Best MBA in Operations Management [Auto Sector]

Question

Hello,

I am an Indian female with 6+ years of work ex in Automotive sector (inclusive of 2 years of work-ex in a leadership role). I want to do an MBA in operations management. I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering with 72% marks (within top 15 in a class of 115) from a considerably selective Indian college. I appeared for GMAT last month and scored a miserable 580(47Q/23V). I am planning a retake early Sep and hoping to score at least in lower 700s. Post MBA I am looking for strategic roles in Automotive Sector. I am wondering which schools can give me the greatest return on investment considering my background and where I want to be. A quick Google search indicated the following schools in order of their ranking in Operations Management. Please can you experts share your thoughts and help me shortlist 3 to 4 programs in OM which can catapult me higher in Automotive Sector? Please let me know what other B-schools I should be considering.

1. Sloan (MIT)
2. Tepper (CMU)
3. Kellog (NorthWestern University)
4. Ross (Michigan)
5. Kelly (Indiana University)
(I have not considered H-W-S as they would be highly ambitious options at the moment!)

Thanks in advance for all your suggestions.

MBADecoder · Answer

Hi, You have drawn up a good list of b-schools, however, you will need to really work upon that GMAT score to have a chance at any of these. A 700+ score will make applying to any of these b-schools realistic for you.

Namita Garg,
www.mbadecoder.com

brethart999 · Answer

Consider Purdue Krannert, UNC Kenan Flager, and Arizaona state university WP Carey school to the list as well... Me too from manufacturing sector working in India..same plans as yours...when are you taking the GMAT??? Are you looking for MBA from some Indian B schools like SPJIMR India, SPJCM Dubai,spore,australia etc???
Thanks in advance for all your suggestions.

TheFeralCat · Answer

Hi Brethart999,

Thanks for your suggestions. I already took my GMAT 2wice - first time w/o prep and second one with prep. The performance was dismal both the times... planning to retake it once more next month. I have already considered some Indian Programs such as PGPX - IIMA, PGPEX - IIMC and PGPM-SPJIMR. The only good thing about Indian programs is they are still lighter on your pocket and would say the returns are good. SPJIMR is specifically good for Operations Management in India and Asia. In fact I managed calls from the institute with my dismal scores for 460 in 2012 and again now with a mere 580. In fact I am just back from the last round of interviews - fingers crossed. Also, I am planning for ISB in round 2 after my third GMAT attempt. When are you taking your GMAT?

brethart999 · Answer

Ohkies..hope you get through SPJIMR..how was the interview though?? What all did they ask?? I had been shorlisted as well with my last years CAT score but didnt attend them..will re-apply with a good GMAT score..

Waise what I feel is your verbal hasnt improved with the 2 preparations...quants you have improved a lot!! My 2 cents for your preparation strtgy:-

1: Quants- focus on OG 13, complete the questions at the end...subscribe to the GMAT prep question pack from official GMAC website..I have completed the same and people and experts say the questions are at par with actual GMAT...time your attempts though..make sure you complete 15 questions at a time within 30 mins max...once you are done, if time permits attempt the gmat club tests quants sectionals..they are very good!! if no time focus on mocks directly and keep and errorlog and analyse and improve upon your mistakes...if in the test you are cramped in a particular question make a guess and move on!!!

2: for verbal:-
SC- subscribe to the e-gmat course...they would do you a world of good!!! you would feel the improvement..they have a verbal study plan, prepare accordingly..like you finish 2-3 portions and then attempt some OG questions as recommended by them..after you are done with OG questions complete the Verbal review...

CR- I am still struggling with this aspect..so wont comment much..I have completed the OG questions and Verbal review questions as well..On the way to complete all the GMAT prep question pack as well..Hope i improve upon my past performance..

RC- Read daily from sources like Hindu, Guardian or anything you get your hands upon for just half an hour..then religiously attempt all the RC passages from OG, Verbal review and GMAT Prep question pack all on times basis...you would see improvements...

Once you complete all, review all your past mistakes and plan a strategy to embark upon them and try minimize your mistakes in future..errorlog is very essential!!!!

last but not the least, attempt mocks like actual tests and analyse them...I am sure all these would certainly take you higher and you would score atleast 660-680 guaranteed!!!!

Assumptions- I don't assume any subjects as your strengths or weaknesses, I assume neutrality for every sub sections tested in GMAT.
I also assume you have the time, resources and most importantly MOTIVATION to do this and improve!!!!

and I am taking my GMAT on 19th september!!!

TheFeralCat · Answer

Well, the one interview at SPJIMR was a mythbuster! They really do not care that much about the GMAT scores as long as you are scoring above 600 and have a good work-ex. Moreover you can always go back a retake GMAT after your interviews. It appeared that they wanted to ascertain if they could find placement for the potential candidate based on whatever shortlisting they had done. They follow a rolling application process which means the earlier you apply better are your chances of getting through it. They have 2 rounds of Group Interviews. So you have really a limited time of 2 minutes to express yourself. The first GI is mostly about the specialization you choose. In my case I was put together with 5 other OM guys all from different sectors (no IT people). We were interviewed by the Dean and the HOD-OM for 30 minutes. You are asked to talk about yourself for 2 minutes and then each interviewer throws 3~4 questions at you - mainly related to your goals and work experience. I think I might have messed up the meat of conversation a little. The second GI is all about judging the behavioral aspects about your personality, your leadership potential and other traits such as integrity and ethics, your views regarding certain current events in Indian and world politics, business, sports, movies and whatever you can think of! I think I kind of rocked that round.

As for the other Indian colleges, I applied for IIM-A as well - though am not hoping any positive outcome. They totally believe on your past credentials for shortlisting. They don't need any essays, transcripts or letters of recommendation. IIM-C on the other hand, like other gora b-schools gives proper weight-age to LORs, essays, etc. Both these schools have just one round for application. If you have 8+ years of work-ex, you may even want to give a shot at IIM-B.

That was all about my interview and application experiences till now! Hope you find it useful.

On my GMAT prep : I think I realized where I have messed up. I actually scored at least 120 points less than what I used to on my mock tests. I have maintained logs for all the questions I have solved till date including the mocks. I did badly on my CR and quite likely I might have fallen into a death spiral. I am now working on CR and RC accuracy - I have decided that I will not punish myself with more new questions rather I would be solving only the OG and revising my Manhattan stuff. Also, I found the real GMAT Verbal questions much difficult than the OG; especially the SC. On the other hand Quant seemed much easier!

All the best for your preps - do let us know how you fared on the tests!

Best MBA in Operations Management [Auto Sector]

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