Hi Afzal,

Thanks for your post. Your work experience to date is solid for your industry. If you are able to score a 750 on your GMAT as you plan, you should consider applying to top 20 programs in the US. Business school admissions have become extremely competitive in the last few years, and even more so for applicants with backgrounds similar to yours.

You are part of a large group of bschool applicants. The biggest challenge for your applications will be to find ways to stand out in the pool. You don't mention your extracurricular activities, but it would be great if you had some leadership and team examples from outside of the office to write about in your essays. This is a great way to stand out and to be remembered. Adcom members read around a dozen applications each day, so standing out will be key to your success.

Best,

Stacey

Thank you so much Stacy, that was encouraging Regarding the missing pieces in my profile:

a. I have won several contests in quizzing, elocution, essay writing in school, undergraduate college and even in my workplace.

b. I studied in one of the top 15 engineering colleges in my country, which is located in a region with a culture very different from mine and there is a lot I can write about that.

c. In college, I was part of a successful initiative to eradicate ragging/hazing from college. I was a mentor to my juniors in public speaking, and was one of the founders of a club that encouraged students to practice elocution. I was also part of the National Cadet Corps which is like your Peace Corps.

d. In school, I was involved in theatre and organized several plays. However, since I started my career only 2 years ago, I have not had any leadership roles in my workplace, though I have handled several tough situations with elan and have organized quizzes there.

Hi,

I am glad to see you were so involved in activities in college. However, most adcoms are interested in what you've done since college. In fact, MIT won't even let applicants write about activities/events that occurred more than three years ago. So the bottom line, your college activities will definitely prove that you are likely to be involved in activities while in bschool, but they won't likely make great essay topics given how long ago they took place.

Best,

Stacey

Hello Stacy,

I gave a lot of thought about what you said in your last reply. I agree fully with your feedback. I am also involved in Toastmaster's activities, done a module in CFA and I am a Mentor in Deloitte's program for teaching under-privileged kids. The last one is a leadership role and all the above activities are ongoing ones. I am also travelling to Spain on behalf of my company.

How does that improve my chances?

Thanks,
Afzal

Hi,

This is great! I'm glad to see you are involved in so many activities. This will surely demonstrate to the adcom that you will be an involved community member. Hopefully you can pull some examples from these activities to use in your essays to help you stand out.

Best,

Stacey