Profile Help and Suggestions

Question

i ,

I am planning to apply to my target B schools in R2/R3 (Full time programs) this year. My profile is as follows:

Gender: MALE
Age: 25 years
Location: India
Target schools: Top 15
Post MBA Target domain:PM,PE ,Startups (Flexible)

Education: BITS Pilani
Undergrad GPA: 8.7/10 (+Minor in Finance)
10th -9.5/10
12th -93.2

Work experience: ~3 years
Senior Researcher in Samsung Research .Role is of Research in Artificial Intelligence ,involves research ,development ,patent ,paper publishing etc .Have received promotion and lead few teams for paper publications and internal roles/events .
International experience -Around a year in Singapore in various roles
-Have worked with Koreans in current company
-internship experience in trading firm ,universities and defense organizations .

Extra curriculars:(some pointers)
Awards and degrees in Music ,have been featured on national television regarding quiz shows ,sports secretary in university and other posts in different departments ,national level olympiad/scholarship winner
Have worked as volunteer in scholarship team of NGO .
Had started a startup(Raised x million dollars) with friends but had to exit for personal reasons .Consulted for another startup .

GMAT score: 720 (Q49 V38 IR8 )

Can you please let me know what schools I can target and what schools would be ambitious.

Thanks !

Admissionado · Answer

mbaaspirant007 : Thanks for reaching out to our community. Overall, you have a good profile with a nice balance of work experience and extracurricular leadership. Your statistics (GPA/GMAT) are also very strong. It's great that you are flexible in terms of your career goals, but you are going to have to be very specific when writing your essays. Schools in the US such as UC Berkeley Haas, Michigan Ross, Duke Fuqua, Cornell Johnson and Georgetown McDonough would be a great foundation and provide you with a mix of ambitious and target schools. Do you have any criteria for schools? Are you just looking at the best possible ranking or do you care about things such as geography, class size, academic/career focus, etc.? Such information would be helpful in advising you on an even more personalized list. Alternatively or additionally, you are welcome to sign up for a free consultation so you can chat with someone on my team about your prospects and our consulting services. https://admissionado.com/free-consultation/

mbaaspirant007 · Answer

Hi  Admissionado  ,

I do not have geography restrictions as such but would prefer T15 schools .
Also ,PM is a natural progression but would like to explore more .
Won't me being from Indian (Overrepresented) background hamper my chances at the schools you mentioned ,and can be targeted comfortably ?

MBAandBeyond · Answer

Hey mbaaspirant007 , Thanks for sharing your profile, To begin with, your academics seem strong, also having BITS Pilani on your profile would add points to the table. On the work front, 3+ years as a senior researcher in a big brand like Samsung would definitely work in your favor. Since you have mentioned patents, I would like to know if you have any registered under your name? Also, you have mentioned promotions, I would like to know your career trajectory, specific roles and responsibilities and any additional work accomplishments to establish yourself as an hardworking individual with leadership qualities. Also, put a spotlight on your international experience and try to give your overall profile a global outlook. You seem to have a nice balance of your ECs as well. Try outlining your key takeaways from your startup experience (raising million dollars). Engaging in social events shows the AdComs that you care about the community. Your profile is more diverse because of your skills in music and quizzes. You should express in your essays how these experiences have impacted you and shaped your life and vision. Your post-MBA goals appear quite general. It's crucial to separate your goals into short-term and long-term. It is a good idea to think about how you may relate your goals to your prior experience and triumphs. Therefore, carefully consider both your short-term and long-term goals. Take a look at a guide on how to frame practical post MBA goals essay , You will get some insights! According to your post-mba goals, you can have NYU, Haas, Tepper, Kellogg, Cornell, UCLA, Yale and Booth in your list. Overall you have a robust profile and stand a good chance at top B-Schools, but we would like to know more in depth to understand it fully. If properly worked upon, your profile stands a high chance of acceptance. Hence, If you'd like, we are happy to connect you with our Profile Experts (who are alums and students of top B-Schools) who will discuss your profile at length in a 30-45 minutes call and provide you with feedback based on your aspirations and goals. Feel free to schedule a call with us here for in-depth profile evaluation (and some networking on the side!) No one knows the application process better than the individuals who have gone through it. We match you with alumni from your desired business school. Meet our Panel of Consultants. Let's discuss how to write admit winning essays from b-school Alumns Cheers! Neha Hadke Strategy Manager Testimonials Email: neha@mbaandbeyond.com Visit our website www.mbaandbeyond.com for more MBA resources.

Admissionado · Answer

mbaaspirant007 : Responding to your additional points: I do not have geography restrictions as such but would prefer T15 schools. Also ,PM is a natural progression but would like to explore more. --> If you are focused on T15 and are leaning towards a PM path, I would look at pretty much the same schools we mentioned but specifically MIT Sloan, Berkeley Haas, Michigan Ross, Duke Fuqua, and Cornell Johnson. That gives you a good mix of ambitious and target schools given your profile. Won't me being from Indian (Overrepresented) background hamper my chances at the schools you mentioned ,and can be targeted comfortably? --> Yes, it's a factor working against you but you still have a chance. It comes down to how you put together your entire application including critical components not mentioned such as your essays, CV/resume, and letters of recommendation. Those are critical in tying your full story together in ways that can't necessarily be described in this forum. If I were you, I would definitely grab time with my team to discuss further. I think you might benefit from a conversation about your background, this list, and our various consulting services for your upcoming application. https://admissionado.com/free-consultation/ -Admissionado

mbaaspirant007 · Answer

MBAandBeyond

Since you have mentioned patents, I would like to know if you have any registered under your name? ->
Patent is still under progress/application stage has not been granted yet .My company has an elaborate process for the same .

Also, you have mentioned promotions, I would like to know your career trajectory, specific roles and responsibilities and any additional work accomplishments to establish yourself as an hardworking individual with leadership qualities ->

I got promoted from Research Engineer to Senior Research Engineer in an year of joining which lead to leading teams for papers and other collaborative work .
Also the Research Engineer profile that I got from campus placement was an elite profile which is given to Mtech and PhDs ,but for exceptional BE/Btech students an exceptin is made

What are your views

MBAandBeyond · Answer

mbaaspirant007

Sounds good! You can explain the impact you brought and how you outperformed your peers to get the promotion. Also, as you mentioned the research engineering profile, you would need to bring what skills let you reach this profile as a BE/BTech student. Highlighting all of these in an appealing manner will help you stand out.

TheIvyLeagueEdge · Answer

Hi, 
I see your question is already answered in detail, and I quite agree with Admissionado's assessment of your profile. The trick as they have said, is in how you tie your stories together, and show the spark factor.

Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn and ping for a free, personalized discussion

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