Profile Evaluation Indian IT male- 710 GMAT

Question

Hi team, Please find my profile below : 1) Brief description of your full-time work experience. What do you do? => I have been working for 4.5 years(6 years at the time of matriculation) from in a couple of Global IT MNCs. I have grown from a role of developer to architect +Developer to Functional Application Consultant. Now I think I am growing and will grow if i stay here in IT but i think that will take its fair amount of time as i will have to go through the experience of learning impact of business strategy on IT strategy by working on ground roles. Now i want to do an MBA in Information Management where I can play a more macro role. I aim to work in a Tech firm after my MBA as a CIO or product manager . 2) Your GMAT. - 710 49Q 40V. 3) College info: Currently i am aware of Tepper, Stanford, MIT, HAAS, Anderson, Stern and McCombs. But i am struggling to find more colleges that are more aligned to was Tech Centric Programs, Consequently, i have aim to work in Silicon Valley (as my preffered destination). In Long term (5-6 years), i will be coming back to India to start a Business and stay with my family.

Please suggest me some programs outside US as well. 4) Significant college and post-college extra-curricular activities or community service, especially leadership experience. => Nothing Extraordinary in ECA. just some organizational stuff. I founded one startup which lasted for about 2 years but we were not able to continue. We had a quantum of growth (not in revenues but just in terms of business process) but we were not able to continue because of some personal issues. 5) Important certifications like CFA, CPA, FSA, or CA. Nothing. Just some technical certifications. 6) Your target programs. Please note that my experience is with the top MBA programs (FT, PT, EMBA, Sloan Fellows) around the world. If the programs you are targeting are not listed here, I may not respond due to lack of time. Full time Stanford, MIT, Haas, Anderson, Tepper, McCombs, Rotman, Schulicz - I am looking at Canada because of PSW prospects and my dependent will be able to work during my MBA. - Something inclined to Technology, innovation and Entrepreneurship in the order of preference. 7) When you plan to apply? Please specify round and application cycle, for example R1 2013-14 or R3 2012-13. => R1 2014-15 8) Your post-MBA goal. I am looking towards roles aligned to career path of CIO. Thanks. Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk

Admissionado · Answer

Hey dude,
Thanks for dropping by! Before I answer you, I got one question for you to fill out:

College info, number three was about YOUR undergraduate (or also graduate) studies. Which school. What GPA. What ranking. What major or degree.

Answer me that dude, and I'll get right back to you.

jtnkathuria · Answer

Sorry i missed that part out. I did my undergrad in Mechanical Engineering from Delhi College of Engineering (Delhi University). 
Inspite of Mechanical Engineering majot i have been working as an IT consultant and that shift of interest happen in those 4 years only.

I have had 69% in my undergrad.

Admissionado · Answer

Hey dude,
Thanks for dropping us a line here. And for filling out all your profile stuff. Overall, you have a good profile, although as an Indian/IT/Male you are in the toughest of toughest applicant pools. (I know, it's not your fault… but it's tough!). For me, the most exciting thing in your profile is your startup. You may think this doesn't mean thaaat much, but having run a startup for two years is a pretty great thing. And can make a fantastic story! So you shouldn't sell yourself short on this point, and this story seems to me to be your most unique aspect. I like it, man.

Your GMAT is very good, buuuut as an Indian candidate might be a liiittle low for Top 10 programs. It's already 10-15 points below the average (at Stanfor,d MIT), and Indian candidates are getting in with 730s, 750s, I even saw a guy with a 790 recently! Test scores are going up every year, and things are getting tougher in this aspect. Soooo if you think you can do better you MIGHT want to consider a retake. For some more thoughts about that, you can read a post I wrote a while back about retaking the GMAT: to-retake-or-not-to-retake-that-is-the-question-indian-153716.html

Your biggest weakness in your profile is your School/GPA. As an Indian candidate graduated from a non-IIT with so-so grades, things will be tough here. Maybe you can take some coursework to make up for it? Or again, a higher GMAT might help there too.

Other than that, as I am going through your profile, honestly, I am looking for more stuff - more extra curriculars, more hobbies, more volunteer work, more leadership. First of all, you may have more than you think, and second of all you still have time to work on things, you have seven eight months to add one or two things to your profile and strengthen it!

Overall, for what I am seeing here, your school list is a wee bit on the ambitious side. Stanford will be a far stretch as will MIT. Haas, Tepper and Anderson will be somewhere between stretch and competitive. And Mccombs, Rotman and Schulich should be competitive for you. As for other good Tech schools, look into Cambridge Marhsall and Georgia Tech. They might all be good options.

If you have any other questions, just drop a line,
Best,
Jon

jtnkathuria · Answer

Thanks a lot Jon. As far hobbies go, i have done solo skydives and i have level 1 parachutist certificate. Don't know if that helps but i did it because i was afraid of heights.

Regarding GMAT, i am struggling to find time for even TOEFL so i am not really sure if i will be able to give GMAT in coming year. Though, i know i can do better in Quants for sure but time is real issue as of now.

Does number of years of experience not help in IT pool? I really like Haas program from Tech perspective and would like to get in there even if it takes one more year. I am also associated with one social organization but i would not delve on it now as i have just started with it.

Could you suggest any other good tech programs outside US and how about Rotman placements in the some good tech profiles?

Also, you said that Mccombs, Rotman and Schulich are competitive. i see that i do not have any absolute safe program which seems bit of an issue to me so i would appreciate your suggestions here.

Thanks again.

Admissionado · Answer

Hey dude,
That skydiving thing sounds like it has some awesome potential. Overcoming your fears. Its a good story. Gotta see how that works out and fits in with your other stories too.

Regarding your next question, let's ssay that as far as "Tech programs" go, I don't think you need to necessarily concentrate on tech programs solely. I mean I always tell candidates, and this is honest truth - just simply go into the best school you can get into. It doesn't matter if they specialize in Tech, Healthcare, Finance, whatever. You can find a good tech job graduating from any school. I don't know offhand about Rotman's placements in tech, and the best thing there is for you to speak with Indian students and alumni. They'd have a real on-the-grand experience that would be very helpful for you.

Not having a safe school is a problem. Very approximately, given your profile, like I wrote, I think your sweet range would be about schools ranked 15-30. So that means a safe school would be somewhere in the 30-50 range (about). So see if there are any schools which interest you (in terms of program or placements or location or whatever) and add that to your list.

Hope this helps!

Profile Evaluation Indian IT male- 710 GMAT

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