Profile Review: 640 GMAT, Female, India, Design Professional

Question

Hi There,
Im looking to apply in Round II for the Fall 2016 session. I have a diverse background with great work experience. However my Gmat was on the lower side. Could you help with a profile eval.

My Profile: 
Nationality/Gender/Age - Indian/F/26
GMAT- 640 (48Q, 31V, 5AWA)
Academic qualification - Bachelors in Design from India's Leading Fashion School, National Institute of Fashion Technology.
CGPA - 8.7/10

Work experience: 
A total of 4.5 years experience in licensing.
Currently working as Senior Manager - heading the creative department.
• Manage all consumer product licensing partners on product development and rollout.
• Liaise with the brand owners across the globe taking into consideration different cultures, language barriers and desired creative direction to ensure all brand guidelines are adhered to.
• Process and track both promotions and consumer product licensing for International entertainment brands like Angry Birds, Simpsons, Pokémon, DreamWorks etc. in South Asia.
• Manage client profiles like Cadburys, Kelloggs, Unilever on promotional licensing.
• Oversee all creative, product and promotion plans right from contract signatures through product development until all marketing mechanics and creative elements were approved and executed.
• Manage syndication on local broadcast networks for leading kids brands such as Pokémon & Beyblade in the South Asian market.
• Build creative programs for launching new brand extensions.

International Exposure:
International Exchange Semester in Australia. (1/5 student selected and granted scholarship)
Internship in Marketing in Sydney
Rovio - Angry Birds brand assurance training in Thailand
Warner Bros brand assurance training in Hongkong
Lead the Indian Media tour to Tokyo for the Pokemon Company

Extra –Curricular activities:
Participated in 48 hour movie Project
Participated in 1 half marathon and 3 10 kms runs for Breast Cancer Awareness
Member of the student panel in NIFT to create sustainable alternatives for Plastic Bags in India - A project initiated by the ministry of Textiles India
Provided complete creative solutions (like logo, corporate stationary etc) for medical non profits: Oncoplus, A Joy of Walking
Other freelance projects include brand identity and marketing campaigning for startups like: F2 Fitness (Fitness Studio), Insta Meals (Food Delivery Service)

Others:
Co-Founded a brand for graphic bags for the Indian Market as a student. The work entailed a 360* brand building approach including - design, sampling, sourcing, distribution and marketing. Products were made available across 15 retail touchpoint across 6 cities in India

Post MBA plans: 
Work in marketing, Consumer Products, Creative strategy for animation houses like: Disney, Dreamworks, Warner Bros in the US>

Colleges that interest me:
Kellogg
INSEAD
UCLA Anderson

*I need to shortlist a few more schools.

Kindly evaluate my profile and let me know which schools can be my targets. 
More specially, I’m keen to understand
What are my chances with big names like Kellogg and Harvard?
What are the realistic programs that I have a chance to get into?
I do intend to give my GMAT again in another 3 weeks. If i get a better score what are the other universities i can look at.

Look forward to hearing back
Thanks
N

Admissionado · Answer

Hey there, Thanks for writing! so the short of it is that your profile is unique and interesting and has lots of potential for an MBA application. But your GMAT is far too low for the level of schools you are aiming at (you'd need at LEAST 80 points more). My suggestion would be to retake but NOT to rush. What I mean is that if you aren't 100% sure you will hit at least a 700 cancel your test and aim to apply next year round 1 (which in all honesty, is probably the wiser course of action anyhow, given that deadlines are fast approaching and you still need to take your GMAT). Here is an article about Indians retaking the GMAT which might give you some insight into things: https://bit.ly/B613Mgc Best, Jon

nehaagarwal02 · Answer

Thanks Jon.
I am currently readying my applications and do intend to take the GMAT again. Fingers crossed.
With my current GMAT score and the profile, what other schools do you think i should (could) target.

Admissionado · Answer

Well.... I'd say just retake the GMAT

But you could look into Bocconni, ESSEC, HEC, ESCP because they are strong in fashion. And not that competitive when it comes to GMAT (other than HEC, which is).

nehaagarwal02 · Answer

Hi Jon! Im back.

So i did retake my GMAT and managed to get a slight raise in my score. Sending through my updated profile as below, let me know your thoughts. GMAT: 700 (Q:50, V:36) TOEFL: 113 CGPS: 8.7/10 Having worked in the licensing industry in India for the past 5 years, i currently head the Creative & Brand Assurance Department in one of India's top licensing agencies (Dreamtheatre). With my foundation in design and my tryst with sales, i realised there is a massive lacuna of individuals who understand and appreciate both. In an attempt to bridge this gap between the creative and the commercial I've made my decision to pursue an MBA. My immediate post MBA goal would be to work with top entertainment studios (Warner Bros, FOX, Dreamworks and similar) in creative management and marketing. Since entertainment is my core focus area, and given my diverse background, the schools i am keen on pursuing are: Anderson, UCLA Haas, Berkley Insead Marshall Iese I am also keen on Stanford, but I'm afraid my GMAT may be on the lower side for the same. Let me know your thoughts on the above. Thanks N

Admissionado · Answer

Hey there!
Awesome that you did so much better! That will REALLY help.
You're still under the average for many Top 10 schools, but I feel that your profile is interesting enough that you can give some a shot (provided you also have a spread of other schools in the Top20/25.

A few thoughts:
1. If you are going for Media, I highly suggest aiming for schools/places where they are located. Soooo NY and California - Anderson, Marshall, NYU, maybe Columbia (although it's a bit of a tough school for you) and also McCombs (they have great music/film schools). You can even consider a double degree (like film production + MBA or MFA + MBA or whatever other combination seems to fit).
2. Regarding your goals as a STORY - Since I don't really see you doing media in your past you will need to justify this choice in your story - Are you planning on continuing in licensing? That would make the story more believable.
3. Regarding Stanford - it's a real stretch, but hey, if you are applying to a lot of other schools, why not?
4. Why IESE? Why not INSEAD?

Otherwise, looks good.
Time to get writing!

If you have any other questions, don't hesitate!
Best,
JF

nehaagarwal02 · Answer

Hi John, Thanks for your reply. Just realised i left out a critical detail when i wrote to you first regarding my work. So i work in licensing in a company that represents top studios in India & South Asia. A few of these include: Pokemon, Rovio, Dreamworks, Fox and many others. We have in past also represented Warner Bros. My work therefore in the past 5 years has pretty much revolved around entertainment right through.

This also sums up my post MBA goal, which is to work for these studio's directly, and not through a regional or a representative office. (More freedom to build & create business extensions & strategies from a creative pov). Regarding schools, I have shortlisted the below for Round 1: Anderson, Insead, Haas, Marshall. (I don't know, if basis my profile, marshall classifies as a safe option, or i should include another one as well) For Round 2, i am keeping Stern and possibly Iese, Schulich. (Haven't researched much on McCombs yet) Let me know what you think. N

Admissionado · Answer

Sounds great!
I like your school list, and with your goals and your GMAT I would say Marshall is a good safe school, and if not IESE should be a second.
So looking goooooooood!

If you need any further assistance, don't hesitate to drop a line,
And best of luck!!!
Cheers,
Jon

Profile Review: 640 GMAT, Female, India, Design Professional

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