icaniwill wrote:
Can you please evaluate my profile?
GMAT: 720 (q49 v39)
Age: 30
Demographic profile: Indian/Male - Currently living in US. In US for the past 9 years.
Education: Masters in computer science, GPA: 4.0. in US state university.
Work experience: 7 yrs
About work experience: I am working in a big pharmaceutical company based in NJ. All of my experience is in this company. I started as a temp in this company and then got the full time position as a programmer analyst. In a year, I again got promoted to Sr. Programmer Analyst. My current role is Project Manager. I am leading multiple projects in which I constantly engage with clients, manage and mentor junior programmers, coordinate development efforts and present sale pitch and business cases to marketing teams. One of the highlights of my work experience is leading an effort to overhaul a complete manual process of distributing the company's medical education grants by creating an automated system of workflow and business process management (from RFP to sending checks).
Extra curriculars and others: 1)Project steward at a non-profit organization here in US that works to provide basic education to underprivileged children in India.
2) Participated in marathons for raising funds for cancer. -- Susan g Komen marathon, Rock and Roll marathon, boston marathon
Region I want to settle post MBA: Asia(india)
Target schools: INSEAD, ISB, IIM-A, Booth, Tuck, Haas, Duke, Sloan
Do I have a shot at these schools? Can you advice, if I should add any schools?or remove any schools from this list where I don't have much chance? The US schools that I am thinking are the ones that have bigger brand name and well known in asia(india). What are some of the weaknesses in my profile?
The two areas that I see as your biggest challenges are your age - you will be approximately 3 or 4 years older than the average student in ISB and the traditional MBA programs in the US but only 2 years older than the average for INSEAD - and your technology-centered work. Obviously, your work is essential to the success of your company but it sounds like it is mostly behind the scenes and not on the forefront of the company's strategic differentiation. My first piece of advice then is to focus on the impacts that your projects have on your company's revenue and position in the market. The second is to broaden the range of programs that you are applying to slightly. If your plan is to stay in pharmaceuticals, you might want to consider UC San Diego since it has strong placement in that industry. If you are seeking to transition to general management, then the top 10-20 programs may make sense for you, but I would also like you to apply to European programs where the age ranges are more flexible.