akhilvarma8 wrote:
Hello,
I would be grateful if anyone could evaluate my profile and let me know my chances of getting into a good MBA program in the US.
24 Years Old | Indian | Male (non-IT)
Education:1. Bachelors of Business Administration graduate from Osmania University Hyderabad (75%)
2. 12th Standard CBSE (75%)
3. 10th Standard CBSE Board 10th - 90%
4. GMAT: 720-750 (Looking to get a high score in GMAT to compensate for my average scores in graduation)
Professional Experience:1. Currently working as an AI/ML analyst at Apple. I have recently joined the company about a month ago.
2. Worked as a Subject Matter Expert for Global Fraud investigation team at Uber (3 years 9 months, 1 promotion, taken up mentoring and leadership roles for short periods, dealt with international stakeholders almost throughout my work experience at Uber, impacted and lead projects that saved thousands of dollars for the company in fraud losses)
3. Digital Marketing associate at an Online Event planning startup (worked for 6 months, gained a lot of exposure into marketing and business operations)
4. Interned at Amazon as a customer service associate during my undergrad days (part-time work experience around 10 months)
Extra-Curriculars:1. Professional E-sports FIFA player, YouTuber, and an occasional streamer on twitch (Played lots and lots of tournaments nationally and locally and won many of them)
2. E-sports event organizer as well
3. Have achievements in terms of winning tournaments of Cricket, football, and volleyball during my schooling and undergrad days. Now I play for my company's corporate team
Community Service:1. Worked with Make A Difference as their Discover mentor (it is also one of the few NGOs that have been listed as the best places to work for in India)
Short term goal: To take up a product manager role at a tech company
Long Term goal: To become a leading voice in the tech space or start my own company
There is very little time until the round 3 deadlines for most US B-schools, I would like to know if I will have a good shot at my target B-schools:
Dream: Columbia, Chicago Booth, Kellogg, Duke Fuqua
Back up: Tuck, NYU,
Could you please help me in clearing a big confusion that I have, should I apply now for round 3 or wait for next year? If I have to push it to round 1 next year, then I would be happy only if I get a scholarship at any of the above schools (do you think that's possible?) Also, I'm very much inclined towards the tech industry and product management roles, which schools do you suggest if any?
Thanks for your time
Hi
akhilvarma8,
At the first glance itself, your profile stands out with exemplary achievements under your belt. You have a good amount of work experience with big brands like Amazon, Uber, and a startup which showcases that you have varied experiences under your belt. Here, ought to talk about the roles and responsibilities you undertook, the teams and projects you led, and impacts created in those positions as this would help you establish yourself as a strong candidate. Besides that, you also adorn quite a few mentoring and leadership roles which are profile aspects most certainly valued by top b-schools.
Coming to your academics, 75% in undergraduate is slightly on the lower end, but considering you are applying for an MBA program, it won't be much of a deal-breaker as the focus of an MBA program is primarily on the quality of the work experience. However, if you want to compensate for this, pose the right alibi and divert attention towards other aspects of your profile such as your extracurriculars, projects, internships and GMAT score. Speaking of your GMAT, a target score of 720-750 is a good score and would open the doors for you to target most of the top business schools.
Further, on the note of extracurriculars, you must be cognizant that schools seek applicants having a holistic profile. While you were indulged in extra-curricular activities, what I can see is that most of them were during your time at school. Since you are applying for an MBA, make sure you have some recent activities on your plate. If not already, you can take up a few courses or certifications related to your field of interest as this will show the admission committee how you are always willing to upskill yourself. Additionally, your involvement in NGO activities highlights your capability to utilize your skills to create a difference in society and make a positive impact, traits that every b-school holds in high regard.
Given your school choices, here is the categorization in terms of dream and competitive:
Dream: Columbia, Chicago, NYU
Competitive: Kellogg, Duke, Tuck
Your chances of acceptance are 50% at dream schools, whereas your chances of acceptance are 60-70% at competitive schools.
All things considered, being from a business background, you need to be mindful of the fact that your competitors will be from the same background itself. Hence try to differentiate your profile to stand apart from your competition. You can do this by emphasizing your admission application as a robust application holds 30% of weightage in the entire admission process. It is also how you can highlight your strengths and give apt justifications for your weaknesses to smooth over any flaws in your profile. Moreover, a strong application sets you apart from the rest of the competition, and hence it is imperative that you use this tool in your arsenal to the best of your advantage.
Coming on to address your query of whether you need to target Round 3 or Round 1 for 2022 intake, I’d say unless and until you’re bound to make a significant difference in your profile, for example, build on your international experience or boost your GMAT by at least 40+ points, there is no much difference in applying in either of the rounds. Round 3 in general is known to have 50% of the seats vacant along with quite a few scholarship options available. Thus, if you’re keen on kickstarting your career at the earliest without delaying your plans by an entire year, applying in R3 is most certainly a safe bet.
Lastly, since major chances of your acceptance depend on the kind of application you submit, you can check out our All-in-One Solution, to receive end to end assistance for your application prep. Through our comprehensive solution, we’ve helped 3500+ applicants get into top schools like Wharton, NYU, Berkeley and Duke by extending expert counselling on school shortlisting, crafting all application documents (backed by unlimited number of edits), interview prep and scholarships!
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28 Jan 2021, 06:33
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