Beat The GMAT

adm209 · Tue Apr 14, 2009 4:54 am

Hi,
I am a final year mechanical and automation engineering student (female)from an above average university in India. Its IGIT (Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology), Guru Gobing Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi My university doest follow the gpa system but my percentage marks is around 74%. The topper has around 84%.
10th Board: 85%. 12th board: 84.6%.
My college extracurriculars are good- won a few debates, student council member, position holder in societies, have a couple of publications, scholarship holder, internship at GE.
I have scored 730 on the gmat.AWA: 5. I plan to take a 2-3 work experience in the automobile manufacturing sector in India plus do social service with an NGO simultaneosly and then apply to top 15 mba colleges in the US, ISB and Spjain(in India).
What are my chances of getting into top 15 US colleges after a couple of years?..I have admits from average Indian B-schools through CAT right now...should I forgo those an apply through GMAT to US colleges later?...And what is the conversion rule for convrting percentage into gpa?

Back to top

Paxton Helms - Kaplan · Mon Apr 20, 2009 11:16 am

Hello--

I'd say that your chances pretty good. It sounds like you have solid educational and GMAT credentials as well as gratifyingly diverse set of extra-curricular activities. Well done.

As you start thinking about business school, there are a few things to keep in mind and be working on over the next 2-3 years (assuming that you want matriculate in 3-4 years).

Choosing the School:

Cast a very wide net as you consider programs that interest you. There are very fine programs in Asia, Europe, and North America. Think very carefully about what kind of experience you want (geography, class size, teaching style, strengths of program, etc.) and how much student loan debt you are willing to take on.

Research the schools and talk to as many alumni as you can find. Get a sense of the cultures of the places and what their business school experiences were like. You may discover that something that you thought would be very important to you was not, in fact, a big thing for many people as they look back on their business school experience. So, you want to vet your ideas / priorities against the experience of people that have gone before you.

Try and visit business schools and get a sense of what they are like. You may decide that an MBA isn't for you. That's okay, too. Keep an open mind and be continuously open to adjusting your thinking based on what you learn and discover.

Getting Ready for B-School:

You have a wonderful opportunity to shape your application now. Luckily, these are things that many bright, curious, and ambitious people do anyway!!

- Get some international experience, if you can. It doesn't have to be in the US; in fact, in some ways, it would be valuable for it not to be in the US.

- Try and get yourself in a position where you are DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE for something. Maybe its managing a project, maybe its selling something, maybe its writing a series of requirements docs... whatever it is, seek out responsibility where you are making business decisions and managing business processes that have real consequences.

- Get involved in an organization or activity where you can take a leadership role. This could be political, environmental, religious, charitable, or whatever. It can even be in your company. But, whatever you do, seek out leadership roles and meaningful responsibility.

- Develop some good relationships with mentors. They will be useful recommenders.

- It sounds like you have very good quantitative skills. Even so, I think I would take accounting and finance, if possible. They are kind of counter-intuitive, especially accounting.

- Have fun! If you're not having fun --even during the challenging times-- then that's a red flag.

Please let me know how else I can help--

Paxton

Back to top

Beat The GMAT

Profile Evaluation please...

Free GMAT Prep Resources

GMAT Prep Discounts

Free Upcoming GMAT Events

Latest GMAT Articles

Latest GMAT Videos

Popular Resources