You have an impressive profile, with excellent academic stats and leadership. I'm concerned that the lack of internships could be a problem at HBS' deferred program. Focus on your personal story, achievements as a leader. If invited to interview, be prepared to discuss how you are going to use the opportunity that the deferred acceptance will give.

We'd love to be a resource to you as you apply.
_________________

Background: Indian Male, 32
Undergrad: Electronics and Communication Engineering from National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirapalli(Indian Top 15 engineering college). (8/10). Worked with Texas Instruments as design engineer for a year
Post Grad: MBA from Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (GPA: 3/4)
GMAT: Yet to give

Work Experience: 8 years in middle management handling 150 Mn $ revenue.
Leadership: Finalist - Economic Times Young leaders, currently leading a team of 500+ employees, held multiple leadership roles in both undergrad and post grad colleges

Others: Inspired by roommate took a break of one year from work and prepared for Indian civil service exam. This challenged my view of the world. Unfortunately i could not clear the selection process. Even after coming back to industry, I feel there is a big missing piece.

Plan: MBA/MPA – ID course
Post MBA/MPP: Want to work with government/international agencies/political parties.

Thanks a lot!

Chandru,

Without a GMAT score it's almost impossible to say if you'd be competitive. You are above average in terms of work experience and that may not be a plus, although HBS will like your leadership experience. If you have a competitive GMAT, I'd say apply to HBS, but also consider other programs like Georgetown's MBA. You may also want to consider the Sloan Fellows programs at MIT, LBS and Stanford, and see if they allow you to take classes that are relevant to your MPA/MPP interests.

Finally, you might be interested in:

* HKS: An Interview with Admissions Director Matt Clemons
* How to Get a Georgetown MBA
* MIT Sloan EMBA and Fellows Programs: Move from Success to Significance

Best,
Linda
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HWaus

Thanks. You have a lot of question in here. Let's see if I can isolate them.

"Anyone have good hints at types of community involvement which is best?" Activities that reflect your interests, require you to assume responsibility for an outcome, and give you opportunities for leadership. Frankly founding the engineering society and growing it is an example of community service.

You do need to get more specific with your goals. Please see "Why MBA?"


"What do others write about unique background factors?" You're really asking about how you can contribute to diversity. (FYI, Australians with experience working in Germany aren't common in U.S. business schools. That's your background) Please see "Different Dimensions of Diversity."


"Special sauce? What could be written here that has not been included in the other sections?" That will hopefully be something that you can bring out in other sections, including your resume, essays, interviews and throughout your application. It could be what you intend to do after your MBA or how you intend to contribute while in business school. It could be your background, your experience in Germany and in founding the engineering society. Lots of options.

If you plan to apply in 4-5 years, the topic of your essays will probably evolve. And in any case, you will have to look at the question(s) posed in the context of the overall application and also at showing fit with different schools. You can't just write one essay or a set of essays and think it will work for all of them. If you plan to apply now, while you can write about the topics you mention, how to fit them into the different applications and which to emphasize will vary from schools to school. That's what we help clients with.

For general advice on deferred admission programs, please see MBA Programs that Defer. It's a little old and more programs defer today, but the advice is solid.

For advice on preparing yourself to apply in 4-5 years, please see Prep for B-School: A 4-year Guide for College Students & Recent Grads.

Final tip, I don't think this will be a problem, but check with the deferred admission programs individually to ensure that your two-year internship doesn't make you ineligible for deferred admission programs.

Best,
Linda
_________________

Hi There,
I've just started to put a profile together. I will be fine-tuning it and working on it. Looking forward to some constructive feedback
Here's a brief

1. GMAT : 720
2. CG - 7.3 (automobile engg) (reputed UNI)
3. Entrepreneur - Co-founded 2 companies, working with the 2nd one currently.
1st was an EV startup, 2nd a social enterprise. Combined exp 4.5 years
4. Featured(along with my team) in the Entrepreneur India Mag.
The startup has been featured in countless publications.
5. Started a student Go-karting championship as a way to self fund my venture. The championship has now become one of India's Largest.
I also mentor and do consultancy for a few startups along with a couple of things here and there...

My motivation to do an MBA comes from my desire to learn the best business practices, network, get exposure to impactful businesses and solve actual problems on a bigger scale.

I've been working on and with startups to date, this means i don't really have any corporate experience. Looking at various class profiles i see most people are from corporate backgrounds. Would this be in any way be a negative?
(PS- I'm an engineer)
I'd like to get into a consulting firm post MBA or work with a VC firm (considering my startup exp and the love/urge to find solutions)
Why a Consultant?
To put it briefly I LIKE to find problems and LOVE to find solutions to them. I also get super bored if I work on something for too long. Consulting is one profession, according to me, which allows me to cycle between various industries and problems.


Please feel free to add any comments and suggestions.

Then try a phone call when during their business hours.
_________________

Do they have a number for international calls?

Thanks,
HW
_________________

I like to understand if my profile has "fit" for Harvard 2 year MBA course.

GMAT: Yet to give expected 700+

Academics:
10th: 92.36% school 6th and 100% in Mathematics.
12th: 82%
Undergraduate: B.Tech Aerospace Engineering, SRM University, India.
CGPA: 8.86 - top 10%
Post graduate: Master's in Aeronautical and space systems, ISAE-SUPAERO, France
Marks: 13.6/20

Languages: English, French (intermediate), Japanese(Beginner).

WE: Total : 3y 1m and Internship for 6 months in France.
Present - 9 months: Boeing India
Software Simulation Engineer - Scrum Master

1) Built simulation models to be integrated to the simulator
2) Took initiative to Enable cosimulation between Matlab/Simulink and and the Simulator.
3) Set up Agile way of working for the team - Agile Project Management.

Certification: SAFe 4 Practitioner.

Extra-curricular:
1) Member of Society for Women Engineers - Technical Committee help in reviewing technical papers.
2) Member of department's Innovation Council and took initiative to set up Active Interests groups/clubs within the department.
3) Reverse Mentoring: Mentored a Senior Manager on Application of Agile Project Management which has directly inducted into his way of working.

2016-2018 - 2y 4m: Airbus India
Promoted from Associate Engineer to Engineer within 1 year.

1) Worked on Electrical Design and analysis
2) Trained Team members on process and technical information
3) Managed External team
4) Project management activities.

Extra-curricular:
1) Active member for Balance for Business community at Airbus. Took part in various road shows that showcased gender diversity at workplace.
2) Took initiative to set up Secondary competency framework for experience professionals on up-skilling.
3) Took initiative to introduce Work from home policy for the company.
4) Represented the department at inter-department Badminton Tournaments.

Certification: Design Thinking Workshop - IIM Bangalore

Extra-curricular at Colleges:
1) Secretary for EUROAVIA Toulouse for 2 years. Non-Profit organization for Aerospace skilling in students. Organized International workshop comprising of more than 5 nationalities in Space Debris awareness and removal. Published paper on this imitative at International Astronautical Conference - 2015
2) Organised an event called Aero-Cypher at Undergraduate which involves working with the wind tunnel
3) Zonal level school Ball Badminton Player.

Personal Project:
Founded Reach Higher a blog/website which helps students in deciding what courses to take after under graduation and one stop website for all their needs.

Post-MBA goals:
I like to work on my start idea on Education consultant and MBA from a top university will be the ideal foundation to take up my idea forward.

Yes I had chosen my masters primarily with electrical engineering as a background while I came from aerospace. Hence gpa is low since my average on first year was low. But I did score good gpa on research projects on both the years.

Posted from my mobile device

JUST A DETAILED REVIEW OF WHAT I DO and what i am.... I work for a public sector bank wherein the government of India owns 55%... there is tough competition to get into this job.. its not a Investment bank or a foreign bank... its a government bank with a triple bottom line... it may be treated as government career as most of our day to day functions involve implementing government policies with respect to financial inclusion, out reach of credit to rural poor, improving agriculture sector through involvement with village governments, engaging with rural women to uplift them through Self help groups, etc ( and i have done this as a job for 3.5 of 4 years on a daily basis)

Background and nationality-
26 years , Indian, male,

Undergrad Information- Aerospace Engineer - SRM UNIVERSITY
7.32/10 GPA- top 25% of the class- (university level- TOP 40 in India)

GMAT: 730 ( on 3 gmat prep mocks -- test on Nov 7th with target of 770 which i will likely achieve)

Work experience and leadership - largest bank and financial services group (public sector) of the country ( back bone of the Indian economy )... State Bank of India (TOP 50 global bank and a F 500 company) .. selected as one of the 2000 officers out of 2.5 million applicants.

1. Credit analyst- 6 months- Commercial Credit- State Bank of India
Ensuring risk quality and credit quality aspects of proposals appraised keeping in view the credit policy of the bank. Performing industry analysis, due diligence processes, etc. Obtaining and analysing relevant financial information, including operating statements and balance sheets for carrying out CRA exercise/preparation of proposals for underwriting new loans, increasing loan commitments, periodical review or substantive changes in terms.Preparation of reports of Special Mention Accounts (NPA) for submission to the appropriate authorities.
Carrying out inspection of units as and when required and mandated in the loan agreement.Ensuring compliance with the bank’s credit policy, local regulatory requirements and compliance with the central bank. Coordinate with officers handling opreations to ensure timely updating and modification of data/terms and conditions/ date of review/approval etc are in the system as and when such change takes place for ensuring correctness of data and information. Achieved more than 35% growth over existing loan book of the asset management team that I worked in a span of 4 months. Appraised credit facilities to the tune of $99 million (Rs 705 cr). Handled 17 corporates accounts with a total exposure of $244.36 million.



2. Deputy Branch Manager of large branch- 1 year 2 months- State bank of India
Incharge of Branch Operations, the head of staff, and head of personal banking division at the branch level.Was directly responsible for the functioning, training, and working of 8 full time staff members. Was incharge of business development in the areas of customer acquisition, agriculture, bullion backed credit, personal segment advances, deposit mobilisation, and cross selling.
Achievements
MANAGING DIRECTOR’S CLUB- MUTUAL FUNDS- OUSTANDING PERFORMANCE IN Bank's MUTUAL FUNDS- 3RD IN THE STATE AMONG 19853 EMPLOYEES.
GOLD QUALIFIER IN YEAR END CAMPAIGN- MUTUAL FUND- FELICITATED BY CHIEF GENERAL MANAGER.. 7th among 19853 employees.
CHIEF GENERAL MANAGER’S CLUB- SBI GENERAL INSURANCE- TOP 3 IN THE STATE
Adjudged the best Deputy Branch Manager in the Network of 850 branches by the General Manager of the network
Adjudged the best Deputy Branch Manager in the Region of 48 branches by the Assistant General Manager/ Regional Manager
The following are the achievements of the team that I lead as the DBM
Gold loan campaign- Was among the 35 branches that qualified in the national level twice in 2 back to back months
QUALIFIED xyz CAMPAIGN- TOPPER AT THE NETWORK LEVEL AMONG 830 BRANCHES.
DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER’S CLUB – NOMINATED BY ALL THE DGMS IN THE STATE TO BE BEST BRANCH AMONG 1300 BRANCHES.


3. Branch Manager – 8 months- State Bank of India
As branch manager lead a team of 4 staff members with Rs35 millions of business. Primarily responsible for business development of the branch, functioning of the staff, marketing, appraising MSME credit proposals, ensuring due-diligence of all liability and asset products, and overall security measures of the branch premises.As Branch Manager and team lead, I had along with my team successfully tripled the number of deposit holders in a span of 6 months, increased the agri-gold loan business by 150% over the previous fiscal, sourced and apprised MSME loans to the value of 300% the asset portfolio of the branch, made the branch a 100% digitally banked rural branch from 15% previously by conducting digital awareness programs in the nearby villages, with the help of Sarpanchs ( head of the village level government) and also insured 85% of salaried factory workers from a previous level of 3% a feat appreciated by the GM of the network.

4. New recruit officer - 2 years- State Bank of India
Mandatory time of 2 years of learning of the bank policies and assisting the branch functionaries in business development.
Handled crowds of about 20,000 everyday for 3 months during the demonetization (lineups were 2-3 kms) exercise that took place in 2016 (the greatest challenge at the time).
Increased revenue of a branch by 50%.

Leadership
Leadership (extra-curricular):

1. Organiser and Head of Planning Committee – DEPARTMENT FEST – 2013
Organized and planned the UN international Space week in Aerospace Department. Planned, Created, and set-up events for participation. Coordinated and Managed 50+ volunteers for the success of the technical fest.

2. Joint Secretary and English teacher- a student based NGO- 2012-2013
Was a part of the management team of a student based NGO. As Joint Secretary, I developed syllabus and teaching functions, guidelines for environment awareness focus campaigns , put together the online campaigning strategy, formulated HR policies including setting up of different verticals , conducting interviews for on-boarding of volunteers, conducting induction programs for new volunteers of the newly formed NGO. I had also introduced Volunteer incentive program for extraordinary recognition. I was also given additional responsibility of being in charge of the book wings program where I planned, organized, scheduled classes on a weekly basis for teaching English to under-privileged children.

3. Director & President – student based ngo -2013-2015
As the director of Go Green, I was directly responsible for 200 volunteers. Organized Beach clean-up programs, environmental cleanliness awareness campaigns, water conversation campaigns, animal habitat restoration programs, sanitation awareness programs etc., . As the director, I was in charge of proper policy implementation of the NGO to ensure effective outreach of the awareness campaigns, build relationships with the external agencies for planning events of a larger scale, ensuring that every volunteer is well versed on climate change & sustainable development goals relating to environment and helping the junior volunteers in the on-boarding by conducting induction programs and team building exercises. As the first Director, I had an additional responsibility of formulating polices on succession of the directors and voting of green-captains .

4. Volunteer- Earthlings- 2015-present
active environmental activist in my city and region by participating in awareness programs and educating the general public.( couldnt take up a leadership position because of time constraints as i have 6 day week and have to come in even on sundays with a 15 hr work schedule... that being said i have always pitched my view because of my experience of running an NGO)

IF these count.. because all these are part of my job
1. Member of the District level committee on Industrial policy.
2. Member of the Mandal Level committee (one step lower than the district level) on banking, and financial inclusion.
3. Member and advisor of the Telangana State Industrial infrastructure corporation at the Mandal level.
4. Member of the Bank's regional committee on strategy and business growth.
5. Member of the Bank's regional committee on Agriculture, Self-help Group (women empowerment through banking), and small credits.


Community and others- (dont know what to write here) - Have a deep connection with nature and environment. Always been an active activist for environmental causes. Have been volunteering for the past 7 years of my life biweekly to raise awareness and continue to do so

Post MBA goals- Want to move to consulting with a specialization in public sector and climate policy and hope to make it to MBB after mba.