Ask mbaMission

Hi experts,


I wanted to assess my chances at wharton, stanford, booth and insead based on the profile provided below. In addition, i would like to mention that i had applied for Round 2 at wharton, booth last year and was not invited for interview. Probably my GMAT score would have weakened the chances. Last time around i had scored 680 (Q 50 90%, V 33 (67%)).
I have taken GMAT again and have now scored a 710 92% (Q 49(81%), V 38(85%)).
Let me put my queries first followed by my profile :

1. Being from Over represented Indian bucket (though not in IT anymore) what are the overall chances at these schools ? Especially Wharton ? (a fair assessement please)

2. Initially was excited to apply for wharton Round 1 after scoring a 710. But, having seen the recent wharton stats on GMAT of median 725 GMAT, coupled with the fact that i am an indian, presses me to still postpone applying to wharton. (heard somewhere that Indians tend to have higher scores that average at the school). What do you think ? more GMAT re-takes to rise among sea of high GMAT indian applicants ?

3. I have a first MBA which was mostly out of fresh college (engg.). I have seen range of indians going for second MBA so i guess school accept candidates. Reason for second MBA for me is to continue in the PE industry but want to target larger international PE firms which surely need better exposure and a good international b school education in-order to compete in India

Profile:


Schooling - among top 3 students out of 130 students
Graduation - Top 20 college in india ; 1st rank out of 260 students
Post-grad MBA from a top 10 b school in india - GPA 3.5 - Awarded best all-rounder for extra curricular and acads. ( out of 440 students)

Work experience -
1. Software consulting at a global IT major (< 1 yr) --- pre MBA
2. Big credit rating agency in India - an S&P subsidary(2 yrs) - top performer, awarded multiple times
3. Investment Associate at a domestic PE firm (2 yrs) - top performer -- rewarded financially better than the overall set. compensation growth (though at a smaller base then seniors obviously) among the highest in the consecutive appraisal cycles among 60 people (PE is usually a small setup so cant help it Smile )

Others
CFA holder - Teach CFA part-time at a leading indian CFA coaching institute
National talent examination scholar

Other activities - decent activities at school and college level (events organising, partcipation, fund raising for events etc)
Finance cell General Secretary at B-school
Founder of research division at B-school

Charity
Some charity work in the past (2 organisations during schooling, under-graduation and during post graduation) though not very active presently owing to work pressures
Have been from a small community in India which had to migrate owing to past war in 1990's (though still from india). Lost their homes and livelihood in 1990s and hence had an impact on me as a person to assist others and hence the charity what i have done in past (dont know if it can still be carved out separately from the usual indian male engg. bucket)


Please suggest/advice.

Jennifer,

Thanks for your candid feedback.
As far as employability with top US based programs is concerned, yes, a US MBA is the KEY for me.
It is unusual to find a few IIM grads in those firms at my level (that too only if picked from campus usually in single digits in the entire class). But otherwise the doors are virtually closed for people of my profile unless i gain some 15 yr odd experience and create a name for myself in the industry.

And unfortunately, these so called global pe firms will rarely hire people outside the top 8-10 US b school bracket (may be because there is just so much supply of indians graduating from these top 8-10 schools that one neednt even go to a level below)...so may not venture beyond these schools.

Thanks for the advice..any suggestions on improving on essays would be appreciated...

mbaMissionJenK wrote:Hi there,

Thanks for posting. You are correct in that you are generally part of a common applicant profile-- Indian applicants with engineering/IT backgrounds, even with your current Private Equity experience. And yes to a certain degree scores among that group are higher, and overall GMAT scores have risen in recent years. That said in my view a 710 is close enough to the average at even the top programs, that most likely the decision will be made based upon the rest of your application, especially with a quant percentile over 80th.

So as I see it, the strengths of your application are:

-PE experience (different from many Indian IT/engineering applicants)
-overall solid work experience in terms of quality and quantity, including some progression and accomplishments
-710 GMAT is acceptable-- not stand-out strength but fine
-sounds like strong academics
-CFA and teaching experience
-other extracurricular activities

Potential weaknesses, concerns, or unknowns:
-experience with leadership, teamwork, people management? soft skills?
-the fact that you have an MBA already, even if lesser known program, etc, will make it difficult to rationalize the WHY you have a need for another one!! Have you confirmed with companies you would be targeting (you mentioned the larger international PE firms) that currently you would not be a strong candidate with your current MBA but if you added a 2nd US one you would?? Just be sure to do your homework/research!! and if you do, you can also include that in the application.
-your essays/recommendations/interview... these play a HUGE role in decisions once you have the GMAT/GPA/resume etc in good shape. These are where you are showing who you are, what you'll contribute, and why you want the degree. Don't underestimate their importance!!

Overall I believe it will still be very difficult to get into the schools you listed; must be honest. Stanford first of all is the most selective school around-- especially with its smaller than average class size and high average GMAT score. Wharton will be the next most difficult, then Booth and INSEAD.... I wouldn't say it's impossible at Booth and INSEAD but you really have to showcase MORE about what about you is different, unique, what you'll bring... there are just SO many qualified applicants, it is a challenge to stand out. You may want to consider applying to some programs outside the top 8-10 as well for better chances.

Wising you the best!