Ask Veritas Prep Admissions Consulting

Hi,

I am a 23 year old male from Chennai India. This is my profile:

Academics
1. GMAT - 760 (Q50 V42)

2. Chartered Accountant (CA - similar to CPA)
Level 2 - All India Rank 40
Level 3 - All India Rank 26
Both of the above put me in the top 1% of those who wrote the exams (around 60,000 each level)

3. B.Com (3 year degree, simultaneously done along with CA i.e just need to write the exams with classes being optional) - First Class

Work Experience
Chartered Accountancy requires 3.5 years of full time work (called Articleship in CA lingo)in an audit firm.
I did mine at PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Chennai between 2007 and 2011.
1. During the 3.5 years of articleship - Was part of the audit teams of many big clients such as Ford, Cognizant and other multinational companies. Solely completed the audit of a few small companies in the third year, with direct interaction with the Partners.
The work I did in SOX assignments during this period was appreciated by review teams from PwC UK and US.

2. Post completion of the 3.5 years and qualification as a CA -
a. Joined back PwC as an Associate in September 2011. Was given the responsibility of solely handling the audit of the Revenue process, a high risk and key process of an SEC Listed entity, for the SOX assignment (Revenue of around $6billion). Involved high amount of interaction and coordination with PwC US and quality of work was highly appreciated.
b. Promoted to Assistant Manager on 1st April 2012, in a short span of around 6.5 months, which is one of the fastest promotions from Associate to AM, also making me one of the youngest AMs (at 23).
c. Part of a team of around 20, with responsibility of reviewing the work done by Associates and those doing their Articleship, and also coaching them.
d. Designated the L&E Champion of my team (Learning and Education), responsible for identifying training needs for the team, organizing and/or conducting technical sessions and ensuring the team is updated technically. Complete responsibility for structuring the exercise for the team was given, with monthly reporting to the PwC Assurance Head of South and West India.

Achievements
a. Was awarded the GEM (Going the Extra Mile award) at PwC, during my articleship, for excellent performance, commitment and documentation skills. This award is given to exceptional performers across designations upto the Manager level.
b. My performance has been rated as 'Beyond Expectations' in all my appraisals done by the Partner and Senior Managers.
c. Quick promotion and recognition (As detailed above)

Extra Curriculars, Hobbies and Interests
Not much I can talk about. Have completed 6 grades of the Trinity College of London exams for Western Classical music on the keyboards. Also, used to play the keyboards for a rock band and had shows in and around Chennai and in Bangalore, Pondicherry. However, this was a while ago and I've become a corporate sell out since then
Like travelling and have travelled to most of India including a trek in the Himalayas and a short backpacking trip with friends to the UK.

Post MBA Objective
Would love to work in Strategy Consulting, providing solutions to CEO level problems, for which an MBA would broaden my perspective and provide the necessary skill sets.
Also, would like to use the knowledge and experience gained in the MBA program and in the Consulting career to be in a position where I can sucessfully start something on my own at some point in the not too distant future.

Concerns
1. I plan to apply this year for Fall 2013. At the time of application I would have only 1 year of post qualification experience. However, I have worked for 3.5 years in the same firm (PwC) while pursuing my CA. Will this be considered as full time work experience?
2. The Undergraduate degree (B.Com) is a 3 year degree and a degree where I only had to appear for the exams. Had to take this up since I did my BCom along with my CA which involves full time work. Will this have any impact?
3. Will my lack of any significant extra curriculars have a major impact?

I am targeting top US schools. Please evaluate my profile and let me know which schools I would have realistic chances in, based on which I can do some research and try to narrow down.

Please forgive if it was too long or detailed, but I wanted you guys to have as much info as possible which would help you evaluate my chances..Thanks in Advance!

Thanks for the detail. In short, your professional designation should count as work experience, and since you did it concurrently with your employment at these top, globally recognized firms, you should be in good shape. Basically, you will be able to stand out in your typically large applicant pool by not being your typical IT or engineering person. This, coupled with your GMAT score should make for a nice, attractive profile. Extra curriculars demonstrate your penchant for and ability to become an engaged, involved, and contributing member of your community. You need to think about ways to show that you are this type of person. Your age will automatically make them more skeptical of your readiness, so don't give them any more excuse to send you back to the pile.

Hi Bryant,
Thanks a lot for your response! Appreciate it.
Do you think waiting for a year and working on including some community stuff into my profile in this time will help?
Don't you think the AdCom would perceive it as something I did just for the sake of a better profile? That's what I'm worried about if I do some volunteering and stuff just in the 1 year immediately before I apply.
Also, would it be possible to suggest a few schools in which I would have some realistic chances taking into my account all aspects of my profile as it now stands.

Thanks in Advance!

You are correct that "cramming in" some community service would likely not help much. Due to your great GMAT score and marquee firm associations, I would say you could have a shot at any school you apply to. HBS and Stanford, while long shots for anyone, are generally less interested in community service and tend to favor younger applicants. I would also take a look at Duke, Virginia, Chicago, Columbia and Ross.