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B-School Selection Advice - Indian, Male, High GMAT, low GPA

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TTPi
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B-School Selection Advice - Indian, Male, High GMAT, low GPA [#permalink] New post   12 Oct 2017, 10:52
Hi,

I am looking for help with narrowing down on B-schools (to begin in 2018), based on my interests and background.

Nationality
Indian
Undergraduate
Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering (Tier 2/3 university, US)
Work Experience
Consulting, Deloitte S&O (2+ years) (recognized for delivering in corporate development and growth strategy directly for global leadership)
Business Development, 3D Printing, (2+ years at a medium-sized company, < 1 year at a start-up in India)
Technical Communication, National & International publications in manufacturing (30+ articles) and 3D Printing (60+ articles)

GMAT: 740 (Q49/V42)
GPA: 2.4 (due to medical illness - stress related - treated and overcome)
Have completed MBAMath - averging over 90% in the course to demonstrate current quantitative ability

Extra-curriculars
Corporate CSR PMO (led project reporting and assessment for a large-scale initiative for 1.5+ years)
Corporate Football (Won team and individual awards, organize tournaments/practices, recruiting 2+ years)
Poetry writing (published)
Mountaineering: certified to climb to 15000ft

I understand my GPA is really pulling me out of the running (considering my applicant pool) - however, I am hoping my 5+ years professional experience, recent GMAT, and strong recommendations (awards, promotions) + differentiators such as 3D Printing and Technical Writing help make my application reasonably competitive.

My question is how competitive/realistic would the top schools in the US be for me? Would Michigan Ross/Cornell/Tepper be a stretch? Would Krannert/Kenan-Flagler/McCombs be more reachable? Or would schools such as UIUC, Michigan Broad, Washington Forster be where I should aim?

My focus is on Consulting (and in Tech - 3D printing) in Europe or North America. I've already worked at a big 4 firm for 2+ years in corporate strategy. If the job market for international students coming out of Tier 2 Bschools in the US is tough (visa issues etc) - then I would not want to consider the US. I am otherwise aiming at Rotman(R2)/Ivey(R4) in Canada, with IE, IESE (Europe).

Any advice on school selection/approach would be great - and most appreciated. Thanks!
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Re: B-School Selection Advice - Indian, Male, High GMAT, low GPA [#permalink] New post   13 Oct 2017, 00:14
TTPi wrote:
Hi,

I am looking for help with narrowing down on B-schools (to begin in 2018), based on my interests and background.

Any advice on school selection/approach would be great - and most appreciated. Thanks!


Hi there,

You have an excellent profile and a very well rounded one at that. You are right in thinking that other aspects of your profile cover the pitfall made by your low GPA, especially your high GMAT score.
I think you are aiming low, you can aim for any school really. Shortlist schools based on your learning and career goals. For instance, INSEAD & Ivey will be excellent schools if you want to get into MBB firms. To answer your questions, I think you have a realistic shot at all the schools you have mentioned above such as Ross, Cornell and Tepper. Hope this helps. And please don't hesitate to contact me should you need any help.

Best,
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Re: B-School Selection Advice - Indian, Male, High GMAT, low GPA [#permalink] New post   15 Oct 2017, 22:20
A few reflections on the profile TTPi:
  1. The overall profile does sound interesting. It is not clear however if any of your professional experience is outside India or within? International experience can help further add weight to the profile. The 3d printing angle is nice but will need to be contextualized in terms of your post-MBA plans well.
  2. For reasons mentioned here, we do not speculate on school selection. That said, the GPA will remain a factor especially at top schools. You will have to utilize that optional essay well and hope for the best. The fact that your undergrad is not a top brand can further take away the sheen on this. While at first look your current target set might look a bit under-balled, it is not a bad strategy overall. It would be good however to balance it out with some more aggressive schools in the list.
  3. The ECs will provide a nice touch to the personality - use them well.

Hope this helps some.

Cheers,
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Re: B-School Selection Advice - Indian, Male, High GMAT, low GPA [#permalink] New post   22 Oct 2017, 09:06
MG4MBACrystalBall wrote:
A few reflections on the profile TTPi:
  1. The overall profile does sound interesting. It is not clear however if any of your professional experience is outside India or within? International experience can help further add weight to the profile. The 3d printing angle is nice but will need to be contextualized in terms of your post-MBA plans well.
  2. For reasons mentioned , we do not speculate on school selection. That said, the GPA will remain a factor especially at top schools. You will have to utilize that optional essay well and hope for the best. The fact that your undergrad is not a top brand can further take away the sheen on this. While at first look your current target set might look a bit under-balled, it is not a bad strategy overall. It would be good however to balance it out with some more aggressive schools in the list.
  3. The ECs will provide a nice touch to the personality - use them well.

Hope this helps some.

Cheers,


Thanks for sharing your perspective. My work experience is primarily in India, while my education (undergraduate specifically) is in the US. I do understand your point of adding a few aggressive targets - which is what I was hoping to get a few responses on.

Tech-focused schools such as Tepper, Ross (maybe?) and perhaps McCombs may overlook my GPA and consider the rest of my profile - however, I would like to confirm if these are aggressive options. Not keen on graduating from a tier 2 US MBA and having visa/hiring issues.
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Re: B-School Selection Advice - Indian, Male, High GMAT, low GPA [#permalink] New post   22 Oct 2017, 09:09
EduSimplified wrote:
TTPi wrote:
Hi,

I am looking for help with narrowing down on B-schools (to begin in 2018), based on my interests and background.

Any advice on school selection/approach would be great - and most appreciated. Thanks!


Hi there,

You have an excellent profile and a very well rounded one at that. You are right in thinking that other aspects of your profile cover the pitfall made by your low GPA, especially your high GMAT score.
I think you are aiming low, you can aim for any school really. Shortlist schools based on your learning and career goals. For instance, INSEAD & Ivey will be excellent schools if you want to get into MBB firms. To answer your questions, I think you have a realistic shot at all the schools you have mentioned above such as Ross, Cornell and Tepper. Hope this helps. And please don't hesitate to contact me should you need any help.

Best,


Thanks for the frank advice - hoping for a few more responses. I recently received a rejection from INSEAD - so that clearly is too aggressive a target. In this context, needed help in identifying which schools may overlook my GPA, and probably have a focus on Consulting / Tech, and is open to Indian male applicants (the trend seems to be averse).
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Re: B-School Selection Advice - Indian, Male, High GMAT, low GPA [#permalink] New post   22 Oct 2017, 19:56
TTPi wrote:
Thanks for sharing your perspective. My work experience is primarily in India, while my education (undergraduate specifically) is in the US. I do understand your point of adding a few aggressive targets - which is what I was hoping to get a few responses on.

Tech-focused schools such as Tepper, Ross (maybe?) and perhaps McCombs may overlook my GPA and consider the rest of my profile - however, I would like to confirm if these are aggressive options. Not keen on graduating from a tier 2 US MBA and having visa/hiring issues.



Well like I said in my previous post, it would be purely speculative to comment on specific schools and we refrain from doing that. But it's usually tough to say such and such school will overlook your GPA. If you are looking for Tech Focused schools, evaluate the likes of Kelley/Emory too. But maybe throw in 1-2 even more aggressive schools in the list than the ones you have now.
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Re: B-School Selection Advice - Indian, Male, High GMAT, low GPA [#permalink]
22 Oct 2017, 19:56

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