MiM Profile Review

[sushruthi]

Hey guys,

I'm looking at applying to a Masters in Management program(Duke, LBS, IE) etc. I've just graduate from a leading liberal arts college in India and unfortunately, my family circumstances are such that I either need to get a master's degree immediately or I can forget about getting one. Also, the employment scene in India is funny - I really want to work in private equity in the future(which requires a prior IB/Consulting background and they only hire from the top engg schools here. Bit of a chicken and egg situation)

Anyhow, my details are below

Profile
GMAT - 730(Should I give it another shot?)
GPA - 65% (I'm in the top 3 students in my class though)
Undergrad Major - Economics

Work experience: Internship at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, India - 2.5 months
Correspondent at SmartCEO - India's version of TechCrunch/VentureBeat
College Activities
President Of Debate Society
Secretary General of the college's national Model United Nations Conference
Ran several small ventures at college events
Head of Sponsorship for Annual University Theatrical Production
Chief Editor of College and School Magazine
Been involved in community service with local NGOs
Working on launching a magazine for non-profits in India
Academically excellent in high school as well.
12th standard - 85%. Merit Certifiate(top 0.1/% of the country) in Chemistry.
10th Standard - 95%. Three Merit Certificates in Social Science, Sanskrit and Mathematics.
Done a basic course in Spanish

I'm also looking at obtaining an internship with a boutique PE advisory firm locally for the duration of the application period if I can at all.

The immediate goal of a masters would be to get myself a IB/Consulting gig with a firm that's closer to the PE side. And the long term plan would be to find a way to work at one of the big funds in India. Obviously a long shot and a bit of a pipe dream, seeing the sheer amount of unemployed bankers/consultants around today.

If I do manage to land an internship with the potential for emplyoment at the boutique PE advisory firm(it's run by an alum of my school), would it be worth trying to work my circumstances around for an MBA in a few years instead of an MiM now?

[Bryant@VeritasPrep]

The MBA is a more marketable and ultimately more valuable degree, so if you can work it to get one over an MSM you should. As a woman, you are actually at an advantage in the admissions process since far fewer women than men apply to b-school. BTW, if you are still in school, you should take a look at Yale Silver Scholars program or HBS 2+2 as options for high performing achievers who don't have as much work experience. You have a good profile for those programs.