cavalier2012
Hello all,
I have found this website/forum to be a great resource and thank everyone for their help/advice.
I would really appreciate it if you all could evaluate my profile for the schools posted below.
Stats:
Age-24, Indian American Male
Job: Technology Analyst (2 Years WE, will be 3 by time of matriculation.)
Company: Financial Services Software Organization-We provide a variety of software solutions to effectively manage and determine the best business decision for companies. In this role, I've helped in the deployment of software products for our clients. This has been 50% a "regular" Consultant and 50% a Technical Analyst.
Undergrad: Top 10 Public School (UCLA, UCB, UVA, UNC)
Major: Chemistry
GPA: 2.7 (Really floundered for a while in college. Took advantage of "non-academic" options in college. + Notoriously hard pre-med major in my school.)
ECs: Board of Religious Organization, Part of Non profit Organization, Various Internships
GMAT: 640-660 on GMATPrep practice tests, could get to 680-700 by the time I take it during this month.
Goals:
Short Term-Consulting
Long Term-Consumer Goods/Operations
Schools:
Reach: Duke, UNC, CMU
Second Tier: Vanderbilt, Maryland, Georgetown, Notre Dame
"Safety": Wisconsin, BU, Wake Forest, Pitt
Thanks for your help all!
Hello Cavalier
You have described your work experience in terms of what you did as a technical analyst. It will be easier to advise you if tell me about your accomplishments in your work experience. Were you promoted in the last two years? Did you help in closing any major deals for your firm? How was your performance with respect to your peers? Did you lead a team?
In any case, the average work experience in most business schools is 4 - 5 years. Having said that. most of the top schools are always open to young achievers, as well. If in these two years, your performance was incredible (promotions, awards, tangible results, etc), you can go ahead. Remember, it is not the number of years but the quality of your work that matters.
Unfortunately, your GPA is quite low for top business schools. Coming from a good undergrad university is an advantage but you will have to excel on all other fronts of your profile in order to make up for your GPA. You are going to need an excellent GMAT score. The average GMAT and GPA of duke, UNC and CMU are around 700 and 3.3 respectively. Since your GPA is below average for these schools, I would advise you to score well above their avg GMAT, i.e. around 720. The higher the score, the better it will be for your profile. Even for the second tier schools, your GPA is on the lower side and so a good GMAT school will help your profile for all the schools you will apply to. You might want to take additional coaching to gain those extra few points.
Coming to your extracurriculars - what were your responsibilities as a board member of the religious group? What were your achievements as part of the non-profit organization and in the various internships? Your ECs should display your passions and your ability to lead, as these are highly sought after qualities in MBA applicants.
In your essays, you will have to discuss why you want to pursue an MBA. This is where you will have to discuss your goals. Why do you want to shift from your current job as a technical analyst to a full time consulting job and how would an MBA help you fulfill your goals? Discuss these points in your essays backed with relevant and convincing past experiences. Good luck!
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