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Hello,

Could you help me evaluate my profile for B school application. I am aiming at ISB Hyderabad, London Business School, MIT Sloan, INSEAD, Nanyang Singapore,NUS etc.

Graduation: B.Tech in Computer Engineering from NIT (National Institute of Technology, Jaipur).
CGPA: 8.27/10 (Approx 12th rank in a class of 60)
GMAT: 740 Q50, V41
Company: A top management consultancy based in US ( I work out of India though)
Work Ex details:
1. I will complete two years in August.
2. My role is oriented towards Business Technology- i.e., finding technology solutions for specific client problems. I have gained experience in one of our firm's propriety software and am one of the few experts in the same.
3. Besides gaining expertise in one software I have expanded my knowledge base and am developing my skills in other ETL tools and software.
4. I am involved in a lot of analytical problem solving to find the best and optimal solutions for clients.
5. I work with a large team and have developed my team work skills over time. I have also led a team of 3 associates,mentoring and onboarding them onto the project, and completely managed the planing and design of an entire module independently.

Extra curricular:
1. participated in Inter college sports events of national level for badminton and athletics, also won medals
2. Organized many events at college fests and was also part of marketing team


Please suggest whether I should wait another year before applying to schools of my choice. Basically, I am expecting my first promotion in December(nt sure, just expecting). But would a promotion really impact my application? If yes, should apply in the 2nd round which is in Jan this yr fr most schools or just wait fr next year's rounds?
Most schools have 2 letters of recommendation, I can get one from my supervisor, but is it okay of I get the 2nd one from a past supervisor? Is it better if its someone out of the firm? If so, I really can't think of anyone I could ask.. I haven't been involved in social work or anything as such. Do you suggest I get involved in such an organization and make my profile look better?(nt necessarily NGO, but something outside of work)
Also suggest some other good Schools that I missed in the list above which I should target given my profile and GMAT score.

Regards
Prachi

Hi Jon

Thanks for your advice. It was very helpful. I agree about the statistics you mentioned (average age and work experience).
Schools like INSEAD and LBS that I mentioned above may be somewhat out of reach this year. I would apply to these next year.
Yet, I would like to try out my luck at some other great institutes which I might I have a shot at.
What's your opinion about ISB, NUS or IESE? The class profile data for NUS, IESE shows that average GMAT is around 670. Do you think my chances here will increase because of my GMAT score(740)?

Also, I need some advice on choosing a school based on my career interest (I won't necessarily apply to them this year, will try to select some I might have a chance in). Post MBA I want to work for a top management consulting firm. Which schools in the US or Europe do you think are best for the consulting profile? (Apart from the obvious ones like HBS, Wharton and Stanford)

Regards
Prachi

Hi Jon,

After a year, I am back again, thinking about applications.

I have continued to work for ZS Associates. I have been promoted to Associate Consultant this January. I along with my peer AC manage a team of 10 people.

I have been thinking of targeting Kellogg,Tuck,Yale,Duke,Darden,etc. Kellogg is definitely my dream school.

The thing is I have an opportunity at work of travelling on-shore to the United States for 6 months in November to manage the client side. I am looking forward to this opportunity and learning experience. I would be the on-shore lead in this role- would be learning from my consultant in the beginning and eventually taking over her role in the project, being the single point of client contact for my 10 member India based team.

The timing of my on-site assignment is such that I cannot mention about it in applications in Round 1 for which deadline is in October.
Do you think applying in Round 2 would be a better decision in my case? I have heard that R2 is comparatively tougher, plus being an international applicant, there are a lot of visa formalities which may make it difficult for me. Do you think applying next year makes more sense?
How important in international experience for B-schools. Does having international exposure change your chances significantly?

What would you suggest to a case such as mine?

Looking forward to your guidance.

Regards,
Prachi

Hello Jon,

I have limited extra-curricular activities after graduation.
At work, I provide some trainings to associates, and mentor people in the team.

Most of my extra-curriculars were in college - event head for various events, active invovlement in sports,dance.

Is the optional essay a good idea to explain this?
I would mainly mention long work hours and occasional weekend work as reasons to not be more involved. Also I plan to mention that I am a sportsperson and generally spend my free time playing badminton and also like to read books. And then I plan to write about the clubs that I would involved in, in B-school.

Regards,
Prachi