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02 Jan 2020, 07:29
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Hi,
I am a 28 yr old Indian male in Tech with a GMAT score mentioned in the title.
Past Experience: I co-founded a tech startup by the name of Velmenni in Estonia during my post-graduation in 2014(more info on crunchbase). My startup was among the top 4 tech startups in Europe's major tech festival(SLUSH)
Current Status: I am currently working in a tech company as a Computer Scientist in India itself. The same company comes to hire across the top B-School colleges in the US.
Education: I have done both my graduation (BSc. Comp Sc.) and MCA from the University of Delhi. I got 2nd rank in the university in both the courses(Despite leaving MCA midway to work on my startup in Europe in 2014)
Goal: I aim to apply in round 2 for a full-time MBA of top tech business schools in the USA that have an established entrepreneurship course such as (Stanford, Booth, etc). My motive is to build a strong network and try to get my ideas going. I do understand that it is hard to start a company in the USA on a student visa but that is what I dream of doing. My plan B is to land a product management role in tech.
The real question: Do I stand a chance?
I feel that my 3 strong points are my startup experience(I also have some other achievements, such as building DU's first Admission App, programming a majority of Delhi traffic lights, multiple patents, etc), my GPA and my current work profile. I also believe that my experience in doing business in Finland and the Baltic states might come in handy. In my current role too, I often present a lot of topics in bi-annual tech US conference of my company.
My 2 weak points are my GMAT score and the university from which I graduated.
I would be super grateful to this forum if I could get some advice on if it is a good idea to apply to these schools with the current GMAT score.
Lastly, I want to give a round to thanks to this forum for helping me prepare for GMAT quickly. I will share my GMAT experience soon. The whole experience of giving GMAT has taught me so many important things which I m sure are going to help me in all aspects of life.
I am a 28 yr old Indian male in Tech with a GMAT score mentioned in the title.
Past Experience: I co-founded a tech startup by the name of Velmenni in Estonia during my post-graduation in 2014(more info on crunchbase). My startup was among the top 4 tech startups in Europe's major tech festival(SLUSH)
Current Status: I am currently working in a tech company as a Computer Scientist in India itself. The same company comes to hire across the top B-School colleges in the US.
Education: I have done both my graduation (BSc. Comp Sc.) and MCA from the University of Delhi. I got 2nd rank in the university in both the courses(Despite leaving MCA midway to work on my startup in Europe in 2014)
Goal: I aim to apply in round 2 for a full-time MBA of top tech business schools in the USA that have an established entrepreneurship course such as (Stanford, Booth, etc). My motive is to build a strong network and try to get my ideas going. I do understand that it is hard to start a company in the USA on a student visa but that is what I dream of doing. My plan B is to land a product management role in tech.
The real question: Do I stand a chance?
I feel that my 3 strong points are my startup experience(I also have some other achievements, such as building DU's first Admission App, programming a majority of Delhi traffic lights, multiple patents, etc), my GPA and my current work profile. I also believe that my experience in doing business in Finland and the Baltic states might come in handy. In my current role too, I often present a lot of topics in bi-annual tech US conference of my company.
My 2 weak points are my GMAT score and the university from which I graduated.
I would be super grateful to this forum if I could get some advice on if it is a good idea to apply to these schools with the current GMAT score.
Lastly, I want to give a round to thanks to this forum for helping me prepare for GMAT quickly. I will share my GMAT experience soon. The whole experience of giving GMAT has taught me so many important things which I m sure are going to help me in all aspects of life.
03 Jan 2020, 09:25
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Hello, saurabh111091, and welcome to the forum. To cut to the chase, do you stand a chance at some of those top-tier schools you mentioned? Sure, you do stand a chance. However, and please do not take this the wrong way, you also happen to fit a typical Indian applicant profile, based on your GMAT™ score: good at Quant, but just decent at Verbal. Even a higher IR score might work in your favor, since such a score might be conflated with communication skills. I am curious, what went into your preparation, both in terms of time and materials? I ask because I wonder what kind of timetable you may be on, what might prevent you from studying in earnest and retaking the exam, maybe putting off applying for now to increase your chances in the next round. Your score is not bad at all, but at ultra-competitive business schools, it would work against you, as you noted yourself. Regarding your second concern, you cannot change where you went to school, and I hardly believe that will be held against you. A standout at a lesser school has just as good a shot as a regular student at a more highly regarded institution.
Finally, I think your background is quite interesting and should work in your favor, as long as you spin things the right way. If you draw too much attention to your start-up and how successful you were, then you will have to inevitably answer the question of why you left and went back to work for some tech company in India. If you emphasize the process of getting the business up and running, then that could provide some insights into your knowledge and character.
Good luck to you, whatever you decide. I look forward to reading more about your GMAT™ preparation process.
- Andrew
Finally, I think your background is quite interesting and should work in your favor, as long as you spin things the right way. If you draw too much attention to your start-up and how successful you were, then you will have to inevitably answer the question of why you left and went back to work for some tech company in India. If you emphasize the process of getting the business up and running, then that could provide some insights into your knowledge and character.
Good luck to you, whatever you decide. I look forward to reading more about your GMAT™ preparation process.
- Andrew
03 Jan 2020, 11:32
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Hi MentorTutoring,
First of all, thank you so much for your response and I appreciate you for taking the time to go through my post and for writing such a detailed suggestion.
My key take-aways from your notes are:
a) I need to emphasize more on how I got the business up and running in my essays and resume more than the success story itself. +1 for this. I think its a great suggestion.
b) I should reconsider applying in the current rounds. I believe this is something I might not be able to accommodate(discussed in the last part of this comment)
c) I should not worry much about my university if I was standout. Thanks for this.
Elaborating further on some points of discussion:
My GMAT Preparation(briefly): I decided in mid-November that I had to apply for an MBA in the US in Fall 2020, I understand that this was a super late decision but more on that later. So I started my GMAT preparation in early December. I focused entirely on quant most of the time because I miscalculated my verbal preparation owing to a pretty decent score in TOEFL (116) and to a 96%ile score in GMATClub verbal CAT. It was not until 4 days before the exam that I gave my first GMATPrep Mock and got a shocking score of V34; However, in 4 days I was able to raise my verbal score by 4 points. I'll elaborate on this further once I post my full GMAT preparation experience. In this short period though, I was able to create some sleek SC strategies.
Why I left my startup?: I thank you for mentioning the possibility of being asked why I had to quit my startup and it's a question I fully anticipate in my interviews should I be selected for them. Earnestly, the reasons were entirely personal; I had to return to India in light of some difficult personal conditions(there was a health/financial emergency in my immediate family) and take up the tech job(the company is Adobe) near my residence. I tried to manage both for some time but eventually decided to step down and sell the majority of my equity. Though the startup received some viral success when I was leading, and is active even today, employing more than 25 people, I do realize that my time there was more of a learning.
Why I want to apply in Fall 2020 and not Spring/Fall 2021?: This is for two reasons. First, I have a couple of business ideas that I want to validate in the States, and my estimated time-frame to gain the first-mover advantage out of them is two years. Secondly, I feel that this is the sweetest time where I am financially/mentally in a position to invest in my career as well as take some risks. Why did I start so late? Well, I already had a plan to shift to the US up until October, but for some reason, that did not materialize. Doing an MBA from a top b-school was always my dream, so I feel that I'll be able to make the most out of an MBA during the Fall 2020-2022 time frame.
-Saurabh
First of all, thank you so much for your response and I appreciate you for taking the time to go through my post and for writing such a detailed suggestion.
My key take-aways from your notes are:
a) I need to emphasize more on how I got the business up and running in my essays and resume more than the success story itself. +1 for this. I think its a great suggestion.
b) I should reconsider applying in the current rounds. I believe this is something I might not be able to accommodate(discussed in the last part of this comment)
c) I should not worry much about my university if I was standout. Thanks for this.
Elaborating further on some points of discussion:
My GMAT Preparation(briefly): I decided in mid-November that I had to apply for an MBA in the US in Fall 2020, I understand that this was a super late decision but more on that later. So I started my GMAT preparation in early December. I focused entirely on quant most of the time because I miscalculated my verbal preparation owing to a pretty decent score in TOEFL (116) and to a 96%ile score in GMATClub verbal CAT. It was not until 4 days before the exam that I gave my first GMATPrep Mock and got a shocking score of V34; However, in 4 days I was able to raise my verbal score by 4 points. I'll elaborate on this further once I post my full GMAT preparation experience. In this short period though, I was able to create some sleek SC strategies.
Why I left my startup?: I thank you for mentioning the possibility of being asked why I had to quit my startup and it's a question I fully anticipate in my interviews should I be selected for them. Earnestly, the reasons were entirely personal; I had to return to India in light of some difficult personal conditions(there was a health/financial emergency in my immediate family) and take up the tech job(the company is Adobe) near my residence. I tried to manage both for some time but eventually decided to step down and sell the majority of my equity. Though the startup received some viral success when I was leading, and is active even today, employing more than 25 people, I do realize that my time there was more of a learning.
Why I want to apply in Fall 2020 and not Spring/Fall 2021?: This is for two reasons. First, I have a couple of business ideas that I want to validate in the States, and my estimated time-frame to gain the first-mover advantage out of them is two years. Secondly, I feel that this is the sweetest time where I am financially/mentally in a position to invest in my career as well as take some risks. Why did I start so late? Well, I already had a plan to shift to the US up until October, but for some reason, that did not materialize. Doing an MBA from a top b-school was always my dream, so I feel that I'll be able to make the most out of an MBA during the Fall 2020-2022 time frame.
-Saurabh
