Hi there,
Let me aim to answer your q's in-line below....
alphainc wrote:
I am from a highly competitive application pool - Indian IT Applicant with 5 years of experience. I have an very decent career progression (2 promotions in 4 years, currently with a top consulting firm as an ERP functional consultant. Never been the traditional Indian "coder" actually) and demonstrable contribution in my local community (2 NGOs - continous involvement, 250+ hrs a year. One on educating street children and their parents, equally important. Another, building awareness about carbon emissions in rapidly developing countries like India, which desperately need an alternative).
Sounds like your community involvement is strong and hopefully will lend well to some interesting stories in your applications if you are passionate about it.
Which schools would be ideal for earning a respectable (around $20,000+) scholarship? What should be my strategy to earn a scholarship? I'm looking at US News 20-50
Very tough to predict where you might get a scholarship, but the keys are to apply to schools where you are a stand-out applicant (particularly with regard to GMAT & grades, and potentially even with regard to career), and to apply early, for best chances!
I have a gap year - was studying for my engg entrances. What should be my strategy(eg., additional essay, bump up GMAT score or take extra courses etc) be for the impact this could have, if any?
Definitely explain any gap over 3 months in an optional essay (or some apps have a specific place to explain gaps). No need to do 'extra' per se, just do the best you can on all elements of the app of course! In general the more recent this gap was, the more it could be a weakness for you, but if further in the past and explained it may not make much impact.
I have a low GPA, like most other "average students" in my univ (known for notoriously low engg grades in IND, nothwithstanding my own "contributions" towards my grades) and my GMAT score is 710. Will this help in offseting the GPA? P.S. Wont be taking the GMAT again until absolutely required, due to some personal reasons
Depends how low! But overall your chances will likely be better at schools with average GMAT in the 600-670 or so range.
Post-MBA Industry : Tech (Primary), Consulting (Backup)
Post-MBA Function : Prod Mgmt (Primary), Strategy Consulting (Backup)
I kinda have a list of around 12-16 for my preliminary research, not necessarily ones with scholarship chances, but with a higher probablity of an interview call:
Emory, UT Austin, Foster, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, Carey, Merage, Questrom, Ivey, NYU Tech MBA, Mays, Vanderbilt, Kelley, ISB. Please add ones you think maybe missing or some of the "hidden gems" I dont know about, Thoughts?
I would also research Smeal (Penn State), Boston College, and Baruch (Zicklin) in NYC.
Good luck and keep us posted if you have further q's!