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Which schools should I apply to??

by shripad.shimpi » Wed Oct 29, 2014 10:23 pm
I am giving GMAT in a week with a target score of 720 (I scored 700 & 710 in the practice GMATPrep tests).

I have a Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from NIT Nagpur, India with a GPA of 3.16 (on 4) and a work experience of 2.5 years (and counting) with a Manufacturing firm in India. I have led small to large teams on projects like De-bottlenecking of my plant and worked independently on several technical glitches on my job. I'll have 3 years of work experience by the time I begin my MBA (if I get through this time). I have recently been transferred to the technical services department at my organisation to work on another project for its commissioning.

I have good co-curricular activities in school, college and at work.

I'm interested in applying for programs in Finance or Operations Management based on my post MBA plans.

Please advise on B-Schools to apply to in the US / Europe. I also want to know if a Masters in Management degree is better for me or whether I should go forward with my plan of applying for MBA programs.

Thanks in advance.
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by GeneralEducation » Sun Nov 02, 2014 4:36 am
Hi Shripad,

Target 720+ in your GMAT and you have diverse profile with good experience. Since you have decent amount of work experience you should go ahead and apply for MBA programs for better exposure and career. You can apply to top B-schools in finance like Columbia, Stern, Wharton, Rice University, Rochester Simon, London Business School, Rotman. Try B-School Selector Tool to shortlist few more schools based on your profile by clicking here https://goo.gl/LVWTay

Regards,
Manish
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by interviewbay22 » Sun Nov 02, 2014 10:38 am
Hello Shripad

Your GPA is decent, a little low for top B-schools. Lets hope you score around 720 to make up for it. Are you from VNIT Nagpur or NIT Nagpur?

Your work experience shows that you have leadership skills in you having led teams on many projects. Can you elaborate on the outcome of these projects? Were you promoted in these 2.5 years? How was your overall performance - any awards? Here, you have only mentioned the things you did. You need to discuss your accomplishments instead of actions. Tell me in detail about your extracurricular activities from work and school. Any achievements or leadership activities here will add value to your profile. Any volunteer experience?

Master's in management is a good option for students who are fresh graduates or with very little work experience. Your profile may be suitable for MIM especially in European business schools. But keep in mind that for top schools the GPA and GMAT stats tend to be higher. Majority of the class has GPA above 3.4 and GMAT around 700 in top Business schools for example https://www.fuqua.duke.edu/mms-foundations-of-business/

MBA is obviously a more lucrative option. However, you need to be sure about your post - MBA goals. Finance or Operations Management? You cannot appear confused in your essays. So decide and start working in that direction, get to know the field as much as you can. It would be great if you can get some experience in it.

For Finance, top schools in US are Wharton, Chicago - Booth, HBS, NYU - Stern, Columbia, stanford, Kellogg, UCB - Haas and Ross. In the Europe - LBS, IE, IESE, HEC - Paris, SDA - Bocconi, and IMD are some of the best

You can take a look at this article to know more about MBA in product management https://www.interviewbay.com/blog/top-mb ... management

Hope this helps

All the best
www.interviewbay.com
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by shripad.shimpi » Sun Nov 02, 2014 11:39 am
Hello interviewbay22.
Thank you for taking time to reply to the post. Your post is most helpful. Here are answers to some of your questions.

I'm a graduate from VNIT Nagpur.

The De-bottlenecking project of the plant was completed successfully well within the target date. The project involved working directly with the Vendors from Germany on installation, testing and commissioning of the new equipments. These activities required coordinating the work of various maintenance teams simultaneously and bringing these teams together for equipment testing.

I haven't been promoted in the organisation yet, as seniority is the most important factor that counts in that matter here at my organisation. But I have been reassigned to the Technical services department to work on a new project based on my previous performances.

Regarding extra curriculars, I have been a part of Basketball, Volleyball and Cricket teams both at work and at school. I have also cleared the Regional Mathematics Olympiad and represented Mumbai sector in the Indian National Mathematics Olympiad in my 11th grade. In college, I was the composer as well as the Bass guitarist/ keyboardist for my band.

Here are some of my leadership activities--
1. I headed VNIT Nagpur's Classical Music group for 2 years. As the head, I organized SPIC MACAY's yearly National convention at Nagpur in VNIT in 2011.
2. I served as the Publicity head of CONSORTIUM'11, VNIT's Management Festival & as the head of the Chemical Event, Continuum, at AXIS'10, VNIT's annual Technical Festival; both of these events saw participations beyond expectations.

Volunteering experience: As a part of the Ganeshotsav Organising Committee of our township, I have distributed food and other amenities in the nearby village schools.

I am not clear about my post MBA goal as I have a background in a Manufacturing sector and as I understand, shifting to a finance course might be difficult. My first priority is Finance but Operations Management appears to be a better target given my experience. Will courses in Finance regard my experience worthy? Please shed some light on this.

Thank You again.
Hoping to hear from you soon.

Shripad
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by interviewbay22 » Sun Nov 02, 2014 10:01 pm
Hello again shripad

Are you sure about your GPA? Dis you get it converted from WES or other acceptable agencies?

You have worked on major projects and received top rating as a result of which you were assigned another major project. Highlight this in your essays along with your experiences as a team leader. You have had experience working with vendors from Germany. Have you worked with people from other countries as well because this could add the factor of international experience to your profile which would be an added advantage.

I wouldn't advise you to include ECs from your school days. Your work experience and extracurricular activities put together, there are many times that you have successfully assumed positions of leadership. Try to get some volunteer experience outside of work as well as a one time thing really doesn't count much.

It is completely okay to pursue a career completely different from the one you are pursuing now, post MBA. It is one of the common reasons why people go for MBA. If you are passionate about finance then work in that direction. Mooc courses, CFA certifications are a few ways of showing your passion for finance and that is what matters most for your MBA application. In your essays, you will have to explain why finance, what motivates you to work in this industry. Columbia, NYU - Stern, LBS are a few schools you should seriously consider. I have already suggested you a few more schools. Get in touch with the alumni of your target schools, learn as much as you can about the schools - what makes them unique, would you be a good fit, etc - before you begin working on your application.


Let me Know if you have any doubts

All the best
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