Profile evaluation and Advice for College

Hey Shekhar - Let's see what we got.

First up, you probably know that your GMAT is low. That quant score is impressive but you're not hitting the 720 average for successful Indian candidates. So that's a disadvantage, right off the bat. It's certainly not impossible to get in with that score but the rest of the package needs to be amazing.

And unfortunately, there's a lot of similarities with your background and many many other candidates. It'll all come down to how you've had an impact on the job and what type of achievements and accomplishments you can tout in your apps. The startup experience is good, that might help you stand out, depending on what you're doing and how 'big' this is. You'll need to focus on showing strong examples of being a big contributor in specific ways. And obviously we don't have enough here to even begin to evaluate that. It looks like you've got the building blocks established but we don't yet know how high they will be able to take you.

All that being said: You're certainly qualified for some really good schools. If you're flexible with your ambitions, then plenty of great programs will be open to you, including, potentially, schools like Emory or Notre Dame.

If you want to aim higher than that, we would recommend retaking the GMAT, particularly since we're still so early in the season. It's not mandatory that you do so, but it could make this whole process easier for you.

The best way to choose a bschool is not just on the GMAT score of course, which is the only yardstick we're using here for you. Instead, you need to look at your career goals and find the schools that are in the best position to help you achieve them. The schools evaluate career goals as a key part of their admissions decision, and it's also one of the most important factors in selecting your targets in the first place. If you're going to be continuing with your startup, then choosing a bschool that has a specialty in that field makes sense. It sounds like you already have the basics of launching a venture, in terms of winning bplan competitions etc., so you may not need to go to a school that's hugely focused on entrepreneurship. Instead, perhaps look for a program that excels in your specific industry (healthcare? unclear). That could help you with a very focused and targeted pitch. Duke springs to mind instantly in that area - also its neighbor UNC (you could be a great fit to UNC actually, even with the current GMAT). If you're not in healthcare then let us know what the industry is and we can try and suggest other possibilities.

Hope this helps at least marginally!! Let us know if we can do more.

EssaySnark