Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant

Hello,

I would like to get an advice for my prospects in getting into an Ivy League school.

My credentials are as follows:
1. I am a CA from India (Equivalent to CPA, but much harder)
2. I did my 3 year bachelors (in accounting &finance) from India, with a score of 63%. This is from Delhi University, I did it through distance learning but the curriculum and exam conditions are exactly the same as a full time student, just that I cleared it by self study what a full time student achieved through classroom study
3. Work ex of 8 years after bachelors and 7 years after CA.
4. I am in consulting, mainly its Techno-functional role where I advice companies on best practices for their Planning, Budgeting and Forecasting and also automating their processes
5. I play role of a Project Manager/Senior Architect. I am also certified PMP
6. My clients have been some of the top notch companies in the world. I have worked in India, the UK and the US. I am currently working in the US for a huge Insurance company.
7. I can get good references

My questions:
1. Do you think lack of 4 years of education will pose a problem?
2. I have not been to a full time college, will that pose a problem?
3. What sort of GMAT should I target to get into an Ivy League?
4. What is the best way to fill the gaps?

Thanks,

Vineet

Hello,

To answer your questions:

1. The MBA programs differ in how they treat the three-year programs – you will have to check with each.
2. I believe the distance-learning approach for earning an undergraduate degree is not completely embraced by the top MBA programs. It seems that they prefer a conventional educational approach. That’s not to say that with other factors being particularly compelling that they would rule someone out for this point. Rather, it is usually at best neutral and may be a negative factor.
3. For someone with your background, in the low 700s at least, the higher the better. You’re in a particularly competitive group that tends to present high numbers, and you’ll be compared to others in this group.
4. You can take a conventional and rigorous course or two and earn an A to demonstrate your ability to perform in a traditional academic environment. You can score very high on the GMAT. Also, you didn’t mention your extracurriculars or goals – they will be key factors in applications to top MBA programs.

Best regards,
Cindy Tokumitsu
Senior Editor, Accepted.com
www.Accepted.com

Thanks a lot Cindy, atleast I have hope which is good to know. I am working on my GMAT, and putting my best effort to break the sound barrier.

You mentioned that I should take up a course or two, can you recommend something. I believe distance learning is more difficult since you have to do self study and you are compared with a guy who gets full time coaching, besides that, CA is considred one of the most difficult courses in India, around 2000 students pass each year when almost 200000 write the exam. I also cleared PMP in the US, which also is considered a very reputed certification in the Project Management arena.

Well, I do not really have any extra curricular activities, not enought hours in a day, but if you think this helps I can take up something, your recommendations are welcome. I do play golf once in a while though, not sure if it fits in extra curricular activities.

Thanks again and any advice will be extremly helpful.

Cheers,

Vineet

I am also working with a friend to create a website, like a startup, we are in the initial stage, I am wondering if that helps?

Thanks,

Vineet

Hello, Vineet,

I agree with you about the Indian CA and the PMP -- they're quite impressive. However, you asked me to suggest some ways to fill in the gaps, and taking a rigorous course (something related to business or a quant course that isn't redundant of your previous studies) and earning an A will demonstrate your ability to excel in a regular academic environment. It may not be necessary, it's just one thing you could do.

Regarding extracurriculars, working on the website may be helpful in this regard -- what kind of website, what's it for? Most applicants to the top programs are terrifically busy, and they do still have some kind of activity/involvement. It may be something arising in their workplace or it may be something informal that accommodates their schedule. Here too, I'm not saying it's an absolute necessity. It simply would boost your profile. Again, depending on the purpose of the website, it may help fill in this gap.

Regards,
Cindy Tokumitsu
Senior Editor, Accepted.com
www.accepted.com

Thanks for the help Cindy, the website that I am involved in is for profit, as I mentioned we are still in the early stages and not sure how far we would be able to go.

As far as a course is concerned, please pardon my naivity but I do not know much about the education system in the US. I did go to websites of a few universities and all I could get was continuing education or community college. I was thinking of doing something in corporate finance/strategic planning. Can you please advice where should I look for a rigrous course that can help me.

Thanks again,

Vineet