Research MBA Programs

Hi,

A brief background about me:

I'm 30, female and live and work in New Delhi. I currently work as a Senior Associate in a Real Estate Private Equity fund (4 years).

Prior to this I was into Real Estate Consulting with an International Property Consultant (2.6 years). I started my career with a KPO and was into financial analysis involving CMBS (2 years).

I have about 9 years of work ex.

Qualifications: BA Economics (Hons) Delhi University and a CFA charter.

I'm seriously considering an MBA since I'm looking to transition out of the Analyst/Associate roles I'm currently getting and into senior/managerial positions. I want to know what kind of schools in the US/Singapore I should apply to, given my profile. I also have a low score in my 3rd year graduation and I guess I'm older than the average MBA candidate, which I would need to make up for with a good GMAT score and a compelling essay.

I'm fairly new to this, so I would really appreciate any feedback/advice on how to take this forward.

Thanks.

Purrple wrote:Hi,

A brief background about me:

I'm 30, female and live and work in New Delhi. I currently work as a Senior Associate in a Real Estate Private Equity fund (4 years).

Prior to this I was into Real Estate Consulting with an International Property Consultant (2.6 years). I started my career with a KPO and was into financial analysis involving CMBS (2 years).

I have about 9 years of work ex.

Qualifications: BA Economics (Hons) Delhi University and a CFA charter.

I'm seriously considering an MBA since I'm looking to transition out of the Analyst/Associate roles I'm currently getting and into senior/managerial positions. I want to know what kind of schools in the US/Singapore I should apply to, given my profile. I also have a low score in my 3rd year graduation and I guess I'm older than the average MBA candidate, which I would need to make up for with a good GMAT score and a compelling essay.

I'm fairly new to this, so I would really appreciate any feedback/advice on how to take this forward.

Thanks.

Purrple,
Thanks for the background info! I like your profile, perhaps partly because of my real estate knowledge and interests. What was your performance like in college at Delhi University? You said Hons but more specifically? Also what do you do outside of work for extra-curriculars?

I would be happy to talk with you about the types of programs that would be good for you and give you an overview of how I could help you get into those programs. Do you want to stay working in a real estate finance capacity? I studied real estate at Wharton and would be happy to give you some advice.

Send me a note to discuss further: [email protected]

With 9 years of work experience would suggest you to target a score of 670-700. Regarding suggestions for B schools I would like to know which specialization are you target for industry change.

Team Manya, Do you think a 670 - 700 score is enough to get admission to a good school and get a scholarship? Also, as I said, I would target private equity investment or corporate planning as possible post MBA careers. What kind of schools do you think I should apply to given my profile and post MBA aspirations?

With your work experience and post-MBA goals, you should ideally target executive MBA programs (Thought of IIM exec. programs?) . Even with a long work-ex, top schools in Europe and US would need you to be above 700. However, with a 670-700 range, you should be targeting some other good schools such as NUS, Singapore and Rank 10-20 US B-schools. Choosing the right mix of schools is important, spread the risk around so as to maximise your chances. We call it risk pooling

All the best and do reach out if required.

Thanks Admitlane. I am not keen on an executive mba because I feel employers have a perception it's not as valuable. Also I am not keen on an MBA in Europe because it gets difficult to find employment there post MBA. I did speak to some other people who advised a one year programme in the US. So I would be keen on applying to Cornell, Kellogg, Emory. Also I would apply to NUS and HKUST.This way I wouldn't be away from the job market for long. What do you think are my chances at the US schools I stated above? Do you think my list is a good mix of reach and safe now? Also for cornell and emory I would be a 3rd round applicant since I'm taking my GMAT in November.Is that something to be concerned about? Thank you.

Purrple wrote:So I would be keen on applying to Cornell, Kellogg, Emory. Also I would apply to NUS and HKUST.This way I wouldn't be away from the job market for long. What do you think are my chances at the US schools I stated above? Do you think my list is a good mix of reach and safe now? Also for cornell and emory I would be a 3rd round applicant since I'm taking my GMAT in November.Is that something to be concerned about? Thank you.

Your first priority should be to hit a 700+ on the GMAT for those schools (specially for Cornell and Kellogg). Emory and NUS could be within reach with a 690+ due to your relatively high work-experience. But in both cases, you should plan well in time to finetune your story (your post-MBA goals, why that particular b-school and how you bring unique experiences to the bschool). As informed before, do spread your options to increase admit chances. Let us know for any further assistance.