Ask mbaMission

Hi,

Thanks in advance for your help. With R2 approaching, I'm stuck with deciding between many schools and can use some help. My profile -

Indian female 31 year old

GMAT - Taken twice 2010 - 710 (Q48V38, AWA 5.0) 2006 - 600 (low verbal)

Work ex - 8 years in learning and development with US based MNC's. The good - Conducted communication and cultural interaction programs for teams in China. consult with business to partner with them on developing learning programs for mid management and people development. lead marketing and communications for the LnD team in India. Work on projects that impact Global LnD team. The Bad - Not much international travel. Only 1 person reporting to me. LnD usually has slow career progression.

Education - Good acads in masters (computer science) low in bachelors

Extra curricular - consult teams on planning events like innovation week, cultural events. Actively involved with a school for children from low income families. Provide free education and facilities to the children.

Interests - Tarot card reader, painting and pottery, travel and books

Goal - I want to work in talent management consulting. Long term - Leadership development

Schools - Stanford, Darden, Cornell, NYU Stern, Duke Fuqua. Not sure about Kelloggs and Booth

I already have rejects from INSEAD and London Business School. Considering the rejects would I have a chance at the above schools and would they support my goal? If I were to pick four schools to apply to for R2, which are advisable? I know some of them are far fetched but these are the ones I'm interested in.

Shina

Thanks very much for you posting. You seem to have pursued a fairly untraditional career path and have unique professional aspirations, so it has kept me thinking a bit today.

I am feeling like you probably have a few hurdles to overcome in the eyes of the typical Admissions Committee. I worry that with eight years of professional experience in LnD that your potential contributions to a business class are probably not well understood and/or appreciated. It also is a challenge for you because your trajectory and management experience has been less than some of your peers (with the same tenure.) So, spend some time really honing your stories of your professional accomplishments. How have you changed your company/project team/etc.? What initiatives have you led? When confronted by obstacles or challenges, how have you overcome them?

Your extracurricular activities are OK but far from stellar. Applicants applying successfully to Stanford, Booth, INSEAD, and so on tend to be stronger in this arena.

On the other hand, your career goals sound really interesting. But you need to be really clear why you are drawn to talent management and how you think that an MBA from a particular school will accelerate your career in this field.

As for the schools you mention, I am very skeptical that Stanford, Booth, or Kellogg are really reasonable for you. Darden and Fuqua even feel like they are still "reaches." Cornell and NYU should be the best of this list in terms of your chances.

Have you thought about any schools in the next tier below these? The University of Texas at Austin, Emory, Georgetown, or UNC's Kenan-Flagler are all solid choice you may want to explore.

Best of luck to you,
Jennifer

Thanks Jennifer

I have interacted with many people about my chances and profile and the answer I mostly got was a different profile and good number of work years should do me good. Yours is the first realistic response which is that my different profile and lack of managerial experience needs to be explained.

I appreciate your your candid response, makes me see the drawbacks in my profile more realistically. This was very helpful.

Great! I am happy to be helpful any way I can!
Your goal of talent management is unique - use it to your advantage.
Best,
Jennifer

I'm a FY at Fuqua - our mean class age is 29, and we are about 40% international. This year % women was a bit lower than usual so they're looking to boost that I think ... I only had 4 years of work experience by the time I started, and a lower GMAT, and was from the US. That said, I personally applied to schools more in terms of fit than what the chances were ... if you want a team-based culture in a non-city location with lecture/case/experiential learning (not just one type) , then go for Fuqua =)

Hi sv02

Thanks for your reply, I looked at this thread after months. I looked at fit and something to attract me to a school enough to really want to be there more than my chances. Unfortunately it hasn't quite worked for me yet. Duke did not invite me for interview which was disheartening. I am looking at other schools for r3 right now while waiting to hear from Cornell and NYU. Hoping something will work out = )


Thanks!