GyanOne wrote: Hi Ahmed,

Thanks for posting. We took the liberty of copying your post from the link that you provided so that all information is available at one place for this brief assessment.

First of all, you do have an outstanding GMAT score. Congratulations for that. There are few people who can jump from 650 to 770 in just one month - you must have quite a story there (or perhaps that was a typo and your 2nd attempt was in May 2013 instead of May 2014....?). No matter, it is 770 that you go with now, which is excellent.

Your career goals, at least the way you define them here, can be improved upon. Are you simply trying to move from development/project management roles in IT to IT consulting or is strategy consulting your goal? You will have close to 8 years of experience when you enter an MBA program, and that is above the median and average of all your target schools. Coming in this late for an MBA, you need to define the need for it well. Taking up a non-profit plank at this stage of your career and professional life is not going to be easy, either from an MBA Admissions or even a personal perspective.

On your specific questions, here is our response:
1. Yes, you should consider revising your school list. There seems to be little here in terms of consistency. Also, those seem to be way too many geographies to target. Don't just go for decent programs across geographies, narrow your focus and attention to select schools that will help you achieve your career objectives.
2. This question has a very detailed answer, and cannot be exhaustively covered in this short post. Some of the things you might consider including are your international experience and your social initiatives. One point you may consider not emphasizing too much is your disadvantaged background - struggle will invite understanding and empathy at best, but not applause, especially for top schools. This does not mean not talking about your struggles at all, but simply understanding that you should not make them the center piece of your candidature.
3. Your chances of scholarship are ok - not too high and not too low. The GMAT score helps, but that is not all there is to it.
4. The answer to this will depend on the school you talk about and the parameter you consider. Not a point for you to focus too much on, though.
5. One piece of advice would be that you should not get swept away with your GMAT score, excellent thought it is. Understand that application success is a result of multiple factors, including choosing the right schools. Also, don't ignore the fact that you are from the IT industry - an over-represented pool of applicants by any measure.

If you want a more detailed (free) profile evaluation, with specific emphasis on other questions you may have, you can contact us through this link:
Free MBA profile evaluation by GyanOne

GyanOne wrote: Hi Ahmed,

Thanks for posting. We took the liberty of copying your post from the link that you provided so that all information is available at one place for this brief assessment.

First of all, you do have an outstanding GMAT score. Congratulations for that. There are few people who can jump from 650 to 770 in just one month - you must have quite a story there (or perhaps that was a typo and your 2nd attempt was in May 2013 instead of May 2014....?). No matter, it is 770 that you go with now, which is excellent.

Your career goals, at least the way you define them here, can be improved upon. Are you simply trying to move from development/project management roles in IT to IT consulting or is strategy consulting your goal? You will have close to 8 years of experience when you enter an MBA program, and that is above the median and average of all your target schools. Coming in this late for an MBA, you need to define the need for it well. Taking up a non-profit plank at this stage of your career and professional life is not going to be easy, either from an MBA Admissions or even a personal perspective.

On your specific questions, here is our response:
1. Yes, you should consider revising your school list. There seems to be little here in terms of consistency. Also, those seem to be way too many geographies to target. Don't just go for decent programs across geographies, narrow your focus and attention to select schools that will help you achieve your career objectives.
2. This question has a very detailed answer, and cannot be exhaustively covered in this short post. Some of the things you might consider including are your international experience and your social initiatives. One point you may consider not emphasizing too much is your disadvantaged background - struggle will invite understanding and empathy at best, but not applause, especially for top schools. This does not mean not talking about your struggles at all, but simply understanding that you should not make them the center piece of your candidature.
3. Your chances of scholarship are ok - not too high and not too low. The GMAT score helps, but that is not all there is to it.
4. The answer to this will depend on the school you talk about and the parameter you consider. Not a point for you to focus too much on, though.
5. One piece of advice would be that you should not get swept away with your GMAT score, excellent thought it is. Understand that application success is a result of multiple factors, including choosing the right schools. Also, don't ignore the fact that you are from the IT industry - an over-represented pool of applicants by any measure.

If you want a more detailed (free) profile evaluation, with specific emphasis on other questions you may have, you can contact us through this link:
Free MBA profile evaluation by GyanOne