Profile Evaluation and comment on school selection please...

Question

Hi ,

It would be really helpful if you guys could give some feedback regarding my profile and choice of target schools.

I belong to the Indian/IT Male /27/ 5 Years exp

Academics:
• GMAT: 740 (Q51, V39)-
• Engineering- 77.10% from one of the best engineering schools in India (Non-IIT)
• 12th - 92.5%, 10th - 95.2% (Ranked 14th for the state out of 80,000 students that year

Professional Experience:
• Working as a techno–functional analyst leading a team of 8 working in India and UK for a Corporate and Specialty Insurance major in UK.International experience of around 8-9 months so far.More than 3 years of experience in working the Insurance domain(both life and non-life)
• Other activities include coordinating with other teams for issue resolution,managing team dynamics, mentoring junior members of the team.
• Led a team of 6 members to successfully implement the complete IT infrastructure for a client. The project was worth around 300,000 USD
• Worked in different pre-sales and consulting activities for multiple clients in the organization.

Extracurricular:

1. Faculty in Business communication - Trained associates of the company in 'Business Communication'
2. Mentored 4 new hires and groomed them technically and functionally so that they can take up responsibilities and perform well in project related activities.
3. Organised events in the organisation that emphasize the value of Quality Management in day to day life
4. Learning Champion - Played an important role to conceptualize and develop training curriculum and materials for induction trainings.
5. Part of the recruitment team - Visited many campuses and also conducted off campus events to recruit people into the organization.
6. Directed and stage managed a Japanese play in front of an audience of 300 that was a resounding success!
7. Organized an event to raise money for an orphan girl suffering from heart problem. The even raised around 25K INR
8. Active member of Cricket teams at organization and at college level. Die hard football fan!

Professional Certifications:

1. Associate, Life Management Institute (ALMI) designation in Insurance
2. Completed Level 1 of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) offered by the CFA Institute, USA.Currently a Level 2 candidate.
3. ITIL Certification in IT Service Management.
4. National Stock Exchange (NSE) certification in Derivatives and NSE certification in Financial Markets.
5. a) Football club administration and b) Equality & Diversity in Football courses offered by The Football Association, UK
6. German language level 1 (A1) offered by the Goethe Institute.

Know German and Japanese languages

Hobbies - Avid traveler - Visited more than 7 countries , Huge Man U fan - Want to promote football in India and bring the community together. (One of my personal goals off work) :-D

Short Term Goal:

To get into a consulting firm into their Information Technology practice. Main interest is in the IT of Global Financial and Insurance firms.

Long Term Goal:

CIO/CTO of a big financial / insurance / technology firm

Target Schools:

MIT Sloan, Haas, Kelloggs, Duke, UCLA, Ross,Tepper, UT Austin, ISB , NUS and probably INSEAD (just for kicks!!)

Can you please let me know whether my target schools are actually on target based on my profile?

Thanks
TheRedDevil

Short Term Goal: To get into a consulting firm into their Information Technology practice. Main interest is in the IT of Global Financial and Insurance firms. Long Term Goal: CIO/CTO of a big financial / insurance / technology firm Target Schools: MIT Sloan, Haas, Kelloggs, Duke, UCLA, Ross,Tepper, UT Austin, ISB , NUS and probably INSEAD (just for kicks!!) Can you please let me know whether my target schools are actually on target based on my profile? Thanks TheRedDevil

bakfed · Answer

I think given your experience and academics, you should be able to gain admission to at least one of the schools you listed. Obviously, INSEAD, Kellogg, and Sloan will be tough as they are for everyone. But it's still worth a try. Make sure you turn in a flawless application and ace the interviews.

thereddevil · Answer

Hi Bakfed, Thanks for your response. Can you please give me your insights on how competitive my profile is for Haas (My main choice) and Darden (Since you are from Darden :-D

)

bakfed · Answer

I think your profile should be able to get you within the range of Haas and Darden, as well their peer schools - Michigan, UCLA, Yale, NYU, for example.

FutureWorks · Answer

Hi there

When aiming for top institutes abroad a score above 700 is advisable. Looking at class profile of some of your aimed institute students on their GMAT scored-

Duke: 80% Range of GMAT score 640 – 750 with mean score 697

Kellogg: 80% Range of GMAT score 640 - 750 with mean score715

Ross- Average 704

Middle 80% Range 650 – 750

MIT Sloan MBA class profile of 2010-11 the Middle 80% GMAT scores ranged from 670 to 770 and the median score was 720.

So, congrats on your GMAT score. GMAT wise you are in a good position. However GMAT alone won’t determine your chances of admission; beyond the academics will also help you in determining your candidature and your work experience plays a vital role as well. In general most of the Indian applicants are from engineering background with a good 4-5 years of work experience.

So you would need to differentiate yourself from others- like your work experience is in different countries highlight it well. Start thinking what makes you unique and what’s that ‘hook’ that will be key to your application. Make sure you follow the ‘show rather than tell’ principle so that the admissions committee could really understand your strengths and differentiating factors Although it is not just the work experience that counts but also what you did there like-what were your achievements, what initiative you took, what changes you drove in your workplace etc. So you need to ensure that in 3.5 years of work experience you have demonstrated the skills business schools are looking for. This could still put in a strong set of essays for you.

Profile Evaluation and comment on school selection please...

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