Is it even sane to apply based on my profile??

Question

Hello.

Please give me your two cents whether it is even sane to target these schools based on my profile.
(I am considering to apply for next year batch that is Aug 2012)

Moreover,Please advise on-->
1)what kind of schools I can get?? is my present set of schools way out of the league??
2)What can be the weakest part in my application and how to improve that??
3)which admission consultant handles a lot of application like mine??

bakfed · Answer

I think you have a good profile. You're still young, but it seems like you've already got a few things under your belt, botn in and outside of work experience. Your marks are extremely good, which is awesome because of your over-populated ethnicity for b-school admissions. You also got a great list going already (from stretch to good spots: Stanford --> Cornell). It really seems to me that you've done a good research already on the schools and know what you're talking about. Again, you're still young; apply and if you don't get in, you always have next few years.

To answer your questions:
1. I think you've chosen your schools well. Obviously, Stanford isn't going to admit everyone and even if you have the best of best grades, you'd still need some luck in your application. But it's not unachievable. Stanford's average age is skewing towards a younger population and as long as you have something to offer and make yourself stand out, there's a chance.
2. On the ontrary to Stanford, everyone else is still leaning more towards an older generation (age 25-28). With that said, you'd be competing a spot against a 4 or 5 years of WE guy from some corporate firms. So your weakest spot is really your younger age but if you can convince the ADComs "Why now", you'll be fine.
3. Don't know enough about admission consultants to answer this question justly.

meandul88 · Answer

Thanks for the reply.

But don't you think that I lack considerably in the Extra-Curricular.(clubs/organisations)

And I think I lack those leadership.. stories.. to write about.

I wonder if all the students.. of these BSchools.. were leading awesome teams why and how would they find time for extra-curricular work.. and why would they leave the job and join a BSchool.

So am I lacking considerably in this context.. clubs/organisations ??

bakfed · Answer

I think people put too much emphasis on how much weight extracurriculars can carry. Sure, they help, but to what extent? Should it trump the academic side of things? I hope not. A lot of times it's too hard to quantitatively analyze how much you've contributed to extracurricular activities. Let alone the fact that a lot of these obscure, ambiguous clubs that are out there may not have a national brand. How would one go about verifying your work at these smaller, regional ones? Truth is, it's just a bit too hard to really consider extracurricular activities/organizations due to the extent of your work at these clubs. With that said, you should still try to find something to your liking and put your heart into a club or two. For me, I work very diligently and closely with my church and I had several actionable items that I can and have discussed wtih AdComs that could shape me into a better leader. Don't compare yourself to the other applicants in regards to extracurricular activities. I think that's a deadend that'll eventually fire back at yourself mentally. What you want to compare is your work experience, your grades, and your GMAT score. Afterall, these are the tangible items that are published by schools. In the meantime, if you find something to your liking that's outside of your work, by all means and join. Don't just join stuff to buff up your resume because at the end of the day, your heart's not there and you won't have much meaningful items to discuss anyway. In terms of why leaving "status quo" to take on a $150,000-debt for b-school, that's a different answer for different person. This is exactly why most schools will ask you, either explicityly or indirectly, "why MBA"? What do you expect to get out of this MBA and what makes you think this "MBA" will help you get there are questions that you'll answer in essays and in interviews. I know a person who's already making 6-figures, but decided to quit his job for b-school. When probed why, he basically said he wanted to do something else in his life and that it's more about the quality for him than about the paychecks that he's getting. Everyone's different and you'll be able to know why an MBA soon enough.

Is it even sane to apply based on my profile??

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