does brand have a say in your selection/interview

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Hi,
I hail from India, and this is what I have noted and my peers too subscribe to the same school of thought.

1. Indians are good in math, so a good verbal score matters most.

2. For Indians belonging to the Information Technology industry, especially a male with about 3-4 years of experience a score of less than 750 is not good, because you are competing across a large pool of professionals with the same profile.

3.How much is the brand of an organization important for BSchools. I work for the second largest software company in the world and I find almost all of them in my organization with a score of above 710 get a call from top business schools, at least call for an interview.

In my previous organization, which is a mid tier company, I had colleagues who had scores close to 740-760, and they had played good leadership roles in my organization, they had non-profit experience as well, their essay was quite good. They have been trying repeatedly for the last two years but they have not even received a call from the top schools, which is quite hard to digest. Their profile is any day better than any of my friends in my existing firm.

Most BSchools rely on their alumni and it becomes a matter of prestige for bschools to choose students from leading organizations (top brands) and it is a vicious circle where in these very organizations come back to choose students from bschools.

I quite agree that an essay and your recommendation speaks volumes, but I doubt if it is so because I have colleagues who have high visibility in their organization and have got recos from people who hold roles as delivery heads and their essay is quite good and they have a score of about 740+.

Secondly what can one do if one is an individual contributor in an organization wherein he or she doesn't have much leadership roles to play. How can I show my leadership qualities and secondly how much can b schools validate an individual's leadership qualities.

I would like to hear a fair opinion from your side.

Thanks
gmatrant
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by Amy » Fri Feb 08, 2008 11:29 am
Hi gmatrant,

The application process truly is holistic, and factors like extracurriculars, essays, recommendations and generally presenting a strong argument for an MBA are all extremely important and can change the perception of the candidate in admissions. I have seen the same applicant with the same statistics receive a different response with a new and improved application package. The key for the male Indian applicant with an IT background is differentiation from the pool, because you tend to be overrepresented and have similar work experience and statistics. Therefore, some of the other qualitative factors, become much more crucial.

If you are currently working as an individual contributor, you can still demonstrate leadership as a member of a team, by leading special projects, by mentoring your peers and those junior in the organization, as well as more formally leading projects outside of work in your extracurricular involvements.

Good luck!

Amy
Amy
Consultant
Stacy Blackman Consulting