hearsay wrote:
Hi!
I'm an Indian male with 5 years of experience since graduation in a Non IT Field. I work with the Google and in a nutshell provide technical expertise along all Google products to support our Sales, Business Development and Partnership teams. This involves engaging with cross-functional partners like Engineering and Product teams to resolve issues and provide innovative solutions. I've been with Google for close to three years and have had international experience on various projects. I've also been helped manage a team of 20 to implement scalable solutions for our partners. Before Google, I was working in the Advertising space for 2 years. I also have my own start-up which (see more below).
I've scored a 690 (Q49, V35) in my GMAT. This was my second attempt and I'm not looking at doing so again. I've graduated from Lancaster University, United Kingdom with a Upper Second Class (2:1) in Electronics and Communication Engineering
Extra-curriculars/Community Service:
1) Along-side Google, I have my own start-up in the Interior Design space which has been running since 2010. Self-run and lots of quantifiable insights.
2) Working with CS First, which provides free, easy-to-use computer science (CS) enrichment materials that target and engage a diverse student population to expand development in India through business development and business expansion since 2014
3) Run a Donation Drive for Hunger Relief at Google to raise INR 100,000 for a Feeding Program at Akshaya Trust
4) Social Media Advisor for Digital Coverage of 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles
5) Captained Tennis and Table tennis teams in University during undergrad
Target programs:
Dream Schools: Haas, Stanford, Booth
Stretch Schools: Sloan, Anderson, Ross
Reach: Austin, Duke, UNC
I'm planning to apply in R1 2015.
My post-MBA goal is a role focussed on more go to market/brand management focus in a technology company in the short term. More focused on entrepreneurship in the long term.
Are my stretch schools too much of a stretch? Other schools that you would recommend that would match my goals and my profile? And what do you think of the schools I've listed here? Any inputs would be wonderful.
Thanks!
Hey dude,
Thanks for writing.
So from what I can see here, your major strengths are your job and your employer as well as your international education and experience. Everything you have done from a professional perspective seems nice. Plus you have the nice entrepreneurial experience. You also have quite solid volunteer work/ECs. The weaknesses are: 1. your applicant pool: Male/Indian/Tech 2. your GMAT (for the schools you are aiming at) and 3. your school (basically not a top 3 UG in England)
I think your school list is a biiiiiiiit ambitious because of your GMAT score. I mean, Stanford, Sloan, Booth have mean GMATs 30-40 points higher than yours (plus you have to figure in that other Indian candidates against which you will directly compete will likely have a mean GMAT that is 20-30 points higher than the overall class mean).
Does that mean that you should give up your dream schools? Not at all. Bot for a holistic strategy you also don't want to have too many tough schools on your list, so out of Stanford, Sloan, Booth, Haas, I'd suggest keeping only two on your list.
It's good that you have UNC, Austin, and Anderson on your list. These are schools where you will be more competitive, and I think that if you can aim for the rest of your list in R1 after having removed two of the tougher ones, that your school strategy will be more reasonable (and ultimately, if you see you are getting interviews at the tougher schools, you can always ADD schools in R2).
I hope this all helps and makes great sense. And if you have any other questions, just let me know.
Best,
Jon