Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant

Firstly, with who am I:

Name: Debmalya Dutta
Age : 32
Nationality: Indian (Male)
Location: Chicago
Educational Background: B.E Mechanical Engineering from National Institute of Technology (erstwhile Regional Engineering College (R.E.C))
Undergraduate Score : Still need to find out what GPA does a 70% from my college correspond to. I am its not that bad from a percentile standpoint.
Work Experience: I have close to 10 years of experience. Started off as a Marketing Executive in a Danish company which designs and provides innovative solutions to build & maintain cement plants. Worked in that role for around 6 months and then moved into IT consulting, joined Capgemini and with the same company since then. Have been in the IT Consulting field for around 10 years. Then, I moved to the US in 2005 for Client relationship management (Client Engagement). Currently working in the capacity of a Business Analyst proposing solutions in Customer Information Management and also involved in measuring Customer Experience maturity of organisations like Lloyds TSB, UK & HSBC.
GMAT score: Targeting 700
Extracurricular activities - I wouldn't say I have much to show on this front. I do engage in some voluntary activities with the city library here in Chicago. Involved in a corporate initiative which involved educating children in a near-by village. Also was involved in college cultural activities like organisation the college fest, etc

What would interest me?
I, of course aspiration-wise, would now like to graduate into roles which involve more off economic strategy development and execution for developing rural and urban economies of underdeveloped economies via various government backed programs or through engagements with the government. I think there is a lot of potential in developing economies where governments need to work like professional organisation and execute strategic initiatives be it in infrastructure development, socioeconomics, education, health-care. I should say I am greatly influenced by Nandan Nilekani who left corporate world to give back to the community via the government backed program called UID. It's a big, big deal for a nation like India where there are various conflicting interests which make it more interesting & challenging in devising solutions. But , I on the other hand, don't want to be restricted to a geographical boundary because I find being a global citizen more exciting than being called an Indian citizen or an American citizen etc .

But all wannabe's have their "phoo-phoo" stuff and I am not exception. So, I am ok with accepting the fact that at the end of the day, after an MBA, I might still continue in the consulting line. But, I surely want to operate at a different level and that is why I think MBA for me at this point in life is very, very important.

My million dollar question - Now, I am 32 with 10 years of experience. I have 2 options - pursue a 2 year dual degree where I think the majority of the college population is in their late 20's or pursue Executive_MBA in which I think the majority have atleast 14 years of experience. I think that's what I saw on the Kellogg's website. I don't want to delay the process of learning. But I am a bit sceptical of the ROI offered by the learning. Let's be practical because the academia might not agree with the concept of a "Learning ROI" but to me , it's an important factors among multiple other factors

Based on your knowledgeable experience, what would you suggest me?
Go for the 2 year deal(with a dual degree - psychology is what I am planning� ) or wait for a couple of years of Executive_MBA( which also means its too late to change your workstream) or go now for an Executive_MBA( which might be a bit premature but gives me the option of switching fields) ? Any thoughts ? Ofcourse , all these options are subject to the fact that I get a decent GMAT score and one of the premier college accept my candidature.

Hi Debmalya,

You have an interesting background with your combination of marketing in a production-oriented company and IT consulting. Your GPA is probably in line, and it is also less important given your years of experience. Many excellent EMBA programs are happy to take people with 10 years' experience. NYU's outstanding program has an average of 9 years. Check out the international program at Duke. It looks for 10-30 years, but they also have a weekend program (cross-continent) that looks for 6-9 years.

I am not sure what the joint MBA/psych degree would buy you unless you are planning to go into Human Resources or another area that relies heavily on psychology. If you are determined to get a dual degree, economics might be more relevant. Schools are often leery of people who appear to be piling up degrees just for the resume value.

Given your interest, you should check out beyondgreypinstripes.org. It evaluates programs based on attention to social and environmental issues. That might help you identify a school that would prepare you for your dream career. It will also point you toward schools that will be more interested in you because they identify with your goals.

As I am sure you know, there are many thousands of Indians with technical backgrounds applying to US graduate schools each year. This will make a strong GMAT almost mandatory. To stand out you will need to have sparkling essays and killer recommendations. A seasoned admissions consultant could help you tell your story in the most compelling manner.


In sum, unless you are targeting a specific program that has an absolute age limit, I don't think you need to wait for two years to pursue an EMBA degree.

Good luck,

Thanks Tani... Some good insights... The site that you mentioned is also very interesting. I probably need to think on those those - not the mainstream MBA options but the ones which bring into the curriculum the collaboration with the "socio" aspect of things.

thanks again.. But I surely have more questions which I will ask later ...Will hold off on my questions for now and concentrate on giving the GMAT and getting a decent score . Exam is on the 7th of Oct. And thanks for your suggestion to reach out to some consultants who specialize in helping one locate his/her preferred line of study among the multitude of great colleges.

Ahh!! BTW ...do you have any feedback on LSE's(London School of Economics) Management Course that they have started in 2006

Regards

Hi,

I really haven't heard anything about the LSA program - most of my contact has been with LBS (except that I nearly went to LSE for graduate school in economics before deciding on an MBA, but that was gernerations ago!) I will see what I can find out.