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saumyaj
Joined: 08 Jul 2015
Last visit: 06 Apr 2016
Posts: 14
Given Kudos: 2
Schools: Yale '18 (A) Anderson '18 (A) Wharton '18 (M$)
Products:
08 Jul 2015, 00:10
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi,
I am a 29 year old Indian female (will turn 30 this August) looking to join a full time MBA program in the US.
Educational history:
B.Tech & M.Tech (Dual degree) from IIT Delhi in 2008
Major: Biochemical Engineering & Biotechnology
GPA: 3.3/4.0
Placed in top 5 in class
CBSE Grade 12th: 88%
CBSE Grade 10th: 93%
GMAT Test Scores:
Yet to appear. The following are my Unofficial GMAT Scores from GMAT Test Prep software:
IR 8/92%
Quant 50/90%
Verbal 41/93%
Total 760
I think I should score between 720 and 760 in the real thing.
Extra-curriculars:
Worked closely with 2 NGOs for teaching under-privileged kids at IIT. This experience has hugely affected my choice of career as well.
Trained Indian Classical singer (4 years diploma holder). Captain of the Music Team at IIT hostel. Represented my state at All India Singing Contests three times.
Captain of the Table Tennis women's team at IIT Delhi.
Work history:
In 2008, I founded and set up a non-profit K-12 school in a rural setting near Delhi. I now manage a staff of 80+ including some educators more than 30 years older than I am. Current student strength is 800+ and growing.
All required affiliations and systems are in place and the term loan is paid off.
Now I'm looking to do an MBA either to switch into consulting for the non-profit/ education sector or to build another start-up in the technology for education sector and scale it up to reach rural schools all across India and other developing countries.
I think a full time MBA will help me to consolidate what I have learned so far.
Schools I'm thinking about:
Since I'm 30 already, my strategy is to apply at 2 stretch, 2 target and 1 safety schools. I would appreciate if you could suggest which ones I have the best chances with.
Right now I'm thinking about Stanford, Columbia, Kellogg, UCLA, Haas & ISB Hyderabad (Safety).
Since my work history is unconventional for IIT graduates, it would be a great help if I could get an evaluation.
Thanks
I am a 29 year old Indian female (will turn 30 this August) looking to join a full time MBA program in the US.
Educational history:
B.Tech & M.Tech (Dual degree) from IIT Delhi in 2008
Major: Biochemical Engineering & Biotechnology
GPA: 3.3/4.0
Placed in top 5 in class
CBSE Grade 12th: 88%
CBSE Grade 10th: 93%
GMAT Test Scores:
Yet to appear. The following are my Unofficial GMAT Scores from GMAT Test Prep software:
IR 8/92%
Quant 50/90%
Verbal 41/93%
Total 760
I think I should score between 720 and 760 in the real thing.
Extra-curriculars:
Worked closely with 2 NGOs for teaching under-privileged kids at IIT. This experience has hugely affected my choice of career as well.
Trained Indian Classical singer (4 years diploma holder). Captain of the Music Team at IIT hostel. Represented my state at All India Singing Contests three times.
Captain of the Table Tennis women's team at IIT Delhi.
Work history:
In 2008, I founded and set up a non-profit K-12 school in a rural setting near Delhi. I now manage a staff of 80+ including some educators more than 30 years older than I am. Current student strength is 800+ and growing.
All required affiliations and systems are in place and the term loan is paid off.
Now I'm looking to do an MBA either to switch into consulting for the non-profit/ education sector or to build another start-up in the technology for education sector and scale it up to reach rural schools all across India and other developing countries.
I think a full time MBA will help me to consolidate what I have learned so far.
Schools I'm thinking about:
Since I'm 30 already, my strategy is to apply at 2 stretch, 2 target and 1 safety schools. I would appreciate if you could suggest which ones I have the best chances with.
Right now I'm thinking about Stanford, Columbia, Kellogg, UCLA, Haas & ISB Hyderabad (Safety).
Since my work history is unconventional for IIT graduates, it would be a great help if I could get an evaluation.
Thanks
08 Jul 2015, 20:16
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hello,
Thanks for your post. You have a lot of strengths going for you thus far, namely...
-IIT grad; wondering about your GPA... did you translate it to US? It appears low for your class rank but you can leave it as-is vs translating as the schools will do that themselves and your translation may not be completely comparative.
-likely high GMAT (though tbd)
-successful experience establishing your own start up-- this can be a huge plus, especially if you really illustrate what you've learned from this and thus the perspective you'll bring to the classroom
-NGO involvements (and the more you can speak to your passion and why you've gotten involved, the better)
-music experiences are an interesting example of what you are involved in outside of work and a demonstration of your commitment as well
-your reasons for the MBA seem to make sense with your story overall
As for weaknesses, nothing glaring (except for the GPA slightly as translated); there are a lot of Indian engineering grads but your experience since then sets you apart from that group in many ways. As for schools, your overall plan makes sense. Maybe then, 2 schools in the top 5-8 or so, and 2 in the 5-20 range? There are a lot of factors to consider. Stanford is obviously the toughest overall so really challenging for anyone... but also makes sense given your background and goals with their ties to education. Columbia also makes sense with your goals. Maybe you'd want to look at Yale ? Beyond ranking and selectivity you want to do your research and ID what schools you feel you have the best fit with. For more on choosing schools, check out our free download at: https://info.mbamission.com/Selecting-Yo ... ram-E-Book.
If you'd like to chat further at any point, we do offer free 30 minute consultations at https://www.mbamission.com/consult/. Let us know how else we can help at any point! Good luck!
Thanks for your post. You have a lot of strengths going for you thus far, namely...
-IIT grad; wondering about your GPA... did you translate it to US? It appears low for your class rank but you can leave it as-is vs translating as the schools will do that themselves and your translation may not be completely comparative.
-likely high GMAT (though tbd)
-successful experience establishing your own start up-- this can be a huge plus, especially if you really illustrate what you've learned from this and thus the perspective you'll bring to the classroom
-NGO involvements (and the more you can speak to your passion and why you've gotten involved, the better)
-music experiences are an interesting example of what you are involved in outside of work and a demonstration of your commitment as well
-your reasons for the MBA seem to make sense with your story overall
As for weaknesses, nothing glaring (except for the GPA slightly as translated); there are a lot of Indian engineering grads but your experience since then sets you apart from that group in many ways. As for schools, your overall plan makes sense. Maybe then, 2 schools in the top 5-8 or so, and 2 in the 5-20 range? There are a lot of factors to consider. Stanford is obviously the toughest overall so really challenging for anyone... but also makes sense given your background and goals with their ties to education. Columbia also makes sense with your goals. Maybe you'd want to look at Yale ? Beyond ranking and selectivity you want to do your research and ID what schools you feel you have the best fit with. For more on choosing schools, check out our free download at: https://info.mbamission.com/Selecting-Yo ... ram-E-Book.
If you'd like to chat further at any point, we do offer free 30 minute consultations at https://www.mbamission.com/consult/. Let us know how else we can help at any point! Good luck!
