Academic related questions

Launched September 22, 2008
This topic has expert replies
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Jun 29, 2009 5:50 am

Academic related questions

by target2010 » Wed Jul 22, 2009 4:01 am
Hi Graham

A sincere thank for your detailed replies.

I would like to know how does adcom evaluate academic performance.
As I saw in one of the posts that a gentleman had low %age in graduation from Delhi uni.

1. How does adcom evaluate a universtiy's marking criteria. University of Delhi(India) is one which follow strict marking scale and getting a first division(60%) is a tough job there but when you convert this to GPA even 60% is around 2.4 which is very low. So, how to tackle this problem. I have scored 67% from university of Delhi but this is still very low after converting to GPA(its around 2.8). So, how do they(adcom) evaluate my academics competency? Although, I have scored 740 in GMAT.

2. I joined a private institute to learn computers langauages and concepts while I was doing my bachelors. The subjects were almost same as my college subjects and I scored pretty good in that. That course was for 2 years containg 4 semester. So, could the result of that institute offset my Uni of Delhi score to some extent. Should I include that in my application.

3. I completed my masters in Comp Sc. and have 12 + 3(bachelors) + 3(masters) years of education. I have scored 8/10 CGPA(comparative GPA) and was among the top 5 students in the class. So, which academic performance the adcom would be more interested: gradutaion or latest degree(masters)? Could this score strengthen my application?

4. I have got many awards at my work place for excellence in work, participation in events and organizing many events. Could such awards be a positive for my application and how important are they for adcom?

5. I have many blood donation certificates. Could such certificates/services be considered community services? Although, I have many other community service stories to tell where I have significantly influenced the organization through my contribution. Managerial skills also shown there.

6. I had formed a team of 8 alumni(master degree college) and help final year students for placements through mock interviews/tests and seminars. I lead that team last year and same I am doing this year. How can this be seen by adcom? Aditionally, I am secretary for alumni meet, the college conducts every year.

7. I have 6 months of experience as paid internship during final semester of masters degree in fortune 100. I was absorbed by the company after that. Since then till now I am with same Org and have completed 2 years. By the time of matriculation I shall have 3.5 yrs of exp( if internship included). My question is whether adcom considers such internship experience? If yes then will 3.6 yrs be really less for top 10 Bschools? However, I earned quality experience in these 2.5 years and have lot of stories to tell. Although my role doesnt give me opportunity for managerial job but I have created some opportunities and acting as a organizer/manager in many events.

Thanks

User avatar
MBA Admissions Consultant
Posts: 270
Joined: Thu Sep 18, 2008 2:20 am
Location: Philadelphia & Paris
Thanked: 35 times
Followed by:17 members
GMAT Score:750

Re: Academic related questions

by Graham » Thu Jul 23, 2009 5:03 am
Dear Target2010,

Thanks for your post! Please see my thoughts below:

A sincere thank for your detailed replies.
>>My pleasure!

1. How does adcom evaluate a universtiy's marking criteria. University of Delhi(India) is one which follow strict marking scale and getting a first division(60%) is a tough job there but when you convert this to GPA even 60% is around 2.4 which is very low. So, how to tackle this problem. I have scored 67% from university of Delhi but this is still very low after converting to GPA(its around 2.8). So, how do they(adcom) evaluate my academics competency? Although, I have scored 740 in GMAT.
>>The adcom is aware that grading systems vary greatly from school-to-school and country-to-country. Over time, admissions officers also get to know which programs are stronger (e.g. the IITs in India, Ivy League in the US, Grandes Ecoles in France, etc) and which countries/educational systems are known to have tougher grading policies overall. Keep in mind that they also have the GMAT at their disposal in order to benchmark candidates from different academic backgrounds.

>>As to your particular case, the good news is that your GMAT is fairly strong, and that the schools know that a 67% from India doesn't mean the same thing as a 2.8 in the United States. Of course, I do not recommend that you convert your grades to the US GPA system if you can avoid it (many top schools do not require that you convert). I'd also want to know what your class rank was - since that may be a better metric to stress in your applications.

2. I joined a private institute to learn computers langauages and concepts while I was doing my bachelors. The subjects were almost same as my college subjects and I scored pretty good in that. That course was for 2 years containg 4 semester. So, could the result of that institute offset my Uni of Delhi score to some extent. Should I include that in my application.
>>Did you earn a degree from this program? Is this an accedited academic institution or more of a vocational/professional training program? In all cases, I'm not really sure that this will be of much help in your candidacy. It's certainly something you might mention as an activity you pursued while in university - to further your training, etc - but I don't see it as being viewed in the same light as academic study.

3. I completed my masters in Comp Sc. and have 12 + 3(bachelors) + 3(masters) years of education. I have scored 8/10 CGPA(comparative GPA) and was among the top 5 students in the class. So, which academic performance the adcom would be more interested: gradutaion or latest degree(masters)? Could this score strengthen my application?
>>It sounds like you did well in your graduate program - this is certainly a positive. The adcom will consider both degrees. They will not ignore the ugrad degree in favor of this master's program, but they will certainly look at both. [Note: Your educational background in computer science is fairly common - as are master's degrees in this field - particularly among Indian males - so you will need to work hard to stand out.]

4. I have got many awards at my work place for excellence in work, participation in events and organizing many events. Could such awards be a positive for my application and how important are they for adcom?
>>These awards will likely be a positive. They will serve to enhance the work experience component of your profile. I'd need to know more about the nature of each award to properly evaluate (something we do with our clients as a part of the counseling process), but on the surface they should be useful in your applications.

5. I have many blood donation certificates. Could such certificates/services be considered community services? Although, I have many other community service stories to tell where I have significantly influenced the organization through my contribution. Managerial skills also shown there.
>>Giving blood does not constitute an outside activity/community work (or at least not a terribly impressive one). In some respects, I'd lump this in with giving money to charitable organizations, etc - very nice to do, but not terribly valuable in the admissions process (since the schools like to see you devoting your time - working with others, etc - not just your wallet).

>>Your other activities sound promising, but I'd need to know more to fully assess.

6. I had formed a team of 8 alumni(master degree college) and help final year students for placements through mock interviews/tests and seminars. I lead that team last year and same I am doing this year. How can this be seen by adcom? Aditionally, I am secretary for alumni meet, the college conducts every year.
>>These sound like like great activities. They demonstrate your committment to your alma mater which is a nice quality to express - as the adcom may conclude that you would likely become a dedicated future MBA alum, etc.

7. I have 6 months of experience as paid internship during final semester of masters degree in fortune 100. I was absorbed by the company after that. Since then till now I am with same Org and have completed 2 years. By the time of matriculation I shall have 3.5 yrs of exp( if internship included). My question is whether adcom considers such internship experience? If yes then will 3.6 yrs be really less for top 10 Bschools? However, I earned quality experience in these 2.5 years and have lot of stories to tell. Although my role doesnt give me opportunity for managerial job but I have created some opportunities and acting as a organizer/manager in many events.
>>If the internship was both full-time and paid, then you can certainly count it. Of course, no matter how you look at it, you are still applying to business school with roughly 2/2.5 years of experience, which will be on the lower side for most schools (in terms of their averages). Of course, how this impacts your admissions odds will really depend on where you are applying AND what you've managed to accomplish in your 2.5 years to date.

Thanks again for your post. Feel free to send your full resume to [email protected] if you would like to set up a free initial session with one of our counselors to review your profile in greater depth.

Regards,

Graham
Graham Richmond
Clear Admit, LLC
[email protected]
215 568 2590

Stay Informed with Clear Admit!
Read our Blog for daily MBA admissions tips and updates.
Follow us on Twitter for breaking b-school news.
Download our Publications on MBA programs and admissions strategy.
Visit our MBA Admissions Wiki to read and share application insights.