scarecrow wrote:
Hello Jon,
Can you please provide a brief evaluation of my profile?
Brief profile:
Indian
Mechanical engineer from Pune University
First class (60 %)
GMAT 700 (Q-49, V-35) AWA 4.5 IR 8
Total work experience: 6.5 years
2 years in engineering services in shipbuilding domain
2 years as a shipbuilding functional consultant in a PLM software development company
2.5 years in a wind turbine company as a mechanical design engineer working with cross functional and cross geographical teams.
International exp: 3 months in Germany
Key professional achievements:
• Developed a task duration framework to effectively estimate time for design related tasks which was implemented in the entire department.
• Prepared a Technical Depth assessment matrix for defining a clear career progression for engineers.
• Developed designs in several critical projects which had direct impact on the cost reduction of wind turbines.
Extracurricular:
• Passionate about running and endurance. Ran in several half marathons. Raised money, created awareness of various social causes through running events.
• Formed a local running group in community which has helped many runners.
• Actively pursuing sports, cycling. Participated in triathlon events.
• Travelled/ backpacked to many places in Western Europe and India.
• Rode more than 2.5k KM in the Himalayas on a motorbike.
Post MBA goal:
Work in a renewable energy (wind/ smart grid) company in a business development/ marketing role and later into corporate strategy. Seeking an MBA from a school with strong focus on general management.
This is brief snapshot of my profile.
Based on the above data can you please suggest me which schools I should apply to?
Kellogg MMM, Ross, UNC Kennan Flagler, McCombs, Duke, NUS, Mannheim.
I am applying in round-2. Given the fact that round-2 is more competitive, can you provide more insights into the school selection and can you suggest some other schools I should apply to?
I am more inclined to get into a school having a no cosigner loan program for international students.
Hey there dude,
First of all congrats on that very nice GMAT. So your first tough thing to overcome is your applicant pool. As a male indian tech you have an uphill road in front of you. But thankfully, you are not in IT! And your work experience seems more interesting and diverse than most IT folks, so play on that heavily when you apply. But anyhow your main challenge will be to STAND OUT. At top schools, you will be up against another 200 Indian applicants with better GPAs, from better schools (IITs) and with better GMAT... so the question you need to ask yourself when applying, is "Why would they choose me?" And then you need to tell them
Your school list is a bit on the tough side I feel. Kellogg and Duke are likely to be very hard.. you may want to replace one of the two with another program that is easier. The other schools are about what I would call "Competitive" for you, although Ross and UNC are likely closer to "stretch". Which means that you don't yet have a real safe school in your list, and based on your goals, you might want to think of one that would fit you. the first that comes to mind is Rice, which is a big energy school with amazing placements... okay so they specialize more in classic energy, (non renewable) but still many of the firms which hire also have renewable energy departments...
Hope these thoughts help you out!