The Application Process

Hello All,

Seeking expert help on profile evaluation. Below is my profile:

Indian male/31yrs

GMAT score: July'14: 710(Q50, V35, IR3, AWA4); Oct'12: 540(Q49, V19, IR 6, AWA 4.5); Sept'10: 530(Q50, V13, AWA 4.5)

Work Exp: 7 Years

Industry: Steel Industry (ArcelorMittal)

Profile: Operations, Technology, Project Management, ERP

Post MBA goal: Seeking to change profile & Industry to general management, Strategy consulting, or corporate finance.

Under-Grad: B. Tech in Metallurgy from IIT Bombay, Mumbai, India in April 2007
GPA: 2.45

Extracurricular: Average

Target B schools: Tuck, Darden, UNC (KF), Emory, Kelly, Washington (Olin), Duke ( Fuqua), Georgetown Univ., NUS(Singapore), ISB(India)

Besides, based on my discussion with a consultant I am looking for certain clarifications which are as follow:

1. Does B School slot the applications of international candidates from IITs in one category to
compete against each other? Since, most of the undergrads from IITs have GMAT score of above
730, hence, my chances at many top B-schools with less than ideal GMAT score of 710 will be
limited. How reasonable is this logic??

2. How much advantage( diversity factor) will my profile get against the dominant pool of IT
and ITeS industry applicants from India

3. Will my age be a significant hurdle in my applications at Top 30 US B schools

4. How realistic is above B school list? Any recommendations?


Would be thankful for expert comments on my profile. Any other suggestions would be most welcome

Thanks
abhi.iitb

Hi,

Congratulation on your GMAT score.

I hope my replies below will be of assistance

1) There has been no information that people of IIT compete in category. Also I feel that selection of a candidate in a particular school is confidential information. It will be difficult to lay your hands on such information.

2) The focus of the application should be to highlight your qualities. The more qualities, unique experiences and diverse experiences are portrayed the better. Also this question is very relative since the profile of other IT candidates in pool is not known.

3) I think the average age of MBA in US is usually around 28. You can find more information about this on not. Hence I don't think age will be a factor.

4) Though you have a good score, admission also depends of number of factor i.e your application, extracurriculars etc.

You can try to find the average gmat the following colleges accept. This might help you in evaluating yourself.

Good Luck!

Thanks a lot Taruna, but should one consider a B school whose avg/median GMAT score is higher than one's individual score??

Regards,
Abhishek

Hi Abhishek

Congratulations on showing a lot of perseverance and getting a almost a 200 point jump in your GMAT! Way to go!

Like Taruna shared my replies also will be similar to hers:

1. Selection is a tough process not just for the student but for the admissions committee members also who lose sleep over the applications they read and case synopsis they prepare on every applicant. IIT ians definitely have a brand name associated to them but saying that they are considered in a different pool altogether is totally different and might just restrict the incoming diversity of the class.

2. You can use several factors to your advantage and set yourself apart, its all about marketing yourself and how you do it that clinches the deal.

3. The average work ex being 5 years at most US B schools you should not face any problems in that department.

4. I think your school list looks pretty realistic with a few schools like Tuck, Darden etc being on the higher side. Tuck also looks for international exposure so that this something you should keep in mind since you did not mention any such thing in your profile snapshot. Georgetown, Washington-Olin would be easier for you to crack.

Hope this helps.

Good Luck!

Thanks

Manya Abroad