Please provide me a profile evaluation/consultation if possi

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Hi,

I am planning to apply for the 2012 classes.

My undergrad history is my sore point in my profile and am not sure if any of the schools even would consider my profile due to it.

I had joined a an engineering degree in 1999.I struggled with the degree failing many courses before finally giving it up in 2003 and turning to full time work to support my family. Extreme financial woes and my working almost full time while studying to make ends meet to support my family did affect my studies. However the responsibility of not completing the degree is mine entirely .I did odd full time jobs(cashier,waiter,restaurant manager,call center agent)for two years after dropping out .These are the 6 years of my life in my profile which I am sure any ad-com would require quite a bit of convincing to admit me.

Education

BBA Indian university overseas program in UAE- 50 percent
worked full time for three years in Dubai as a regional sales executive during the degree.

Promoted as International field operation executive in 2005-

Been involved in this division with the top management and has been a member of the team which turned around the ailing department into profit making one in a year.

Developed business in over 20 countries spanning 3 continents and

Have traveled to over 7 countries in Africa and Middle East while at the same time being successful in generating business from scratch. Will travel to more countries this year as part of business.

Successfully developed the B2B sales responsibility also handed over since last year.

Major achievements- Quite a few which can be vouched for by supervisors and colleagues .Proactively had done a basic market research on certain non-contributing products .Submitted findings and actions to be undertaken. A new division as suggested was formed to market these items.

Numerous instances were leadership qualities were exhibited in personal life and work. Excellent negotiator as per client feedback.

My need to do an MBA arises from the following reasons

1. Have hit the ceiling of a successful sales career
2.Lack of specific and well defined skills to move into desired area of interest and middle management
3.Area of interest- Brand management and to work in emerging markets in the future.
4. Short term goal- Learn the nuances of core marketing - brand management in particular and to work in a leading FMCG firm in a general management role.
4.Long term goal of being an entrepreneur i.e starting an up a fine dining restaurant chain since cooking and fine dining is a passion.

Have varied and wide range of extra curricular activities ranging from Indian cooking to reading classic English poetry.

Have been involved with a NGO here in Dubai for quite some time now and plan to take on more responsible and leading roles in their marketing activities. Can speak business Arabic,basic Swahili,intermediate French apart from English and 4 other Indian languages.

I know that I need nothing less than an 800 GMAT to even afford a peek at the business schools. Well I don't remember the person who was me at undergrad studies although I am extremely proud of what I did for my family then.

Please suggest what actions do I need to undertake to apply and get into a good school (its not worth the time and money if the degree is not from good school).By the way i will be 29 by the time I apply. Kindly suggest which schools in US and Europe with one year degrees catering to my goals.

Thanks,
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by Lisa Anderson » Fri Oct 01, 2010 8:09 am
Dear ajaykumarmidhun,

I am not overly concerned with your path to your undergraduate degree as there are reasons for why you had to stop your education. You will want to write the optional essay explaining your path your degree, but you should not feel that leaving school to support your family will negatively affect you. Prior to spending lots of time writing applications, you do need to make sure your BBA degree meets the requirement of a bachelor's degree at the schools you are targeting. Many BBA degrees from Indian universities are not viewed as equivalent to a 4 yr degree, so you need to verify if your degree meets the bachelor's degree requirement for the school.

I agree that a high GMAT score will help strengthen your profile and balance out your undergraduate performance. You do not have to score an 800, but something in the 700s will be best. Depending on the schools you are considering and their averages, you might be competitive in the 650+ range as long as your score is above the school's average.

For tips on identifying schools that might be a match for you, please visit our sticky on school selection.

Good luck,
Lisa
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by ajaykumarmidhun » Fri Oct 01, 2010 10:29 am
Lisa Anderson wrote:Dear ajaykumarmidhun,

I am not overly concerned with your path to your undergraduate degree as there are reasons for why you had to stop your education. You will want to write the optional essay explaining your path your degree, but you should not feel that leaving school to support your family will negatively affect you. Prior to spending lots of time writing applications, you do need to make sure your BBA degree meets the requirement of a bachelor's degree at the schools you are targeting. Many BBA degrees from Indian universities are not viewed as equivalent to a 4 yr degree, so you need to verify if your degree meets the bachelor's degree requirement for the school.

I agree that a high GMAT score will help strengthen your profile and balance out your undergraduate performance. You do not have to score an 800, but something in the 700s will be best. Depending on the schools you are considering and their averages, you might be competitive in the 650+ range as long as your score is above the school's average.

For tips on identifying schools that might be a match for you, please visit our sticky on school selection.

Good luck,
Lisa

Hi Lisa,

Thank you for the insights you have provided.I presume the adcom of any school would definitely view my profile not very different from the way you have.

Regarding the concern about a 3 year degree I guess my current enrollment for a one year post graduate diploma course in marketing should make my education read 12+3+1.

But my concern is when I look at the GPA requirements of good schools they usually mention a range like 3.1-3.8 and so forth.Does this mean that if your GPA is well below this average then however good your other factors for admission
( GMAT,work ex,leadership potential and other factors) are you would not be considered?

Continuing-- if yes then what is the point in considering all factors holistically?

It would mean that your factors/variables are only considered provided they are above a certain level.

However if the answer is no and if the schools do accept candidates who are well below the range provided other factors are exceptional/good then why say in their brochures that their ranges are so and so?

Hope I have been clear.

Thanks,
AJ

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by Lisa Anderson » Sun Oct 03, 2010 7:52 am
Dear AJ,

The ranges given are where the majority of either admits or enrolled students fall on that measure. That is not to say there are not some applicants admitted who are outside that range, either above or below. If you are outside the range on one measure, like GPA, then your other application components need to balance that out. Ranges are provided so you can have an idea of how you compare and know how competitive you are for a school.

Regards,
Lisa
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by ajaykumarmidhun » Sun Oct 03, 2010 8:50 am
Hi Lisa,

Thank you for the reply.

I hope you will be able to answer these too.

What exactly does a school mean by 'the right fit' ?

How exactly am I able to fathom the culture at any particular school not considering the obvious facts on websites and other media?

Thanks,
AJ