Prabhakar wrote:
Hello,
Could you evaluate my profile and let me know my chances for Admission at Stanford, Kellogg and NYU if I apply during R1 this year (for Fall 2012)?
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Overall Profile
1. GMAT Score: Yet to give, but have scheduled a test-date. (expected 680-700 based on current GMAT Prep scores)
2. Graduated in Dubai – BE (Hons) in Electronics & Instrumentation (GPA: 3.28/4)
3. I have 3 years of Entrepreneurship Experience running an IT company (4 yrs by Fall 2012).
4. Nationality: Indian; Age: 24 yrs old (25yrs by Fall 2012)
5. Currently held position: COO
6. Started first company right out of college in 2008 with 2 partners; grown successfully to 3 companies across Dubai, Hong Kong and India, managing a total of 12 employees.
7. Biggest success is an Online network currently ranked among the top 150 websites in the world.
7. Languages known - English (Expert), Hindi (Expert), Telugu (Expert), French (Basic Proficiency), Arabic (Basic Proficiency)
Work Ex Highlights
• Interned at 2 very large Oil & Gas companies in the Gulf during college (for a total of 8 months (2+6)).
• Worked for 2 years (lasts for only 2 months each - so a total of 4 months spread across 2007 and 2008) with Dubai International Film Festival, directly managing about 500 or so Volunteers each year. Gained significant leadership experience here, due to the various groups of people I had to manage at once (people from various parts of the globe, varying from 15yrs to even 60yrs in age).
• Started my first company with right out of college, turned it into a successful venture and am now managing 3 companies across Dubai, Hong Kong and India, with a total of 12 employees.
• Company's annual turnover is currently over 1 MM$ - would say it's a pretty successful venture, having started off without any external funding from family or VC's.
Extra-Curricular Activities
- Volunteered at Dubai International Film Festival for 2 years.
- Was promoted to Captain at Dubai Film Fest, wherein I trained and managed about 500-700 volunteers through the event.
- Was an integral part of the Events Organizing Committee at college.
- Helped in organizing several Inter-College Competitions and Events during college.
- Was a Professor's TA (Teaching-Assistant) at various Engineering Lab's during final 2 years of College.
- Won 3'rd place in a Software Development Trade Show held at University of Wollongong, sponsored by Microsoft Gulf.
Hobbies:
Karting, Archery (taking professional classes), Football, Volleyball
Target Schools:
2 Year Full Time MBA at Stanford (Entrepreneurship), Kellogg (Marketing/Entrep), NYU: Stern or McCombs.
Safety Schools: Babson, UCLA, ESADE & IESE (Spain)
Why MBA?
To network with people from my Industry, to network with VC's for my projects currently in development, to learn how to efficiently form & execute business plans on a much larger scale and to hone my leadership skills.
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From my perspective, my strong points are: Entrepreneurship, EC's, Perfect age-group for Stanford.
Potential weak points could be: GMAT Score (not yet given, but with my profile would 680-700 be low?), Undergrad-GPA (is 3.28 low?), Nationality (Indian male, from Engg background in IT).
Please let me know your thoughts on this. Thanks a lot for your help!
Yes, you are the right age and you've clearly built a solid organization. I do feel that your GMAT may end up on the low end, but if you are able to share examples of significant leadership and impact, then as long as you are in the right range (yes, 680 is within their range), then you stand a chance. It also sounds to me like for Stanford in particular and Kellogg a bit less so, you'll need to refine your goals more to show that you understand what they are preparing you to do: for them it isn't just about executing on a large scale.