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Hi,

Please advise me on whether I stand a chance of pursuing a one year full time MBA program in Sep 09?

My profile is as follows -

10th standard - 80%
12th standard - 85%

BBA Honors (specialisation in Finance) - 69% from St.Xavier's College (Its amongst the top 5 colleges in India for under-graduate degree in commerce) -

Work Ex - 2 yrs (by the time the course starts) in KPMG in the Risk Advisory Services.Also,actively participating in the CSR initiatives of the firm.

Extra- Curriculars - Have won accolades in a number of Quiz and Debate competitions and while in college,initiated and conceptualised an undergraduate level management convention.Also,was the university topper in one of the subjects.

Professional achiievement - Have gone on 2 international assignments and have led a team once.

Now for the sad part - Took GMAT for the second time and scored a dismal 530 (Unfortunately became ill during both attempts)
What are my chances if the other aspects of my application are stellar?

Thanks and regards,
mbaaspirant01

Dear MBAaspirant01,

Thanks for your post. My sense is that your profile feels a bit 'thin' at this juncture to pursue an MBA starting next fall. Having said that, much depends on which MBA programs you would be targeting. For example, if you are looking at top-tier options like INSEAD, the admissions standards are rather different from second-tier programs.

As to why I think your profile is somewhat weak at this point in time, I'll list the reasons below:

1) Academics. Your GMAT is quite low - even for second tier programs. For schools like INSEAD, you should really be more in the 700 range. For second tier options, you need to at least cross the 600 mark (if not 650). You should consider taking the test a third time after substantial prep (via a course or tutor) so as to boost your score. While your ugrad university sounds fine, it's not as respected as some of the engineering programs (like the IITs) and your performance, while sound, isn't exemplary. This could ordinarily be fine, but the 1-2 punch of a low GMAT and average marks doesn't bode well.

2) Experience. You will only have 1 year of professional experience to reference while applying this fall. While you will have two years of experience at the time of matriculation, your essays and recommendations will be based on the rather limited experience you have had to date. This makes you an 'early career' candidate for business school - which could be fine, but given your academic profile (GMAT, ugrad, etc), I don't think you'd be competitive enough at the top schools - since the GMAT/academics bar is typically raised a bit higher for early career types.

In short, you will probably be better served by staying with KPMG and building upon your experience there over the next year, while devoting several months to GMAT prep. You may also want to bolster your community/outside activities, since these seem to have tailed off since university.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Best of luck,

Graham

Hi Graham,

Thanks a lot for the detailed and prompt response.The early career candidate aspect was an alternate view that I din't consider (which I will now).I wanted to apply to the one year full time MBA program of the following schools -

1. Emory University - Goizueta Business School
2. Hong Kong University Business School
3. Nanyang Business School
4. Rotterdam School of Management - Erasmus University

Also,isn't taking the GMAT for the third time considered negatively by the universities?

Would appreciate your feedback.

Kind Regards,
mbaaspirant01

Mbaaspirant01,

Thanks for your reply. I have three quick thoughts:

1) Thanks for sharing your list of target schools. With this list in mind, I continue to have concerns that your GMAT is below average.

2) You can absolutely take the GMAT three times. The schools always use your highest GMAT result. While someone who takes the test 5 or 6 times may begin to give the impression that they are 'bumping their head against a wall,' it is highly common for candidates to take the test 2-3 times - especially if they are falling short of the published averages.

3) I'm curious to understand why you are in such a rush. Not only do you have very limited work experience (1 yr), but you also seem focused on pursuing an accelerated MBA (1 yr). Most younger applicants look at the traditional 2-year options in order to fully take advantage of the transformational experience on offer. This is not to say that you can't apply now for 1-yr options, but I just want to be sure you are stepping back from this process and fully evaluating your options.

Best of luck,

Graham

Hi Graham,

Thanks a lot for your response.

I am definately in a rush and that's simply because of personal reasons.Also the fact that over the long term,I do not wish to continue in the service sector.Eventually,I want to start of something of my own.

The reason Im looking for a one year program is because a lot of subjects taught in the B-school have been covered by me (not in totality,but have strong foundations in them) during my under-grads (BBA).My counterparts who have also done BBA and are currently pursuing their MBA have the same feeling about the repetative nature of subjects.One of the reasons why Im doing an MBA is because of the huge networking opportunity (which is the same in a one year as well as a two year program).

Would appreciate your feedback.

Kind regards,
mbaaspirant01