Profile Evaluation

Question

Hi

I took the GMAT today and scored 710 @ 92%le. My Quant Score is 50 and Verbal Score is 35. I have a M.S degree in Electrical Engineering with a GPA of 3.9. Further, I've worked for 2 years as an RF Engineer in the field of telecommunications in the USA and 1 year as a software Engg in India. Additionally, I've a technical paper published at a International Conference held in the USA.

I am planning to apply for admission to Full Time MBA, starting fall'14. Marketing and consulting are my preferred concentrations. I am planning to apply for Duke, UT Austin, Cornell, UM-College Park and UW-Foster. How good are my chances for these schools? Are there any other schools I should be looking at? Do I need to retake the exam to improve my Verbal score?

Thank you.

Regards
KK

essaysnark · Answer

Hi KK - thanks for asking. We would sort of prefer to see you get a higher verbal score, mostly because of the career goals you're citing. It will also help you boost the total GMAT significantly - just a few points more on the verbal side can put that GMAT score over the top. So it would have a very strong potential payoff for you. Also, we're early enough in the season that you have time to do that and also tackle the essays before Round 1 (just barely!). A higher total score will help you stand out against all the other Indian engineers, and a higher verbal will give the adcom confidence in your abilities in light of those goals specifically.

That being said: A school like Foster or College Park would like be just fine with your current score. It really depends on what you want to do with the MBA and why you're interested in this big transition. The other schools on your list are really competitive and they get a LOT of apps from guys like you, so pulling out the stops and doing everything possible to make it in is advised.

The biggest challenge for you with schools like Duke will be in showing how you're not just an engineer. Everything you cited in your intro to us underscores ENGINEER! ENGINEER! ENGINEER!! If you want to go into marketing, well, that's a very different animal. It's totally possible to make that type of switch through bschool but many schools will want to see how you've got transferable skills and relevant experiences in your background to make it easier. It's great that you're an ahead-of-his-peers engineer but that's not exactly the most important angle to be emphasizing.

In terms of schools: Those are all good programs and we can't really suggest others because both "consulting" and "marketing" are a) supported extensively at pretty much every school you can name; and b) so different from each other that we're honestly not sure what your goals actually are. If you want to clarify the goals and what you're looking for in an MBA program then maybe we can offer something more useful.

EssaySnark

kpottem · Answer

Thank you for the prompt response EssaySnark.

As both marketing and consulting in general ask for lot of reasoning and analytic skills, I prefer these to majors. Beyond that, being frank, I am not really sure which one suits me better. My initial analysis showed that these two concentrations have good job opportunities in the US and India( In case I plan to come back home).

My first thoughts after I looked at my GMAT score were about a retake. I thought I could have done better in Verbal. I wasn't unhappy with my overall score though and friends I spoke to are of the opinion that 710 is good enough for most schools and asked me what if I score lower on the retake!

Further, are all Indians engineers treated the same irrespective of whether he has worked in India/USA. Also, doesn't my M.S degree, from a US univ, add any value to my profile?

Regards
KK

essaysnark · Answer

KK, just have to say, be careful about getting application strategy advice from friends. They are surely well-meaning but there's a lot of misinformation out there.

Yes, all aspects of your profile matter, including the Master's, including the U.S. experience, etc. etc. etc. It's a little unfair to ask us to give a complete view of your entire profile when you give us a tiny bit of information in an online forum (not to do the upsell, but we have a full service called the Comprehensive Profile Review which is designed exactly for such situations, to go into EVERY angle of the profile and examine each one independently, and in conjunction with all the others - GMAT Club people even get a discount in case you're interested).

While we appreciate that consulting and marketing are both appealing to you for areas of focus during your MBA studies, you're going to have a very difficult time getting INto bschool if you state such dissimilar interests without more explanation and a clear plan for your post-MBA goals. It doesn't matter if both have good job opportunities (which they do); you're not going to be in a position to avail yourself of them if you don't do a stand-up job on the bschool application. And that's what we're talking about in all areas of our answers to questions about profiles and probabilities.

So, not to be totally blunt or anything ;-)

but it looks like you have some more work to do, in terms of figuring out what you want to do, and mapping out your strategy to get there.

Hope that isn't too off-putting; we're not trying to blow you off, just trying to show you how this stuff works. It always requires a STRATEGY not just some vague ideas.

EssaySnark

but it looks like you have some more work to do, in terms of figuring out what you want to do, and mapping out your strategy to get there. Hope that isn't too off-putting; we're not trying to blow you off, just trying to show you how this stuff works. It always requires a STRATEGY not just some vague ideas. EssaySnark

kpottem · Answer

I understand what you say. Thank you again for all the feedback.

Regards
KK

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