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shriavi
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Advice Needed. 21 M, Fresher, Graduate 22 Feb 2015, 10:19
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Hi,
I am currently studying in Mechanical Engineering Department at one of the older IITs (Indian Institute of Technology), India (Among Top 3 Engineering Institutes of India) and will be graduating in 2015 with Dual Degree (B.Tech.-M.Tech. Integrated 5 years).
I will be joining American Express as a Risk Analyst after my graduation in India.

My Past Records :
1. 10th : 89.8%
2. 12th : 81.6%
3. B.Tech. : 8.6/10, M.Tech. : 9.33/10
4. Did my summer internship at University of British Columbia, Canada.
Although I am from Mechanical Stream , I have done some courses related to Finance/Economics online.

Achievements :
1. Academic Excellence Award by IIT Kanpur for being in top 7% for 2013-2014.
2. Cleared IIT-JEE (Entrance Exam for IITs) with All India Rank - 900 among 0.5 million students.
3. Rank-1 in some School level and District Level exams conducted during the school before joining college. Although I don't think these matters much.
4. I might be able to publish 1 or 2 research paper at the end of my master's thesis.

Extra Curricular :
I have been involved in some activities and held some positions of responsibility during my graduation, however they are not very impressive. I also used to teach in NGO running in my college but there is no certificate etc.

I am 21 right now and looking to go for an MBA after 4-5 years. I want to join consulting firms after MBA.
I want to know whether my current profile good enough to get into the Tier-1 B-Schools in US ?
If yes then how should I proceed and build my profile ? What things are missing from my profile and what should i focus on to further strengthen my profile ?
Is American Express good enough ? Should I join some NGO too ??
Please guide me.
Thanks
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GeneralEducation
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Advice Needed. 21 M, Fresher, Graduate 22 Feb 2015, 16:52
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Hi shriavi,

Yes, your profile is good enough to apply for MBA programs after 4-5 years. Your academics and extra curricular are really impressive. However, there are few things you can work on to build up your profile:

1) Take initiatives on work and try to gain some leadership experience
2) Target for 700-720+ GMAT Score
3) Join some NGO
4) Start doing some ground work for the B-Schools good for consulting. There are few B-Schools good for consulting like - Wharton, MIT Sloan, Columbia, Chicago Booth, Yale University, Duke Fuqua, Michigan Ross and Darden etc.
5) Start making contacts with the alumni of your targeted B-Schools
6) Start attending MBA related workshops and seminars

You may also gauge your chances of getting admission to top business school by trying this amazing tool https://bit.ly/1C9o2Md

You can also get your free profile evaluation done by the top Ivy league B-School grads during the webinar conducted by General Education. For registration and more details visit our website https://www.genedmba.com/webinars-seminars/

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
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MG4MBACrystalBall
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Advice Needed. 21 M, Fresher, Graduate 25 Feb 2015, 23:37
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Dear Shriavi,

Neha has made some pretty relevant points. If you are looking for a structured input as to how to shape you career, feel free to reach out to us. We have recently launched a service that will ideally suite your requirements

Cheers,
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CriticalSquare
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Advice Needed. 21 M, Fresher, Graduate 03 Mar 2015, 10:54
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Hi there, thanks for sharing the details of your profile.

The academic profile you shared doesn’t rule you out of tier-1 schools in the US. I’d also set an aggressive goal to score in the 730-750 range on your GMAT as well if tier-1 is important to you. Publishing papers would be a great plus too! Even if you were to manage to achieve all of the above, there is much MUCH MORE that you’ll need to develop over the next 4 years.

First, think about what your passion is. What interests you? What drives you? Try and find an EC activity that adds value to your community while stays in line with your interests – this is most compelling way to build a cohesive story. It very well could be an NGO, but don’t limit yourself to that, there is a lot out there you can do.

Your role at AMEX as a Risk Analyst is a decent start, but that alone is not enough. You’ll need to show rapid advancement within your firm, or contribute to AMEX for a couple years and find the next opportunity elsewhere, but the key here is to show progression (via accomplishments, promotions, and added responsibility).

Maintain your relationships, as you progress in your career, make sure you work to identify who the best people will be to write your recommendations. Nurture these relationships so when the time comes, it won’t be a significant effort to get them onboard. That’s not to say you need divulge your desire to get an MBA to your manager today, but make sure you keep them close along your transition.

Hope this information helps. Best of luck on your journey! Let us know if we can help along the way.

Bhavik
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Arjunemerson
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Advice Needed. 21 M, Fresher, Graduate 17 Apr 2015, 01:12
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From the academic stand point, you seem to be accomplished. But the top tier schools would like to see what you are doing with what you have studied. If you can demonstrate that you were, and still are, working for a larger cause, touching and uplifting human lives in some form, be it at a modest level or at a grand scale, you will be viewed as a top tier material. And if you do these regardless of what you will write in your essays, I think you will sound too genuine and inspiring to be ignored by the adcom. So, in short, making an impact is what that matters now.

Arjun
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Emerson Admissions Consulting