Reflecting on the dings - how to reapply better

Hello fellow club members,

The past 1 year has been a string of disappointments for me on the MBA front, and I am starting this discussion to seek insights and inputs from y'all to understand what went wrong, so I can put together a stronger front this year.

My profile:

Country: India (:() - as you know, super overrepresented, so the key is to show how you will offer diversity to the school in other ways - experience, perspective

GMAT: 710 - not terrible, but I feel for an Indian, 730 is kind of where you start to become a true contender. However, this should be good enough for Duke and maybe UCLA if the application is strong. I might recommend that you take the GRE because it is a bit of a wild card (unpublished) If your GMAT is lower than the average, and they love your app, this is a back door to a top MBA

Gender: F - this is a positive, but still, India

Work Exp: 2 years in Engineering and 1.6 years in Product Management (currently at a Series C Indian-American Edtech company) - this is interesting but you will need to make sure you package your work experience in a certain way. I would need to see your resume. It's not so much about what you DID but what your resume says about you.

Education: B.Tech from India's Tier-1 non-IIT college - this is not unique but not deal breaker. Grades?
Extra-curriculars: Co-founded and ran an international award winning and very popular youth organization and publication (non-profit) during the undergrad years, Quora top writer etc. - this is very interesting and executed properly, could be a very compelling story that could set you apart.

Dings from: Stanford, MIT, Fuqua, UCLA, Kellogg, HaaS - I am not surprised by dings from GSB, MIT, and Kellogg. MIT received has received 5K apps to far for 350 seats; Kellogg has a pretty high GMAT average. Haas, well, I wonder how you handled the essays there. There is a good fit so I wonder. For Duke & Anderson, this makes me feel that your app wasn't terribly strong.

Interviews from: Tepper, ISB - congrats on this - but it's likely you can make a nice leap to the top 10 with the help of a consultant (or, at least this consultant.)
A sort of "soft ding" from Tuck (I'll receive personal one-on-one feedback from them this year for re-applying) -

I find this to be a source of inspiration, because often these soft dings become admits the following year without even having to reinterview. Did you do well in the interview? Did you have a good "global citizen" type story with the nonprofit? And at the same tiime - it could be as simple as the fact that Indians are much less likely to apply to cold-weather schools (big mistake!) and there was less competition. Read my website blog about MBA location unimportant if you like. Still a ding, but promising.

*****

I want to apply to some other great US schools this year - those with a strong tech culture. I'd like to hear all sorts of ideas on what I can work on in my profile or otherwise. Should I hire a consultant? Should I apply to fewer schools? GMAT score? Is it a bad idea to change jobs at this juncture?

Did you decide against reapplying ? if you have unclear or unrealistic goals (very likely) in the app, you can alter those and potentially get a positive response.
If the school knows you wont' get H1B for the goal you've stated they will reject the app.
Would recommend you go for Booth, maybe Darden, Ross (increasing tech focus) and Texas.

Attaching my profile review questions - feel free to set up an appointment with me via my website.

Thank you in advance.