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Request for Profile Evaluation and b-school suggestion

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Request for Profile Evaluation and b-school suggestion

by ramakanthgade » Thu Dec 30, 2010 4:34 am
Hi Friends,

This is the first time I am posting on Beatthegmat.com. Please evaluate my profile and suggest me some good b-schools that I can apply for. Also suggest me whether it is better to go for a 1yr mba or a 2yr mba, USA/EU? I have gone through many websites that have provided ranking of these schools and it seems to me that by studying in European b-schools like IESE, IMD, IE business school or INSEAD, one can earn the same amount of money in 1yr and can reap a good ROI. But their brand recognition outside Europe is low.

I am very confused whether to apply for 1yr or 2yr programs (as I have already done my MBA), whether to apply for USA/EU b-schools, or whether to apply for Fall 2011 or go for a reattempt (The main intention behind this is to score 700+ so that I can be admitted in to one of the top 10 b-schools as only those are offering loans without a co-signer. I do not have much resources financially, so I have to opt for those colleges which provide loan without a co-signer)

Please advice me.

My Profile

I took my GMAT on Nov 29th 2010 and scored 670 (Quant - 48, Verbal - 34, AWA - 4.5)

Educational Qualifications:
MBA/PGDBM from IPE (Hyderabad, Osmania University) with 75%
Bachelor of Information Technology from Manipal University with 80%
Intermediate - 83%
X class - 80%
Work Experience: 4.5 yrs in IT industry
Worked as a Business Development Executive, Associate Business Analyst and Software Engineer and has hands-on experience with the entire life cycle of a software product.

Very good Extra cirricular activities

Currently working as a Quality Analyst with a Software Product Development Company.

Kindly let me know if you need any further information to evaluate. Please suggest me the right b-schools to apply for.
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by Tani » Thu Dec 30, 2010 8:09 am
The key difference between 2-year and 1-year programs is their goal. Most of the European 1-year programs are aimed at mid-career executives who do not want to change their career path, but are simply interested in learning more about other functions. Those schools tend to take older students - often ones with as many as ten years' work experience. You would obviously take many fewer courses and learn much less about areas outside your specialty. Two year MBA programs spend the first year establishing a foundation in all major disciplines and then focus on electives in the second year. People who are early in their careers or are planning to change career paths usually prefer a two year program.

Also, the Europe vs. US decision will depend, to some extent, on where you want to work after graduation. US schools are somewhat more flexible, although the top European schools certainly place graduates all over the world. You might try looking at the companies you would want to work for after graduation and see where their entry level managers come from.

Most schools are very reluctant to accept someone who already has an MBA. You will have to be very clear about your reasons for wanting to get the same degree a second time. Schools do not see themselves as simply a means of raising a student's salary. Also, with a 670 you will find admission to a top school difficult. Most of the schools you are targeting will accept as little as 10% of the class with scores at 670 or below. This is particularly true for technically-trained applicants from India because there will be literally thousands of applicants with scores over 700 applying for the same slots.

US News, Business Week, topmba.com and the London Financial Times all give extensive information on schools beyond simple rankings. You can use those to identify schools for which your statistics are a good match for their class profiles.

My clients find that it takes two to three months to prepare a solid application woith outstanding essays. You would have to devote time daily to get ready for January application deadlines. If you miss those deadlines, you would be looking at third round, which lowers your admittance chances significantly.

There are many fine schools outside the top ten which are much easier to get into if you can identify why you need the additional degree.

Good luck,
Tani Wolff
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by ramakanthgade » Fri Dec 31, 2010 6:58 am
Hi Tani,

Firstly, thank you very much for your feedback and your swift reply.

As of now, the following are the reasons I could identify why I need an additional degree:

1) To switch my career from IT industry to Consulting/Investment Management. (If I need to return to India, here in India, it is almost impossible to switch one's career without having a relevant degree)
2) An MBA after work experience is more useful as my learning can be focused and I can easily map my work experience to my learning
3) Getting International Exposure and increase my network
4) Increase in Salary

Kindly let me know if these are strong enough reasons which I can quote if they ask a question regarding an additional degree

As per your feedback, I believe it is far better to opt for a US university rather than a European school.

Please let me know
1) Which US Universities provide loan without a co-signer
2) Which US Universities are most appropriate to apply for with my profile mentioned below
3) Is retaking GMAT and applying for 2012 intake a good move? (I think I can definitely score around 700+ if I retake it. But the increase may not be more than 40 points)?
4) How far it is advantageous, if I apply for round 1 in 2012 rather than for second round now (In terms of getting scholarships and the probability of acceptance)?

I think I am asking too many questions, but your reply will be very useful to me in arriving at a right decision.

Thanks for your cooperation and for taking time to give your valuable feedback.

Regards,
Ramakanth
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by Tani » Fri Dec 31, 2010 8:17 am
Hello,

First, if you are planning on switching careers you need to be very persuasive. The school will want to know why you are walking away from the training and experience you have already invested. You will need to show them why you want to move, what about the new field attracts you, why you believe your background will help you and why you believe you will be happy and successful in the new area. They are very leery of people who want to use a degree just to escape an unhappy position. I would not talk about salary. Think in terms of what you will learn and how that will be useful, not how much money you can make.

I am not familiar with the details of co-signers on loans. You will have to research that once you have identified target schools.

The choice of schools depends to a great degree on your eventual GMAT score. With a 670 you should be looking at schools for which you fall well inside (or above) their middle 80%. As I mentioned, the number of applicants from India reduces everyone's chances of admittance. Details of class profiles are available from several of the ranking sources.

A 700 would be a great advantage, particularly for financial aid. If you are looking at second round for this year you will only have a couple of weeks to pull everything together. Getting recommendations and transcripts together that quickly is very difficult and producing great essays in less than 6-8 weeks is a real challenge. If you have nothing else to do for the next three weeks you might make it, but many recommenders require at least a month's notice. Also, scholarships are very difficult to get at any time, but even more so if you apply late in the process when most of the money has been promised.

There isn't a huge difference between first and second round in general, in fact, there are many reasons to prefer second round. However, I seriously question whether you can put together your best possible application in time for January deadlines. If you find strong schools with February second round dates you might make it.

If you are planning to retake the GMAT, recognize that you will have to change the way you study and the way you take the test. If you just do more of the same, your score will be the same. To crack 700 you will need to find concepts or approaches that are not working for you and change them. A good GMAT tutor can help you with that.

Good luck,
Tani Wolff
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by ramakanthgade » Fri Dec 31, 2010 8:35 am
Hi Tani,

Thank you very much for your candid response. I will retake the exam after analyzing my weak areas and approaches where I am going wrong. I will try to carve out some good reasons for going for additional degree.

Thanks you so much.

Regards,
Ramakanth
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