Ask Veritas Prep Admissions Consulting

Hi,

I took the GMAT today and scored 700(V49,Q35). Although,many people tell me that its a competent score,I still wanted to take advice from the Experts,and thus I have written this post.
I currently have 14 months of experience,but would attain 2 years of experience by the time I plan to join a business school i.e August 2011.
My academic performance in school has been quite good.My undergraduate CGPA is 8.13/10,which amounts to 3.252.

->I scored 94% marks in my Class Xth examination and 87% marks in Class 12th examination.
->I was amongst the top 0.01% of the students in my country to appear in the social science examination held by the education board of mu country.
->I was amongst the selected few to clear the Regional Mathematics Olympiad,(RMO) in the year 2005-06 and represent the north zone of my country in the Indian National Mathematics Olympiad (INMO).
->I have received back to back merit certificates from Delhi's Association of Mathematics teachers,for excellent mathematics performances.
->I represented my school in the district level roller-skating competition,some years back.
->Being a Computer Engineer,During my undergraduate degree course I found a security issue in the account handling of internet giants like Orkut and Yahoo and informed them of the same via e-mail.I was highly appreciated by the local media.I was invited on local FM station to spread awareness about this amongst the people of the city.
->I was the joint hostel Secretary during my first year of hostel life and the Hostel secretary in my final year.I was constantly involved in the hostel administration process during my undergraduate life and have even received appreciation for the same.
->I was also active in various committees and led a team of more than 50 members at a college event as a convener during my final year.

Please evaluate my profile and let me know if I have any shot of getting in the top 15 business schools.
Any helpful comment is welcome.Please also feel free to mail me at [email protected],if you have any suggestions or point of views.
Thanks a lot guys.Hoping to hear soon as I will be starting my application process asap.

Dear Vibsatwork -

I agree that your score of 700 is a good one and, in and of itself, it will not keep you out of (nor get you in to) a top program. My main concern with your profile is your lack of professional experience. Usually students entering business school have closer to four years of solid experience. Some candidates apply with less experience if they have a very impressive track record at work. You didn't write a great deal about your professional accomplishments which makes me think that there is nothing unusually spectacular. An Adcom will worry about how much you can contribute to a classroom if you don't have the leadership and managerial experience that they are seeking.

I think you would have a better shot at a top school if you wait another year and focus on stellar performance/achievements at work. Right now, your grades, extracurriculars and GMAT are all decent but not fantastic. To have a realistic shot at a top program, it will need to be your LORs and resume that shine. This can only happen with a bit more experience under your belt.

It sounds like you have the brain power to succeed at a top program, now you just need to build a record of professional success!

Good luck!

Thanks Jessica.I really appreciate you taking out time for my profile evaluation .I am currently employed in the R&D department of an MNC and although I have contributed in many fields proving myself to be a good team player,innovator and a competent colleague, I think the stellar moments and achievements you are talking about are hard to come in this field.
If I may apply for the fall of 2011 in various business schools,what might be your pick of business schools for me?
I was actually planning to apply to New York University (Stern), University of Texas,Austin(McCombs), Ross Business School,Carnegie Mellon (Tepper Business School) and may be HEC Paris or Kellogs.

I think that the schools that you mentioned would be decent targets. I'm not sure how you selected them (NYU is a very different school from McCombs for instance). But, I do think you could be competitive for a Carnegie Mellon or McCombs level school. Kellogg might be a stretch. I'm not as familiar with the non-US schools.

If you can tell a compelling story about why now is the right time for business school (instead of finding another job that would enable you to excel) and if you have examples of how/why you can contribute to the class discussions, then you may have a shot. You will still need a strong resume that focuses on your achievements and anything that makes you seem more mature (leadership and initiative) and you will still need LORs that discuss how you have succeeded in your current role but are unable to grow further without formal business training, etc.

Hope this helps!

Thanks a lot Jessica. That was really helpful.