Ask IndusMinds

Hi Indus Minds,
I gave my GMAT few days back my score was
730 (Q49,V40). AWA 5.5
I have 6 years experience in customer service and operations as manager and senior manager
my prev acad details are
- 10th 86%
- 12th - PCM 84%
- B.Com - 67%
- MBA (Marketing) - 65% (K J Somaiya, Mumbai)
I wamt to do an MBA again to reposition myself in consulting or core marketing and branding.

Would need your advice on the SOPs and essays. What manner should I highlight my skills and strengths
Also, what colleges do I stand a great chance for admission. Due to personal committments I am keen on studying in India or Asia .. please let me know. Many Thanks

Hi Devina,
Apologies for a late reply. We have been travelling for the past couple of days and finally reached Mumbai again. Can you provide more details about your profile and long term career goals? What is it that you want to do once you graduate? What has your career progression been so far?

It is too early to say what your chances will be in top schools. We are in Mumbai today and you can contact us at 022-65880640 (only today since we are heading back to US tomorrow morning).

Best,
Priya

Hello ,

Below is an excerpt of my profile.Please evaluate my profile and provide your valuable feedback/suggestions

Name:Gopal Panigrahy / 30 Y/ Male

Citizenship: INDIA

Qualification: B.E in Computer Science and Engineering- 78%/2004 (75% is the score for distinction in the university).Just adding this point, if it is noteworthy. The highest percentage attained in the CSE stream was 84% and I am ranked in the top 5.If required can get a recommendation letter from the university.

Query: I understand Adcoms use various merit methods to convert the percentage into CGPA/GPA for evaluation. So, I am not quite sure, on conversion, how the CGPA/GPA would look like. Please provide your comments on this.

Work Experience: 7 years 9 months of experience in Insurance/Accounting and Telecom software development industry.

Gist of my WE:

Overall International Exposure: 1.5 years at various locations such as Liverpool/London (UK), Dallas (TX) and Los Angeles (CA).

Current Exp:

Project Manager – SAP services at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for a European Telecom Client.

Duration: 1.5 Years

Managing a team of 20+ associates

I have contributed significantly towards the revenue growth by acquiring many multimillion dollar projects and by successfully executing them. In the last 3 quarters (Q2-Q4), the team size under SAP Services portfolio has doubled and revenue realization has stayed quite higher than the corporate set figures.

Prior Exp:

Business Development Lead at Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC)
Duration: 4 Years
Software Engineer at Accenture Services Pvt Ltd
Duration: 2.2 Years

Awards & Recognitions:
1. Certificate of Appreciation (innovation - MCCA MMS project) - CSC India, 2010
2. Certificate of Appreciation (innovation - MCCA RFR project) - CSC India, 2010
3. Certificate of Appreciation (Delivery) - CSC India, 2010
4. Special Recognition Award - CSC United States (At Client Location, LosAngeles), 2008
5. High performance Delivered Award - Accenture (RSA Client), 2007
6. Instant Karma Award - Accenture, 2006
7. Super trooper Award - Accenture, 2006
8. JSE Achievers Award - Accenture, 2005

Query: Please provide your feedback on my WE.I would still like to invest a year to shape up my WE, if required. Basically I would like to do anything that can help me offset my low GMAT score.

GMAT Score:

GMAT 1: 470 (Q48,V11)
GMAT 2: 630(Q48, V28)
GMAT 3: 600(Q48, V24)
GMAT 4: 660(Q48, V34)

I do not wish to retake the test. I am done with it. It is not that I have given up, but I feel I am shelling out lot of my valuable time to attain the 700 mark. Although 700+ is a strong criteria for many good colleges,I would like to manage without that score.

Query: I am targeting for only 1 year MBA programs. Please advise on the colleges that I can apply in India and abroad. I understand that I need to be more specific on my question. But at this very moment, I am not able to figure out the best chances I have for the top 30 colleges.

Extracurricular Activity:

Member of a voluntary organization (in TCS) that works for various social causes. I mostly contribute towards educating homeless children and arranging funds from TCS – associates by demonstrating various social problems through articles in newsletters, cultural events etc.

Since a decade, I am working in one of the rural areas for various developments, such as facilitating a library, drinking water etc. There are many areas that I have worked and I can provide an elaborate list of my work. Well, I am not sure if any proof of such activities will be needed, but I can get a recommendation letter from the govt appointed committee.

Query: Please comment if such involvements can add value to my profile. I am ready to invest more number of years, if required, towards any other suggested extracurricular activities.

Why MBA? :

Short Term Goal (5 to 10 years): Business / IT consulting. To gain Industry exposure in the realm of setting up, reforming and executing various business models operative across different industry verticals.

Long term Goal (10 years +): Establishing a firm that would engage in various business consulting activities. Also, I have the aspiration to establish a network of non-profit consulting firm (driven by the above mentioned profit organization) that would engage in helping various small industries to establish (particularly in rural areas).I have not really got the framework on paper but I am working on it. The idea is to pool the knowledge and experience of many people like you and me into a single stream that can make few lives better. The motive is “To make one single place better to live”.

Query: In sum, this is what I have in me and this what I want to do. I understand that I may not make into the top notch colleges because of a low GMAT score. But I would be happy if any decent college (that would mind accepting my profile) can help me to reach my goals.In addition, i am very well recognized in the managerial community, many of whom have witnessed my stellar performances, in my current and previous organizations.I can request them for recommendation letters.

Please comment/advise on the B schools that I can apply. Please, also, comment on my profile and suggest any improvements that can make my profile better.
I value your time .Thanks in advance

Cheers,
GKP

Gopal,
Your undergrad score, co-curricular activities and international experience would help your case. Your GMAT is bit on the lower side but with a strong application you should be able to put a strong case.

I would not recommend waiting another year since you are already 30. If you wait you will need even more convincing to do. Are you exploring full time MBA only or are you open to EMBA, Part time MBA? Exec programs at IIM are good fit if you are planning to stay and work in India.

Let me know if this helps.

It's turning out to be a busy application season with some applicants with 'unique' backgrounds pursuing their dreams of making it big. If you are one of the non-traditional applicant and need our expertise then this is the time. We want you on board and will even offer you some discounts to sweeten the deal.

Do you have some burning questions about your profile, your potential or anything in general about MBA applications, contact us at https://www.indusminds.com/biz/contact-us.html

Hi,

Would be great if you let me know what you think of my profile. Here is a very brief summary.

Indian/Male/27 years

WORK EX
~4.5 years’ experience in cloud computing, virtualization and security domains.
3 years in McAfee, 1 year in Citrix as Software Quality Assurance Engineer.
IT Skills – Responsible for overall product quality, collaboration with global teams, test execution and reporting
Non IT skills - Sales enablement, project management, hiring and mentoring, setting up new processes etc. Indirectly leading a team of 5 members. Have mentored 9 people.

ACADS
GMAT: 700 - (Quant - 49, Verbal – 36), yet to receive AWA scores
B.TECH - 83.3% (CS)
12TH - 70%
CFA Level II candidate PRINCE2 foundation certified - Project management
ITIL v3 foundation certified- IT Service Management
CompTIA Security+ certified - Security domain

ACHIEVEMENTS
rated >4 (out of 5) for 3 years of operations in McAfee
‘Employee of the Quarter' award in McAfee
Stock Grant Bonus for outstanding performance
Spot Bonus for outstanding performance
Promoted within completing 1 year in McAfee

EXTRA CURRICULAR
Freelance test mentoring for a 2 year old tech start-up, also gave a talk to its employees
Service-lead, managing CSR activities for my present team of 20.
Program-manager for McAfee's CSR initiative for 2 years, managed team of 50 volunteers.
Elected student representative - Mess committee in college
Prefect/ House Captain in final year of school
Editor of school magazine in 11th standard

AREA OF INTEREST
Management consulting, general management, strategy

TARGET COLLEGES
Kellogg, ISB, NUS so far.
Looking for colleges in US or APAC region mostly.

QUESTIONS
1. Which 2 colleges should i choose as backups for my area of interest?
2. Which 2 colleges do you think I have a fair chance of getting in?
3. Which 2 colleges do you think I can get in with a bit of luck and carefully crafted application?

Thanks for the help!

Rajat,
You have good data points (decent GMAT, good brand names on your resume, good performance at McAfee, leading CSR initiative etc). I don't see a big red flag which is going to stop you from getting into a good business school. If you had something really stellar I would have suggested to aim higher but you are in the ballpark with Kellogg, ISB and NUS. For US, add Duke & Chicago to the mix. Kellogg and Chicago are going to be bit of a stretch and Duke will be much more realistic. If you really want to get into MC then add INSEAD to the mix.

What prompted you to pursue CFA when you are from technical background and plan to go into MC? These might send confusing signals so you should have a carefully drafted story.

You need powerful stories especially with good profile (not extraordinary) where you should focus on people skills, team handling, taking initiatives & co-curricular activities (CSR) and avoid being mired down in technical details of your current job.

Contact us if you have more questions.

Hi IndusMinds

I am a 26 year old female from India and applying to US business schools in 2012. I have a GMAT of 640 (Q:45 / V:34 / AWA:4) and a TOEFL score of 96. I have worked for 4 years as a marketing executive in India in the hospitality industry. I have worked for two different hotel groups 1) 1 yr at a large single hotel located in the commercial center in the capital city of India 2) ~3 yrs at a large multi-national and multi-brand hotel chain, with responsibility for nationwide (India) marketing. I had hit a ceiling at my company and without an MBA they were not willing to promote me further or give me additional responsibilities. So I quit and for last 2 months, I have been working as a full-time volunteer for an NGO for differently-abled and underprivileged children. By the time I join a business school (hopefully), I would have worked at this NGO for almost 1 year. I am passionate about dance and was part of a professional dance group for 5 years (alongside my college and job). Both at college and as part of this dance group, I have performed at multiple shows with audiences of 1,000+ people and won many awards. I have an undergraduate degree in English (Hons.) where I studied English, History and Philosophy. I was very active in my college’s dance and theatre society. Indian colleges do not have a GPA system. I would consider myself a firm mid-tier performer academically.
I am very keen on continuing a career in marketing. Can you kindly advise which schools will best suit my profile? I am keen on Duke, Haas and Cornell.
Thank you very much in advance.

Winds81,
Thanks for reaching out to us. I am going to break down your profiles/data-points in plus and minus:
Strong:

Your marketing and hospitality experience- There are not a lot of candidates from the Indian sub-continent who come from a similar background so that will help your case.
Large multinational brands on your resume.
Being a female Indian applicant

Weakness:

GMAT score and undergrad performance: You have mentioned that your were a mid-tier performer. That could have been offset by a good GMAT score but that is not the case. You will need to address the concerns if you can survive the academic vigor of the MBA program.
Sudden shift to non-profit: This is great but I am not clear as to why you made the switch. Is this linked to your long term ambitions/goals? Switch to non-profit right before the MBA application season might lead admission committee to doubt your intentions for the switch. You should not leave this question unanswered.

Are you done with GMAT or are you open to a retake? If yes, then you can focus on R2 after improving your GMAT score. If not, then make sure you address the concerns highlighted above. UNC, Indiana, UT might be good bets. If you have convincing stories then do apply to the schools which you have listed.

Hope this helps. Contact us if you have more questions.

Hello,

Could you please give me a little feedback on my unique situation? I am applying for MBA programs in pursuit of a JD/MBA dual degree. I am hoping for admission into at least one top 14 law school (such as Cornell, Harvard, Virginia, Penn, Stanford, Chicago, Columbia) and would like to get into the MBA program as well. However, I am a college senior and am concerned about the uphill battle with work experience. While I have not been working after undergraduate I started a real estate investment business and work in real estate. I am a female Native American(citizen of Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma), 3.65 gpa in Business from a large public institution, with a GMAT of 710, AWA 5.5, Quant in the 71st percentile(my weakness) and Verbal in the 96th percentile. I am applying through the Consortium to schools like Michigan, Darden, Yale, Cornell, ect. Do I have a chance of getting into the Business School at any of these? If so, how can I craft an application to make up for my weaknesses and highlight my strengths?

Thank you for your insight!

Milo,
Dual degrees need a very clear focus before you invest several thousand dollars. Are you planning a career in law or management? Without any experience, this dual degree is going to be of limited use.

Your data points are fine but your lack of work ex is a concern. You should get couple of years of experience before you start applying. Moreover you should be very clear on why you need JD or MBA or both.

Hello Indusminds,

In light of my average grades and Gmat score, should I re-take GMAT? Also, with Q-45 and V-34, should I push my quant score up, as I am part of the Indian applicant pool(high on quant) and my undergrad was in arts(non-quant)? or should I push both quant and verbal up evenly?

Thanks

Yes, if you can push it close to 700. Once again, your profile is different from most of the other Indian applicants so that will help. You are fine as long as you have more than 80 percentile in both verbal and quant. If quant is where you can score more then go for it.

You can still go ahead and apply in schools where you feel you have a realistic chance and prepare for GMAT in parallel. Contact us if we can help answer more questions and good luck.

Concerns on lack of 'editorial level' language is something which we come across everyday. MBA schools are not comparing you to Shakespeare before making a decision on your candidacy. Post-MBA, you will be a part of a corporation (large multinational to your own start-up) where you will be needed to interact with different customers (internal and external). Conveying your thoughts in a clear and concise manner is what will help you achieve the desired success. On the contrary, flowery language will be frowned upon.

Few years back, we had a client who was educated in a non-English medium (Hindi) all his life. He spent good 18 years of his life in a remote village in India-secluded from anything to do with English. English newspaper or news on TV was a luxury which he couldn't afford. His determination to arrange for the basic necessities for his family paid off with his selection to a reputed engineering school. With few years of experience in an IT company, he approached us for the next leap-MBA! Today, he is making his mark in Asset Management after graduating from a top business school in the USA. His essays did not have a very polished language but wait ... he did not have essays in his applications. He had STORIES which captivated the readers!

If you still don't know what it takes to get into a top business school, rethink about your MBA plans or better contact us for more clarity.

How do you make your post-MBA goals a reality? Our alumni network is expanding and we have been helping our clients navigate through their post-MBA goals. We now have representation from Management Consulting, Product Management, Corporate Finance, Account Management, Business Development, IT development, CSR in Hi-Tech, Private Equity, Financial Services and Management consulting in companies like Amazon, Google, Facebook, Fidelity, Bain etc.

Get the insights from the team members who have been there and who know what it takes to get in these profiles/companies. Contact us if you have questions about your post-MBA goals.

Admission decisions are starting to trickle in now and should continue this week before the lull till New Year. Admit from Oxford and UCLA from few of our clients who have heard back.

Admit from UCLA Anderson with $$$ (good enough for one year tuition) was an awesome way for someone in India to start the day today! Many more to come ...

Another admit from Michigan Ross! It surely is Happy Holidays for lucky few!