projects. I have a free video, article, and some free exercises at ApplicantLab.com that can help you start to think through what a strong career vision could be.

To start to narrow down your search, assuming you have competitive stats / GMAT, etc. one place to start looking is to try to find other alumni from your original MBA program, look them up on LinkedIn, and see where THEY ended up getting their second MBA. I call it finding your "Resume Twin": [url]blog.applicantlab.com/mba-admissions-chances-determine-odds/[/url]


Thank you!,
Maria


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Hi Manasi,

Nice to hear from you! If I understand correctly, you have 1.5 years of post-college work experience? If that's the case, then the good news is that you still have time to start developing a strong leadership profile at work (and also outside of work!), since most applicants to business schools in the U.S. / Europe usually have a least four years of full time experience (that is, an average of 3 - 5 years). So, if you were asking me for advice on how to apply right now for the upcoming Round 2 deadline, my advice would be to consider not applying and instead looking ahead 1 - 2 years from now to submit a more competitive profile then.

Now, in terms of what you can be doing now to make yourself a more competitive candidate later on, the good news is there are several things:

1) Go out of your way to become a leader at work. "Leadership" does not necessarily mean "being formally in charge of a team"! (trust me, there are PLENTY of people out there who are in charge of teams but who are terrible leaders). Instead, leadership is about driving innovative ideas and possessing the diplomatic finesse to get those ideas embraced by others.

2) Continue commitment to some sort of passion outside of work -- whether it's community service, a meaningful hobby, etc. Ideally this is something that involves other people, since business schools are looking for "people people" -- i.e., the "lone genius" isn't what they want; instead, they want the "team player".

3) Make sure you cultivate STRONG relationships with your bosses / supervisors, since one day you'll be asking them for recommendations. This blog post has some advice on that front: https://blog.applicantlab.com/preparing-apply-mba-program-focus/

4) Start trying to find others from your college or company who have gone on to MBA programs and develop relationships with them so you can use them as a sounding board for advice. https://blog.applicantlab.com/mba-admissions-chances-determine-odds/ Seek out people who work at your company who already got MBAs and start asking them for advice.

5) On a final, very pragmatic note -- realize that the test-taking culture in India means that applicants from India tend to have higher standardized test scores than average. I'm not sure what the conversion # would be for the GRE, but for GMAT, a good rule of thumb is to aim for +30-ish points more than a school's published average. This is an unscientific suggestion; it's just based on my experience. Yet another good news about your relative youth is that you could really devote several months to GMAT / GRE study, in order to maximize your score.


Whew! Those are my suggestions for an early-career person like you who's starting to think about the process. Now, if your question was indeed asking for advice on how to apply THIS year, I'd advise you to 1) research to see if other folks in your company were accepted with 1.5 years of experience (there are a few firms out there that sometimes send people at an earlier stage in their careers, though admittedly those are usually the top banks / MBBs) and, if you can't find any "resume twins" who have been accepted at this phase of their career, then consider either waiting, or be prepared to cast a wider net, or perhaps look into the MiM degrees, which are designed for younger candidates.


Thank you!,
Maria





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Hi Maria,

Just wanted to know your thoughts on my profile.

29 Male from Australia (South Asian background)
Completed a double degree in Commerce and Engineering from a good university in Australia (First Class Honours)

Work Experience
Have worked in a variety of engineering roles in a electricity utility for the last 7 years after graduation.
I have had some experience leading cross functional teams to improve business processes as well as regular engineering work (including project management).
Last few years have been involved extensively in renewable connections.

Extra curriculars
Playing basketball
Coached youth basketball since I was 15.
Leadership and involvement in local religious organization

Goals post MBA
To work in a project development company focusing on renewables with an aim to start my own long term.
I am also interested in LDP programs.

I would be aiming for Sloan, Haas and Ross.

My main concerns are my age and work experience.

Hello Maria,

Kindly review my profile and share your valuable inputs.

Profile: I completed my graduation in Fashion designing from one of the top 3 colleges in Asia in 2014 with a CGPA of 7.43. I have been working with the biggest apparel organization in India for past 4 years. Have a healthy work experience across 2 different roles.

Extra-curricular: I am a national level athlete and I am regularly involved in different sports.
Have also won national level quiz competitions. Have been involved with couple of NGOs during my college days.

GMAT (Oct’2017) : 700 (Q-50, V-34, IR-8, AWA-5).

Areas of interest : 1) General Management, 2) Marketing

I need your help in deciding which colleges I should apply.

Should I target US B schools for either R2 this year or R1 next year ? Employment after completing MBA is an important criterion to decide which schools to apply. From few current students I have heard really negative reviews regarding job scenario for international MBA students in US. The situation is not bright in even top 15 colleges. Under the current geo-political situation, will it be a viable option to try for any US school?

With my profile, should I apply in NUS and INSEAD? What are the job scenarios post MBA in Singapore?

Also, I will be looking for a scholarship. Earlier I was targeting top 15 US B schools. Though my profile is extremely unique, my GMAT score is on a lower side. Being from India would go against me. Are there any colleges in top 15 where I can expect admission with scholarship?

I am okay to give GMAT again and if required then wait for one year before applying.

My first shortlist of colleges is below. Should I apply to any of these colleges in R2?
1. Kellogg,
2. Ross,
3. Fuqua,
4. NUS, and
5. ISB

Kindly review my case. Also please let me know if you need any other input to review my candidature. Thanks!

Hi Maze2017,

Thanks for reaching out (and for the additional details sent via PM).

It sounds like you've been able to drive some positive changes at your company (winning an innovation award is a good thing!), and working at a large utility company is, I'm guessing, probably pretty slow-moving so my hope would be that the AdComs would realize that any innovation you've been able to drive is probably quite a feat!

It's also good that you're moving to a more "businessy" (customer-facing) role next year since this will help you expand your experience beyond just technical issues, and will hopefully give an opportunity to build skills like persuasion, negotiation, etc.

The extra-curriculars help round you out, though ideally there could have been a teeeny bit more leadership there (e.g. starting something new, or surpassing some sort of expectation) -- however, I wouldn't' worry too much about it. This would just be a "nice to have" but is certainly not a big deal.

Regarding the career vision, overall I like it -- especially given your recent work on renewables. One challenge traditional "energy types" have (especially the folks I have started dubbing "the oil and gas industry refugees") is that many folks are citing that they want the MBA to transition away from their [dying] facet of the energy industry and instead move into sustainability... and yet, they have not yet actually done anything to get experience / prove to me that they really care, etc. Your recent projects in sustainability help convince someone more of your commitment there.

Other programs you might want to add to your list could be UT Austin (they do a TON with energy stuff -- see this link) and the Kellogg 1-year MBA (since you already studied commerce in your undergrad degree). If your plan is to go back to your current employer post-MBA, the "J-Term" at Columbia has been open to older candidates in the past (but note that you don't get a summer internship with that program). Oxford is looking for people who want to tackle large global problems, so they might go for this story -- and European programs in general tend to be more "older candidate friendly".

Finally, from what I've heard, China has started investing heavily into sustainable energy, so it might be worth digging into what's going on in the Chinese programs like CEIBS or HKUST. Here's a link I found regarding CEIBS that might of interest.


Thanks!,
Maria



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Hi there!

For starters, the good news is is that you only have three years of work experience (I mean, you say you've worked at your company for four years, but you graduated three years ago?), which means that you can push your application a year or two and still not be past what I call "the expiration date" for many schools. TL;DR -- I'd love to see you get that GMAT up to 750+ given the competitiveness of the Indian profile...I'm a worried that a 700 is a bit on the low side for the U.S. programs you mention (it would be low for anyone from any country; it's doubly-low for someone from India).

That having been said, there's a lot of interesting stuff in this profile -- assuming that you've been able to drive positive change at a level that is better than what others do (i.e. you're a star)...

For fashion, the top U.S. programs IMHO are Columbia and NYU (they have a 1-year fashion MBA), since NYC is the fashion capital of the U.S.. I think you need to apply with "a fashion story" given that it's BOTH your academic AND your professional background so far. The 2nd-biggest fashion city in the U.S. is L.A., so UCLA and USC might be interesting as well.

Regarding the job-hunting situation... I too have been hearing some not-great things from previous users of the ApplicantLab platform that keep in touch with me. It is unclear what will end up happening to some of the visa programs.

Therefore, what about some of the European programs? I wonder if some French / Italian schools might go for a "fashion story" (and yes, you didn't specify that you want to go back to fashion but I'm focusing on that since it's such a big part of the story so far).

One note regarding INSEAD -- they really look for people who have had extensive international experience. I.e. working / living overseas, and I get the sense that they like people with blue-chip, global brand-name employers (e.g. Google, P&G, WPP, plus consulting / banks...)... so I'd be a little concerned about whether or not they'd go for this story.

Either way, I do think that the 700 is too low.

You seem to have an interesting story and good potential, so my gut is telling me here to tell you to wait a year, re-take the GMAT, in order to apply to competitive schools, vs. settling for the lower-ranked schools a 700 would sort of force you in to.

In the meantime, this blog post I wrote for "early birds" may be useful: https://blog.applicantlab.com/preparing-apply-mba-program-focus/


Thank you!,
Maria



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Question: DeGroote Full time or Alberta Full time???

Nationality: Indian
Age: 30
Years of Experience: 7.5 (Information Technology) -> 2.5 Years in India and 5 years in Budapest (Hungary)
In Hungary I was the Team Lead for a 4 member Technical Specification Team that had Indian, Hungarian and French nationals.
GMAT: 720 (Q50V39)
CGPA: 3
Looking for: ONLY a 2 year Full time MBA in Canada with internship
Applied for: DeGroote Full time (not Co-op) and Alberta Full time

I attended Kira interview for DeGroote on 2nd December. I did my Alberta Kira round last Wednesday (6th December). Degroote gave me the admission without a face to face interview (7th December). I have time till Dec 21 to make up my mind. Alberta Univ has not yet responded. So in case, Alberta takes longer than Dec 21, should i accept DeGroote or decline it?

Hi there!

If Alberta had a defined decision notification date, that would be trickier, but since they have "rolling" admissions, I'd advise you to wait until about 1 week before your notification deadline for DeGroote (e.g. maybe this Friday, in case they are heading out of town for the holiday) and just very kindly let Alberta know that they are your #1 choice, and that you're in the fortunate position of having been made an offer at another program that you need to inform by Dec. 21.

Who knows? If it's rolling admissions, you might have heard by then anyway, and as long as you handle it politely (make the message to them brief, professional, and upbeat) then there is limited downside to a polite inquiry.

Now, should you not hear back... then in your shoes, yes, I'd take the certain "bird in the hand" of DeGroote vs. Alberta. Since you're 30 years old, I worry a little bit about you being past your "expiration date" for many 2-year full-time programs.

If DeGroote offers what you are looking for in terms of duration, internship opportunities, etc., then I say to grab that offer, buy a winter jacket, and get ready for a great two year experience!


Thanks,
Maria





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Hi Maria,

Thanks a lot for such an in-depth analysis of my profile. No wonder reviews of Applicant Lab are so good.

Will answer some of the points you raised. I completed my grad in June'2014. So, have been working for around 3.5 years as of now.

Thanks a lot for your reply. It will definitely help me a lot. Will answer to some of the points raised. Though my background has been into fashion industry till now, i want to do my masters in General Management. I believe this will make me eligible for job across different industries. This is one of the primary reason I am considering a two year course as of now. Also, I have had no international experience till now so INSEAD looks tough.

I can't take GMAT before Spring, so should I apply in NUS and ISB in this round? They are definitely not as fancy as Kellogg/Fuqua but have lot of potential in current time. Also, can you suggest how much time will it take to work on application for NUS, individually and through Applicant Lab.

Going by your feedback, US B schools look tough this year. So by when should I target giving GMAT so as to have sufficient time to prepare the applications for fall'19 intake. 750+ looks tough but can definitely go for it as I am still not past "the expiration date"

Hi there! To reply to some of your follow-ups:

"Though my background has been into fashion industry till now, i want to do my masters in General Management."

Most MBA programs focus in General Management, even if they say they have expertise X or expertise Y. In terms of maximizing your chances of being accepted, given your indepth academic and professional experience in fashion, then targeting programs that have a fashion program greatly helps increase your odds of success. Also, you want to do "General Management" -- but in which industry? Surely, getting a post-MBA job in fashion is going to be much easier than in, say, pharmaceuticals? This makes you less of a job placement risk. So please do give serious consideration to MBA programs that offer fashion courses, since they will see you as an asset to your classmates in that field.

"I believe this will make me eligible for job across different industries."

Try to do some research on this. Usually the mantra in MBA career services offices are: "Industry, function, location: pick two". That means, it can be difficult to change all three of those things. Perhaps you can use the MBA program to transition to another industry after graduation, but to be clear, the MBA doesn't really turn people into industry gymnasts, able to flip repeatedly from one industry to another. In fact, I'll bet you twenty bucks that the most interest you get from recruiters post graduation will be... in fashion.


I can't take GMAT before Spring, so should I apply in NUS and ISB in this round?

If you think your candidacy is competitive otherwise, then sure? Worst case, you get rejected by both this year and then re-apply next year. That having been said...have you thought about what happens if you DO get accepted? Will you take that offer, or will you turn it down because you'll think: "Well maybe I'll have better luck at a US school if I just wait one more year". If you think you would think THAT, then... why bother applying to schools now, unless you REALLY would be excited to attend them? If you turn them down one year to try to get into other schools the following year, don't expect that ISB or NUS will "hold" that place for you -- thus, it could turn into a bit of a gamble!

Also, can you suggest how much time will it take to work on application for NUS, individually and through Applicant Lab.

A lot of it depends upon how much research you have already done reaching out to students, researching the schools' offerings, and also pinning down a strong career vision (right now, the vague notion of "general management" across various "different industries" you've mentioned in your messages is waaaaay too vague and not strong enough). I'd say it would take about 15 hours for the first school, and then another 5 hours for the second school. Of course this will vary quite a bit by person, based upon English proficiency, previous research already done, etc.

So by when should I target giving GMAT so as to have sufficient time to prepare the applications...

Most schools don't even release their essays until the summer, so you could spend the next 3 - 6 months studying and still have plenty of time to hit the R1 deadlines.. If you're planning on using the Lab, I advise going through it now (especially the first four modules), not then, since it will teach you what AdComs are looking for, such that you can spend the next 9 months or so also bolstering your profile at work / community if needed, researching career stuff, etc.



Thanks!,
Maria




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