Please Evaluate my profile

Dear Scorpio333,

Thanks for your post. Please accept my apologies for the delayed reply - I was actually on vacation but made the return yesterday and am back to regular posting here. I did not respond first thing yesterday because your post is rather involved/lenghty, and I wanted to have some time to gather my thoughts on it. As such, please see my in-depth comments below:

Academics
I have done my B.Tech in Information Technology from Delhi University in India. I got 77% aggregate and topped in final year of my engineering.
>>Your marks are sound in light of the strict grading system employed in India. The leading MBA programs will not view U. Delhi in the same light as they would the IITs, but it's certainly a known university. As I am sure you are aware, you come from an over-represented part of the applicant pool as an 'Indian IT' candidate.

Work Experience
1. By August '09 I will have 2 years of work experience in a Telecom company as a software engineer. In addition to that, I also have 1 year of IT experience through internships which I did during my B.Tech (during summer vacations and final semester of my degree).2. I have mentored the new joinees in my office. 3. I have also done a Research project in finance. 4. Moreover, I can get good recommendations from my Technical Leads (of current organization) as well as from the professors of my college.
>>The two years in telecom as a software engineer is somewhat standard fare for someone in the Indian IT pool. Note: Schools will not typically view internships in the same light as post-university, full-time work, so for all practical purposes, you will be applying with two years of experience. As to how this experience is viewed, that will depend on your accomplishments in the workplace as well as how you position the work vis-a-vis your career plans, etc. I am pleased to see that you have mentored new team members, done some more 'managerial' work instead of pure programming (the finance project) and that you can get a solid references from work. References from professors are not appropriate for admissions to business school, so you will not want to use them.

XCs
1. I was actively involved in ECO(Environmental/Ecology) club of my college. 2. I have got national level prizes for drawing & painting competitions during my high school. 3. I have served as a board member of ISTE (Indian Society of Technical Education) of my college. 4. I was actively involved in the activities of English Literary club of my college. 5. Additionally, I have been working as a part-time counselor and guiding students for higher studies in Australia from last 3 years.
>>My sense is that you have plenty to work with here. Ideally you will be able to map some of your past/current involvements onto future involvement at the MBA programs you are targeting. Note: High-school era activities are not relevant here, so if you want to talk about your love of painting/drawing, I'd advise that you seek to pick up that activity once again (it's actually a nice element to have as it adds balance to your IT profile).

GMAT
I plan to give my GMAT in June '09. So far I have given around 25 different mocks tests such as MGMAT, GMATPREP and have consistently scored around 670-680.
>>I'm pleased to hear that you've been working so hard on the GMAT. Ideally you'll perform well on the real exam, cracking the coveted 700 mark. As you know, for top-tier schools like Stern, Berkeley and UCLA, the average GMAT score is often 700+. You should also keep in mind that the bar is often raised even higher for candidates that come from over-represented portions of the applicant pool (Indian males working in technology, white males on Wall Street, etc). Of course, given the range of schools on your list, a 680 might be sufficient for some of the next-tier programs you've listed.

Visa/Living Status
I am a Permanent Resident (Green Card Holder) of the United States. I plan to leave my current organization in India and immigrate to USA in September'09 and then work there . I will be applying to universities in August'09 for the Fall-2010 session on the basis of my 2 years work experience.
>>The green card status doesn't play a huge role here - other than the fact that it may make some schools more comfortable about your ability to secure employment in the US after business school. Having said that, you are still likely to be regarded alongside the 'Indians applying from India' category in many respects, since you are not US-educated nor US-employed. Note: I'm not so sure that I'd leave India for the US without having a job in hand. It's never a good idea to apply to business school while unemployed - especially if it can be avoided. It's also not usually a good idea to apply to business school if you've just started a new job (or are in the process), since the schools may wonder why you'd start a post only to leave it in less than a year's time to begin b-school...

School Selection
I plan to apply in the following universities:
1. TAMU: Mays
2. Univ of Texas - Austin: McCombs
3. Purdue: Krannert
4. NYU - Stern
5. Univ of California - Berkley, HAAS
6. UCLA: Anderson
7. University of California at Irvine: Merage
8. Pennsylvania State University: Smeal
>>This is a varied list of schools in terms of admissions difficulty. You've got several top-15 programs (Haas, Stern, UCLA) followed by a range of top-25 and next-tier options. I'm not sure I follow the logic in your school selection from an academic standpoint (these programs are all quite different), but without knowing your career goals, it's hard for me to comment on which programs might be best suited.

Questions
1. Please tell me what would be my chances of getting admission in the Universities mentioned above. After working in a particular state for one year, I would get the residency of that state. Can this residency status increase the chances of my admission in any university?
>>Your admissions odds will depend on the caliber of materials you assemble as part of the admissions process, your GMAT result and the speed at which you secure employment in the States (again, this is ideally something you'd do before quitting your current job - and isn't necessarily ideal from any standpoint, since changing jobs less than a year before starting school is puzzling). As I'm sure you are aware, it will be easier to get into Texas A&M or Irvine than it will to get into Berkeley/UCLA/NYU.

>>In terms of residency, I don't see this as a major factor at all (beyond potentially lowering your eventual tuition - depending on the State laws about residency duration). The reason is that for schools like Berkeley and UCLA, there is simply so much competition (both in-State and out) that residency won't likely play a factor.

2. I would be applying to universities in August'09. The interview calls will most probably come around November'09. During the brief time interval of September-November'09, I would be searching for a job in USA(i.e. I would be unemployed). So will this affect my chances for admission in any university?
>>Yes. While the schools know that some people lose their jobs (especially in this economy), the system has an inherent bias towards those who are gainfully employed. The schools also dislike the idea of applicants leaving a job to 'take time off to work on b-school applications' as they know that everyone else in the pool is juggling work and apps. As such, if you are job-hunting in the fall, you should also make sure that you are very active (volunteering, taking outside courses and generally keeping yourself busy).

Please answer my queries as most of the posts which I have came across were from international students. Due to my permanent resident status, I will be considered as a domestic applicant. So, I am unable to judge my chances of getting an admission based on those posts.
>>First, keep in mind that the admissions standards aren't terribly different for domestic vs. international applicants. The schools seek to take the most compelling applicants. Also, I want you to be careful about over-estimating your 'domestic' status as an applicant. While you will technically fall into that pool by virtue of the Green Card, keep in mind that most of the applicants in that pool are US-educated and have work experience in the US. As you will have neither, you risk being compared more to the international pool. In other words, the whole of your track record that will comprise the applications consists of education in India, work experience in India and XCs in India.

>>In short, you have the beginnings of a sound candidacy for b-school. You should certainly be competitive at the lower end of your target schools - but the mid and upper-tier may present more of a challenge. I am not 100% convinced with regards to your strategy to move to the US and apply without a job, for reasons indicated above. Feel free to reach out to Clear Admit directly if you would like to set up a free session with one of our counselors.

Best of luck,

Graham

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