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Question

HI

Would appreciate any feedback on my profile stats and the schools I'm interested in

Demographic : Indian IT Male ...
GMAT : 750 (Q50 V40) AWA 6
Education BTech IT CGPA: 9.17 2008
 CFA Level II candidate

Experience 
 Associate Software Engineer ,Full Time - IBM Aug 2008- 
• Implemented the backend of software and also assisting in the design and architecture.
• Technical Lead for one project. Handled a team of three interns.

Project Intern Full Time : IBM Feb-Aug 2008 (final semester in undergrad)

Leadership 
• Handled a team of three interns as a Technical Lead 
• Guided and mentored three other interns in another project.
• Microsoft Student partner from Feb 2007-July 2008.Organized various sessions and labs.
• Member of the college technical team. Organized various technical events in the cultural fest.
• Lead a team of 4 students to create and setup the complete audio video presentation for inauguration of the college’s campus.

Major Awards
• Second Runner up in Software Design, Microsoft Imagine Cup India Finals 2007. 
• Winner of Academic scholarship 
• 36th rank worldwide in IT Quiz Microsoft Imagine Cup World finals. 
• Selected for National Talent Search Examination, organized by the government of India.

Goals
ST: work in a govt or an org closely associated with govt ,
LT: set up my own firm providing solutions to govt sector ( especially in my home county) using both my technical and management skills. SO focusing on entrepreneurial and finance schools.

a. I would like some inputs on my profile and suggest the schools I should apply to i.e. Dream ,reach ,safety.
b. I want to switch from IT to finance ,I think this may cause some issues.
c. My experience is on the lower side ( 3 years full time by the time I would join) , would this cause any major problems when going for top colleges. Should I apply to Wharton,tuck and major European colleges(oxbridge etc)which has 5+ as their average exp.

Thanks in advance...
sason

bakfed · Answer

Hi sason, I'll give my input here and know that this is totally subjective. As you probably know, you'll coming in from an applicant pool so big that it generally makes Indian IT males tougher to get in anywhere. Having said that, you have excellent numbers. You're right; your WE does fall short a bit. Think about where you want to work post-MBA: if in Europe, you should apply to European schools; if in US, you should apply to US schools. It makes your life so much easier to be in the same geographic location as where you want to work after your MBA. For you, you'll really have to showcase your leadership abilities. AdComs will know that you, and most of the other Indian applicants, have the brains to do the work. What the AdComs will be more interested to know is if you have the interpersonal ability and the leadership to become a manager. That's something that you'll have to showcase in your essays, resume, and hopefully in your recommendations. Also understand that AdComs like to know that their applicants know exactly what they want to do (though it never really happens like that). Here's my suggestion for you, in terms of finance:

Dream: Wharton, as it's a heavy quant-based school. (If you'd like, Stanford is a good choice for you as well. Its average age tends to be lower and the school has said, officially, that it looks more favorably for students who have great undergraduate grade and GMAT score.)
Sweet: Columbia and NYU, both of which are in the major hub (new york city) where most of the country's transactions take place. I would put Chicago Booth, and Berkeley Haas on there as well.

I'm not going to be able to provide any safety schools as I'm not in the finance sector. But the above is my input.

Dream: Wharton, as it's a heavy quant-based school. (If you'd like, Stanford is a good choice for you as well. Its average age tends to be lower and the school has said, officially, that it looks more favorably for students who have great undergraduate grade and GMAT score.)
Sweet: Columbia and NYU, both of which are in the major hub (new york city) where most of the country's transactions take place. I would put Chicago Booth, and Berkeley Haas on there as well.

I'm not going to be able to provide any safety schools as I'm not in the finance sector. But the above is my input.

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