Profile Evaluation :)

Question

Hi,

GMAT: 670
Work Ex: almost 3 yrs, current designation Technical Lead in IT firm.
Region : India

Decent Academics, Was House captain in School, Mr. Personlaity duirng my diploma college, Orgainzed VArious Events and Educational and Recreational Tours during my Engg.

As part of my Work Ex i am involved in IT service Management, and also designated as the Idea Champion for contribution in Innovations for Client Benefits.

What are my Chances for a nice University.
Let me list down my prefernces.
 For US

Stern
Fuqua
Yale
Mccombs
Kenan Flagler
Kelly
Marshal
Dallas
Simon
Hough

Canada

Rotmon
Sauder

Singapore

NUS
Nanyang

and also for ISB.

Thanks in advance.

mbaMissionJenK · Answer

Hi there,

Thanks for posting. Very broadly, you'd feel most comfortable applying to schools where you are close to or above their average GMAT score for better chances, though they also take into consideration the rest of your profile, work experience, and everything else you share in your application, but GMAT can be a rough place to start getting an idea of types of schools to look at. The majority of the schools mentioned, especially the US ones, have GMAT scores a good deal higher than your score. Note: you can look at a ranking list such as the US News & World Report ranking to scan average GMAT scores, or look at each school's website. So right now it won't be easy to be considered at many of those. Beyond that, they'll want to see evidence of leadership and learn more about your professional experience and know that you'll bring something interesting to the class, and it's tough for me to comment on that without knowing more about you. But either way you could consider giving the GMAT another shot for better chances, and digging in to researching the schools to learn more about what you are most looking for in a program. For more on choosing schools, check out our free download at: https://info.mbamission.com/Selecting-Yo ... ram-E-Book. Good luck!

vishaledake · Answer

Hi there - I am a Mechanical Engineer with a first class from Pune University , India. During college days I was culturally active and published stories, directed plays and organized state level events.
After graduation was selected through campus and worked for a Fortune 500 company in Power sector for 2 years in manufacturing background. Got promoted to Managerial position and handled Engineering section for 2 years. 
I wanted to do my Master's so gave GRE ( 1120/1600 - very poor in english skills) and TOEFL ( 108/120) and went to USA at University of Hartford in 2008 for Master's in Mech Engg ( Manufacturing concentration). Completed a thesis on Desalination of sea water using renewable energy. 
Worked for global leading diesel engine manufacturing companies in USA for 3 years from 2010 till 2013. Although it was a contractual role, work experience was very varied and valuable. WOrked on semi automatic assembly line, engine development and testing programs. 
Due to ersonal problem, I came back to India in 2014 and started looking for job and preparing for GMAT. I felt my english skills ( RC especially ) are preventing me from reaching 700+ levels. I am now working for a top Enenrgy company and would like to take some time to make sure I score well in GMAT. 
I want to know if I can go to dream, Ivy League school if I work hard and score 700-750 range. I think I am a hard working person and want to start my own business with innovation and techology field

mbaMissionKate · Answer

Hi vishaledake,

Broadly speaking, you want to aim to have a GMAT score at or above a school's median...I think this especially important for you since there are many competitive applicants from your demographic (engineers from India). So if your dream is an Ivy League, then you should really aim for a 720+ score. Btw, I'm not sure if you mean an actually Ivy League or just a top 10 school...for instance Kellogg is not an Ivy League but I would consider it one of the very best. One other thing to be thinking about is your work experience -- if I add up your positions, it sounds like you've got about 7 (or maybe even more) years of full-time experience. This is just starting to get on the high end for many full-time MBA programs. So depending on how the GMAT goes and when you plan to apply, you may want to consider programs that are more accepting of more experienced applicants, like part-time, one-year, or Executive MBA programs.

Hope this helps and good luck to you!

harsh1887 · Answer

Thanks for your reply.
I agree with what you say, i am planning to take my gmat again. My only doubt is whether a high GMAT score( 730+) would increase my chances for the mentioned prefernces, as by taking the gmat again i would be missing the first deadline of these universities. Would this affect my chances in any way?

And what are your thoughts for my other other options like canada and singapore on the present score.

Thanks

vishaledake · Answer

Thanks a lot for your reply ! I posted it in various forums so as to receive different opinions about the profile. Sorry for the trouble

I did mean top 10 ( or even top 20) B schools and that too in USA, Europe and India all inclusive. Reason being I wish to work after MBA and explore Europe if possible !

I did not know that having experience on higher end is kind of disadvantage. I wanted to wait for a couple of years - maybe 10 years of experience and then go for a GMAT. Reason being my personal life and other commitments. But yes - I will try for an Executive MBA/ One year program depending upon the time and school ranking - as it will be much more suitable thing to do. Kindly reply on this post about what my aim should be for GMAT score and school selection ! Regards

mbaMissionKate · Answer

Vishaledake -- You're welcome! I would definitely check out European MBA progams...they tend to accept an older range of students than full-time programs in the US. But I think Exec or 1 year programs would also be a great option for you. I said before to aim for 720+ on the GMAT if you want to aim for top 20 schools...I still think that's true but if you do end up going the Exec MBA route, then I think GMAT becomes a little less important (work experience, leadership, recommendations are weighted more)...so perhaps a 700+ score would be a good target it if that's your plan. Good luck!

harsh1887 · Answer

Thanks for your reply.
I agree with what you say, i am planning to take my gmat again. My only doubt is whether a high GMAT score( 730+) would increase my chances for the mentioned prefernces, as by taking the gmat again i would be missing the first deadline of these universities. Would this affect my chances in any way?

And what are your thoughts for my other other options like canada and singapore on the present score.
Another quick question, does being from an IT background narrows down my MBA stream to operations or business analytics? Since i would also be interested in Sales or Marketing also.
And to stand out of my competitive pool, i guess that it would be helpful to strengthen my profile by sharpening my skills in my present work place. So my question is does certification add on to the profile strength? Such as a six sigma or ITIL expert?

I really appreciate your help...

Thanks

mbaMissionKate · Answer

Hi harsh1887, sorry your earlier post got lost in this thread, thanks for reposting your questions. I think you should apply when your application is going to be at its very best, and the difference between a 670 and a 730 would be quite significant. Definitely enough of an improvement to wait until the 2nd round, in my opinion.

I don't know the average GMAT scores off the top of my head for the schools you list in Canada and Singapore, but check the US News ranking that Jen mentioned and my guess is that you won't need that high of a score for those schools, perhaps closer to 700 would be competitive there.

That's a good question about career goals...ultimately the story you tell needs to be believable and connected to skills you already have. So I don't think that means you're limited to only Ops or Business Analytics but it does mean you need to smartly choose a path that values your IT skills. Perhaps digital marketing or product marketing for a tech company would be a good "in-between" option, maybe Sales too although I don't think that's the most common post-MBA field. Do some more research here to find out what's required in some of these roles.

Certifications can help especially ones that require demanding studies and exams...I think the GMAT will be more important though so if I had to pick between them, I would focus on GMAT prep! If you do choose to pursue a certification, one that's more broadly applicable to other roles, like Six Sigma, might be more valuable than one that's more limited to IT roles, like ITIL (at least from what I know about these certifications!).

Good luck!

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