Request for Profile evalution

Question

I'm Android Application Module Lead & developer with an extensive 43 months experience. I am looking forward to pursue an MBA next year and plan to apply for various programs in the Fall 2014 intake. I would be grateful if anyone can evaluate my profile and assess my chances of admission.

Demographics: Indian- Male - 26 years - IT Analyst
Academics: Bachelors in Computer Science, 2009. (GPA Approx 3.5)
GMAT: 680(Q48 V35)

Work Experience:-(Jun 09 - Dec 09): 6 months as an Entrepreneur. Planned to start Dell Laptop store but business plan failed.
-(Dec 09- Present): 1)Played roles of Android Application developer , module lead and delivery lead handling various projects for the past 43 months .
2) Lead a team of 16 people to develop Enterprise Mobile Application.
3) Have 6 Android Applications in Google Play Store developed by our team. ( 2 of them are listed in Top 10of Google Play Finance Category(UK))
4) Specialize in Mobile Banking Domain.
5) Have worked for 7 months at London,UK for a very popular Banking Client, leading and developing revolutionary mobile application.

Key Skills:
- Leading teams and developing Android Applications .
- Involved in business development activities in mobile consulting and also in recruitment process.

-Decent Extra Curricular
-Decent social volunteering experience.

Targeting
R1 of 2014 fall intake

Colleges Chosen:
1) NUS
2) Nanyang
3) Rotman
4) Mays Business School
5) Stanford( Not sure why I choose Stanford

)

Post MBA Target:
I want to work in Finance domain and want to work as a Investment Banker.

Can anyone assess whether the schools I have chosen are suitable for my profile and are likely to aid me in achieving my career goals.
Can Someone also suggest some schools in USA , UK & Canada which i should apply to ?

) Post MBA Target: I want to work in Finance domain and want to work as a Investment Banker. Can anyone assess whether the schools I have chosen are suitable for my profile and are likely to aid me in achieving my career goals. Can Someone also suggest some schools in USA , UK & Canada which i should apply to ?

essaysnark · Answer

Hi RK - we'd be happy to give some suggestions but before we do, can you please shed some light on why you've got those initial schools on your list? You already admitted you don't know why Stanford is on there (you've got company - lots of people apply to Stanford without knowing why - not recommended but common!) - can you articulate a few reasons behind each school, or at least the decision process that led you to select this list?

EssaySnark

EssaySnark

rocketRohan · Answer

Hi,
 Thanks for the quick reply. No I'm not admitted yet, gave my GMAT today.My considerations for selecting school :
- I'm working in India and will marry next month. According to my research Canada and Australia are the 2 countries which allow your dependent spouses to work so choose Rotman. Singapore at least allows your dependent to travel with you.

Please find below comments for each school I choose:
1) NUS & Nanyang : Closer to India. Not very expensive like most of US Schools. Chances of getting scholarship. 
3) Rotman : Have read that Rotman has good Financial Alumini Base. 
4) Mays Business School : Low fees and Average GMAT Score. 
5) Stanford( Not sure why I choose Stanford )

Can you please suggest schools considering the above criteria and my GMAT score ?

essaysnark · Answer

Congrats on getting the GMAT out of the way; now you're in for the real fun of the application itself. ;-)

We didn't say you were admitted; we said you had admitted you didn't know re: Stanford. We strongly recommend not bothering with Stanford unless you can easily and clearly articulate why you want to go there. They are the second-hardest school on the planet and one of their essays is in contest for the most difficult one to write. If you are clueless why they're on the list then you're just setting yourself up for a lot of work and a no-go in the end. Save the effort and money and put it towards a school that you're excited about. On the others, we can appreciate choosing a school for a lower tuition, however any good school is going to have a high ROI, both in hard economic terms and also in all other advantages that the business school opportunity provides. Using cost as a selection metric is fine but there should be other things that go with it - like industry/specialization, employment opportunities, etc. Keep digging into this list to make sure that the schools you're choosing will meet your needs on all fronts. MBA programs are not interchangeable, there's a lot to learn about each one and that's really the only way to make an informed decision. To your main criteria: EssaySnark is no expert in immigration issues but we had thought that international students could bring their spouses to the U.S. and that's what the government seems to say . Your profile is very common, there will be lots of others "like you" applying, so finding the right school and being able to explain why you want to go there can go far in helping them see value in your application. We're not trying to suggest that you would not be a fit to any of the schools you named - including Stanford. But there's some room for improvement in the methods you're using to select your targets. You should be focusing on your post-MBA goals and which schools are best to help you achieve them, then filter out schools for which you might not be qualified based on the elements of your profile, then look at things like geography, then cost, etc. Maybe these schools will turn out to the the right ones for you or maybe you'll ditch all of them and find something else. We had a guest post on the EssaySnark blahg on Friday with some advice from someone who got in last year, maybe you'd like to read what they had to say . EssaySnark

rocketRohan · Answer

Thank you again for informative reply. As suggested by you and the links are also very useful. I'll definitely comeback to you once I'm done with more research. One last question :  Should I take gmat again???  My practice Set scores over the past 2 months are below. This is the highest I've ever scored in any CAT and I'm definitely worried whether retake would help me.

Exam: Q V O
GMAT Prep-1 47 23 580
MGMAT 1 44 28 590
MGMAT 2 42 31 590
MGMAT 3 45 34 650
MGMAT 4 46 33 640
MGMAT 5 44 31 610
GMAT Prep 1 46 33 640
MGMAT 6 43 35 640
MGMAT 1A 43 37 660
MGMAT 2A 48 31 640 
Grockit 46 36 650 
GMAT Prep 2 45 31 620

essaysnark · Answer

Hmmm... tricky question. Given that history, your 680 score with that breakdown looks pretty darn good. You definitely should not retest if you don't think you can do any better than that; having a second score that's at the same level doesn't help, and if it were to go down, then obviously that would suck.

There's lots and lots of good schools that are open to candidates with a score like yours - including potentially some of the best ones - but coming from your demographic background, it can be quite difficult to break into those upper-tier programs (Harvard, Columbia, Kellogg, etc.). Not impossible, but much more challenging. The first four on your initial list (excepting Stanford) should be do-able with your current score; that score shows that you're qualified and can handle the material. So if you are comfortable in aiming for schools like that then go for it with what you got.

Besides, the essays always take much longer than people expect, so now is a good time to be shifting focus in that direction.

EssaySnark

rocketRohan · Answer

Yeah you are correct. Somehow I peaked on GMAT day it seems. Thanks for your help.

ErinaApphelp105 · Answer

Hi Rohan,

Other than Stanford, rest of the b-school seems realistic and should be within your reach. To gauge your chances in other b-school(s), you may click to the  https://www.apphelp.co.in/Bschool-selection.htm

To get some more clarity on b-school application process and inputs from top b-school grads, kindly attend the webinar conducted by b-school alumnus. For more information and to register your name, click  https://www.apphelp.co.in/apphelp-alumni-sessions.php

Let me know in case of further queries.

Regards
Erina

rocketRohan · Answer

Thanks Erina. Will surely check teh websites you have mentioned.

One question : Is my profile good enough for ISB Hyderabad/ Mohali ?

Thansk in advance.

ErinaApphelp105 · Answer

Indeed.

Regards

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