Profile Evaluation Request

Question

Hi There,
I am hoping to get my profile evaluated.
Profile:
GMAT: 730; Q 50; V 40; IR 5; AWA 5.5
Undergrad: One of the top engineering schools in India (think BIT/BITS/NIT), GPA: 8.2/10
Grad: MS in CS from one of the top 5 engineering schools in USA( think Cornell/UIUC/UWisc- Madison), GPA: 3.9
Currently working at a silicon valley company in the e-commerce space (Amazon/eBay/etsy), Will have 3 years of work experience
Am also a volunteer teacher at a local high school
Passionate about technology
Post MBA goals: leadership role in a tech company
Applying to : Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Wharton, Booth
What would you say my chances are at the above universities?
Thank You so much for your time!

MG4MBACrystalBall · Answer

A few thoughts on your profile MV23:
 
  The academic arc is very promising to say the least. Good GPAs and pedigree abound. Add to that a cool GMAT score and we are within striking range of the top schools at least on this count 
  It is critical to understand the nature of your work and achievements therein. Though your acads are good but they don't necessarily 'jump out'. Hopefully the nature of your work does? If not, then the school list will definitely be on the aggressive side.  
  Leadership role in technology is quite vague. In layman language, that can mean a CXO role - not gonna happen right after college! So think deeper - schools are equally, if not more, concerned about your immediate plans.  
  The volunteer work sounds more like a tick the box than a serious effort? If it is, make sure it is conveyed as such.  
  Finally, for reasons mentioned  here , it will be premature for me to predict your chances. But some of the above pointers are important to reflect on as you decide you application strategy.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

MV23 · Answer

Thanks for the evaluation MBACrystallBall
Hmm my work , I am a data scientist , I build models to predict fraud , not sure if that helps in anyway 
And I was, am a regular teacher at the school, like I teach 3 days a week for an hour before I go to work. On an average, including time for preparing my class and grading I spend about 15 hrs a week on it , totally worth it . It was more for my satisfaction than for the mba thing , although if it helps , I guess there's no harm in mentioning it .
I will keep in mind your advise regarding post mba goals , I do have some specific plans on what I want to do but I am undecided between two different paths which are equally important to me.
One thing I feel might hamper my chances is that am an Indian working in tech space

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

PersonalMBACoach · Answer

MV23,

You have a nice profile, though to be competitive at those schools, it's worth investigating your profile a bit further.

1) How has your performance compared to peers at work? Promotions/salary progression?

2) Do you have a clearly defined passion outside of work? Have you done anything meaningful in that regard, from a leadership perspective?

3) What kind of leadership role are you pursuing at a tech company?

One thing that will be important for you is to tie your extra-curricular involvement to your overall story. The work you have done is nice, but it's a lot of hours without substantial out of the box leadership experience, so you would want to tie it together with the messaging you are conveying in the rest of your application in order for it to carry the most weight

Feel free to email me directly with answers to my questions above if you prefer or if you want more specific guidance on your application. Good luck!

Scott@personalmbacoach.com

MBADecoder · Answer

Hi MV23,

We may be missing some of the picture (the one that shows outstanding achievements) but with the description posted here, I do agree with the view that your achievements sound to be at par with the highly competitive applicant base.

My suggestion would be to add some b-schools where you have a realistic chance of making it in. Think UCLA, Tepper, Ross.

MV23 · Answer

Thank You Scott, I did not yet have a promotion, but I did receive highest rating in each of the yearly/half-yearly evaluations. My manager is going to write one of the recommendation letters, and I am confident he's going to give a very positive review. 2. Passion outside work, hmm I have to think about that, I have a rough idea of what I want to add w.r.t this and how I can tie it down to Stanford's "What matters to you the most" question, I am still in the contemplation phase. 3. Leadership role, apart from my regular work, I have helped in the recruitment process, travelling to my alma mater, giving talks and interviewing students (and now I am back to the other side of the table, if I do get an interview that is

). How realistic do you think are my chances at getting an interview at one of these universities: GSB, HBS, Sloan, Booth, Wharton?

PersonalMBACoach · Answer

MV23 
You have a reasonable chance of getting an interview at these schools, depending on how strong your application is. That said, I recommend adding one or two additional programs as was advised above.

If you would like more specific guidance, let me know!

Good luck!

MG4MBACrystalBall · Answer

Ah, that sounds quite interesting and in vogue then from a work profile perspective!

The volunteer work will help - and make sure you 'express' what is means so it doesn't sound as if you are trying to pander to some stereotypes.

Finally, not many in the Indian tech space get to work in the US as data scientist. Explained well, that can actually be an area of differentiation! So take heart and go for it.

Cheers,

fxMBAconsulting · Answer

The biggest barrier to entry at a M7 school is going to be your work experience. CS/Data Science roles pre-MBA represent about 5% of the average MBA class at top US schools. I'm not sure if you have a US greencard at this point or would be considered an international applicant from India. Below is a response I gave to someone on Quora which you might find interesting.

Do people from Indian IT industry make upto HBS?
 
Statistically speaking the answer is a resounding, no.

I don't have the numbers for HBS but I do have the numbers for Wharton and Sloan (and I think it's a pretty fair estimate of what you would find at HBS and other top US schools)

Note: HBS's class size is equivalent to Wharton's.
Wharton: Class Size 859 students, 33% are international, total international students = 859*.33 = 284 students
14.1% of internationals are Indian (this excludes people of Indian ancestry who are US Greencard holders or US Citizens)
284*.141 = 40
40 Indians get in at Wharton each year
% of class that studied Computer Science and Engineering in undergrad: 18%
% of Indians at Wharton with a CS or Engineering undergrad: 40*.18 = 7

MIT Sloan: Class Size 406 students, 40% are international, total international students = 406*.40 = 163 students
10% of internationals are Indian (this excludes people of Indian ancestry who are US Greencard holders or US Citizens)
163*.10 = 16
16 Indians get in at MIT Sloan each year
% of class that studied Computer Science and Engineering in undergrad: 31%
% of Indians at MIT Sloan with a CS or Engineering undergrad:16*.31 = 5

Of the Indians that do get into these schools - 99% of then have lived, studied, worked for extended periods outside of India. I mention this because it isn't directly reflected in the numbers but it is reflected in the reality of admissions at top b-schools. I get a lot of questions from applicants based in India and China about their chances of getting into schools like HBS, Wharton and MIT. If the person hasn't lived abroad it's very difficult. Even with a standout career you have to imagine that you'll be competing for a very limited number of places - this is why, submitting a stellar application, even for the strongest of candidates, is essential.

MV23 · Answer

Wow,Thanks for the detailed analysis Leah. I do not have a green card, so yes, I would be treated as an international applicant.

fxMBAconsulting · Answer

The good news is that you have international work experience which is a plus. All the best with your applications this year.

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