Profile Evaluation Request

Question

Hi everyone,

Would require profile evaluation, and I wish to apply for US| Europe and Canada B-schools. 
I am Indian male with engineering background 
Completed B.E. Chemical in 2017 from a top 20 engineering university in India
GMAT Score 670 Q50|V31 at my 3rd attempt at start of this month. Previous scores (600 & 580)

Work Experience - 
1.5 years at a pharma consulting firm ZS. Worked as an Operations Associate. I had been on client facing project and was able to achieve decent appreciation from my colleagues and seniors onshore. I was able to steer the project single handedly and was the SPOC for the same. In a short span of time I could work on different projects, one of which was with a very short deadline. I was appreciated for quick learning and turnaround for the project.

Since last 1 year I have been working at a travel startup as a Marketing Analyst. This got me an exposure to analytical side of business. I was able to quickly inject my inputs by starting some projects which lead to tangible benefits for the company. Seeing my inputs I was roped in one more team for my participation & started working with VP of marketing for some projects.
 
Extra curricular activities-
Ran numerous half-marathons and represented as a pacer of a 10 km run of a biggest held marathon in India last year. Lead around 100 people of my group in the run, created groups on social media to motivating them, conducted 1 on 1 practice sessions and track them to help them to complete the run in stipulated time. Also I was the only one so young to get selected in a pool of very competitive senior level management people (someone of them MD's & VP's of recognized firms). Received an appreciation mail by company's vice-principal to represent the company for the same.

Was active in trekking & environment clubs and departments in college. Conducted several treks to the most difficult areas of the western ghats in southern India. 
Created a fitness club in college which had around 20 members from different batches, and regulated gym classes.

My post MBA plans are to get into MBB as I have experience working in a consulting firm previously and my long term plan is to startup in the fitness field.
I want to know my chances at top 20 B-schools. What are my chances if I apply in R3/R4 for colleges such as USC-Kenan Flagler, Rotman. 
Overall what colleges can I target in next rounds?

Thanks

Admissionado · Answer

Hi aytidagupta,

Thanks for sharing your profile with us!

I'll address your question about R3 / R4 applications first. Generally, we do not advise candidates to apply in those rounds unless they have a very specific reason for having waited that long, such as having recently been discharged from military service. Otherwise, most spots in incoming classes are already filled by then, and admissions committees (AdComs) are inclined to ask why candidates didn't complete their applications earlier in the year if they already knew they wanted to enroll in business school. You'll usually be better off applying to any school in R1 or R2.

Regarding your competitiveness for Top 20 US programs, the first thing to note is that your current GMAT score is lower than desired. Ideally you want to score at or above the average score for any given program's incoming class, which for the Top 20 programs generally translates to the 700-730 range. If you've already taken the GMAT 3 times, you'll want to ask yourself how much room for improvement is left. That being said, you did increase your score significantly in your 3rd sitting compared to the 1st and 2nd sittings, so you're the one who's best positioned to decide whether a 4th attempt is worth it.

Aside from your GMAT score, your other main challenge is to provide a clear, compelling narrative about your career arc -- where you've coming from, why business school now is the logical next step, and where you're heading. You don't have quite as much work experience as the majority of Top 20 applicants whom you'll be competing against do, and your past jobs have been somewhat scattered rather than highly focused (operations for a pharma consulting firm is very different from marketing for a travel start-up). Why did you switch from your first job to your second? Why do you want to switch again to a fairly different field (MBB consulting may have certain similarities to pharma consulting, but AdComs might ask why you left pharma consulting in the first place if that's what you now say you want to do)? What you want to avoid is giving AdComs the impression that you jump from one thing to the next without continuity or logic -- you want to convince them that the career moves you've made so far make sense and are somehow connected, and you want to convince them that you've gained skills and knowledge pre-MBA that will be transferrable to your post-MBA career. If you're open to deferring your applications for another year, you may be someone who really benefits from an additional year of work experience under your belt.

I hope that's helpful! If you'd like to chat more, feel free to reach out to us on www.admissionado.com. Best of luck!

Doris

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