Suggest schools please

Figure out where you wish to apply
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Suggest schools please

by gmat7m » Wed Oct 15, 2014 9:23 am
Hi,

I am giving GMAT next month with a target score of 720 - 750 (lets assume this to be the actual score range because I'll drop application in case I get less than 720).

I have Bachelor's in Business Administration degree with a GPA of 3.34 (on 4) with 3.25 years (and counting) work experience with a risk consulting / internal audit firm in India. I have led small to large teams / handled clients independently / traveled extensively on my job. By the time I begin my MBA (if I get in this time) I'll have 4 years of work experience.

I have very good co-curricular activities in school, decent in college and nil after that.

I want to seek advise on B-Schools to apply to in North America / Europe (I am applying to ISB India and NUS / NTU in Singapore).

Thanks in advance for your time :)

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by interviewbay22 » Thu Oct 16, 2014 12:04 am
Hello

Your GPA is decent and if you really can score in the range of 720 - 750, your chances of getting into a good schools will be pretty good. The kind of work experience you have had so far (having led several teams) looks promising. Tell me more about it - any promotions in three years? Did you work on any major projects? Were any of these travels outside India?

Judging by the information you have given, there are many schools in the top 10 and top 20 that you could apply to. What are your post MBA goals? Based on the industry you want to pursue after MBA, it will be easier to suggest you schools suited to your profile.

Tell me more about it.

All the best
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by gmat7m » Thu Oct 16, 2014 1:20 am
Hi interviewbay22,

Thanks for taking time out and replying.

In the three years I have worked, I have been promoted twice. I started at the base of the hierarchy and I am now just below the manager level. My work has also evolved from execution to team leadership to independent client handling (meeting with CXO, dealing with vendors, law enforcement etc on behalf of the client). Most of my clients have been large Indian and global corporations.

Although on many occasions I have worked with global teams, only on occasion I have traveled to the UK (I am from India) on a fortnight long engagement with a telecom company.

My post MBA goals are not very rigid, I would be happy to continue in consulting (but I want to move up the pyramid from risk consulting to strategy) but I wouldn't mind general / operational management role either.

Thanks in advance for your help

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by interviewbay22 » Thu Oct 16, 2014 6:10 am
Hello again

As I said before, your work experience is quite impressive as it has many elements that highlight your leadership and analytical skills. While writing your essays, you should discuss how you went up the ladder in a relatively short period of time, outperforming your peers and how this transformed your responsibilities from a team member to a team lead to handling crucial decision making roles. You should draw the adcoms attention to the multitude of experience that you have gained in every strata of your firm and how much you would have to offer to the school's MBA class.

Discuss your experiences with the CXOs and the impact your solutions had on your clients' firms - how effective and efficient they were. Were you involved in any extracurricular activities at your firm, outside of it or during college? Mentioning ECs from your school days is not advisable. If you have not been part of anything so far I would advise you to involve yourself in some activities so as to present a near perfect application which is sound in all fronts.

You should also discuss the experiences you have had working with global teams. (You should also mention how effective you have been as a team player throughout your career as it is important to a few business schools such as Kellogg.) This combined with travel abroad must have given you substantial international exposure (though it is never a requirement but will certainly add more value to your profile) to your profile which will be appreciated by business schools' adcoms.

It is very important that you have clear post - MBA goals. You need not have a business plan but you certainly need to have a clear idea of the field you want to pursue after MBA, why that field interests you and how would an MBA from that business school help you meet your goals. Going up the hierarchy and to attain a more central managerial role in your firm could be a good reason to pursue MBA. Of course you will have to present a convincing case for yourself.

If you want to continue in consulting you can take a look at these schools (based on how good the school is for consulting)

Ambitious: Kellogg, INSEAD, LBS, MIT Sloan and Wharton

Modest: Dartmouth - Tuck, Michigan - Ross, Virginia - Darden, Duke - Fuqua

Safe: Emory - Goizueta, Oxford - Said, Cornell - Johnson, Carnegie Mellon - Tepper, UT - Austin, Indiana - Kelley

You can also consider these schools - HBS, Chicago - Booth, UCB - Haas, Yale, Columbia, NYU - Stern.

I would advise you to focus on GMAT prep and getting involved in additional activities.

Hope this helps

All the best
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by gmat7m » Thu Oct 16, 2014 7:24 am
Thanks InterviewBay,

Appreciate your inputs - really good cornerstones to plan my application roadmap :)

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by daisy1 » Wed Oct 22, 2014 3:47 am
I have been scouting for various colleges abroad but I am very confused as to which countries offer good MBA courses. I have heard that Australia, UK and Singapore are good places to apply for MBA but I am not able to make a decision. Please help!

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by EduMentor » Sun Oct 26, 2014 7:52 pm
There are a lot of visa issues happening UK currently. Students are being sent back and hence I feel you must avoid UK as of now. Australia and Singapore are one of the best places to study MBA. In fact, Australian degree provides job benefits as well.

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Ajit Iyer
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by daisy1 » Sun Oct 26, 2014 7:54 pm
Oh! Can you tell more about the job benefits of an Australian degree? Also what is the scenario in Singapore currently?

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by EduMentor » Sun Oct 26, 2014 7:56 pm
When you are studying in Australia, you get a part time work permit which helps you a lot in managing your finances, also companies there give preference to students with Australian degrees. Singapore is one of the safest cities for students and even they provide 16 hours of work permit while pursuing a particular course. As well all know studying abroad gets pretty expensive and hence work permit helps you earn some extra money.

Best Regards,
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by daisy1 » Sun Oct 26, 2014 8:00 pm
This is amazing, can you suggest me some good colleges in Australia and Singapore?

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by EduMentor » Sun Oct 26, 2014 8:02 pm
According to me, Melbourne Business School, Australian national university and S P Jain School of global management are of the best colleges in Australia for MBA. And in Singapore Nanyang and S P Jain School of global management are best to colleges.

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Ajit Iyer
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by daisy1 » Sun Oct 26, 2014 8:04 pm
You have mentioned S P Jain twice, where exactly is this college?

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by EduMentor » Sun Oct 26, 2014 8:07 pm
Looks like I wasn't clear before, S P Jain School of global management have their campuses in Dubai, Sydney and Singapore they have something called a tri-city program. Each semester is conducted in a different campus.

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by daisy1 » Sun Oct 26, 2014 8:10 pm
Oh! Thank you so much for suggesting me these colleges. I have a better perspective now.