Profile Evaluation GMAT 720 ( Q49 / V40 )

Question

Hi,

I seek frank evaluation of my profile. Any guidance, that would make my app stronger, will be highly appreciated.

Work Experience:

I have total of 6.5 Yrs of IT experience with 3 plus years of international exposure.

Current Employer:   : Wipro Technologies. (Total 3months)
 Current Role and Position : I am working as Associate Consultant at a pharmaceutical client, USA. Here I am doing consulting in Material Data Management project which includes material master data creation for Warehouse / Non-Warehouse / Raw / Hazardous / Non Hazardous materials in SAP ERP. My role involves transforming Material Management / product Management buisness requirements into functional requirements which are used by the technical team for solution designing.

Previous Employer  : Infosys Technologies ( 6 years and 2 months )
 Previous Role and Positions  : I have worked as Team Lead at various clients as a member of onshore teams. In my last project, I have handled a team of size 12 people ( both onshore and off-shore ). I was actively involved in the strategy planning for different solution implementations.

Career Highlights: 
1) Have return a organization wide utility that helped train new technical recruits in SAP ERP. 
2) Have been rewarded with SPOT AWARD as token of appreciation for my outstanding contribution to project.
3) Have played the role as Knowledge Management mentor across 6 locations in Infosys. My role included coordination among different teams across technologies for initiating knowledge management sessions and over seeing their execution.

Academics 
Bachelor Of Engineering in Bio Technology from Panjab University --- 65 %
12th CBSE -- 82%
10th CBSE -- 10%

Reason for seeking MBA: 
I am technology lover and gets very excited with new technology and closely follow their journey, right from the inception. This along with my career in IT software development has led to keen interest in product development and consulting. So with my MBA, I would like to enhance my career in more focused product development and promotion market. Over the period of career, I have written and promoted numerous tools and software for internal customers which have been widely accepted. So I want a program that helps me building sound understanding of technology product development and provide keen insight what goes in to their promotion.

Dream Schools   -- Not sure on Safe ones ( suggestion invited ) but have applied to ISB , Hyderabad recently.

University of California, Berkley HAAS  --> Would die to be here... This is right in the technology hub where most of the product inception happens.... This is my dream !!!

Tepper Business School  : I have researched and found, this school has focused Consulting recruitment and has most of it coming from IT. So this suits my after MBA aim of furthering my career in technology consulting.

I am open to any ideas and suggestions. Do let me know if I need to add more details to make things clearer for better evaluation.

Thanks ,
Sourabh Malhotra

bryantmichaels · Answer

Sourabh-

It seems you have all the right stuff for a run at your target scchools including a well thought out post MBA vision, a good GMAT score, and solid work experience. Having worked internationally will help you as well. Make sure you structure your story in a way that is consistent with a theme and compelling to the committee. Tell them why you are passionate about their school and not THAT you are passionate. Similarly, tell them WHY you work in your chosen field of technology and not just WHAT you have done to get where you are. This is a very common mistake of applicants. Remember, they are trying to get to know you and it will help you stand out if your story is interesting and memorable. Be passionate and i am sure you can leverage your experience and credentials to get some well deserved attention in the application process. Let us know if you need help pulling it together.

malhotrasourabh · Answer

Thanks Bryan for the encouragement and guidance.

I am still wondering when to apply, shall I go for 2013 fall or 2014 fall ?

There are few things that I am weighing to consider my options:

1) Retaking GMAT to put me in better position - I was scoring well in my GMAT practice test, in the range of 740 - 760 , but in the GMAT i scored low in the Quant ( 49) which pulled my score down I guess.  Will getting a higher score( say 740 ) , puts me in a better candidate pool at top colleges ?

- I am thinking if I score of 740+ , I might have better shot at school like Kellogg, which is my dream. Though I will be happy with other that I have listed in my original post.

2) The other thing compelling me for fall 2014 is the time left for round 2 apps for fall 2013. As I have researched that round 3 is not good for international applicants in terms of financial aids and even visa issues.  Do you see this to be valid reason to deffer for 2014 fall ?

3) The thing that is compelling me to go for 2013 fall, is my age ( 28 at present ) and experience (6.5 yrs) . As I have heard that most top schools don't like people at the age of 30 and experience more than 8 yrs, which i would have if I apply for 2014 fall .  How much does age / exp impact the candidature at good programs ?

4) Student loan and financial aid are other grey areas. I am still researching on them and not sure I would be able secure them easily being a international student. As I have heard, an international student needs a co - signer and in my case, that can be tricky.  Can you provide some insight on this ?

If I could figure out these aspects, then I will be in better position to take decision regarding applications.

Let me know your insights and I would be happy if we could discuss this over a brief telephonic conversation tool.

Thanks ,
Sourabh Malhotra

bryantmichaels · Answer

1) 740 vs. 720 is marginal. You won't likely get any more attention for it, so it's not a valid reason to delay.
2) If you can't get applications done for R2, you might consider delaying until first round next year. i agree that R3 is quite competitive. No real reason why you can't complete at least a couple of current R2 applications, however, as most deadlines are still a month away.
3) Age can be a factor at some schools, but Kellogg and Duke for example, do not seem to have a negative bias against older applicants. HBS and Stanford, yes, but most schools look at 28-32 range as a good, mature candidate. I would think more about what you will achieve in the next year. If the answer is not much more than you have already accomplished, you should apply now.
4) Most schools make it difficult for international applicants to apply for loans and certainly the US federal government has restrictions as well. As for financial aid in terms of scholarship funds, there are schools with scholarship funds for international students and also some funds which are restricted to US citizens. You will need to reach out to the financial aid offices of your target schools to get the best and most current information about financial aid since it varies by institution. Keep in mind that many schools allow for work-study programs where you can reduce your tuition bill by being a GRE (Graduate Research Assistant) or something similar.

Hope this helps.

Profile Evaluation GMAT 720 ( Q49 / V40 )

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