Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant

Hi Consultants,

I was hoping to receive an initial assessment on my MBA candidacy.

Academics :-
Institute : RGPV University
Degree : B.Engg (I.T.)
Secured 78.6% - First Class with Distinction (Among top 10% of my class)

GMAT - 730 (Q:50, V:38, AWA: 5.5)

Work Experience -
4+ Years with a leading IT Solutions company of India.
Extensive international experience.
Work as an ERP consultant for a global pharma-giant in Corp. Financials delivering systems that result in significant financial benefit for the organization.

Why MBA:
Post MBA I want to break into the field of Strategy Consulting.
In the longer run, I would use this experience to become part of Corp. Exe. Team for a global organisation.

Target Schools :
Kellogg
UCB Haas
Yale SoM
UCLA Anderson
NYU Stern

Extra Curricular Activities -
Career mentor for college juniors and colleagues
Event Management (Team building / College Cultural Events / State-level IT Symposium)

Feedback on my profile and target schools will be greatly appreciated.

raptor1985,
I would have to know more to give you encouraging words about the 5 schools you named. Based only on what you told me, you have a very common profile, which would make all of those schools, except UCLA, stretches. Unless of course you can differentiate yourself in key ways, e.g., current leadership at or outside of work, compelling personal/family story etc. If you can't differentiate yourself further then I would steer you to more doable schools like (aside from UCLA) Duke, Darden etc.

I agree that your challenges will be standing out in a highly populated field of applicants. As you likely know, business schools generally will lump you into buckets of applicants with similar background and traits. They do this to ensure their incoming student body is well diversified and balanced across a wide variety of traits including ethnicity, work experience, and general background. You appear at the core to be well qualified for your target schools, and now you must begin the journey of being the one among many who make the proverbial cut. While your core proflie lacks the kind of specifics to dig in deeply, at first blush, I see a couple of things that should help you stand out including working for what sounds like a Fortune 50 company, and having international experience. Many applicants from India have not worked outside India. Another way you can differentiate yourself is to speak to the impact you have made on your organization and leadership opportunities you have sought out. Make sure you don't miss the chance to bring out your passion for why you like strategy consulting as a post MBA goal and how what you have done has prepared you to land a job with a top firm. There will be no doubt you can handle b-school at these programs, so focus instead on what you bring to the table that will make you a good teammate and classmate beyond just what you have achieved professionally. Hope this helps.