Profile Evaluation - 680 GMAT

Question

Female/30/Indian/IT

1) Brief description of work experience.

7 Yrs of work exp in Sept 2013 in top Indian IT company. The client for the project is one of top 5 financial instituions in the world.360 degree experience in IT starting as a Software Developer to QA Tester to Business Analyst .Currently as a Project Lead handling a team of 10 resources.
I have a 360 degree experience in IT starting as a Software Developer to QA Tester to Business Analyst .Currently as a Project Lead handling a team of 10 resources. I have worked in USA for 3.5 years. For these 7 years , I have worked in Banking and Finance domain with a specialization in US Mortgage.

Also running a small startup business ,which I partner with my father . It is a new guest house and a small food joint setup in an area booming with business . I started it in Jan,2013 and investment for the startup was all done by me alone.
Also have a short term experience of working in an outbound call center after final year in college and before joining full - time work in IT.

2) GMAT.
Appeared twice :
1. 600(Q48, V25)
2. 680(Q47, V35)

3) Qualification: B.Tech in Computer Science from reputed Indian University , GPA - 3.5
12th - 70%
10th - 92%

4) Extra-curricular activities.
- Captain of school Basket ball team.
- Won competitions related to shot put, javelin throw and long jump.
- Commander of School marchinng team
- Won the district painting competition for consecutive three years.
- Active involvement in our school's NGO by teaching english and maths to poor children in the area and organizing events of food sharing and gift sharing with the poor children.
- In college participated in college Fest. Played a role of event anchor and worked with core team for sponsorships in college fest. 
- In the past 7 years , represented company in basket ball meets , fashion shows . Anchored formal events and corporate picnics.
Part of company Propel team
- Family actively involved in community service through NGO's.Family has several donations in various educational institutions , hospitals and NGOs.I have volunteered in several such events.Member of a Lions Club and participate in several social activities.
- Basic knowledge of French Language.
- Done Interior Designing course and worked on several projects.

5) Important certifications - like CFA, CPA, FSA, or CA.
company certified -Certified in Basics of US Mortgage and Credit Reporting . 
Company sponsored PMP certifications prep is on going.

6) Target programs.
Good schools in Asia Pacific , USA , Europe , Australia. Courses interested in are:
Informations System, General Management, Strategic Management,e entrepreneurship.

7) When to apply?
R1 2013-2014

8) Post-MBA goal.
My short term Post MBA goal will be Consulting .My long term post-MBA goal is to grow my startup to have a chain of food joints .I also want to make a global impact to society and aspire to open my own NGO . 
I believe everything I want to do in life will be made easy with an MBA which will help develop the skill-set I need to grow my business ideas into scalable organizations while also making strides in global social concerns .

9) Additional Info
Language fluency in 4 languages, advanced in 3 , and developmental in French. Hobby is painting . Take interest in Car Racing , horse riding and interior designing and decoration.I am a globetrotter and enjoy travelling. I love cooking Indian delicacies . I am a very good host and love to host cocktail and dinner parties .

My questions are
1) Which all colleges should I apply to based on my profile and choice of career. Preferential regions will be a )USA b) Europe/Australia c) Asia Pacific d)Canada. Kindly let me know the colleges that I have a shot at

PaulBodine · Answer

Arpita,
Based on your profile and goals, I think you would be competitive (have a solid chance at) schools like Michigan, UNC Kenan Flagler, Babson, CMU Tepper, Texas McCombs, UCLA, and IE Business School. These are all strong programs with entrepreneurship resources.

--Paul Bodine, Great Applications for Business School, www.paulsbodine.com/testimonials

Admissionado · Answer

Well the first thing I would ask is about your goals. Right now they seem somewhat unthought, or illogical (although not entirely). Meaning, if your goal is truly to make this family business a huge thing, why are you going into consulting? It's not necessarily the most logical of choices which will provide you that middle step towards your long-term goals. What makes far more sense would be to go into the restauration business in some sort of managerial position, or perhaps if your family business would be ready, to return to your family business immediately after graduation, in order to being building it already. Either of these choices seem to me to bring you closer to your goals than the more generic "consulting" that everyone wants to do.

Since your main goal is "General Management" and your focus is in the US, actually any program out there that interests you would be fine in terms of you reaching your goals. Admittedly, the top 10 schools would be a challenge, (although you can certainly apply to one or two which appeal to you), and your competitive range will be more likely in schools ranged (approximately) 10-30. And I suggest you look into those to see which ones appeal to you in terms of location, fit, educational philosophy, size, etc. The only one which I would say you for sure should think about is Cornell, because in addition to a fantastic MBA, they have the number one hospitality school in the nation, and this can most definitely help you out in terms of your goals. Other than that, the playing field is open, and I suggest you do some research first yourself before making your short-list.

Hope this helps you get started, and if you have any further questions, don't hesitate.

ArpitaGanguly100 · Answer

Thank you John for your reply.

I thought I must say you that I am very eager to pursue Consulting profession and I have realized it from my work experience. I have had some IT consulting experiences and Process Transformation consulting experiences in my existing job with a renowned Consulting Firm . I found the job interesting and very appealing and want to become a professional consultant . 
I am really interested to provide consulting to renowned companies . AT my leisure time I frame my own case studies and try to think of solutions from my little knowledge and often disappointing myself.
I have already chosen the few courses I will definitely take during MBA:
- Analysis of Market
-Business Analytics and Decisioning Modelling
-Decision Support Modelling
-Strategic Managment
-Pricing and Revenue Optimization
- Consulting core courses
- General Management

I must say that I come from a family engaged in business forever and so have that inclination towards entrepreneurship and that in the long run I want to work independently . I also want to have my own NGO focussing on Breast Cancer Awareness.

With all this can you please suggest whether the entrepreneurship inclination and details about my startup should be included in my applications or not? Will it sound illogical and become misleading ?

I have shortlisted some colleges offering Consulting courses. Can you advise the best 7 choices:

Ambitious Schools 
----------------
- Carnegie Mellon
-Ut Austin
-UCLA - ANderson
- Indiana - Kelly
- UNC - KenanFlager

At Par schools
-------
Emory Goizueta
Georgetown McDonough
Rice University
U of Washington - Foster

Safe Schools
----------

Purdue 
U of Illinois-Urbana Champagne
U of Maryland - Smith
Texas - A&M

I will wait for your reply eagerly.

Admissionado · Answer

Hey there,
So you want to go into consulting? Great! One thing you need to consider though is how you want to strategize your goals in your application (which might be slightly different than what you ACTUALLY want to do). I think you could choose EITHER consulting OR the family business as your "Career Arc" but would not necessarily suggest both (and a bit of thought needs to be done as to which goal might help you out more). Whatever you choose, you can include the specifics of both activities in your past, but the most important thing is that you have a SINGLE set of goals.

As for your choice of schools, I would that that roughly your auto-evaluation is pretty good when it comes to chances. I do think you have more options too, but I don't want to just go ahead and arbitrarily suggest you one school over another without knowing you better!

Best,

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