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Profile evaluation request: Indian/ Female/ Non-IT Engineer

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Profile evaluation request: Indian/ Female/ Non-IT Engineer

by Naruto » Sun Dec 05, 2010 11:38 am
Hi,

I intend to apply to the top business schools. However am not sure which ones are best suited for me. I have shortlisted the following:
London Business School
Stanford
Columbia Business School
MIT
ISB
Nanyang Business School
NUS , Singapore

I wanted a realistic evaluation, whether I actually stand a chance applying to these schools. I plan to apply in R2 i.e by January 2011. I have already started working on the essays.

My Background:
August 2009 , GMAT: 620 V 31/ Q 44/ AWA: 5.5
Nov 2010, GMAT: 720 V38/Q50/AWA; 5.0

Grad: Civil Engineer,( from one of India's premier engineering colleges, 60% which is among top 10 percentile)

WE: Total 5 yrs in Construction and Real estate

6 months in project execution and management (field experience)
4.3 yrs in Business development for a construction major
7 months in Corporate strategy for a real estate developer (All in India, but dealt with international clients and projects)
Fast track promotions every two yrs.

Extracurriculars:
Very active in college in various events (organizing and participating, social, technical and sports)
captain of basketball and volleyball teams in college
after college: been on and off involved in fund raising activities and running marathon
Spiritual background.

Aspirations: Pursue a career in strategy in emerging markets

Main concerns:
Whether profile good enough to apply to LBS or Stanford in R2?
What other schools can I apply to? Does INSEAD/ NYU/ Wharton/ Harvard make sense?
Is my GMAT score balanced enough?
Would my undergad score be a prob?
What in my profile do I need to highlight/ explain to improve my chances?

Thankyou, I would appreciate an early reply.
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by humblebee » Sun Dec 12, 2010 6:17 pm
Is there any reason you're applying for schools across 3 continents? You should generally go where you want to work after. In this instance, I gather you're just after the brand? Which is fine, you just have to manage this in your applications.

As for evaluating your chances without actually knowing the exact specifics, you're probably a good shot for the Singaporean Schools, maybe LBS. The US schools you listed are obviously stretches.

I guess you have a pretty unique profile - female and in the construction and real estate sector. And steady progression.

Where you appear a bit soft is in your extra-curricular achievements. Note, you can't actually point to anything from university as they were 5 years ago. If you use an anecdote from university as an example from leadership, you're basically saying you've had none in the past 5 years. Did you come first in any of the marathons? Were they big ones?

I haven't actually read anything in your profile that makes me go wow, you're probably a great shot at Stanford/HBS. So you have to rely on your story telling and LORs to get in if you want to apply here. You might have a really great story?

To specifically answer your questions

Whether profile good enough to apply to LBS or Stanford in R2?

- More LBS than Stanford. Stanford want do gooders. Your profile doesn't seem to fit this. Not saying you're bad, just doesn't come across that you want to save the world. Which is fair enough, not everyone does.

What other schools can I apply to? Does INSEAD/ NYU/ Wharton/ Harvard make sense?

- NYU, Tuck, Daren, Anderson, McCombs I think these are probably schools within your range and should focus most of your time on. Only thing to note here is to not take the shot gun approach and apply for everything. Concentrate on a few schools only. Your listing of two schools from every continent concerns me. But along this vein you might also consider some Australian Schools e.g. AGSM and MBS given you're taking the everywhere approach. These schools re reputable enough that the big 3 consulting firms recruit there.

- HBS and Wharton makes sense if you can tell a great story.

Is my GMAT score balanced enough?
- It looks like its 80/80 quant/verbal so yes

Would my undergad score be a prob?
- Can't help you here. No idea about Indian scoring system.

What in my profile do I need to highlight/ explain to improve my chances?
- Same old same old stuff. Why you need an MBA, why this school and why you're so special.
- In terms of what you should high light, probably your sector which is quite unique, and maybe the marathon running if you've won or learnt something significant.
- Your key weakness is your non-professional achievements which might be overcome with outstanding professional achievements.
wannabe business school consultant
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