Profile Evaluation: GMAT 750, WE 4 Years(1.8 International)

Question

Hi, 
As mentioned in the subject line,my profile is briefly as follows:
Demographic: Indian Male(Doomed Lol)
GMAT 750 (Q50,V41,IR 8 AWA 5)
B.Tech: WBUT,CGPA 8.7/10 
M.Tech: NIT NAGPUR, 7.97/10
WORK EX(4 Years): 2.3 Years of experience working in Automotive domain in India. In that time, I have been involved in multiple roles from developing mobile applications to troubleshooting ECUs (sort of like a CPU, but of a Car) for an Indian Car maker. Post this, I started working for a British Luxury Carmaker in their Global HQ in UK in a domain that they like to call 'connected cars', which is a cutting edge frontier technology in my domain. I have been working here for 1 year and 8 months and counting. 
ECA: ECAs are a bit light in my case. I have been involved in lot of science quiz competitions in my high school years and have few trophies etc. I was involved in organising committees in college fests in my undergrad years. Don't know if this qualifies as ECA, but I conducted a research work under my mentor's supervision during my masters where I developed a proprietary algorithm to separate Noise from Signal in Hospitals in critical care environments. I published a paper on the same, which was prominently cited and featured in my mentor's essay on the same topic in Springer Science Journal, Germany. Also, based on this work, the university received research grant from Government of India.

Post-MBA, I would like to work in the tech domain(not planning for an industry shift). But I do realise that it will require function shift and in all likelihood location shift. I am eager to know which schools might be in my range based on my profile in North America and Europe.
It would be very helpful if you can point me in the right direction in terms of the b schools I might aim for ( both dream and maybe).
Thanks in advance!

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CrackVerbal · Answer

Hi  imsmoitra

Firstly, congratulations on getting a 750 on the GMAT. Scores like these don't come easy!

Now that you have a great GMAT score, let's look at your work experience.

You seem to have a good profile too. The number of automotive engineers who apply for an MBA is minuscule compared to the number of Indian IT engineers. Having 1.8 years of International work experience and exposure definitely works in your favor!

You could definitely mention the proprietary algorithm you developed to separate Noise from Signal for hospitals in the critical care environment. It's a great story considering your work helped the university secure a research grant from the Government of India.

In terms of the schools you could look at the following:

INSEAD (France): Having international work experience will increase your chances to be admitted to INSEAD

Rotman (Canada): It is highly recognized amongst employers and salary scales are better compared to other B-School in the region.

MIT Sloan School of Management (US): Sloan is one of the top-ranked schools for technology-based MBA.

If you want to explore the automotive section post-MBA then you could look at Mannheim Business School in Germany.

imsmoitra · Answer

Hi Ben,

To clarify, my work experience is almost completely in Automotive domain rather than IT. But I haven't kept Mannheim as an option because I do not know German and I've been told that it is essential to know German to work in German businesses.
As for Sloan, do you think it is a realistic shot with my profile?
Kindly reply if possible, I'd be grateful.

Posted from my mobile device

CrackVerbal · Answer

Yes, you are right! You don't need to know German to complete the course but to get a job in Germany it's essential to know German. Most of the universities in Germany have lessons to help you learn the German language to take you to a B2 level by the end of the course. I think you have a good chance to get into MIT Sloan based on your GMAT score. The rest depends on how you draft your application and tell your story to the Admission Committee. If you need further help shortlisting more colleges for your profile, then fill up the free profile evaluation form at https://bit.ly/2LOkgGc or reach out to one of our experts for a quick call at 8880560000

Admissionado · Answer

Hi imsmoitra, Thanks for reaching out! The bad news is that you're coming from an extremely tough demographic when it comes to b-schools apps - as you pointed out! The good news is that even among this demographic (which tends to have very high GMAT scores) your GMAT is competitive, and you also have some unique experience given your automotive background. The vast majority of applicants from this demographic have worked in very technical/engineering-heavy roles in a tech firm. Your goals do align with what most people in your demographic say they want to do -- product manager in a tech firm is the #1 most cited goal, followed by consulting. That said, you could leverage your automotive experience and target something in the self-driving car space. Your foundation in the industry would be a differentiator, and would be to name a niche.

Your extracurriculars are a bit weak to be honest. They're not going to care about high school. But it's not the end of the world & there are definitely ways to overcome that weakness. Given the competitiveness of your demographic it will be critical to do everything you can to differentiate yourself -- that can come through in the accomplishments you can show at work, ideally some strong leadership examples, how you talk about your goals, etc. We have a ton of experience helping applicants like yourself get into top schools so definitely reach out if you'd like some help thinking through your strategy & the best way to tell your story. If you email Claudia at [email protected] she can get you set up with a free consultation with one of our MBA consultants.

In terms of schools, I think you do have a shot at top 15. In Europe, I'd look at INSEAD and in the US I'd consider schools like Haas, MIT, Ross, UVA and CBS. You'd have a good shot at securing funding at Tepper & possibly at UT Austin, which would both be great options for you as well if you're hoping to get some scholarship money.

Hope that helps!

imsmoitra · Answer

Hi Jon,

Many thanks for your thoughtful and insightful reply. As you suggested based on my background, my post mba goals can be in the self driving car space, which would make it unique and leverage my experience in that sector.

On another note, I would be requiring some scholarship money, so I'd definitely look at Tepper and UT Austin as you suggested.
One query that I have about Haas is that I have been told that they are extremely averse of admitting students from my demographic pool, is that true? Otherwise I was very much interested about UC Berkeley.

Thanks again!

Admissionado · Answer

Haas is worth a shot but will be more in the reach category in my opinion. They get lots of applications from Indian male engineers and although you've got the unique automotive twist it's still going to be extremely competitive. One thing to know about Haas is that they care more about who you are as a person than the average school. It's not just about what you've accomplished professionally, they also want to see your character as a person & gauge whether or not you fit with the culture of the school. It's definitely worth a shot!

Profile Evaluation: GMAT 750, WE 4 Years(1.8 International)

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