Hi @Kiran Patil , I hope you are doing well!

With 11 years of experience, including leadership roles in R&D and cross-functional collaboration, your profile demonstrates strong technical expertise and global exposure. Your GPA of 8.33 and a Master’s from BITS Pilani are solid academic credentials. However, transitioning to consulting from a manufacturing-heavy background will require you to clearly articulate how your technical expertise and leadership experience align with consulting. A competitive GMAT score (ideally 700+), coupled with well-crafted essays and a strong narrative, will be critical to strengthen your application. You can take a look at this BLOG1 and BLOG2.

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Shantanu Sharma
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond

Hi Kiran,

Thanks for sharing your background.

With 11 years of experience including cross-functional leadership and international exposure in the US, you’re well-positioned for one-year MBA programs.

The combination of a strong technical foundation from BITS Pilani and project leadership in manufacturing adds weight, particularly for schools like Kellogg’s 1Y,
USC IBEAR, and Ross.

However, not having a GMAT score yet is a limitation—strong scores (typically 700+) are vital, especially given the competitive Indian male engineering applicant pool.

Your post-MBA goal in transportation strategy/product development aligns well with these programs, but make sure to frame a crisp and forward-looking narrative.

I’d be happy to guide you through that process more deeply.

Ameer Khatri, Admissions Consultant
Schedule a free 1-on-1 call with me for a detailed profile review:
https://calendly.com/ameer-khatri/profi ... th=2025-06

Hi @Kiran Patil
Thanks for sharing your profile

An 8.33 GPA from a top-tier Indian institute like BITS Pilani is a strong academic credential, but the GMAT will still be a deciding factor. For 1-year programs (Kellogg 1Y, USC IBEAR) a 680–700 can work. For Booth, Stern, and Ross, especially given your high YOE (11 years), a 710+ will make the AdCom feel more confident about your academic readiness, particularly given the leadership weight you’ll need to show.

Your work ex gives you a strong backbone in engineering and manufacturing. 8 years in Indian automotive and 2 years in the US gives you valuable cross-market exposure. Leading an Engines Development Team on 3 projects is a significant leadership story, but your profile is missing some key details here. What was the business impact of these projects? Were you driving product strategy, managing P&L, influencing revenue? Without this, your move into business strategy post-MBA will look hopeful rather than grounded in prior experience. Also, your mention of “cross-functional experience” is too generic. Try to specify what functions (sales, marketing, supply chain, finance?) you worked with and how you influenced outcomes across them.

You’ve indicated an intent to explore “business strategy” and “product development” with global exposure, however, this is under-defined. Transportation is a very wide space and your narrative does not yet specify where you wish to position yourself post-MBA. Given your strong background in automotive product leadership and engines development (plus US exposure), you could talk about leadership roles in automotive strategy, mobility tech, e-mobility, or Tier-1 product innovation, or pivoting into consulting with a focus on manufacturing, or mobility. Articulation and clarity are key for cracking the goals essays in your MBA applications.

For Booth and Stern, you work ex is in the upper limit. Kellogg and Marshall are good bets for your profile and goals given you secure a strong GMAT score and appropriately structure your essays. Do consider adding more schools to your list for better chances.

We’d love to offer a 1-on-1 profile evaluation to dive deeper into your strengths, discuss more about your portfolio, talk through your fit across schools, and co-create a tailored application game plan!

Feel free to reach out to us at the coordinates below!
Email: gwyneth@thembaedge.com
Phone/WhatsApp No: +91 88502 49409
Website: https://thembaedge.com/

Warm regards,
The MBA Edge Team

Hi Kiran,
Priyanka here from ARINGO. Speaking about your profile, with 11 years of experience, you're on the upper end of the range for traditional full-time MBA programs—so it’s great that you’re targeting 1-year programs like Kellogg, Ross, and Marshall, which are better suited for experienced professionals seeking a focused transition.

Your background, combined with global exposure and cross-functional leadership, positions you well for a pivot into strategy or product development roles. That said, with your level of experience, your application should strongly emphasize impact, leadership, and decision-making across teams and projects. Do you have a mock score yet? You should aim for a score around 695-705 to strengthen your application, a score above that would be greatly helpful. Are you open to consider other 1-year options like INSEAD? It will also be of great value if you can highlight specific business outcomes driven by your engineering leadership.

I’d be happy to offer you a free profile review for top MBA programs to see where you stand and how to boost your chances— happy to help!
No pressure, no strings—just helpful insights on where you stand and how you can strengthen your chances.

Feel free to connect- Click here

📄 ARINGO is offering a free resume review to 5 lucky applicants.
Get expert feedback on how to highlight your impact, leadership, and global potential.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY FOR A FREE RESUME REVIEW

You can also email me at: priyankak@aringo.com
Good Luck!