Profile Evaluation for deepakp Fall 09 Applicant

Question

Folks,

I have decided to take a plunge this year and apply to B Schools in the US, here is my profile please comment:

Here is my profile, Indian IT Male, 27 and :

1. GMAT 670 QA and VA 77% each. AWA 5.5/6

To make up for this : I have graduated with a First Class Distinction all through out my education. My college stands in the top 10 in the State of Karnataka and is affiliated to the VTU Belgaum. During my college days i have performed very well in Math Courses plus my final year project was a Speech Recognition Chip using Digital Signal Processing (DSP) which is a highly mathematical course. I have also attended a course on "Linear Algebra and its applications in DSP by a IISc professor, i have a certificate also for the same. Plus my area of work is BI where i deal everyday with numbers and deal with profit and loss and revenue information.

Should i include this information in the optional essay ? ( extenuating circumstances..) and hence plug the gaping math hole, hopefully?

2. Work Experience 5 years in IT in Business Intelligence, exceptional growth, at present a Software Architect in a startup.

3. Did market research, product design for SaaS BI Solution to deliver cost effective BI Solutions to SMEs in India. 5 lakhs rupees and a year later decided that vision and skill was not enough to take my business to Europe and the US.

4. During such time was part of TiE and OpenCoffeeClub where i have interacted with many wannabe and now successful Entrepreneurs. Have advised on integration of BI with diverse businesses such as micro financing, Movie Rentals and Bird Conservation.

5. Education is my first passion. Operating a summer school for children in a village from 1999 to increase student engagement and reduce drop outs in schools. Have since started a finishing school to enable graduates get jobs.

6. Theatre is my second passion. Performed stand up comedy in college, since then have used theater to spread awareness about ill effects of Tobacco, AIDS. Founded and managed a Rock band at college, released a CD too but gave it up for studies. That hurt a lot though :-(

7. Profiled as ENTJ - just 3% of total population are this category. During a company wide initiative to reduce employee attrition worked as part of a team to understand ground realities of employees and worked with individuals from IT,Sales, Marketing and HR to devise and implement strategy to overcome this. Efforts have since been fruitful, company topped 'Best Employer' charts.

I have applied to the following :

1. Duke Fuqua R1. I met up a alumnus at the mbafair in Bangalore and she told me that the range of scores was 640-760 last year, hence thought of applying.

2. UC Berkeley Haas R1. Just not sure about my low GMAT score. R2 is on december 9 but not sure if in a months time i can better my score substantially.

3. Tuck - R2, risking rejection here, R3 is too damn risky even for a better GMAT score. What say folks?

4. UCLA Anderson - R2 on 8th Jan-09. Best bet, i can even better my GMAT score substantially. What are your opinions?

Personally i want to risk my money and time to attend MBA at these only, had i more time i would have considered HBS and Kellogg, but..

Your feedback appreciated.

Deepak

3. Tuck - R2.

7. Profiled as ENTJ - just 3% of total population are this category. During a company wide initiative to reduce employee attrition worked as part of a team to understand ground realities of employees and worked with individuals from IT,Sales, Marketing and HR to devise and implement strategy to overcome this. Efforts have since been fruitful, company topped 'Best Employer' charts. I have applied to the following : 1. Duke Fuqua R1. I met up a alumnus at the mbafair in Bangalore and she told me that the range of scores was 640-760 last year, hence thought of applying. 2. UC Berkeley Haas R1. Just not sure about my low GMAT score. R2 is on december 9 but not sure if in a months time i can better my score substantially. 3. Tuck - R2, risking rejection here, R3 is too damn risky even for a better GMAT score. What say folks? 4. UCLA Anderson - R2 on 8th Jan-09. Best bet, i can even better my GMAT score substantially. What are your opinions? Personally i want to risk my money and time to attend MBA at these only, had i more time i would have considered HBS and Kellogg, but.. Your feedback appreciated. Deepak 3. Tuck - R2.

cereal255 · Answer

Hi Deepak,

You seem to be from the "dreaded" Male Indian IT pool that is ultra competitive.(Look around at some of the other posts and you'll see what I mean) Unfortunately, your GMAT score is fairly low in comparison to the rest of the people you'll be judged against. 
 
The rest of your profile seems to be very solid though. Some nice leadership experiences both in and out of work. If you have a formal management role at work that will certainly help you stand out. The music/theater angle should work nicely in your favor as it will also differentiate yourself from a lot of others. The teaching is also a very nice addition as it shows your ability to mentor and lead. The results of your program will certainly look impressive to the committees.

It is my humble opinion that you have an uphill battle to climb, not because you haven't accomplished great things, but because your applicant pool is just so deep and your score is low in comparison to the rest. The classes you've taken in Math may help a little but I think that you may have a hard time getting into these schools. If you retake the GMAT and get 700+ you'd almost certainly get in to at least one of these programs.

You have a better chance at Duke and UCLA than you do at Tuck and Haas I would think. Tuck especially likes it if you can get to Hanover for a visit and since you're in Bangalore this may or may not be possible and will seriously hurt your admission chances if you can't go. You never know since you do have a fairly interesting profile but it will probably be a difficult battle at all four schools.

I'm not sure if any of that advice was helpful but good luck with your applications either way!

solaris1 · Answer

cereal255 is right, deepak. you strongly need to consider retaking the GMAT, not because a 670 is a poor score on its own, but because you are extremely likely to be lumped into an intensely competitive applicant pool where 720+ scores are the norm.

this is not to say you do not distinguish yourself in other ways, the summer school gig and your rock band CD release are both interesting, but i suspect your college extracurricular involvement will only take you so far in standing out among the indian/it/male applicant pool.

and believe me, your meyer-briggs type indicator isn't something you can spin into an accomplishment in your essays!

deepakp · Answer

yes thats dawned on me too. I have still applied to Duke for R1 with this score though.. I have a gut feel that a pot of gold awaits at the end of the rainbow...

and yes i am not using my MBTI indicator at all!!

That said, i am retaking my GMAT to apply the remaining colleges.. Fingers Crossed!

Thanks for the input guys!!

Profile Evaluation for deepakp Fall 09 Applicant

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