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Hi,

Request for my profile evaluation please.

I am 31, Female, India. Currently working in Singapore as a Business Analyst with a Wealth Management IT solutions firm. Total work ex- 6 years 4 months as of today. Worked with Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley, Bank Of America Corp in Mumbai as a software developer and then moved to Singapore to be with my spouse. Immediately got a job into my current firm.

Yet to take GMAT. I have an average GPA. Hold a Masters in Computer Applications from India's top engineering college.

About extra curricular activities, I've demonstrated leadership abilities in my school/college levels. Was a Prime Minister of my school. Contributed in student welfare, arranged camps, participated and have won a lot of prizes in debates and elocution competitions in school and college level. In professional life, I lead a batch of newly joined freshers and helped them in interaction with management. I also got awarded for excellent leadership from all my colleagues. After graduation, since I belonged to an upcoming city in India, me and my few friends arranged a summer camp on computers for kids, which saw a very good response. This gave me a small introduction about how to run a small venture on your own. I also made a movie about 'Life at my firm' by shooting it on a handi cam which one place in top 3 movies the firm wanted to use for marketing.

I understand there will lot more good candidates than me. But I want to understand where do I stand. I want to start my MBA in Jan 2014 ( Insead) or July 2014 ( Chicago Booth, HBS, MIT, Virginia Tech and any of top 25 schools)

Please evaluate and let me know. Thanks

Thanks John for your evaluation.

Yes, my GMAT score is a secret till now. Assuming I can get somewhere around 740 ( that's my latest
prep score), I would like to shortlist the schools.

Agree, my profile comes in the common pool ( IT, Indian). Female factor can be useful.

HBS is kinda my dream school. My question is, if i present my application well, good essays, recos ( which I can surely get) and other factors like international work ex, would that ease the HBS entry somehow ? Having said that, I am gonna try for top 25 schools for sure. Insead ( Singapore) is also a preferred choice due to its 1 year MBA ( low opportunity cost) and program specifications ( consulting is a good career choice after completion)

Two more questions I would like to ask :

I am expecting my first baby around oct 2012, so my focus is to start the MBA program in 2014 Jan ( Insead) or July intakes for US schools. Would that be possible ? Does a good bschool support family orientation ? I would definitely like to complete my MBA with my kid being around.

I have faced a layoff in 2008 recession. I was with Lehman then and it went bankrupt. This other ibank offered me a job but coudnt keep its word as market was going downwards then. My focus was to get a equally good job immediately so as not to hamper my career growth in any way. In less than 15 days, in a tough market, I managed to get 2 offers from JP and Bank Of America and decided to join Bank of America. This was a big lesson to me, both personally and professionally. But having overcomed that obstacle, I would always thank that event which made me realise my potential tremendouly. Now my question here is: do i need to mention this in my profile / essay anywhere ? It was a crucial event. I would like to highlight the positives it did to me and my career but also dont want admission committe to get any wrong ideas.

Sorry to have written a long post, but your responses are very helpful.

Thanks again,
Bhakti

Thanks Jon for your valuable inputs. I'll talk to current students and get an idea about study-life balance at b-school, though I've heard many schools do give a lot of importance to it.

About my 2nd qn, can you give some perspective, if its not too much trouble please ?

Right ! Sounds correct. Let me talk to you again once I do have my GMAT score. I have taken a date for dec 2012 for GMAT. My aim is to start my MBA in Jan 2014 ( For IMD / Insead ) or Fall 2014 for US schools. Hope that gives me enough time to write my essays and collect recos.