Ask mbaMission

Hi,
I am Vivekanandan, Indian male, Age - 25, MBA aspirant planning to apply for Fall 2012.

Academics: I completed my B. Tech (UG) in Textiles from Anna University (State No.1) with 7.6/10 and M. Tech - Textile (PG) from IIT, Delhi (National No.1) with 7.2/10. I have 91% in both 12th (high school) and 10th (secondary level). I speak fluently in 4 languages and read & write 3.

Extra-curriculars: Held more than half a dozen responsibilities in the university level such as
1. Placement Representative of my department achieving more than 90% placement level,
2. Organizing Head for my department association which organized National level inter-college technical symposium, infra-department technical event and founded and published the first e-zine in our university.
3. Active member of Rotaract Club of our college, integral part Rotaract club of Chennai State.
4. Served as a volunteer and student organizer for 2 years in Rotaract club and organized state level inter-school culturals and science fair and Blood donation events and personality development cell.
5. Served as reporter for 2 years and Membership officer in the 3 year in the University magazine.
6. Student organizer in International Technical Symposium held at IIT.
7. Treasurer of the student society of our department in IIT.
8. Active leader in the political activities of our university.
9. Active participant in painting and literary events in school level and won many awards.

Sports:
State Chess champions for 2 years followed by silver in the third year.
State Judo Champion for a year followed by bronze medal the next year.
Active participant in the athletic and team events as well and won many awards in school level.

Work Experience: Chief Executive at a granite mining company (SME) founded by me and my father for the past 2 years. I look after the product marketing, Costumer management and Finance and also supervise the daily production activities.
Founder and Director of another firm which involves granite processing factory and exports as well starting from this month. I will be having a 3 years of work experience by 2012.
Once after my MBA, I have further plans of expanding my business, especially in the USA market, where the opportunities are huge for my field. At the same time, i would like to consider other options as well after MBA, if better choices are available.

I have given you a brief view about my profile.
1. What can I expect for my profile?
2. What are my chances of getting into top 10 B-schools in US and what GMAT score should I be aiming for?
3. Which universities should I be focusing on?

And please suggest me, how to proceed further on my GMAT and MBA process.

Thanks in advance.

With Regards,
VivekanandanSA

Hello Vivekanandan,

Thanks for your questions. I'll give you my best assessment, knowing that some of your questions would depend on information that we do not yet have (e.g., GMAT score).

Your GPA is on the low side, especially given that you come from an overrepresented demographic that has high GPAs. To your question on what to shoot for on the GMAT: I usually say 700 is a good target, but your demographic also tends to score disproportionately high on the test, so you would not particularly distinguish yourself as much as you would otherwise with a 700.

In terms of extracurriculars, you seem to have an outstanding track record in university, but the more recent the experience the better, and some schools ask outright in their essays for experience from the past 3 years. Hence, I would love to know how you have continued your broad range of interests and volunteer work since you have been out of university. When were you a chess and judo champion?

I think your work experience could be the strength of your application. Schools value entrepreneurial experience, and you have been a CEO for 2 years (you should clearly prove in your essays that you - and not you father - are truly the chief executive) AND you have founded and manage another company. Those are significant accomplishments that should showcase your ability to drive results and lead. If you can draw that out in your essays, I think your experience would move the needle. One point to pay attention to is that, since your company is not well known, you will really want to prove to the admissions committee that your company is a legitimate one, not just something that you and your dad put together on a whim or for application purposes. Facts and figures on sales, employees, growth, client base, etc. as well as a focus on your specific accomplishments will be key.

Moreover, I think you could paint a compelling picture that connects your valuable entrepreneurial ventures with your future goals. Demonstrate to the admissions committee why exactly you need an MBA to realize these ambitions. The stronger the connection, the more persuasive your case will be!

I hesitate to give too detailed an evaluation without your GMAT score and a better sense of your community/volunteer work, but I think the top end of the top 10 programs would be a stretch and that you could be competitive at programs like Ross, Fuqua, and Darden.

To answer your final question, it depends on the individual. Some applicants naturally excel at the GMAT; others enlist test prep services (in which case, I'd recommend Manhattan GMAT). In terms of essays, some applicants know specifically how they would like to connect their past to their future and how to best leverage their experiences; others go with admissions consultants.

Best of luck!
Brian

Hi Brian

Thanks a ton for your valuable comments & wishes.

Regarding the queries about the essay for experience from the past 3 years, I can't use the credits of being chess and judo champion, because those were in my school and graduate college days and in my post-graduate years, I had taken some positions where I can showcase my leadership abilities. But in case of the recent experiences, the only experiences I can draw from are from my business and have been away from the other sports & social activities mentioned earlier.
I have been into the Granites mining field for the past 2 years, the rarest, high risk and highly competitive field and I have made a successful business despite the facts that the housing market of US collapsed and also the competitors in my field have experience that is same as my age. I can pull up the figures showing the performance of my company in the 2010-11 comparing with other companies and the way I have carried out my business through the years. In the meantime, I have made course to venture into 2 more new fields as well.
So how bad will these missing out on recent experiences in sports & other activities affect my chances?
Moreover I did my graduation and PG in textiles major and right now I am into granites field.
How will this appear on my cv?(I consider this a better example to demonstrate my managerial capabilities).
I would like to go on with my business after MBA in a bigger & better way but would like to consider other options as well. But I still have second thoughts about going for MBA next year, since the opportunities available in India are numerous right now. All I want from a MBA is the bigger brand of the school and the kind of exposure and training that would help me further in my business. So I don't want to settle for something lesser.
So what are the schools that can really help me in this aspect?
And what should I be doing to improve my chances of getting into it?
Do you think the brand IIT would make any difference in my application, in comparison with the huge pool of Indian applicants?

Thanks in advance,

With Regards,
VivekanandanSA