Please evaluate my profile for Top B-Schools!

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Hey Everyone,

I am looking to apply for top 25 B-schools in around 1 year of time i.e Class of 2018

Please find my profile details as below ,

GMAT Score : 670

Graduation: B.A. Hons(Economics), Delhi University
Graduation Date: August 2013
Undergraduate Percentage:64.5%

Post-Graduation: M.A. Economics, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University
Post-Graduation Date: August 2015
Post Graduation Percentage:55.2%


Work Experience : 1.5 yrs(MNC Bank)
1 Year into Analytics Division
6 months + in Investment Banking Division ( will continue to do so in this division only)


Target Country : USA/UK

Should i give GMAT again? and what should be the target score?
Can you please evaluate and suggest which universities should i target for ?
Do i need the IELTS/ TOEFL scores ?If so then what should be the target score?
I need to pursue my MBA in Finance specifically, so please guide me on those lines as well?


Thanks
Raman Goel

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by Junaid Saleem » Mon Jan 23, 2017 4:05 am
Raman412 wrote:Hey Everyone,

I am looking to apply for top 25 B-schools in around 1 year of time i.e Class of 2018

Please find my profile details as below ,

GMAT Score : 670

Graduation: B.A. Hons(Economics), Delhi University
Graduation Date: August 2013
Undergraduate Percentage:64.5%

Post-Graduation: M.A. Economics, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University
Post-Graduation Date: August 2015
Post Graduation Percentage:55.2%


Work Experience : 1.5 yrs(MNC Bank)
1 Year into Analytics Division
6 months + in Investment Banking Division ( will continue to do so in this division only)


Target Country : USA/UK

Should i give GMAT again? and what should be the target score?
Can you please evaluate and suggest which universities should i target for ?
Do i need the IELTS/ TOEFL scores ?If so then what should be the target score?
I need to pursue my MBA in Finance specifically, so please guide me on those lines as well?


Thanks
Raman Goel
Hi Raman,

You carry good amount of work experience but below average academics which you can compensate with a good GMAT score only. With your GMAT score of 670, you can target B-Schools like University of Minnesota (Carlson), Emory, Indiana University (Kelly), SMU Cox, University of Rochester (Simon) and many more. It will be great if you can quantify your extra-curricular activities and share your roles and responsibilities at your work place. Also, any progression/promotion if any that you should highlight on your essays along with your skills, academics and your post MBA goals which would impress the admission commitee.

However, we suggest you to retake your GMAT and aim to score 700+ if you are looking to target top 25 B-Schools.

We have expert and experienced top B-School alumni who will be happy to take care of our applicants with their complete application process and we work very closely by evaluating the strengths and weakness of their profiles.

PM if any further assistance required.

Regards.
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by VantagePointMBA » Mon Jan 23, 2017 9:49 am
Hi Raman,

I like to see you starting early on the MBA application process! I often find the early birds to be the most successful. In your case, I would definitely recommend re-taking the GMAT, for a couple of reasons. One, your academic track record is a bit on the low side for the top schools. Since you're a more recent graduate (from your masters program), that could be an area of concern that you could help mitigate with a higher GMAT score. Two, you're part of a high competitive demographic that tends to out-perform on the GMAT on average. So that means you'll be competing in applicant pool of higher GMAT scores on the whole. Since you have the time, might as well put in the effort and see how much you can improve your score. I would aim for 720 for the top 20 schools in the US and Europe.

Your work experience seems to have great potential - investment banking is a rigorous and demanding job - but what stands out is the length of your experience. Did you work between your undergrad and masters programs? I ask because admits to the top programs have 4-5 years of work experience on average, often including a promotion and a number of opportunities for leadership. That's not to say that you don't have a chance as a less experienced applicant (you do!) but your job will be to show how, in your case, quality of work experience trumps quantity. So I suggest taking an honest assessment of your work experience and deciding whether you've had time to make an impact, experience a variety of transaction/deal types, lead an analysis or client deliverable, etc. If not, it couldn't hurt to wait another year to apply.

To directly answer your last two questions, yes, most schools will ask you to take the TOEFL or IELTS if English is not your native language (although schools usually provide a waiver if all your college courses were taught in English). Each school has different requirements so I suggest looking that up for your target schools specifically. The minimum TOEFL score is anywhere from 100 to 109 at the top schools (110 average at Wharton, for example). Re: your desired Finance concentration, most (if not all) of the top MBA programs offer a general management education, which means that all students graduate with a general MBA degree. However, each school offers opportunities to specialize and even "major". However, I'm guessing what's important to you is job placement in finance. So as you do you research on the different schools, I suggest digging through their employment reports (a number of schools have now published their 2016 reports) to understand their track record and history with placement into the industry and companies you're targeting. This will be even more important as you move beyond the top 15 programs.

I hope this was helpful! Best of luck with your applications!

Kindly,
Melody
Last edited by VantagePointMBA on Wed Jan 25, 2017 6:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by TaterwaysConsulting » Tue Jan 24, 2017 12:19 pm
Raman412 wrote:Hey Everyone,

I am looking to apply for top 25 B-schools in around 1 year of time i.e Class of 2018

Please find my profile details as below ,

GMAT Score : 670

Graduation: B.A. Hons(Economics), Delhi University
Graduation Date: August 2013
Undergraduate Percentage:64.5%

Post-Graduation: M.A. Economics, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University
Post-Graduation Date: August 2015
Post Graduation Percentage:55.2%


Work Experience : 1.5 yrs(MNC Bank)
1 Year into Analytics Division
6 months + in Investment Banking Division ( will continue to do so in this division only)


Target Country : USA/UK

Should i give GMAT again? and what should be the target score?
Can you please evaluate and suggest which universities should i target for ?
Do i need the IELTS/ TOEFL scores ?If so then what should be the target score?
I need to pursue my MBA in Finance specifically, so please guide me on those lines as well?


Thanks
Raman Goel
Dear Raman,

Short Answer : We strongly recommend to retake your GMAT as 670 is a below par score for top schools in USA/UK. Target score would be 720+. IELTS/TOEFL is not required for most top schools.

Long Answer : You seem to be doing well as far as your work experience is concerned however we would conclude on that once we know what exactly your work profile is.

Staying on the work experience front, though an IB experience with an MNC bank sounds like a good talking point at the first instance, what would be crucial from your application perspective is to bring out stories that matter and that reflect the kind of work you have done.

Coming to your academics, since you already have a master's degree from a top school in the country, we believe you need to well leverage this by substantiating your scholastic capabilities through an above average GMAT score and hence our recommendation to retake your GMAT and aim for a 720+ score. You still have time for your applications, therefore we see no reason why a 50+ point blip in your GMAT can't be achieved in the next 3-4 months if you put a concentrated effort toward it.

As far as schools are concerned, we don't want to spam you with the list of top 25 schools for majoring in Finance. We are sure you already would have access to that. The key is to find schools which align both to your professional and personal aspirations e.g. if you are looking to live in NY, Stern would be a good option so on so forth.

Therefore we would want to understand your profile thoroughly before recommending schools to you otherwise it's just shooting in the dark.

We will be happy to take the conversation forward at [email protected]
Taterways Admission Consulting
www.taterways.com

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https://www.taterways.com/free-consultation

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by MargaretStrother » Mon Feb 27, 2017 11:24 am
You have lots of great responses to your query, but I'd like to add a few thoughts as well.
Your GMAT will certainly limit your competitiveness with top MBA programs, but this is something you have to weigh for yourself: can you get a higher score with more study? Or is it your believe that you're topping out at 670? If the latter is the case, then you're best off targeting schools with that kind of average GMAT score, and focusing on your applications. If you think you can do better on the GMAT, though, you should definitely give it another shot.
Are there top-25 MBA programs with a 670 average GMAT? Very few, but some have more of a range than others. Read each school's incoming class profile, and assess where you fit in that profile.

TOEFL: If your studies were in English, most schools will not require the TOEFL, but some will. So check the schools on your dream list now: as I have mentioned elsewhere, California University system schools, such as Haas and Anderson, will require all students from Indian schools to take the TOEFL, so you'll want to double-check this on a case by case basis.

How many schools to apply to? I'm a big fan of focus. Six is a good number, and balance that between a couple of dream schools (why not?), a cluster of perfect-fit schools (i.e. your GMAT and GPA are right around that average that they post), and a couple of safety schools. Safety schools are valuable for many reasons: first, they assure you that you'll be going somewhere next year. Also, they tend to respond more quickly, and you get that wind of success under your wings for other applications.

Another reason for limiting the number of schools you apply to is that research is so important. Even if you can't fly to the US to do campus visit, you'll want to do primary research now, narrow down your school choices, and invest every ounce of energy you can muster into getting to know each program, and its students, in depth. Whether your goals should be in finance or not is up to you, but whatever your goals are, be sure the schools you apply to are strong in that area.

Good luck!
Margaret Strother
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by Donna@Stratus » Wed Mar 08, 2017 8:45 am
Raman412 wrote:Hey Everyone,

I am looking to apply for top 25 B-schools in around 1 year of time i.e Class of 2018

Please find my profile details as below ,

GMAT Score : 670

Graduation: B.A. Hons(Economics), Delhi University
Graduation Date: August 2013
Undergraduate Percentage:64.5%

Post-Graduation: M.A. Economics, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University
Post-Graduation Date: August 2015
Post Graduation Percentage:55.2%


Work Experience : 1.5 yrs(MNC Bank)
1 Year into Analytics Division
6 months + in Investment Banking Division ( will continue to do so in this division only)


Target Country : USA/UK

Should i give GMAT again? and what should be the target score?
Can you please evaluate and suggest which universities should i target for ?
Do i need the IELTS/ TOEFL scores ?If so then what should be the target score?
I need to pursue my MBA in Finance specifically, so please guide me on those lines as well?

Hi Raman, I will say that if you are coming from India and you want to be competitive in the very top programs, it is going to be hard with a 670 GMAT. I would encourage you to spend the spring on improving here and then also make a short list of 10 or so programs that interest you. I would not limit myself to top 10 US as I think there are some excellent programs in UK (LBS just to name one) and also some very strong programs in US outside of top 10 that could help you. I think your IB experience will add to your profile and that a lot of being successful is also doing your own due diligence on showing schools why you can add value and knowing what programs they have that will help you achieve your career goals. Use this spring- in addition to GMAT study- to also engage with adcoms about their programs- talk to students in clubs - really do your homework so that when R1 rolls around sooner than you think that you are ready to go!
Best wishes to you!


Thanks
Raman Goel