Profile Evaluation - Applying in 2020

Hi,

Please evaluate my profile.

Nationality: Indian
Gender: Male
GMAT score: 710 (Q49, V37)
Education: Graduated from IIT Delhi, Class of 2014

Work experience:

Worked in political consultancy domain as a Manager, Analytics for 3.5+ years.
(# of employees ~500)
- worked with national parties in conceptualizing and executing campaigns targeting over 50 million people.
- built tech products to help senior stakeholders in war rooms

Recently joined AI startup as a Senior Machine Learning Engineer (6 months)
(# of employees 50)
- Managed a team of 4 research scientists to drive innovations in and adoption of AI solutions and shape the next generation platform, product, and applications in fashion and apparel industry across the world
- Developed a deep learning model for live Virtual Try-ons in Full HD for e-commerce businesses and fashion websites in Europe and
USA to enhance online shopping experience and increase engagement

Extra curricular:
- Led 2 bands during and after college to numerous competitions
- worked as a technical editor for the college magazine

Hi vaibhavijobalia, thanks for reaching out! Based on what you shared here, I'd target schools in the 25-40 range (we use US News & World Report). If you happen to be a female candidate, you could target schools in the 20-35 range. As you may know, Indian applicants are the most over-represented demographic when it comes to b-school applicants, and the majority tend to be male. It's also an applicant pool that tends to have very high GMATs (740+) as well as strong GPAs. The good news is that you're coming from a unique work background. Most applicants from this demographic tend to have engineering backgrounds & very technical work experience & their post-MBA goals are typically product manager in a tech firm or consulting. Your brand management experience will definitely set you apart -- and ideally you want to build on that with some marketing-related post-MBA goals (which be unique for your demographic as well. Your GMAT & GPA are a bit on the low end for a top 20 school, and with only 2.5 years of experience you'll be a bit on the low end of the range there as well (most people have 3-5 years of experience upon matriculation), but you've definitely got a strong shot at schools in the 20+ range. The big factor that will impact whether you get into a school in the 20s vs. the 30s will be the strength of your essays & LORs as well as the accomplishments you can highlight on your resume. If you want any help thinking through your story & coming up with your strategy for differentiating yourself, definitely reach out to us & Claudia can set you up with a free consultation with one of our MBA consultants. You can reach her at claudia@admissionado.com.

Hi sandman13, thanks for reaching out! Any chance at all that you can improve that GMAT score? You are coming from the toughest demographic when it comes to b-school applications (as you may know) & it's one that tends to have very high GMATs -- think 740+ for a top 20 school. It's great that you went to IIT, but the fact is many other applicants will have as well, so it's not enough to differentiate you unfortunately. Your quant/engineering background is also the most typical background for your demographic, which is not to say it's a deal breaker by any means -- but it does mean you face stiff competition. A lot will depend on the business skills you can show that you've used at work and, most importantly, the business impact you've driven (i.e., driving increases in revenue, decreasing costs, launching new products or divisions, etc) as well as the leadership experience you've had. Your post-MBA goals are important as well since those form the foundation for your post-MBA goals. Product manager in a tech firm and consulting are the most common ones for your demographic - so if you happen to have something that's NOT one of those that will help you stand out. And again, it's not a deal breaker if one of those happens to be your goals, but it will mean you'll have to work that much harder to differentiate yourself from the crowd. Based on what you shared here I'd target schools in the 25-40 range. If you can improve your GMAT and if you have some strong results from work you'll be able to aim higher. The numbers are important but at the end of the day these applications are an art form and it's all about the story that you tell. If you'd like some help thinking through your story definitely reach out to us - we've got a lot of experience helping folks from your demograhic & we know what's cliche, what's unique, and what it takes to get into a top school. Reach out to Claudia at claudia@admissionado.com and she can get you set up with a free consultation where we can talk about your profile in more detail.