Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant

dhody1986 wrote:I have appeared for GMAT and scored 730. However my AWA score is just 4/6.
:
My TOEFL score is 107 on a scale of 120 with just 25 in the writing section and 26 in the speaking section. I am worried my low AWA score and low writing score in TOEFL might affect my chances of getting the desired admits.

The AWA is low, but the TOEFL score looks ok. If it had been below 100, then your concern would've been justified.

Since I still have enough time I am confused whether to appear for TOEFL again and try to obtain a higher score.

If you have time, then rather than fixing your TOEFL why not try fixing the AWA (which is your main concern, right?).

Carnegie Mellon Tepper MBA: Interview with Indian entrepreneur

Entrepreneurship as a career figures high on the preferences of many. Compared to regular corporate jobs, the nice warm feeling of knowing that you'll get your monthy salary is absent, but there's a whole lot more to compensate for that. Freedom, flexibility and a tremendous sense of job satisfaction.

Tepper MBA Vikram Narayan is the founder of BookBuzzr, which provides authors with a unique online marketing platform for their books. An extremely down-to-earth guy, with no airs about the success that he has managed to achieve, Vikram shares with us his entrepreneurial journey that started from Carnegie Mellon University and has brought him back to India. During the phone interview, I picked up quite a few ideas from him.

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gmatNooB8787 wrote:Currentlly I am earning a package of 6.75L. Targeting a Salary Range of 20L in the next 5-6 years.

That's a pretty unusual way to plan your career. Normally folks talk about a specific designation in a specific industry. But if that's what's pushing you to do well in life, so be it

I am aiming for the top collegues in India such as ISB or other relatively short and cheaper ones like Insead, LBS or Top ones such as Harward, Wharton , Stanford. i.e. If i can manage to balance between loans and scholarships to pay for them . :O.

Linking back to your 5 year financial goals, if you manage your career search well, ISB can easily help you cross the 20L range in 5 years.

In fact, if you go to good international schools (not just the H/S/W) and work abroad you are looking at an immediate compensation range that's 2-4 times what you've planned for in 5 years. Of course your initial outflow will be higher as well.

So ask yourself if you really need to apply only to Harvard and gang. You'll be spending a whole lot more and the chances of scholarship are negligible at these schools unless you come across as an exceptional applicant.

There are many strong schools beyond the ones you've mentioned. So have a good mix of those in your list and apply.

If you apply in this season, you'll have close to 5 years at the time of starting your MBA. So you don't need to wait for 2-3 more years.

Good luck with your GMAT.

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Hi,
Thank you soo much for the feedback. Also regarding some of the points...

MBACrystalBall wrote:

gmatNooB8787 wrote:Currentlly I am earning a package of 6.75L. Targeting a Salary Range of 20L in the next 5-6 years.

That's a pretty unusual way to plan your career. Normally folks talk about a specific designation in a specific industry. But if that's what's pushing you to do well in life, so be it

Actually in my industry i have seen that designations dont matter much. In some organization you can get a consultant post in 2-3 years in others its called assistant engineer (TCS) for same exp. Companies and many candidates themselves generally use experience and package to evaluate candidates. So you cant go wrong with package i guess.

The reason i wanted to wait a few years is to take time and enhance my profile. Can you please evaluate my profile and tell me if i stand a chance at ISB or any of the other good colleges. Or what steps i need to take for the same.

I am aiming for the top collegues in India such as ISB or other relatively short and cheaper ones like Insead, LBS or Top ones such as Harward, Wharton , Stanford. i.e. If i can manage to balance between loans and scholarships to pay for them . :O.

Linking back to your 5 year financial goals, if you manage your career search well, ISB can easily help you cross the 20L range in 5 years.

MBACrystalBall wrote: So ask yourself if you really need to apply only to Harvard and gang. You'll be spending a whole lot more and the chances of scholarship are negligible at these schools unless you come across as an exceptional applicant.

Well, then those are out of the picture for now i guess.

MBACrystalBall wrote:There are many strong schools beyond the ones you've mentioned. So have a good mix of those in your list and apply.

Can you suggest a few with a one year program and a good placement record.

MBACrystalBall wrote:If you apply in this season, you'll have close to 5 years at the time of starting your MBA. So you don't need to wait for 2-3 more years.

But do you think my profile is strong enough to get me through :O . If not , what next ? If yes, what .... (!!!) what can i do to enhance it ?

Good luck with your GMAT.

Thanks Sameer.

Hi Sameer,

Wanted to have your take on Rotman School of Management, Toronto. The program seems to be on a higher side with the tuition fee.
Is it worth going for an MBA to Canada?

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gmatNooB8787 wrote:Actually in my industry i have seen that designations dont matter much. In some organization you can get a consultant post in 2-3 years in others its called assistant engineer (TCS) for same exp. Companies and many candidates themselves generally use experience and package to evaluate candidates. So you cant go wrong with package i guess.

In the wider market, for similar roles, money does become the common parameter to evaluate market value. So I hear you, bro.

The reason i wanted to wait a few years is to take time and enhance my profile. Can you please evaluate my profile and tell me if i stand a chance at ISB or any of the other good colleges. Or what steps i need to take for the same.

If you are planning to apply in the upcoming season, there's not much that you can do to dramatically alter your profile...except one. Blow the GMAT out of the water. Plus of course, getting the post-MBA confusion sorted out.

Beyond that it's not so much about building a profile, but presenting what you have in the best possible light.

If you are planning to wait for a few years, and can talk about achievments that other Infy applicants can't talk about, then it might be worth waiting. If you don't have any such cards up your sleeves, then after 2-3 years the situation may not be very different than it is now, right?

Can you suggest a few with a one year program and a good placement record.

INSEAD, ISB, Cambridge, Oxford, Ivey, IMD...but with your experience levels you might want to look at the regular 2-year MBA programs in the US too as some of the 1-year programs get folks with a significantly higher experience.

But do you think my profile is strong enough to get me through :O . If not , what next ? If yes, what .... (!!!) what can i do to enhance it ?

Answered above and in the previous response.

GMAT ke baad, let me know how much you scored. Our vartalap can continue.

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In an interview with MBA Crystal Ball, MBA admissions consultant Paul Bodine shares some tips on how to tackle MBA applications and get into the top business schools.

Paul is also the author of several popular books: The Perfect Phrases series (Perfect Phrases for business school, law school and medical school acceptance), Great Applications for Business Schools...Read More

mbadream12 wrote:Hi Sameer,

Wanted to have your take on Rotman School of Management, Toronto. The program seems to be on a higher side with the tuition fee.
Is it worth going for an MBA to Canada?

If you are targetting Canadian programs, Rotman is an excellent option.

One of the reasons that the fee is higher is the duration, which is longer than schools like Ivey that offer shorter MBA programs.

The advantage of looking at Canadian MBA programs is the ease with which you can convert the student visa into a work-permit. Read this interview with the Ivey MBA admissions team for more details on Canadian MBA programs.

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This article adds some perspectives on what a GMAT score really means in the overall context of MBA applications...Read More