Profile Evaluation - School suggestion ideas

Question

Hi,

I am in a very very confused state and I need help with school selection.

My profile:

Work experience: 2 years in engineering and project management @ F500. Laid off. Graduated in June 2009.

Current work: Doing a strategy internship at a startup.

Post MBA goal: Ideally investment banking. I would take consulting if I get an office in my country.

GMAT: 710

GPA: 2.6 in Electrical Engineering (Number 1 school in my country). Upward trending GPA with 2.9 last year. Btw my school releases rankings every semester.  My best ranking is top 15% for one semester (I worked really hard that semester. Then I slacked off for other semesters).

Essays: My story is all sorted out. And I believe I can churn out excellent essays (have always been more of a writer than an engineer. Have As in writing classes in undergrad. But only Bs and Cs in core engineering classes. Hence the low GPA).

Here's why I am confused: The top ranked school in my country places only like 15 people in ibanking. The school has a stellar reputation in finance. Problem is not with the school, but with the market. There are only for about 15-20 full time post-MBA associate positions so landing a banking job is extremely competitive. MBB hired 36 students from Duke, while they hired only like 5 in total from TOP schools in my country. Given my GMAT I can't help but think that I should apply for schools in US with decent banking/consulting placements. That would allow me to make a move into US where the market is way bigger.

My list so far: Booth, Stern, Duke. Any more suggestions? I also looked at Tuck and Kellogg and their essays seem right up my alley. But I am not sure whether I should apply there.

Admissionado · Answer

Have a look at Johnson, UNC, Anderson...Maybe a few other schools that are below top 10.

Now I don't want to put a damper on your dreams, but two things that will have to be addressed in your essays is your joblessness, and your GPA. You can overcome them! But you have to take them head on.

gijoedude · Answer

One of the reasons for my GPA is that I kind of knew where I would be working post-graduation. I knew this from like my 2nd year. At that time I had no plans of going to b-schools so didn't bother applying myself in school. Do you think it would prudent to mention this? Btw I never failed any classes and have only 2Ds (one from first and one from second year). Mostly I have Bs and Cs.

Thanks so much!!

Thanks so much!!

Admissionado · Answer

Oh no! That would be totally imprudent. It's like saying "Well I was set up, so I let myself get lazy" ouch. Let's try and find a better story, or just ignore it in that case.

pbhat14 · Answer

Hi ,

I am a graduate in Bachelor of arts with Economics as major from Delhi university in India . I scored a 61% percent which is equivalent to 3.5 GPA . I have had a good record as a school student as well .
I worked for 2.5 Years with American express . My core profile was of a Risk analyst . I also have training and leadership experience , due to my speedy promotions at work .
This is just an overview of my profile . Kindly guide me on how strong is my profile with a gmat score of 650-700 , and how much scholarship would it possible fetch me .
Targeted course - MBA , Masters in Finance . ( Please advice which would is better in terms of career prospects )
Targeted countries - USA . Singapore . Australia .Canada .

Thanks in advance !

Admissionado · Answer

Hello there!
Well normally if you make a profile request you should start a new thread (it helps us keep thing organized) but no big deal! On to our business:

First of all, the spread of 650-700 is too huge and too different. I'd suggest getting back to us with a real GMAT score cause there is a huge difference.
Second, your work experience sounds good, but I'd love to hear some detail: How maybe promotions you got, how quick they were, what leadership you have.
I'd also love to know a bit about your extra curriculars and your volunteer work, which are also very important.
Finally, tell me a bit about your goals (this will help me answer your question about MBA vs. MF)

I'd suggest first of all having a look at other profile requests in this forum so you can get juuuuuust how detailed we can go, and get back to me once you have your GMAT in hand,

Best,
JF

pbhat14 · Answer

Hi JF ,

First of all I really appreciate the prompt reply . I understand about starting a new thread . I am actually new to these forums and hence kindly forgive my intrusion in this thread . 
To your questions :

Gmat Range - I particularly needed an idea as to how much i need to score to get into a decent college . My gmat is on august 6th and I am currently trending on 650 in my Mocks and Gmat Prep CATs . Hence i mentioned that range . But agreeing to you , Please consider the range for me as 650-660

Profile - More details into my profile :

Job : It dealt with assessment of risk involved with credit card holders . It was a core analysis job where various aspects of the Card holder are judged and his credibility is derived . So in all the work nature was quite complex and challenging . It is regarded as one of the toughest processes in the company . Regarding promotions and upscaling . I was moved to the top most vertical of the process within 9 months due to strong work and quality consistency . The top most vertical was a specialized unit with very limited people who were mostly very experienced and very selected on the basis of being best in their work .

Leadership and extra co-curricular : Post that within next year I was promoted to a leadership shadow role called as a team captain due to performance and handling of extra co-curricular activities in terms of employee rewards , employee fun and engagement , employee outings , employee growth and development . I was associated with all these groups and held many events on my own . In the leadership role of Team captain , i was given a team of 8 people who were just hired by the company . I led the team to high scores within a period of 3 Months . Though my role as a team captain has only been for 5 months but it certainly was a dynamic learning experience which helped me evolve as an individual and in terms of people management . I quit American express and started to prepare for GMAT

Extra achievements : I have a six sigma course seminar certificate which i attended in one of the statistical institutes in delhi . I have some best performer certificates at my work place . At college level , I have certificates for event hosting , Participation and merit certificates at university level . 
Academic : Graduation was based in core economics . I scored a 1st division which is approx 3.5 GPA . As a student in school , i have a track record of 86-90 percentile . No other volunteer work . I just made donations through our company from my salary each month to charitable organizations . 
 
Career prospects : I am looking for a course which basically assures me a corporate job prospect abroad . I am not sure how good is an MA finance in that regard while i am aware MBA is known for it . However basically I want to on finance as my core even during my MBA and look for opportunities in finance perhaps like investment banker , Venture capitalists etc .

Hope now my info is a little more detailed and you could help me out . I am really into a lot of dialema about my profile because i hear a lot of people say it isnt strong enough for a good B school or that i may need more experience . As my GMAT is approaching closer , my anxiety is increasing . Would really appreciate your honest word on this .

Kind regards , 
Prateek .

Admissionado · Answer

Hi Prateek,
Thanks for the additional info. So the first thing I would ask myself in your place is: How high can I get on the GMAT? The thing is that you are coming from the most difficult and large of applicant pools with okay grades and a work experience that is good, but also not necessarily a "preferred career" (Like consulting, VC, etc) of B-schools. So what I am saying is that, if you believe with more time and more work that you can get a higher score, even if this time and work will take you six months, then my advice to you would be to wait until next year and make that extra effort to get those extra points on the GMAT.

My belief is that you only do this once, and when you apply, you want to make absolutely sure that you apply with the best test scores and the best profile you can possibly have.

The thing is, if you apply with a 650 now, I think that your choices of school will be limited (say to schools ranked 40 and below on the US News list), whereas if you were applying with a 710, then that would be another story altogether.

What do you think?

Best,

pbhat14 · Answer

Thanks again for the prompt reply . I will surely keep your points in Mind .

Just one more question that was raised to me recently and I wanted your opinion on it . I quit the Job to prepare properly for GMAT , was travelling for 2 months and have been prep for gmat the last 2 months . Does that weaken my case or profile in terms that most people manage GMAT with work ? My leaving job at a point was I was doing well , to go higher for higher studies . Please let me know your honest take on this question .

Kind regards , 
Prateek .

Admissionado · Answer

Prateek,
It does make things more difficult, and in fact, I would not suggest telling the AdCom "I quit my job in order to take the GMAT" for the very reason you stated above - that most people do this while doing a full-time job. Actually, I don't know what the job situation is for you, and I do understand that you are looking to an MBA to improve your employability, but I should mention that not having a job at the time of application is a pretty big weakness, and it may be another argument towards you applying at a later time. Not only when you have a better GMAT, but also when you are gainfully employed.

Hope this helps,
Best,
JF

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