Profile Evaluation Please :)

Question

Hi,

I just gave the GMAT (second attempt) and scored a 680 (Quant-49, Verbal-33). In my first attempt, I scored a 590 (Quant-44, Verbal-28). I took the first attempt without studying much and I was starting my first job at the same time. So I feel it is a considerable improvement.

I am planning to apply for MBA classes starting in Fall 2016 for R2.

My profile reads as follows:

GMAT: 680 
Work Experience: 16 months till date (Technology Analyst) at a Fortune 100 Company 
Graduation: Bachelors of Technology (Computer Science Engineering) in one of the most 
Undergrad GPA: 73% - First Class with Distinction (No system of GPA evaluation in my university) and aggregate is lower in terms of my previous academic credentials due to the location shift from US to India, but still managed to secure an ‘A’ grade

12th: 93.5% 
10th: 90.2% 
Indian Female - US Citizen (Age 23)

I was born and brought up in the United States and did my undergrad (Computer Science Engineering) in one of the most reputable universities. 
Extra-Circulars: 
 Took up responsibility as one of the main coordinating committee members of a National Level Technical Symposium organized by my university 
 Organized Cultural Programs and Sports Events (Inter college event) and led a marketing team of 8 members to bring in sponsors for the events 
 Participated in Bharatanatyam (Indian classical dance) competitions annually and won numerous awards 
 Taught at a government school with presentations for underprivileged kids (3-4th graders) about the importance of hygiene and sanitation 
 Led a group of 6 members for an awareness program regarding the Darfur Sudan genocide in various colleges 
 Managed other teachers and taught young students in a science workshop and prepared presentations and hands on scientific experiments for them on a weekly basis 
 Very interested in badminton and participated in my college’s team for intercollege competitions

Achievements: 
 Achieved President's Academic Excellence Award from George W. Bush for top ranking state exam results 
 Received gold medal for excellent performance in state exams 
 Selected to participate and present in Indian Science Congress (2010), in which my research project was viewed by the Chief Minister of the State and ex-President of India - My research project was based on a method in which rural drinking water could be filtered via UV Carbon Filtration 
 Selected to participate in State Level Mathematics Competition (Handpicked from school and represented region-1 among 8) and secured 4th place overall

Work Experience: 
• Responsible for Overall configuration of Saba for the clients and maintain the system roadmap 
• Identify ideas to improve system performance and impact availability and resolves complex technical design issues 
• Collaboratively work with product owners to integrate applications within the portal 
• Extend the collaboration capabilities of the platform through management of new custom functionality and add-ins 
• Release management process, including User Acceptance Testing, to ensure understanding of new functionality being introduced into the solution. 
• Define functional specifications and execute system enhancements as scheduled 
• Represent business in analysis, design, development, implementation and ongoing evaluation/enhancement of the system 
• Create documentation and participate as a reviewer and contributor in requirements design and estimation 
• Represent client’s business in analysis, design, development, implementation and ongoing evaluation/enhancement of the system 
• Strategic Planning and Execution basing on process matrices. 
• Achieve business and organization goals, visions and objectives. 
• Identifying problems, creating choices and providing alternatives courses of actions.

Achievements at Work: 
• Received 2 consecutive spot awards within my first year for Client Appreciation on my first 2 projects 
• Managed and organized the team’s monthly celebrations as well as outings and events (with the budget and scheduling) 
• Coordinated dances and hosted other events during cultural programs that took place at work

I want to work in Consulting post MBA and thinking to apply in R2 when I will have 18 months of experience, and can have the 2 years of work experience once matriculation. 
Some of the colleges which I have shortlisted are: 
1. McCombs School of Business (University of Texas at Austin) - Austin, Texas 
2. Tepper School of Business (Carnegie Mellon University) - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 
3. Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management (Vanderbilt University) - Nashville, Tennessee 
4. Kenan-Flagler Business School (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) - Chapel Hill, North Carolina 
5. Kelley School of Business (Indiana University) - Bloomington/Indianapolis, Indiana 
6. USC Marshall School of Business - Los Angeles, California

Should I retake the GMAT? Should I wait for another year to apply? Will I be able to increase the verbal score significantly in a limited time period?

Please do let me know on how I should head on

PersonalMBACoach · Answer

Thank you for the detailed post! Congrats on improving the GMAT and for accomplishing some impressive things during school and your career to date. While you certainly could apply with that score today to those schools, and have a decent shot at a number of them, I recommend taking the GMAT again if you think you could improve the score without too much work. Your demographic tends to score well on these exams, so even a 20-30 point jump would make a difference. If you have enough leadership experience, you could apply this year and pitch yourself as someone who has learned quite a bit in your different roles. That said, you would be at the lower end of experience so you would improve your profile with one more year. What does this mean? This means that this year, you have a slightly lower chance of getting into McCombs or Tepper, whereas Kelley, USC and even Vanderbilt are more reasonable. This is all reacting only to what I see above. If you want to discuss your profile in more detail, please reach out: scott@personalmbacoach.com

kodideepika · Answer

Thank you very much for the immediate response!

Yes I feel my verbal score is on the lower end. I was always focusing on verbal after my first exam but I got a better improvement in Quant. Do you think I can have a shot at improving my verbal to at least 37-38 in time for R2 for the colleges I have a reach at? I heard R2 is riskier, is that true? So the other 3 colleges that I have mentioned are within my reach, that makes me feel a little better than I'm eligible for some decent business school. :D Is my work experience considered very low? I was thinking of giving a shot at R2 at the colleges (USC and others) and see how it goes. Then in worst case, apply for R1 next year for 2017 intake for mentioned colleges. What do you suggest?

PersonalMBACoach · Answer

Your plan makes sense. It will be important that your story comes across very powerfully since you do have less experience. Yes, two years is on the lower end. I work with applicants every year who apply with two years of experience, but many of the successful ones tend to have higher scores.

Round two is not terribly different from round one and for someone with less experience, it makes more sense actually so I wouldn't worry about that.

You have time to retake the GMAT before round two deadlines assuming you have the bandwidth and personal time to study and apply to schools. Good luck and let me know if I can be of assistance.

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