Greetings from India. I am planning to apply for an international MBA next year, so want to start early. My target schools are Fuqua/Yale/Anderson/Johnson/Ross/Kenan-Flagler/Tepper/McCombs/INSEAD/LBS/IE/OxBridge/HKUST/NUS/CIEBS and Wharton/MIT (I know I have zero chances here but it's just that they have been my dream for so long. Atleast want to fill-up their form). With that in mind, I appeared for GMAT and scored a decent 750 (V40 Q51 AWA 5 IR 8), will reappear once more aiming for a higher score (since I have heard from seniors how most B-Schools are willing to look beyond your weakness if you have a jaw-dropping GMAT score like 780). Hopeful, I started reading up. That hope, however, was shortlived. Got to know from leading gmat-related websites like poets and quants etc that (i) US B-Schools don't usually prefer candidates in their early 30s (I will be 30 when I join, 31/32 when I pass-out, depending on the program.So I totally fall in this category) and (ii) the Indian + Male + IT professional is the most over-represented demographic in the applicant pool & that makes us undesirable. Took up a free consultation in a local center which advised me to focus on US B-Schools in the #30-40 range (in which I have no interest). That has left me demotivated & confused on what to do in the road ahead. Could really use some experienced advice to zero in on whether to march ahead or fall back.
My profile reads something like this-
ICSE (Our Standard-X Board Exams)- 92%
ISC (Our Standard-XII Board Exams)- 91.25%
B.Tech in EIE - 81.3%
M.Tech in IT - 85% (one of the toppers)
Work Ex- 45 months (at the time of joining), in Tata Consultancy Services as a Software Engineer
ECs- above average, nothing jaw-dropping though.
Community Service- Have done my fair bit - from organizing blood donation camps TO distribution of blankets to the poor during winters TO taking over the education of an underprivileged child for 4 yrs.
Major hole in the CV- have a gap of 1 year before my M.Tech, when I was back-packing through certain parts of Africa (absolutely love wild-life. Don't really feel guilty about this break though, inspite of knowing that it will be a burden that I will have to bear for the next 5 yrs, atleast)
Now I would really like a preliminary holistic analysis from an expert on where my profile stands in their esteemed estimate & whether such a profile can arrest the attention of ANY Adcom from my target schools. Going ahead will require an expenditure of 200,000 INR, atleast. So, can really use an honest comprehensive analysis. Thanks in advance.
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Surging_Ahead
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mbaMissionKate
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Hi Surging_Ahead!
I'm glad you're thinking carefully about the decision to apply because yes, it is a big investment of both time and money!
From an academic perspective you seem strong, good grades and excellent GMAT. I think applying with a 750 would be just fine though I understand why you want to retake. Keep in mind that even getting a 780 is no guarantee - yes, they may be more willing to overlook some of your weaker points but you still have to put together really impressive applications that demonstrate why you need an MBA and what you'll contribute to each school.
You are also right in that you are applying from an over-represented and highly competitive demographic so you'll need to find things that differentiate you. I actually think your "gap year" abroad could help to do that - sounds like a really cool experience and great to have exposure in other countries. Since you're coming from a technical background, you can also differentiate by showing your "softer" skills - things like teamwork, interpersonal relationships, communication, etc. Make sure your recommenders highlight these sorts of skills and that you have some examples that you can use in your essays.
I think the biggest challenge for you is the age / timing question - US schools do take candidates in their early 30s but you would be above the average age (Side note -- take a look at our Class of 2016 Infographic for a comparison - https://www.mbamission.com/blog/2014/12/ ... fographic/). I think this means a couple things for you...
1) You need to be strategic about which schools you apply to - you list quite a few
so hopefully you plan to narrow that down.
2) You need to demonstrate that although you do have experience and already have a master's, you are still very open-minded to learning new concepts and ideas.
3) Most importantly, you need to show that you've really thought through why you need an MBA now - since you don't mention anything about your post-MBA career goals, it's hard for me to evaluate, but you should definitely do a lot of thinking on this. Specifically, what 2-3 skills do you need to gain from an MBA? Why do a full-time MBA now vs. waiting to do an Exec MBA in a few years?
If you can address these questions (which I think you can!) then I'd say you could target some of the schools on your list and apply to some schools above the 30-40 range. Definitely good to have a range though. Wharton / MIT are going to be really tough - INSEAD may be too. LBS and Yale might be good reaches - both really emphasize global diversity and I think LBS tends to skew a bit older. But that's just my initial take.
Good luck and let us know if we can help!!
I'm glad you're thinking carefully about the decision to apply because yes, it is a big investment of both time and money!
From an academic perspective you seem strong, good grades and excellent GMAT. I think applying with a 750 would be just fine though I understand why you want to retake. Keep in mind that even getting a 780 is no guarantee - yes, they may be more willing to overlook some of your weaker points but you still have to put together really impressive applications that demonstrate why you need an MBA and what you'll contribute to each school.
You are also right in that you are applying from an over-represented and highly competitive demographic so you'll need to find things that differentiate you. I actually think your "gap year" abroad could help to do that - sounds like a really cool experience and great to have exposure in other countries. Since you're coming from a technical background, you can also differentiate by showing your "softer" skills - things like teamwork, interpersonal relationships, communication, etc. Make sure your recommenders highlight these sorts of skills and that you have some examples that you can use in your essays.
I think the biggest challenge for you is the age / timing question - US schools do take candidates in their early 30s but you would be above the average age (Side note -- take a look at our Class of 2016 Infographic for a comparison - https://www.mbamission.com/blog/2014/12/ ... fographic/). I think this means a couple things for you...
1) You need to be strategic about which schools you apply to - you list quite a few
so hopefully you plan to narrow that down. 2) You need to demonstrate that although you do have experience and already have a master's, you are still very open-minded to learning new concepts and ideas.
3) Most importantly, you need to show that you've really thought through why you need an MBA now - since you don't mention anything about your post-MBA career goals, it's hard for me to evaluate, but you should definitely do a lot of thinking on this. Specifically, what 2-3 skills do you need to gain from an MBA? Why do a full-time MBA now vs. waiting to do an Exec MBA in a few years?
If you can address these questions (which I think you can!) then I'd say you could target some of the schools on your list and apply to some schools above the 30-40 range. Definitely good to have a range though. Wharton / MIT are going to be really tough - INSEAD may be too. LBS and Yale might be good reaches - both really emphasize global diversity and I think LBS tends to skew a bit older. But that's just my initial take.
Good luck and let us know if we can help!!
