General profile evaluation / Possible target schools

Question

Hello,

This is Vishnu, Indian, M 28. I am planning to apply for Fall admissions 2021 and I have not taken my GMAT yet(Aiming for a 700+ score). After going through this forum, I have realized that its not easy to get into a top tier school especially if you come from a specific demography(Understandable from School's perspective). And hence my post here. I'd like to get a feedback on my profile to see if others see it the same way as I do. Please find below my profile info in the requested format.

·  Demographics  (nationality, gender): Indian,Male living & working in Germany since 2014. Will be turning 30 by Fall 2021 and will Have 7.5 years of work experience

·  Education  (undergraduate institution, GPA, major - high school/entrance exams not needed):
Masters in Business administration & Engineering(Msc degree similar to Engineering Management,typical in Germany), University of Applied Sciences, Germany / GPA -between 3.0 and 3.3
Bachelors in Engineering - Electrical & Electronics, Anna University / GPA between 3.5-3.7 
High School - 94.16%

·  GMAT or GRE  (include section breakdown):
Did not attempt yet (Aiming for 700+ score or try until i get that)

·  Work experience  (highlight amount of work experience, industries, roles, promotions, special accomplishments, international exposure):
 1. IT MNC (India, 2 Years as Systems Engineer) - Typical IT Job working for US Banking Client(Online banking app development) 
 *Microsoft Certified in .NET Technology Development

2. Research Assistant,in a Non Profit Government Funded Computer Science Research Organization, Berlin, Germany (20hrs/week, 1.5 years)
* Worked in SysML, UML modelling projects along with C++ development
* Authored & Co-Authored papers (Published in International Journals)
 * Won a 'Best Paper' award in one of the Conferences

3. Currently working in one of the largest Automotive Supplier, in Hanover , Germany (Under Fortune global 500, Revenue 45 B EUR)
a. Corp IT Graduate Program ( Special program for upcoming talents in the organization, 2 year program, with 4 different assignment in different divisions - One mandatory outside Germany)
 * Worked in 4 different divisions of the company ; also closely with senior leadership in 2 of the assignments in the area of Project and Program Management(one in R&D, the other in Supply chain)
* Project Manager for a specific project for the whole graduates group(Outcome for the CIO and his leadership team)
* One 6 month assignment time was spent in Romania
 * PMI - CAPM Certified

b. Started in one of the divisions of the organization as IT Consultant in area of R&D and Quality Management Area (7 months) - Handling IT Projects as IT Project Manager / Consultant to the Business Units of the division

c. Current Role: IT Consultant/Project Manager - R&D and PLM(13 months now) - Took over the area of PLM(Product lifecycle management) area and removed QM part / Took over IT project manager role for 2 of the big PLM implementation projects with 2 of our business units(Value of the projects >2 M EUR in total spanning 3 years)

d. Going to take over additional role as IT Account Manager for one of our Business Units starting May(Account Management with BU)

*Nominated for 2 of the talents program this year(Digital emerging Talents & Leadership talent Cycle) under current role
* Worked very close with the senior leaderships of the Business Units / High visibility in my division

· Extracurricular activities (highlight notable undergraduate and post-undergraduate ones):
* Was a professional athlete until end of my UG in the sport of Fencing(Represented 'India' few times at international arena / State and National medalists for 7-8 years)
 - Lots of activities inside ranging from coaching juniors to helping organize state wide fencing tournaments (Occupied most of my time)
* Was an active fencing club member during PG
* also part of a governance team during my work at IT MNC for 6 months

·  Post-MBA goals: 
1. Long term goal: to go into General management in a Tech Industry(general a challenging industry)
2. Short post MBA: Get into Management Consulting and gain that experience (2-3 years)

· Target schools: My Question. Where do you see fit? Am i eligible candidate to get into top 20? Any recommendations on which would suit my profile and my goals?

· Other information relevant to your profile: No

·  Any specific questions you would like answered by our team:  
1. General evaluation 
 2. Am i eligible candidate to get into top 20 schools?Where do you see fit?Any recommendations on which would suit my profile and my goals? I know that GMAT plays a major role, but what i want is set myself realistic expectation based on the assessment.

Regards,
Vishnu

mbaMissionNishaT · Answer

Hi Vishnu, and thanks for writing! You are indeed applying from a very competitive demographic, and without your GMAT score it'll be very tough to assess your profile and suggest specific schools. However, a few points:

- It's great that you have been working in Germany for several years - business schools really value international experience, and I've seen that it can especially benefit Indian applicants.
-Since you already have a Master's in Business Administration (along with the Eng. Mgmt degree) you'll want to check with each MBA program you're targeting whether you are eligible to apply. And for each one you do apply to, you'll need to make a strong case for why MBA and why now (since you are also on the upper end of work experience).
- Your work experience is quite progressive (and again, love the international experience) - if you can communicate your impact fully in your application and get very strong recommenders, this will be a strong part of your profile
- Goals: Based on your experience and technical background, have you considered a product management role within a tech company?
- GMAT: for the top programs, you'll want to aim for a 740+ GMAT

I hope that I've provided some good thought-starters for now!

andyprezth · Answer

Great profile! Why would you want to come to US though, just curious? Given all the visa issues in the US (especially for Indians), I would say target only top 5/6 schools (Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Booth, MIT Sloan, HaaS) in the US. Sorry for being blunt, but I'm in the US since 2008, went to top 10 Engineering school and there's a 100 year wait to get green card. That means, you can't start any company, there's constant pressure of changes in visa rules etc. I think with your profile, you can get into top school in Europe and live more peaceful life - just my 2 cents.

PS - I have lived in Denmark and Germany before coming to the US.

PS - I have lived in Denmark and Germany before coming to the US.

Vishnu311991 · Answer

Dear Nisha,

Thanks for your brief feedback. Yes, you're right that my master's would be a question. But its not MBA degree as you understood. It's more of a industrial engineering management masters thats quite common here(Similar to a MIM in b schools). Neverthless, I'll focus on this apsect. I do have a good reason behind and also the reason behind the switch. Let me take my GMAT and come back.

Vishnu311991 · Answer

Thanks Andy.

You're right about US on all those aspects especially with Indians. Definitely i'll consider European and Asian schools as well.

There're reasons as to why i am targeting US despite the fact that i have a PR here

One of the reasons is the flexibility to try out new things, unbiased environment compared to EU especially in Corporate world. At the moment, they're opening up, but it'll take more time for them to open up and i can already see a lot of that in my organization.

I don't see myself a fit into this environment on a long term basis.

General profile evaluation / Possible target schools

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