Hello! I'd be very grateful if someone could share their thoughts on my profile for ISB executive MBA.
> GMAT 650 (Q47, V34, IR3 🙁)
> Male, 35 years. Journalist. Have worked at The New Indian Express and Daily News & Analysis newspapers and a media-tech start-up. Served as the co-founder of this start-up and headed a department in a newspaper. Of late, been working as an independent, investigative journalist, exposing corruption in government banks.
> Needle mover: One of my stories compelled the government to stop imposing a technology illegally on people. A recent story about a bank fraud has triggered an RBI investigation into the bank's affairs.
> Recognition: Award for business journalism in my journalism college's alumni award function. Got selected for one fellowship and got shortlisted for another prestigious fellowship.
> Uncredited work: Have ghost-written a course on media literacy for college students. Ghost-edited a book on financial frauds. Designed and helped teach investigative journalism at my journalism college.
> Career as a musician: Quit my full-time job in mid-2014 to start a band. Served as the band's manager, lyricist and guitarist. One song shortlisted for inaugural Radio City Freedom Awards. Another track voted as track of the week in a poll of a top, foreign record label. Songs released worldwide with digital music-making software FL Studio as demo project files, making us the Hindi artist to have our tracks released as demo projects. Some tracks included by the world's top DJs in their setlist. Quit the band in 2017.
> Graduation: BBA (59.9%)
Class 12: 59.8% (Science - CBSE). Class 10: 77.6%
> Extra-curricular: Extensively participated in and won debate, elocution, poetry recitation, storytelling competitions throughout school years. Represented school thrice in regional meets.
Leadership: In every organisation I have worked at, have quickly risen to prominence, getting the most important projects. I work well with people and hence was given the charge of a department within three years of starting my career. At the start-up I worked at, I handled a host of managerial and editorial duties. From hiring to policymaking to establishing partnership and even crisis management, I have donned a lot of hats. At the startup, I used to liason and work with freelance reporters from across India and media houses in and outside India.
> Key skills: Deep-dive, investigative stories. Research. Fact-finding. Team work. Problem-solving. I am excellent at establishing rapport with people, which is how I succeed in securing highly sensitive information for my investigative stories.
> Social duties: In my locality, I am the one who engages with the city corporation, councillor and the administration for maintenance and repairs (such as fixing street lights, ensuring cleaning, fogging). Been engaged in small-time volunteering activities on and off.
> Asset for college: When I worked as the head of a department in a newspaper, I'd get my journalism college's students' stories (good ones only) published in my newspaper. I'd get these students invited for tests and job interviews. I'd visit college every year (until I moved out of that city) and speak with students to guide them.
> Reason for MBA: Given my inclinication for problem-solving, people skills, resourcefulness and go-getter attitude, I believe I will excel in the field of consultancy, especially since consultancy is largely about problem-solving and getting to the bottom of an issue. It's exactly the same for investigative stories. Hence, I bring with me precious, proven transferable skills. I have extensively worked on data stories and complicated, government documents, which shows I have the tenacity, patience and the smarts to make sense of statistics, identify patterns and make useful inferences.
I'll turn 36 this year-end and have to get into a B-school this time. Some unfortunate family situation kept me from applying till now. Should I apply at ISB with GMAT 650 or do I need a better score? (Thanks in advance!)