The Application Process

Hi Mam/Sir,

I am planning to start my application process before having GMAT score in my hand. Since, I have booked my appointment for the test on 16th of august, 2012 and as per my knowledge about the deadlines of most of the B-Schools, I will be having only 1.5 months, post GMAT date, to start my application process.

Could you please tell me that would it be possible for me to prepare my application for around 8-10 schools in just 1.5 months. Since, most B-Schools have their deadlines for Round-1 in the month of Sept and Oct, so I will be having just 1-1.5 months in my hand to prepare my application (SOP, LORs, transcripts, etc.).

Please show me the clear picture whether it is suitable for me to apply this time or should I wait for another year.

Also, please, have a look on my profile:

· Work Experience: 25 months till 31st June, 2012 in IBM India Pvt. Ltd. as an Application Developer.

· Promoted to higher band after one year of Work Experience.

· International exposure (Onsite opportunity) of 2 months to Portsmouth, UK.

· Engineering graduate from a top graded Institution (Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi) of India with 69.40%age of total average marks (equivalent to 3.90/4 by WES iGPA calculator).

· Scored 98.99%ile overall (Verbal: 95.43%ile; Quant: 98.86%ile) in CAT (Common Admission Test conducted by group of Indian Institute of Management (IIMs)).

· Got PI calls from 6 IIMs and several other B-Schools in India on the basis of CAT score.

· Secured AIR (All India Rank) - 4162 among 0.7 millions of candidates appeared for All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE-06) conducted by the group of top graded Engineering Institutions of India.

· Did engineering final year project on 'Variability aware design of circuits and systems' under well recognized professor: Dr. Srikanta Pal (an Indian Scientists who repaired World's Largest Telescope, https://www.theindiapost.com/?p=8706).

· An active volunteer of Dakshina, an NGO (Non-profit organization, funded by IBM India Pvt. Ltd.), where we set up various schools for poor children across several villages.

· Qualified National Mathematics Olympiad (NMO) for second level conducted by Delhi Teachers association, Govt. of India.

· I was a School topper in 10+2 ISc. (Intermediate in Science), consecutively for two years with an aggregate of 81.2%age in final exams.

· Won bunch of prizes in technical as well as in non-technical on school and college level.

After my profile review, I have got some analysis from various counselor that, with this profile, it might be tough to get through any top notch B-Schools but B-Schools ranked- 25/30 up to 50 could be the part of my list. Since, I have heard/read a lot about the job scenario in US, will it be appropriate for me to apply for top 25/30 up to 50 ranked B-Schools, this time ?

After seeing my profile, what would you suggest - Should I wait for some more time or should I apply this time ? Mam/Sir, I understand that it is almost impossible for one to do some rough analysis based on incomplete information but still I want your suggestion that should I go for this year application process or should I wait for one more year, since, I am mainly targeting FT ranked top 30/35 B-Schools. I also understand that Score also plays an important role but I guess it's just a one part in the whole process (But, it's quite important).

Hope, I will get a positive reply from your side,

Best Regards,

Saurabh

(Nationality: Indian)

Hi Saurabh,

Your profile is impressive in every respect ( academics, awards,international experience, community experience etc.) except work experience. Two years' experience , in my opinion, is on the lower side. Also, you still need to take your GMAT. (You haven't stated what score are expecting)

In any case, 1.5 month after GMAT is too less a time required for 8-10 schools as you have planned . I would suggest you should wait for 1-2 more years, gain work experience filled with accomplishments that you can proudly share in your essays. Whenever you plan to apply, give yourself 3-4 months time to satisfactorily complete all parts of the application package - resume, recos, essays etc. Please remember, essay writing is a time consuming process which will demand significant amount of your time,and essays composed for one school will not work for another school as each school has their won expectations from their prospective candidates-hence they have different set of essay questions for them.

If you find my post helpful, please let me know by pushing the thank button.

Thanks,

Poonam

That is not sufficient time at all. Plan on doing a maximum of 3-4 applications in that time frame, and that may be too agressive--it really depends on how much free time you have during the week/weekends and how good you are at writing/evaluating/rewriting essays.

Hi,

First of all, thanks Poonam and Alex for your valuable comments.
Pardon me for not giving you the rough idea about my past statistics of scores either in mock test or in any registered exams.

Distribution of Score(%ile) per section:
VA(avg.) : around 70-80 %ile.
QA(avg.): around 98-99 %ile.

Also, I want some clarification on the work experience consideration. Till when do all schools consider the month count of work experience - Before freezing your application or before joining the school ? I am asking because, in later case, I will have completed my 3 yrs of work experience before joining.

Very true, about the time one needs to devote while preparing essays and other parts of application!! If I show you the true picture about the time I can devote for my app preparation, it will be 4-5 hours during weekdays and 7-9 hours during weekends.
But I can't comment on my writing skills because I am not aware how well can I write essays and how well can I organize them so as to create a dazzling effect on the reader.

Regards,

Saurabh

Saurabh,

Generally in MBA class profiles, they count the number of years worked at the start of the MBA program, not when you apply.

Second, you sound like you are willing to work long and hard on these applications. If you can do really well on the gmat (say 740 or better), then with all of your academic accolades and IBM work experience, you can take a shot at some schools knowing your relatively low work experience may hurt you. But you can always reapply, and if so, I would try to move out of pure application engineering and move towards product management, sales, professional services...as these types of profiles are more attractive, broad and managerial in the eyes of MBA programs.

Let me know if you need more specialized attention.

Alex

Hi Saurabh,

Thanks for your response. Here are answers to your questions:

1. Your score is very good considering that you are aiming for the top 30 schools. However, your verbal is average for top ten schools.

2. How do they county work experience? The schools count their candidates ' work experience at the time of joining/ entering the class.

3. Time needed for preparing essays and other parts of application:In my opinion, the time you will be able to devote to the essays and other parts of application will be just sufficient for applying to 2-3 schools.From my experience I can say that when working with applicants who can devote as much time you are planning to, we take at least two weeks to work on one school package. If you are planning work all by your self, you may even need more time.

Good luck,

Poonam

When I saw your reply, I just uttered a word - 'ooh !!'
Impressive reply !!

Thanks Alex and Poonam for your so instant responses with such an elaborated clarifications.

I believe that I have inquired a lot about what to do next , when to apply, which school may suit my profile, and whether to apply this time and from almost everywhere I have got a similar reply, that is to stay for a year or two and build your profile as much as possible by participating in various activities whether they are held outside office premises or they are held inside office premises, or by showing growth in your professional career.

Also, based on your clarifications, now it would be foolishness to ignore the importance of application process and start the process blindly, i.e., without having a proper planning. And as you both have said, the number hours one is devoting in the application process is not the only deciding factor, one should have a proper planning with a rigorous study about the schools he/she is planning to apply for the corresponding year.

So, based on such an elaborated feedback to all my questions, it is almost decided to stay for a year or two and to build professional career more stronger and then make a proper plan to target 8-10 schools in a one go.

At last, it's a request to both of you to, please, stay in touch unless I start my application process next year.

Best Regards,

Saurabh

Hi Saurabh,

Thanks for liking my feedback. I am glad I could , in some way , contribute to your decision about application process.

If you have any questions during this one year, you may also email me at [email protected].

Good luck,

Poonam

Sure! You can reach me at [email protected]