Ask mbaMission

Profile: M / 32 / India

I am a project manager in one of the fastest growing IT service companies of India. I manage multiple projects - starting from project initiation to resource scheduling, cost-budgeting, people management - and also involve in pre-sales activities.

Past Exp: * Engineering Grad,
* 3.1 GPA score,
* Total experience of 9 years - includes program management, IT consulting
* International experience of 5.5 years - largest telecom service provider in US


GMAT:

To appear. Considering I am from the overrepresented pool of applicants what could be a safe score to apply for the schools I have listed below. I looked at the avg gmat score of the class profiles of the schools. Do you think score of 720+ is a safe call?

Plan:

I realize that I'm getting streamlined to a specific direction in my career - that is IT Consulting. It feels like stagnation at career. After talking to peers, higher-ups, people from other service industries I realize that I require to hone up and diversify my profile in generic consulting and strategy. Now, this could be done by attending external courses. I talked to correspondents of such courses provided by external sources tied up with my organizations. I was not too convinced on that. I realize that I can achieve it over a period of time through a learning experience - though it could be a tough one after eight years of study break, but I think mba program is a great fit to achieve this.

My age and my overrepresented pool push me in a very competitive position but I certainly want to know in details about my chances in the schools listed below:

Target Schools:

US:

1. Kellog
2. Duke
3. Darden
4. Ross
5. Tuck
6. UNC Kenan-Flagler

Europe:

1. Insead
2. Said
3. IMD
4. Cranfield

Hello arni, thanks for your question.

As you are aware, there are a few factors that will make things tougher for you: age, GPA on the low side, needing to score higher on the GMAT given your competitive demographic.

I hesitate to give a strong recommendation without knowing your GMAT score. What have your practice tests yielded?

I will say, however, that you might differentiate yourself by emphasizing the quality of your experience. Can you speak to instances where you have truly led, driven results, or taken initiative? Moreover have you demonstrated leadership in extracurricular settings?

What are your post-MBA goals? I understand that you've received advice to go into strategy consulting, but I think you can paint a more compelling picture that draws on your true interest, passion, and ambition. If you can tell that story and demonstrate a need for an MBA, I think that would be a more persuasive career arc than the one you propose.

I'm happy to comment more with additional information.

Best of luck,
Brian