Hello friends,
Background information: I am a 24 year old female of Indian origin currently residing in India. I scored a 95% in grade 10 and an 78% in grade 12. I have an engineering degree in Biotechnology from a private university in Delhi (non-IIT/NIT). I have a CGPA of 6.8 on a scale of 10 (top 20% of the class)
Work experience: I have 3 years of full time work experience as on date. I was recruited from the campus on Day 0 and worked with a renowned IT firm as a Java programmar for 1.5 years. Then, I moved on to my current job as a healthcare analyst in the R&D arm of a global consulting giant. I have been with the firm for 1.5 years and was recently promoted. I have had a few client facing situations in the capacity of a business analyst. The only international experience that I can speak of includes the fact that I have worked in UAE, Turkey, Germany & Spain on engagements for 2-4 weeks each. (This is typically the norm in consulting but not expected out of an R&D person, so I think I have an advantage here?).
Internships: I have had 2 months of full time internships per year during all 4 years of undergrad. I have interned with some leading healthcare/pharma companies such as Ranbaxy, Quest & Novo Nordisk.
Recommendations: I have worked closely with a couple of partners in my current organization and definitely hope to get a good recommendation from them. In addition to that , I also plan to get my reporting manager's recommendation. (I have consistently been a distinctive performer in all my evaluations so far.)
Extracurriculars: I have held leadership roles such as school captain and group captain. I was the head of debating and extempore societies at both school and undergrad. I have participated and won several competitions at a city level in these categories. I am trained in Indian classical music and was a part of my school choir and band. I am currently the editor of a center-wide publication at my firm. I can fluently speak English, Hindi, Tamil & Sanskrit and can converse in German. I am currently learning Arabic. I have been associated (albeit on and off) with NGO's working towards the cause of education for the less fortunate & care fo the needy aged.
GMAT: I haven't taken it yet but I hope to get atleast a 700 before I apply
Schools I would like to apply to: I plan to apply to ISB, HEC, Tuck, LBS and Columbia. What are my chances here? Also, given that I am slightly younger than an average class (and other reasons perhaps), do I stand a chance at H/S/W/Y? Any other good schools that are apt for my profile but I am missing out on?
Post-MBA plans: Now this is the tricky part. Despite a life science major and work ex in IT and Healthcare, I think my true calling would be retail and luxury goods. Infact, one of the reasons why I want an MBA is so can make this switch happen. That said, I wouldn't go for an MBA in luxury management at this stage. I would still like to keep my options open and maybe pick this subject as an elective (as offered by Columbia, HEC etc)
I would highly appreciate if you could provide a feedback and evaluate my chances at the afore-mentioned schools. Also, extremely useful would be tips that can help me strengthen my profile for a b-school application in the next 6 months or so.
Thanks a lot in advance
Background information: I am a 24 year old female of Indian origin currently residing in India. I scored a 95% in grade 10 and an 78% in grade 12. I have an engineering degree in Biotechnology from a private university in Delhi (non-IIT/NIT). I have a CGPA of 6.8 on a scale of 10 (top 20% of the class)
Work experience: I have 3 years of full time work experience as on date. I was recruited from the campus on Day 0 and worked with a renowned IT firm as a Java programmar for 1.5 years. Then, I moved on to my current job as a healthcare analyst in the R&D arm of a global consulting giant. I have been with the firm for 1.5 years and was recently promoted. I have had a few client facing situations in the capacity of a business analyst. The only international experience that I can speak of includes the fact that I have worked in UAE, Turkey, Germany & Spain on engagements for 2-4 weeks each. (This is typically the norm in consulting but not expected out of an R&D person, so I think I have an advantage here?).
Internships: I have had 2 months of full time internships per year during all 4 years of undergrad. I have interned with some leading healthcare/pharma companies such as Ranbaxy, Quest & Novo Nordisk.
Recommendations: I have worked closely with a couple of partners in my current organization and definitely hope to get a good recommendation from them. In addition to that , I also plan to get my reporting manager's recommendation. (I have consistently been a distinctive performer in all my evaluations so far.)
Extracurriculars: I have held leadership roles such as school captain and group captain. I was the head of debating and extempore societies at both school and undergrad. I have participated and won several competitions at a city level in these categories. I am trained in Indian classical music and was a part of my school choir and band. I am currently the editor of a center-wide publication at my firm. I can fluently speak English, Hindi, Tamil & Sanskrit and can converse in German. I am currently learning Arabic. I have been associated (albeit on and off) with NGO's working towards the cause of education for the less fortunate & care fo the needy aged.
GMAT: I haven't taken it yet but I hope to get atleast a 700 before I apply
Schools I would like to apply to: I plan to apply to ISB, HEC, Tuck, LBS and Columbia. What are my chances here? Also, given that I am slightly younger than an average class (and other reasons perhaps), do I stand a chance at H/S/W/Y? Any other good schools that are apt for my profile but I am missing out on?
Post-MBA plans: Now this is the tricky part. Despite a life science major and work ex in IT and Healthcare, I think my true calling would be retail and luxury goods. Infact, one of the reasons why I want an MBA is so can make this switch happen. That said, I wouldn't go for an MBA in luxury management at this stage. I would still like to keep my options open and maybe pick this subject as an elective (as offered by Columbia, HEC etc)
I would highly appreciate if you could provide a feedback and evaluate my chances at the afore-mentioned schools. Also, extremely useful would be tips that can help me strengthen my profile for a b-school application in the next 6 months or so.
Thanks a lot in advance
