Profile Evaluation Request for MBA and MS programs

Question

Hello,

I am looking to get some feedback from the GMAT Club community/Admissionado on the relative strength of my profile to any of the following programs:

MBA:
1.)Tepper MBA
2.) NYU Stern Full-Time MBA
3.) Cornell Tech MBA

MS:
1.) Carnegie Mellon Heinz MISM
2.) Duke MQM:Business Analytics
3.) Stevens
4.) Johns Hopkins

In terms of the basics of my profile:
GMAT: 670 (Q:43,V:39) - still not sure if I should re-take as I'm not sure how much I'll improve on a subsequent attempt.
Work experience: will be 36 months by the time I start the program in Summer/Fall 2020.
Occupation: I currently work as a "Data Analyst" for anew analytics start-up within a larger, medium-sized company. Although my title says Data Analyst, my job function has really been more along the lines of a DBA/Data Architect, and I've had to handle a lot of responsibility that one typically does not get to do coming right out of undergrad.
GPA: Graduated Summa Cum Laude (3.9/4.0) with an Honors BBA in Information Systems from CUNY-Baruch College (Zicklin is considered a top business school in NYC, but not as well-known outside NYC/NJ/CT).

The reason I'm looking to pursue an MBA right now is because I want to see myself in a more data management/data strategy-oriented position. I truly feel that I've learned a lot from a DBA point of view, and while that is no doubt extremely valuable, it's also important to have a well-rounded knowledge of how a business functions to be successful at crafting an effective data management strategy.

If I were to break down my goals into time horizons, it would look like this:
Short-Term: Work for an IT consulting company or in the data consulting arm of a tech company such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google, etc.
Long-Term: I aspire to be a CIO/Head of Data Management for a mid-sized (200-500 employees) company in the long-run.

I would really appreciate any kind of feedback the community could provide!

This is my very first post on GMATClub, so please pardon me if my request is a bit lacking in substance. I'd be happy to provide additional info if necessary!

Thank you so much in advance!

Admissionado · Answer

Happy to help! With your current GMAT, those b-schools are going to be tough to get into. If there's any chance you an improve your score to 700 that would help for sure. Given the fact that you have an analytics/data focus in your work experience & in your career goals, I think the MS could potentially be the better fit for you, and you have a good shot at the schools you listed. An MBA is generally a more broadly applicable degree -- you can work in an analytic/data role afterwards & you can also do a lot of other things. If you have any doubts at all about the analytics-focus of your career goals, an MBA would give you more options. But if you feel certain that analytics & data are your passion, I'd go for the MS! Hope that helps! Feel free to reach out with any more questions!

vj1994 · Answer

Hello ,

I request you to scan my profile and suggest some colleges as I would apply for MBA September - 2020 intake .

GMAT :710

Bachelor's : 3.1 GPA 
Post graduate diploma in advertising and Marketing communications - 75%
St. Xavier's , Mumbai

Work experience - 19 months

I would be entering the batch with a work experience of around 2.5 years

Work profile : Brand Strategist

I have worked at a national experiential agency for above a year where I would conceptualize events , activations and campaigns for various multinationals such as HUL , SAP , SIEMENS , ORIFLAME etc.

Worked as both - leader in projects worth 7 million dollars for SAP and team player for other projects , I have extensively worked in conceptualization and execution of Advertising and marketing communication for a range of industries that span across IT , FMCG and AUTO .

Number of employees in company : 250-300

Company background : 
One of the largest and oldest experiential agency in India with work heavily skewed towards designing on ground consumer experience. 
Shobiz Experiential communications

My projects constantly involved heavy interaction with the Account Management team , design team and the main client to align the Marketing communication and thus , I have heavy cross-functional team experience.

Extra curricular : 
Worked on a start-up project while pursuing PGD that leveraged the concept of upcycling and succeeded in producing the product. This required me to team up with professors at my PGD .

LED a group of volunteers to impart education and certain set of skills to less privileged kids

Served in the capacity of Cultural President at high school for a year that helped me in organising all the events and co-ordinate with a team of juniors.

During Bachelor's , I served in the capacity of marketing manager for a state-level initiative of organising a business festival for 15 days .

I will be waiting for feedback.

Posted from my mobile device

Admissionado · Answer

Hi vaibhavijobalia, Thanks for reaching out! You'll be a bit on the young end at only 2.5 years of experience but it's not a deal breaker & it's better to be a bit younger rather than have 6+ years. Most schools are looking for applicants with 3-5 years of experience upon matriculation, and if you happen to be a woman that will be in your favor - both because Indian males are such an overrepresented demographic when it comes to b-school applications and also because schools tend to take female candidates a bit younger. Your GPA is on the low end so the adcom will be placing more weight on your GMAT & work experience. Your GMAT is solid for schools in the 20-30 range (we use US News and World Report) so I'd focus your efforts there. Depending on the strength of your accomplishments at work you could potentially shoot a bit higher & aim for some schools in the high teens like UCLA for example, which is very strong when it comes to marketing (assuming that is your post-MBA goal) or possibly Cornell. Kelley would be a great option as well.

vj1994 · Answer

Hi Jon ,

I would have 2.5 years of work experience while applying and would enter the batch with a work ex of 3.5 . 
Moreover , I am a female and do aspire to be a brand manager post MBA , so I would be looking at schools which incline towards the same.

Considering that I am from media background and a female , where will I have a good shot?

Also , should I increase the score to be able to apply at better schools or would less work ex really be hindrance ?

Posted from my mobile device

Admissionado · Answer

Awesome - you'll be right in the sweet spot with 3.5 years of experience. If you can increase your GMAT that will help for sure. A 710 is a solid score but not a differentiator for top schools and like I said, you'll also be working to outweigh that GPA (which means you'll want to target schools where you're solidly at or above their GMAT average). I'd still say UCLA, Kelley & Cornell are good options for you if you're unable to increase the score. To get into a school like Kellogg you'll ideally want to score ~740.

Ali1234007 · Answer

Hi, 
Please Evaluate my profile for University of Chicago Booth Weekend MBA and Executive MBA. 
My GPA is 3.45
GMAT:690
I have also been working at Deloitte for a little over 4 years. 
Do I have any Chance??

Admissionado · Answer

Hi Ali1234007, You're too young for the executive MBA but I think you do have a shot at the weekend MBA assuming some strong accomplishments at work to help outweigh that GMAT score, which is a bit lower than we'd ideally like to see. Deloitte is definitely a good name to have on your resume.

vj1994 · Answer

Hi Jon ,

It's great to have such an insightful conversation with you ! 
My 2.5 years of work experience contains the following :

1 year : self employed as a consultant and worked for some local clients (2/3) . It does not come across as a strong case for qualitative work experience. The major focus this year was to clear a few entrance exams which I could not , unfortunately.

Then , I went on to pursue PGD and post that I have strong qualitative work experience of 1.5 years to talk about.

This would essentially land me in a b-school with 2.5 years of qualitative work experience as I resume the program

How much of a hindrance do you think that can be ?

Having oddly 2.5 years of work experience while entering the batch !

Posted from my mobile device

Admissionado · Answer

Given that it would be worth getting one more year of experience and some strong professional accomplishments under your belt before you apply. The adcom prefers to see continuous years of experience, it sounds like you weren't able to show much impact in that 1 year stint since you were focused on studying. I'd take this next year to continue to show impact at work while working on your GMAT & I think you'll have a much stronger shot at it after that!

Profile Evaluation Request for MBA and MS programs

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