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Hi Anchit,
You have a good overall profile with the work experience in a Fortune 500 company such as IOCL. With PSU background, you already stand apart from other over-represented categories of applicants such as “Indian IT male”. You have worked in sales which is a client-facing role. This is very unique for a candidate with PSU background as most people in PSUs don’t get to work with external clients/customers. You need to highlight these points in your application to create an impact on the admission committee.

Coming to academics, you have a decent track record in academics. It would be better if you can mention your 10th & 12th marks also. However, your GMAT score is below the average GMAT score of your target B schools. You can consider a retake and target a 720+ GMAT score.

With 6+ years of work ex, your profile is suitable for all the top B schools (ISB/IIM ABC) in India. You can also apply for top foreign universities such as INSEAD, NUS, Oxford Said. However, whether to pursue an MBA from India or abroad will depend a lot on your post-MBA career goal.

All the best!

Hi Sid,
Many of the applicants with PSU background like you have this apprehension that they have only engineering/technical experience which may not be relevant for MBA admission or Post-MBA career. This is not true. For example, in your case you have worked in shift operations which means you must have handled a large team and coordinated with different internal stakeholders (e.g. maintenance teams). Such people management skills can help you get a job as operations manager in top e-commerce firms such as Amazon, Flipkart etc after your MBA.

Your profile is suitable for top B schools in India such as ISB/IIM ABC. There is no specific cut-off GMAT score for getting admit from these schools. However, going by the average GMAT score of the batches every year, you need to target a 700+ GMAT score. You also need to highlight your PSU work experience in your MBA applications.

All the best!

Hi,
With your profile, you should target for a 700+ GMAT score for getting an interview call from top IIMs and ISB. Your extracurriculars are just average and it would be helpful if you can add some CSR work that you might have carried out while working in a PSU.

Given your experience in erection and commissioning of power plants, you can opt for project management or supply chain consultant roles in different industries such as E-commerce, IT, FMCG etc after your MBA.

All the best!

Hi Sajal,
You have a decent GMAT score and with this GMAT score, you have good chances of getting interview calls from the colleges you have mentioned. Working in different roles such as project management, contract management and CSR activities will add value to your application. You have also mentioned about a 2-year gap in your career. Work experience gap is generally not considered positively by the admission committee. But since you are from public sector background, you can pitch in differently. You got a commendable rank in the GATE exam and got into a top-notch PSU. In Govt/PSU sector, such career achievement is possible only through national level exams which take a lot of effort and time. We have examples of many such cases of successful candidates with work ex gap who have made it to top B schools. You need to show your application in a very different way to convince the adcom. There are other unique ways to turn this gap into your strength especially from PSU perspective.

Coming to the choice of the colleges, it will depend a lot on your post-MBA career goals viz whether you are looking for a career abroad or in India, the type of roles you want to get in (consulting, operations, general management etc). If you are eyeing for Indian B schools then ISB is a good option for you. For foreign B schools such as INSEAD (FT global rank 4), HEC Paris (rank 9), Rotman(rank 94), Ivey business school (rank 87), you satisfy the basic criterion in terms of GMAT score. However, you need to substantiate your GMAT score with a strong application, particularly for schools such as INSEAD & HEC Paris where admission is immensely competitive. Among Canadian B schools, Rotman is known for a good ROI while Ivey offers a fast-paced one-year program. Schulich is also a good option with campuses both in Canada & India.

All the best!

Hi Akhil,
With 6.5 years of experience in construction projects & operations in NTPC Ltd, your background is ideal for pursuing MBA in operations management. Following is a list of top B schools in USA & Canada that you can target for pursuing MBA in Operations Management -

USA
1. MIT Sloan (Avg. GMAT score: 727)
2. Tepper School of Business (CMU) (700)
3. Krannert School of Management (Purdue University) (634)
4. W.P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University (680)
5. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan (719)
6. Stanford University (734)
7. Scheller College of Business (Georgia Tech) (681)
8. Fisher College of Business (Ohio State University) (680)
Canada
1. University of Alberta - School of Business (612)
2. Schulich School of Business (York University) (670)

Coming to admission chances, your present GMAT score (710) is below the average GMAT score for top B schools such as Stanford, MIT Sloan and Ross. You can consider retaking your GMAT and improve your score by 20 or 30 points. If you are applying with your present GMAT score, you need to substantiate it with a strong application, for example, highlighting your unique experience of working in the largest power utility company of India. For other B schools that are mentioned above, you have an above-average GMAT score and have high chances of getting interview calls/admits. The chances are a bit higher for Canadian B schools as international students constitute a larger chunk of the batch (nearly 50%) as compared to US B schools where international students represent approx. 30% of the batch.

Criteria for getting a scholarship is very subjective and vary from college to college. Some B schools ask you to submit a separate essay for scholarship. There are multiple factors that play a role in getting a scholarship such as an applicant’s academic & professional background, type of work experience (profit or non-profit), leadership skills, the timeline of application submission etc. Above all getting a scholarship is less absolute and more relative i.e. it not only depends on your application but also on the rest of the applicants seeking a scholarship. Hope that helps.

All the best!

Hi Shubham,

Following are the key highlights of your profile -

1. You have strong work experience in operations and project management in a large PSU such as BPCL. This definitely adds value to your profile.
2. You have a very good academic track record which can help you put forward a strong candidature even with an average GMAT score like 700. However, you should aim for a 730+ score especially if you are eyeing for the top B schools in the US or Europe.
3. You have average extracurriculars and you may want to compensate it with some CSR/social activities you have been involved in while working at the grassroots level(e.g land acquisition ) in BPCL. Such experiences are greatly valued by the adcom in some B schools (e.g.Oxford) both from admission as well as scholarship perspective.

Coming to the choice of B schools, ISB, being an Indian B school would be your best bet as far as leveraging the BPCL brand is concerned. You have a strong profile for NUS /NTU although your work experience is slightly on the lower side when compared to the average work ex at these schools. The average work ex in top US & European B schools is also around 55-60 months. Targeting particular B schools depends on lots of factors such as your actual GMAT score, preference of stream (e.g. operations/ supply chain management), future career aspirations and work location etc. Based on the details provided (including mock GMAT score), following is an exhaustive list of B schools in the US and Europe that you can aim for -

US B schools -
1. University of Texas at Dallas
2. W.P. Carey School of Business - Arizona State University
3. Univeristy of Wisconsin- Madison
4. Mays Business School - Texas A&M University
5. Scheller College of Business -Georgia Tech
6. Olin Business School - Washinton University

European B schools -
1. Rotterdam School of Management - Erasmus University
2. Cranfield School of Management
3. Imperial College Business School
4. University of St. Gallen
5. Mannheim Business School

Hope that Helps. Feel free to register for a free admission counselling session if you have further queries.
All the best!

Hi mimoh,

Your concerns are very genuine. These doubts are among all the candidates with profiles similar to you. But, you will be pleasantly surprised to know that every year around hundreds of candidate with similar nature of queries and doubts compete for MBAs and most of them do end up living their dream.

You have completed the B Tech in 2012. Its not "too old" profile for these MBAs. As we write this answer, at least 5 candidates with work experience more than you are applying in these colleges through our help. and two of them have kids. There may be others whom we don't know.

The point being, this is very normal to have these doubts but they should be treated as passing by thoughts. You should not base your career choices on some unconfirmed data. The real data says that you can and you will gain tremendously out of MBA "even in this stage".

Having said that, as you know, every person is different. What you want from life is more important than "what is the trend". Placements are tougher than counterparts in private sector. But isn't that obvious? They have to shift/change role and position. You have to change sector also on top of that!! But by no stretch of imagination, the placements can be said to be bad. Now, lets talk about data. Even in colleges like A, B etc, every year around 5-10% students remain unplaced. And if you look at the profile of the candidates remaining unplaced, its mostly from private sector.

For the packages for your profile, its not an easy answer. Profile specific placement figures are not disclosed by colleges. But, definitely, you would be getting a package of 20+ even in worst of the case.

For the colleges that you have mentioned, you would need a GMAT of 670+.

Hope it helped. You can register for a free discussion with a mentor on our website, if you wish so!

Hi SINGLASAURABH,

Honestly, we cant frame any story with this information.

A story should include -
1. How you have excelled in the roles that you have played
2. What you have learned from your career experiences
3. What type of person you are and what you have learned from your personal experiences (including extra curricular)
4. What triggered you to do MBA?
5. Why "Strategy & Operations Consulting" is your goal and what will you contribute to these roles.
6. How your past learning - professional and personal is aligned with your career goal.
7. What USP you bring to the college?
8. Etc. etc.

Be clear with answers of these questions, then you can start framing "the" story.

For your particular query on career goal, yes, you can justify that. But really no one cares what your career goal is, adcoms are interested in knowing why is something your career goal. "The thought process of the candidate" is what is judged.

Hope it helped.

Hi phoenix2194,

Thanks for sharing your profile.

With the provided information, it seems marks and extra curricular will not help your case much in the admissions.
So the idea should be to identify things which you can improve as of now -
1) GMAT score - Aim even higher, 730-740 range. You will be in comfortable position with higher GMAT score, at any lower score, you will fall in risk zone as other aspects marks, extra curricular etc will not be able to help you. Although candidates qualify at even 680 GMAT in ISB, but then chances of converting reduce. So while you are preparing, aim high.
2) Your Essays and Interview - Your essays and interviews have about 60% of the total weight-age in admissions. You need to prepare very well for them.
3)Extra - Curricular - See what you can do, NGOs are the easiest thing to do, if they don't demand much engagement. Otherwise, putting a lot of effort in extra curricular at this stage where you need to prepare for GMAT along with hectic work in sales, doesn't make much practical sense.

Do prepare well, aim high. Every profile is unique, just you need to play on your strengths.

Hope it helped.

Hi PSUTOPRIVATE,

My GMAT is 690. I have worked in IOCL for 6 years in sales.

My undergraduation is from NIT warangal with CG 8.62

I want to apply for IIMA, IIMB and ISB. What chances do I have? Is there any chances in foreign universities?

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Hello team TopTierMBA,
This is a private thread maintained by PSUtoPrivate. As a courtesy, admission consulting teams that are active in GMAT club don't post on another team's private thread. Hope you will avoid such post in future.
Good luck!

Hi. I have worked in NTPC for close to 7 years. I have worked in shift operations. I would like to know if my profile is suitable for MBA admission in Indian colleges or not? My concern is that I have engineering experience. I am yet to take the GMAT. Also can you please tell me what GMAT score do I need to get into top B Schools in India. Also what kind of job roles can I expect after MBA?

Hi PSUTOPRIVATE,

Sure. Thanks for letting us know.

Cheers!
Team - TopTier

Hi PSUTOPRIVATE,
Thanks for the detail analysis. I was worried about sales role in PSU, your answer helped.
My 10th and 12th marks are 86% and 84% approx.
I will try to improve GMAT but I am not sure if I can improve. Are my chances realistic in this score in Indian colleges?
Should I even consider foreign universities considering my PSU background?

hi
i have over 6 years of experience in BHEL. I have handled erection and commissioning of thermal power plants in India. I am from electrical engineering background.

I am targeting Indian MBA colleges like IIMs and ISB.

I have 92% in 10th ICSE
and 90% in 12th ISC

I have completed my engineering from state govt. college.

I have won inter and intra college debate and extempore competitions. I also have awards for inter college fests in robotics from IITs.

Please evaluate my profile and suggest a good GMAT score. I would also like to know what are the roles i could target for after MBA

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Hi PSUTOPRIVATE,
I have 7.5 years of work experience in Steel Authority of India Ltd. I got 91% in 10th and 88% in 12th. I have done my B.Tech from NIT Rourkela with a CGPA of 8.9. I have just started my preparation for GMAT and not sure whether I will be able to apply to top B schools in India before the R1 deadlines. I would like to know if there is any advantage for applying in R1? Also, what GMAT score shall I target to get a call from ISB/ IIM ABC?

Hi,
There are some direct and indirect benefits of applying in R1. First, you need to understand how the admission process works. Top B schools strive to have a diverse batch profile in order to promote peer learning across domains and industries, thus improving the overall learning experience of the batch. Approximately 10 to 20% of the batch is constituted by Govt./PSU people. Some colleges exclusively mention the proportion of Govt/PSU sector representation in the current MBA batch. Now if this Govt/PSU ‘bucket’ is populated by enough candidates in R1 itself, then you are reducing your chances for getting an admit in R2. There are other direct benefits such as higher chances of getting a scholarship in R1.

Given the Covid-19 situation, the admission window will mostly be shifted this year from the usual timeline. So, you have enough time to prepare and take your GMAT before the R1 deadlines. You should target for a 700+ GMAT score for ISB/IIM ABC.

All the best!