Please Evaluate my profile

Question

Hi,

Profile: 
Undergrad GPA - 85% in Engineering from India. (must be 3.6 GPA)Topped the department in university. 
Gmat - 1) 620 (q-50,v -24) 
2) 680 (q-47,v-37) 
3) 710 (q-49,v-37) 
Work Exp: 1) As a marketing head in a chemical agency for 6 months after undergraduation. 
2)For past 3 years working in a well-known IT MNC. Currently I am the team lead of 7 members managing a project worth $50 million. I have been promoted once in my tenure and have strong recommendations. I have won few awards at work and have completed few certifications provided by my company. The certifications are related to finance.

Extra curric - Good(Running an ngo along with friends for the past 3 years).

Post mba goals : Consulting in finance/Strategy

I had applied to Ross last year in round 2 after my second gmat attempt of 680. But I was dinged without an interview. Since the bar for the GMAT in my work category(Indian IT) tends to be higher, I retook the Gmat few days back and have got 710. But I am not satisfied as i was expecting ATLEAST 730. I am also confused whether I should retake the Gmat 4tth time!!!Few people in blogs are advising me to retake it fourth time as they are saying that the competition is tough among Indian IT students. If I give a shot again at Gmat I am sure, I will end up getting 730-750.

So please let me know whether 710 is sufficient to get into top 15 b schools in US considering my IT background. Also whether the adcom people would consider taking gmat 4th time as a negative aspect.

Thanks.

Admissionado · Answer

The competition is tough, especially among Indian tech fellas, and especially amongst those who want to move into finance.
As for advice on whether you should take it again, I've posted this before a bit, but it depends on a few things:
a) how old you are (i.e. Would being one year older harm your chances?)
b) your real life situation (i.e. is this the perfect time for you to go because you just got married, or can you reasonably stay on because you will get a promotion anyway)
c) how much under your potential high score you are scoring
d) how close we are to deadlines.

So if you are gonna retake the test for a chance to MAYBE get 20 points more, forget about it. If, however you can hit a 770, go for it!

But I do have to say that it's not those 20 extra points that's gonna impress the AdCom, it's your essays, your stories, your passion, and what you have done. The tough thing with your applicant pool is not the GMAT but the similarity of profiles. You gotta stick out! It's the only way they will remember you and choose you.

kingkong5678 · Answer

Thanks for the reply.

1) Could you please explain a bit more on age point? How will being one yr older affect my chances? I am 24 now, will have 4 yrs exp when matriculating.

2) I know that increasing the score by 20-30 points will not improve the probability of getting an admission into top b schools as I have already crossed the 700 mark. But actually I was expecting more than 730 and so if I again prep gmat for a month I can score 750 or more. But I will not be in a position to apply in round1. That’s why I am confused whether to apply in round 1 with same score or to improve the gmat score and shoot for round 2. In both cases I will have same amount of time to prep the essays(2 months).

Admissionado · Answer

Yeah, don't worry about the age. You got PLENTY of time. The age point was for those that are nearing their 30s, in which case adding a year or two can reduce your chances significantly.

If you believe you can get a 750, and you are also prepared just in case you don't, I would say then retake the test. But have a plan B in case you don;t get the score you are shooting for.

Apphelp · Answer

Hi,

We would recommend retaking if you are very confident that you will land between 730-750. An increase of 2-40 points is good.

GMAT score is the only thing that you can change right now. Agreed that you might be able to apply to only 2-3 schools in R1 if you retake GMAT but then if you have a better score than you are giving yourself a stronger chance to what ever schools you are applying to ( even if you apply to fewer schools)

Apphelp Team

FutureWorks · Answer

Hello

Since you are aiming for top schools then a score above 700 is desirable. However GMAT alone won’t determine your chances of admission; beyond the academics will also help you in determining your candidature and your work experience plays a vital role as well. In general most of the Indian applicants are from engineering background with a good 4-5 years of work experience. So you would need to differentiate yourself from others .

Start thinking what makes you unique and what’s that ‘hook’ that will be key to your application. Make sure you follow the ‘show rather than tell’ principle so that the admissions committee could really understand your strengths and differentiating factors Although it is not just the work experience that counts but also what you did there like-what were your achievements, what initiative you took, what changes you drove in your workplace etc. So you need to ensure that in 3.6 years of work experience you have demonstrated the skills business schools are looking for. This could still put in a strong set of essays for you.

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