jaizen wrote:
Hi Linda/Paul,
Thanks for taking the time to look at my post. Could you please provide some feedback on the schools that I have chosen and the strength of my application?
Here is a quick summary:
Personal : 28/Male/Indian
Education: Engineering from Indian, non-elite school - 73% overall score
GMAT : 680(44Q,37V)
WE : 5 years part-time in Sales at family business before engineering in the Middle East; IT Consultant for a top Indian IT Consulting firm for 5 years in India and US, post engineering; 6 months working on own web startup and freelance IT Consulting projects in india, states and middle east.
EC : Lead CSR activities for the IT firm for 3 years; Local CSR activities through church; family fund for assisting economically weaker families marriages in India; American Red cross volunteer; sports @ college and work
ShortTerm PostMBA : Management or Strategy Consulting in technology domain
LongTerm PostMBA : Technology Start up.
Here's my assessment of Strengths and Weaknesses:
Strengths: Quick career progression while at IT Consultancy with demonstrated leadership positions(team leader with quasi-managerial role; wide variety of work such as software development, architecture, team leader, member of process consulting and business development teams; lots of self-starting examples @ work and personal such as inter-cultural heritage trainings, communications trainings, groups etc, church based activities etc; strong multi-cultural experience - worked in India, Middle-East and USA, speaks 5 languages fluently; great recos from clients and previous employers for the work I did/leadership demonstrated/impact of work on business etc.
Weakness: Low GMAT Score - taken it 3 times already. First time for fun, second time seriously(thats when i got 680) and third time was confident of clearing 720 but fell ill on the week of the exam and did terribly. So not sure if I should take it again although I am confident of clearing 720. Low GPA/percentage at under-grad. No significant external awards: Only recognition/awards from work. Published one paper though. Lots of technical and business certifications like Insurance, Six Sigma etc.
So here are my school-list breakup:
Super Stretch : Wharton, Stanford, LBS
Stretch : MIT, Columbia, Kellog
On Par : Duke, Berkeley, Cornell, Stern, ISB, Said(Oxford)
Safety : UCLA, UT-Austin, Yale, Judge(Cambridge)
I know there are A LOT of schools listed above. So I need to reduce the number. I am looking for schools that specialize in management and strategy consulting and strong in entrepreneurship. My dream school is MIT, but my low Quant/GMAT worries me.
Any advice, suggestions, feedback on my analysis?
Also, anything that I can do in the next 1-2 years that will super-bolster my chances for my stretch or super stretch schools??
Appreciate your help!
Regarding your analysis, I feel you are being a little optimistic. I would say that
Berkeley and
Stern are stretch programs. I would also say that while you may be competitive at
UCLA and
Yale, they are by no means safety programs for you. I agree with you that your
GMATis a weakness given your target programs. I don't see your GPA as a negative, although the no-name school isn't helping you. Furthermore, if you want strat consulting, many such firms will want to see a GMAT score that starts with a 7. If you feel you can raise your GMAT by 30+ points and want to have a good shot at the
top business schools on your list, then my #1 recommendation is to retake the GMAT. Given that you were sick last time you took, you should be able to raise it by taking it again.
My next suggestion, is that you shouldn't wait another two years to apply. More schools, including several on your list are actively recruiting applicants with less experience. Another two years will put you in the older applicant category and may make your acceptance less likely.
You may be interested in:
*
MBA Admissions for Older MBA Applicants*
Navigating the MBA Maze*
Best Practices for MBA Admissions WebinarBest,
Linda
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