Ask Admissionado

Hi,

1) Experience: 1.5 years at a Senior Manager Position at a Top Tier Technology Consulting firm (likes of IBM/Deloitte/Accenture/PwC) fulfilling a ERP Project Managerial Role leading teams of 60-100 on the client site. Previously 13+ years of progressive ERP Consulting experience from Consultant to Systems/Solutions Architect to Project Manager mostly in a Freelance capacity working for clients like Coke, Pepsi, Kraft Foods, Owens Corning etc.

2) Aiming for 700+ on the GMAT

3) Education: BS in Accounting (1998) from an Indian University equivalent to 3.5 GPA. Masters in Informatics (2007) from approx. 75th ranked US State university 3.0 GPA. Low GPA due to serious financial and time commitment issues as an International Student at the time. Managed a lot of part time jobs, self financed the program while maintaining a daunting more-than-full time student course workload to try to finish quicker.

4) Volunteer experience in some non-profit organizations. No leadership experience here. Is this a serious lacuna for the application?

5) Top 5 EMBA programs including Wharton, Univ. of Chicago, NYU Stern and Northwestern

7) Short term goal: Get an opportunity to Specialize in IT mergers/acquisitions at a Technology consulting firm or get into Information Technology/Strategy Consulting for the likes of Mckinsey etc.
Long term: Get to a VP IT or CIO position at a 5+ billion dollar FMCG company in a 6-8 yrs. time frame.

8) I came to the US for graduate school and then stayed on. I am now a US Citizen.

Questions:

a) How would you rate my chances for admission?

b)Is my low masters GPA or lack of volunteer experience a serious drawback ? Also, please do suggest ways to fix any other obvious lacunae.

c) Even though I am a US citizen, will I still be competing in the Indian pool of applicants because of my background?

d) Even though my experience has been progressive - a majority of it has come in the form of a freelancer. Do you see this as an issue ? I should be able to get solid recommendation letters from present/past clients describing the work I have done for them.

e) I have read in some forums that salary drawn at the time of application can be criteria for selection for EMBA programs? If yes, what is that salary range for applicants in my pool?

f) I am thinking of applying in 2015 and I will be 37 years old at the time.

Thanks in advance for your response!

Thanks for your response Jon!

A couple of questions more:

a) I have read in some forums that a high GMAT score is not crucial for EMBA programs. When coming to my profile people have said that since my Masters GPA is not great - a high GMAT score is essential for me to be competitive. Do you agree? If yes, what score range do you think I need?

b) One of my main motivations of wanting to get an EMBA from a top 5 program was to able to get the opportunity to work for consulting firms like Mckinsey or Bain in their business technology/information technology practice. Now, I have heard that these companies do not regard my ERP consulting experience in very high regard. Do you think the EMBA will be able to help me create a case for myself to get a foot in the door even though the EMBA programs don't actively help students find employment opportunities?

Thank you again.

sbose007