Profile Evaluation- Whr do I stand a chance

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Hi,

I would like to know my chances at business schools in the USA. It would help me decide if I should try applying thr or find something in India. If I go abroad I would want to go for a Top 10-15 program.

GMAT: 740

Academics: Class X (School): 84%
Class XII (High School): 76%
Engineering (I am a Computer Engineer): 7.62/10

Extra-Curricular: I have decent extra-Curricular involvement these include-

1) Captain College Basketball Team: I wasn't in the team during my first year but went on to captain it. Lead the team to quater-finals at a national level tournament.
2) Lead Vocalist for a Band.
3) Editor College magazine.
4) I co-founded an Evening School for Underprivileged children, it still continues to this day.
5) Member college cricket team.
6) Co-Ordinator college annual Festival.
7) Debates and Quizzes at School level.

Work: In december I will complete 3 years in work.

1) I started as an Indian IT male with Infosys (10months) but I always had a thing for business studies/entrepreneurship. I knew MALE IT tag would hinder my dreams of a great B-School so I decided to pursue my entrepreneurial dreams.
2) Left infosys to start a venture that did not materialize but my interactions with entrepreneurs led me to an Educational start-up, test preparation company (mbaguru) and I started discussing ADAPTIVE LEARNING with them.
MBAGuru asked me to join them and implement ADAPTIVE learning. It has been a very entrepreneurial experience where I handle a lot of things including (2 years with them):

a) Product Development & Implementation (I work with the tech team to develop our online adaptive learning system).
b) Marketing - Basically online and social media marketing is something only I handle, my inputs are also taken in other marketing initiatives.
c) CSR- I started the organization's CSR initiative. Tied up with an NGO to support Girl education. Help in Fundraising, volunteering and marketing thr products.
c) Innovation: Fields like gamification of edu. Currently building a game for CAT (indian test) preparation. Again I head the project.
d) I also pitch in when it comes to sales and a little bit of teaching. Teaching would include some English/Business basics/Communication and soft skills.

I sit with cofounders and discuss strategy and get a holistic view of a business. I think 2 years in a small start up are worth 4 anywhere else. Made excellent connections with other entrepreneurs (one I work closely is starting a crowd funding platform in the US).

GOALS:

Post-MBA (Short term) - Work for a few years in a top consulting firm. Will again help in networking/learning and paying back my loan.

5 year post MBA: A start-up and a venture of my own. The field is undecided but I have a soft spot for online based models.

Very Long Term: Give back whatever I have learnt to the students. Teach at a good B-school and retire.

I think I have described in as much detail as I can. Hopefully I will get a decent response. Please ask any further questions that will help in decoding my chances.

Thanks and Regards,
Akhil
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by mbaMissionSusanK » Tue Jun 12, 2012 3:16 pm
Hi, Akhil,

Thanks for your post. If your GPA is equivalent to at least a 3.5 and you scored at least 80th percentile on each section of the GMAT, your academics should be in the range for top US programs. The schools will also look at your work experience. You should work on refining your career goals so that it is clear how these flow from your current experience and how your short term goal leads into your long term. Given you have already switched career paths in three years; you will want to come across as a planful person, so it's even more important that your future career goals make sense with your current experience. In terms of highlighting your experience to date, you will want to demonstrate your transferable and soft skills, and highlight your leadership skills given you have a few years of work experience. Keep in mind that, schools typically look for extra-curriculars experiences within the past 3 years (from when you apply), so focus on your more recent activities.

Good luck,
Susan Kaplan

Senior Consultant
mbaMission
646-485-8844

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