Intern
Joined: 07 Sep 2014
Posts: 13
Given Kudos: 2
Concentration: Entrepreneurship, Technology
Profile evaluation: 710, India, Fem., 2.5 yrs exp tech+marketing
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13 Dec 2015, 03:59
Q.1. Requesting a profile evaluation here. Late in applying for R2 (also unsure if now is the right time) so planning to apply in R1 2016.
Q2. Can an expert categorise my target schools as dream/reach/gettable based on my credentials? Or suggest alternatives from top-10 or top-15 schools. Of course, I understand this isn't enough to make a call, but assuming strong essays (I write fairly well) and that I will most probably not re-take the GMAT. Targeting US schools primarily.
Q.3. My current workplace offers me a lot of autonomy and responsibility, but things in terms of revenue are not yet stable (growth is being monitored in terms of user behaviour and traffic as revenue stream gets stabilised over time). Should I move to a more niche role (such as marketing) with a global name, instead, in order to strengthen my application?
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Bio: 24 years old Indian female
GMAT Score: 710 (41V, 46Q)
Schooling: Bachelors in Software Engineering from tier-1 Indian university (2013 graduate)
Undergrad score: 74.64%. No ranking system in university, highest was 80-81%.
Work Experience: 2.5 years = 2 years as a Software Developer with Oracle followed by 0.5 years as of Jan'16 as Product Strategist at a startup
Current work profile: 40-member real-estate startup backed by India's largest property portal (funded by Google Capital, Accel and such). One of three decision making individuals at the company. Managing/managed 2 reportees and 2 interns. Streamlined dev, QA, and Ops-Dev communication channels/processes. Setting up data-driven product strategy through use of analytics. Working as a Product Manager, in tandem with design teams to revamp product. Customer support and issue resolution. Think tank for new product and revenue ideas several of which are being implemented. Also work with PR agencies, led product launch and PR for company's first global expansion. Digital marketing campaign ideas and execution. Earlier: FB Ads and Google Adwords.
Extra-curriculars: Aplenty. Student entrepreneur who co-created a 100-strong student-network for a news satire organisation and won two international awards (Manthan and WSYA) for the same. Very active social-media presence, Quora TW. At 19 years of age, helped a web startup win back its lost FB following (after a beta failure) by generating fresh, relevant content and brought about an increase of 5k followers in 6 weeks. Interned with India's largest startup incubator (very good numbers here to describe performance). Theatre in high school for 6 years, also gifted singer with a flair for words. Several other smaller achievements in music, Baseball, writing, quizzing etc.
Personal-story: Strong. Subtle timbre of breaking stereotypes and getting through adversities.
Goal: To go on to become a credible Product Manager or Strategist and work with tech leaders like Google, Facebook etc.
Why MBA: Entry into dream companies in dream role of PM very difficult otherwise (or will take several years). Want to be in a diverse culture of brilliance with freedom to explore and experiment.
Target schools: Stanford, Harvard, MIT, HaaS, Kellogg, Duke, Cornell, Tepper