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Hello,
I would kindly request you to evaluate my profile and give an idea about my chances of getting into the schools I am targeting at.

GMAT-720 (Q50, V37)
GPA- 3.1 from Top 10 college of India and best mining college in Asia and got into it through IIT exam
25 Male from India
2 years of work experience at Fortune 500 company and most reputed in India by brand value
Sector is mining
Designation- Manager
Role
-to explore and develop new IT based solutions in mining sector which is very conventional in India and 50-100 years back from current International level.
-to introduce mine planning and scheduling system which is the most critical part of mining process which is not followed at all in India
-to work in critical projects of company involving huge investment.
-to work as consultant on projects involving new technology and with international clients.
-also worked side by side in mining operations to understand all the process.

Achievements
-Have done so many projects and some are first time in mining Industry in India on my own and managed everything
-Have introduced mine planning and scheduling system in my company and changed it to IT based which was completely manual before.
-Managed cross functional and cross location team of 10-20 people.
-Worked with international clients from Australia, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, China
-Work on critical projects involving huge investments like Rs1380 millions.
-Have also 22 month experience of mining operations.
-trained in latest and widely used mining and project development software.
-All my projects is going to save my company Rs 25-30 crores every year when fully implemented.
-Have knowledge of not only mining but all the related operations being done at my company.
-Worked with higher and lower management and dealt with problem of labor unions too.
-has worked in the toughest conditions of mining

Extra Curricular
-was involved with NGO in my school days fro 4 years.
-working in NGO movement started by my own company.
-Done trekking and climbed peaks in Himalayas.
-Was awarded full scholarship in college.
-Organized many cultural and technical fest at college level.
-involved in Stepathalon at present.
-Winner of National and International Olympaid and topper at stat level.
-French Language Basic level.
-Play drums and learned on my own and performed for national news in my school days.
-Part of world renowned Super 30 team (all channels like Discovery, NAt Geo, Al Jazeera have made documentary on it) where poor Kids are given free education to get into IIT college
-completed 2000 km bike ride on my royal en-field this year in Himalayas which are the world toughest road and rode on the worlds highest motor able road.

Short term Goals
-to get into ccompany offering jobs related to business development, strategy, consulting
Long term Goals
-Heading some big company and trying to brig more and more companies and investments in India to tap the huge potential in India especially rural India.
-play a role of policy maker for matters related to energy for India

Target Schools
-Harward, Standford, Kellog, Duke, McCombs, Haas, Darden, Tepper, Cornell, Tuck, Yale
Applying R2 2014
Scholarship important if possible
My question is that are these college achievable or what are my chances? Can you suggest any other college which i should apply to?

Regards
k_k007

Hello

Overall you have a good profile. Your undergrad GPA is low for some of the schools you are planning to apply. You can offset this with a good GMAT score. Your present GMAT score is good, but it would have been better if it was higher. Coming from a top undergrad college should also make up for your GPA to some extent. Stanford has an average GMAT of 730+ and Kellogg has an average GPA of 3.7. If you are certain about applying to these schools, I will suggest you to take another shot at GMAT and apply with a 750+ GMAT score otherwise your application may get rejected because of average GMAT and lower than average GPA.

Your work experience looks impressive. You were involved in major projects, you have worked with international clients and you have optimized crucial processes. In your essays, discuss how introduction of software based mine planning systems and your other projects saved your company significant time and millions of worth of resources. Your leadership capabilities are evident from your successfully leading teams of large size. You can also write about how working in the toughest mining conditions did not diminish your resolve or your cognitive, leadership and decision making abilities. You should certainly discuss that most of your projects were novel and were first of their kind in India.

In your essays, discuss your present involvement in NGOs and how you have been inspired since your school days to give back something to the community. You should most certainly discuss your mountaineering excursions; admission committees will find it extremely interesting as they don't come across students like you very often. Mention your involvement in Super 30 and how you have contributed to it so far. You can also talk about your success in international events from your schools days and the scholarships you received in your college as it shows that you are quite the achiever despite your GPA.

Your post MBA goals sound clear and achievable. Is there a specific concentration of MBA that you are looking for? MBA in energy would be a good fit for you. Your work experience could be less than average for some of the universities. But this shouldn't be a problem as the quality of your work experience is pretty important. In your essays, make sure you explain why this time is perfect for you to apply for MBA.

You can check out this article to know more about MBA in Energy sector. https://www.interviewbay.com/blog/top-bu ... rgy-sector

All the best
www.interviewbay.com
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Thank you for the valuable comments.
Yes i am planning to do MBA in Energy.
Can you pls do a rough classification about the colleges which are achievable and which will be dream colleges for me based on my profile and the list i have given.
Regarding retaking GMAT as i am applying to Duke in R1 so it will not be possible to retake GMAT now. If i retake GMAT then i will have to apply in Duke in R2 which everyone says has very rare chance of converting. So what do you suggest? Should i retake GMAT and apply in R2 of Duke or go with this GMAT score ?

Thanks again for taking out the time
Regards
k_k007

Thanks a lot....

Do GMAT score affects your chances a lot for if you are an Indian ?
Such as if I had 670-680 and with my profile, would my chances have
decreased exponentially.

Regards
k_k007

k_k007 wrote:Thank you for the valuable comments.
Yes i am planning to do MBA in Energy.
Can you pls do a rough classification about the colleges which are achievable and which will be dream colleges for me based on my profile and the list i have given.
Regarding retaking GMAT as i am applying to Duke in R1 so it will not be possible to retake GMAT now. If i retake GMAT then i will have to apply in Duke in R2 which everyone says has very rare chance of converting. So what do you suggest? Should i retake GMAT and apply in R2 of Duke or go with this GMAT score ?

Thanks again for taking out the time
Regards
k_k007

Hello again

For Duke you can certainly apply with your current score. Retaking GMAT would be a good idea for Harvard and Stanford (provided you score around 750) only. It all depends on how successfully you portray yourself in the essays. Also tell me if you are you sure about your GPA? Did you get it converted from WES?

Based on GMAT and your overall profile

Far: Kellogg, Harvard, Stanford (only because of your GPA)
Reach: Haas, Tuck, Duke, Cornell
Safe: McCombs, Yale, Tepper

GMAT score are only as important as the other components of your profile - GPA, work experience, etc. Usually, for an Indian male with an IT background it is advisable to have a higher GMAT to make his profile stand out as the applicant pool of students in this field is very high. You will certainly benefit from a non-IT background.

All the best
www.interviewbay.com
Application Reviews & Mock Interviews by Alumni of Your Target B-School

To answer the question in the middle of the thread, yes GMAT score affects an Indian or a Chinese applicant's chances more than for an applicant from another country with fewer applicants.

Schools are flooded with applicants from these two countries, so tangible comparative metrics like test scores, undergraduate institution quality, undergraduate grades, feeder companies, etc. weigh more heavily to filter down applicants. International experience outside of India or China is also weighed, because the applicant will have already adjusted to another culture outside his or her own.

But this doesn't mean that someone is automatically weeded out with a lower score or from a less known institution or company or without international experience.

Good luck,

Hi,
Bad News.....
As i was expecting 720.....but i got 650...i don't know what happened.....
So what should i do now....should i move ahead with this score for the colleges i am targeting ?

regards
k_k007

I am sorry to hear that but you can score higher on your retake.

Still target round 2 and retake the GMAT 31 days from now (or as soon as possible) to get a higher score. Both applying round 2 and obtaining a higher GMAT score are important.

Good luck,