MBA aspirant for profile evaluation...

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MBA aspirant for profile evaluation...

by Vivek Murari » Tue Jun 14, 2011 2:00 am
Hi,
I am Vivekanandan, Indian male, Age - 25, MBA aspirant planning to apply for Fall 2012.

Academics: I completed my B. Tech (UG) in Textiles from Anna University (State No.1) with 7.6/10 and M. Tech - Textile (PG) from IIT, Delhi (National No.1) with 7.2/10. I have 91% in both 12th (high school) and 10th (secondary level). I speak fluently in 4 languages and read & write 3.

Extra-curriculars: Held more than half a dozen responsibilities in the university level such as
1. Placement Representative of my department achieving more than 90% placement level,
2. Organizing Head for my department association which organized National level inter-college technical symposium, infra-department technical event and founded and published the first e-zine in our university.
3. Active member of Rotaract Club of our college, integral part Rotaract club of Chennai State.
4. Served as a volunteer and student organizer for 2 years in Rotaract club and organized state level inter-school culturals and science fair and Blood donation events and personality development cell.
5. Served as reporter for 2 years and Membership officer in the 3 year in the University magazine.
6. Student organizer in International Technical Symposium held at IIT.
7. Treasurer of the student society of our department in IIT.
8. Active leader in the political activities of our university.
9. Active participant in painting and literary events in school level and won many awards.

Sports: State Chess champions for 2 years followed by silver in the third year.
State Judo Champion for a year followed by bronze medal for a year.
Active participant in the athletic events and won many awards in school level.

Work Experience: Chief Executive at a granite mining company (SME) founded by me and my father for the past 2 years. I look after the product marketing, Costumer management and Finance and also supervise the daily production activities.
Founder and Director of another firm which involves granite processing factory and exports as well starting from this month. I will be having a 3 years of work experience by 2012.
Once after my MBA, I have further plans of expanding my business, especially in the USA market, where the opportunities are huge for my field. At the same time, i would like to consider other options as well after MBA, if better choices are available.
I have given you a brief view about my profile.
1. What can I expect for my profile?
2. What are my chances of getting into top 10 B-schools in US and what GMAT score should I be aiming for?
3. Which universities should I be focusing on?

And please suggest me, how to proceed further on my GMAT and MBA process.

Thanks in advance.

With Regards,
VivekanandanSA
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by Bryant@VeritasPrep » Tue Jun 14, 2011 5:31 pm
Vivekanandan:

As you likely know, you are applying from a very deep applicant pool, i.e. Indian Males. For this reason, you will really need to focus on differentiation from similar applicants. The good news is, you seem to posess many atypical traits and qualifications which should help to this end. While yes, many applicants from India hail from a family business, yours is at least in a unique field. I would not expect much kudos for being the chief executive, since most adcoms will discount this title because you were a founder of the company. How you can overcome this potential negative bias would be to quantify your company's achievements. Top schools cannot argue with real sales numbers and EBITDA, so be prepared to include in your story some milestones and evidence of achievement. Another thing I like about your profile is all the extracurricular involvment that did not seem to come at the expense of academic achievement. I would emphasize your leadership in these activities (it appears to be vast) since b-schools love demonstrated leadership. As for GMAT, your applicant pool has a very high average GMAT score trend, so if you can pull off a 700+ it would help. Unfortunately, a seven handle on the GMAt has almost come to be expected from Indian applicants. But if you were state chess champ, I am sure you can pull it off! Let us know if you need help when it comes time to apply.
Bryant Michaels
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by Kavita_Singh » Thu Jun 16, 2011 3:57 am
Hello Vivekananadan

Since you are aiming for top schools then a score above 700 is most desirable. Also the GMAT alone won't determine your chances of admission; your work experience plays a vital role. You need to ensure that academically you are in a good position. However it important to remember that it is beyond the academics that will help you in determining your candidature.

Generally most of the applicants from India are from engineering background with good 4-5 years of work experience. Make sure you follow the 'show rather than tell' principle so that the admissions committee could really understand your strengths and differentiating factors."Also start thinking what makes you stand out of the crowd and what's that 'hook' that will be key to your application.

Although it is not just the work experience that counts but also what you did there like-what were your achievements, what initiative you took, what changes you drove in your workplace etc. So if you can show that in 4 years you have demonstrated the skills business schools are looking for you could put in a strong set of essays.

Hence the quality of your work, your academics and beyond academics will play an important role in determining your candidature.
Thanks!
Kavita Singh
FutureWorks Consulting

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by MBAPrepAdvantage » Fri Jun 17, 2011 6:41 am
Vivekanandan,
Having graduated from IIT Dehli will help you immensely (you don't need to mention your high school and secondary). You also have strong extracurriculars and athletics to complement your strong academics.

Bryant made excellent points about quantifying your accomplishments and emphasizing your leadership. In addition, you want to try and discuss your role in your family business' accomplishments in strategic business terms cutting across the multiple functional areas you manage. Since you are already CEO of your family business why do you wish to go to MBA school? Do you wish to acquire an MBA education to expand your family business or go in a new direction?
Aim for a GMAT score of 740+, but with your IIT Delhi background you would be competitive for any MBA school.

Considering you are from the extremely competitive Indian applicant group, you will probably wish to apply to a good number of schools. Use the Top 15 as a starting point and then research schools in accordance with a variety of factors (not prioritized and not all applicable to your situation): location, environment, specialization, pedagogy, joint degrees, exchange programs, career placement, student body, alumni, facilities, etc.

So, for example, using specialization, if you wish to focus on family business, Wharton and Kellogg exert thought leadership in this area. Reach out to members of the Wharton Family Business Club (h[url]ttp://www.whartonfamilybusinessclub.com/[/url]) to learn more about Wharton. Kellogg has a Center for Family Enterprises (https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/research/family/) and a Kellogg Family Enterprise Club (https://kellogg.campusgroups.com/family/activities/).

If you wish to discuss your candidacy in greater detail, feel free to reach out to me.

Good luck,
Michael Cohan
MBAPrepAdvantage Founder & AIGAC Board Director
305-604-8178
www.mbaprepadvantage.com

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