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Kindly evaluate my profile---Do you see a difference?

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Kindly evaluate my profile---Do you see a difference?

by DestinationMBA » Wed Aug 12, 2009 12:36 pm
Hi Lisa,

I have a bachelor's degree from IIT, India. My GPA is 7.8/10 (Conversion to a scale of 4 not known). I recently took GMAT and scored much below my expectations. Though the mocks went really good, I screwed up in verbal on the d-day I guess.

I scored a 710 ( Quant 50, Verbal 36), AWA 5. I am not sure whether I should retake the GMAT to improve my score.

At present I have a work experience of 3 years, it would be 4 years by the time I join a B school. I worked as a Field Engineer (International Assignments) with Schlumberger for about 2 years and it has been an year working as a senior business analyst in the oil and gas sector with a leading Business Research firm in India.

During my stay at Schlumberger, I worked in different countries worldwide. I worked mostly offshore in the oilfield and with people of different nationalities. I have travelled to and worked in about 12 different countries during this time frame. Worked in harsh conditions such as North Sea and Barents Sea.

At present I am working as a Senior Analyst in a leading Business Research firm in India. It has been an year working with the company. I look after the upstream oil and gas projects. Thus my industry remained unchanged even after my job change.

After reading the snapshot of my profile, do you think I stand a fair chance at the topmost MBA programs? Do I make a cut above the rest or should I consider taking the GMAT again?
I am looking forward to a career in consulting and have targeted the following schools:
Harvard Business School
London Business School
Stanford
INSEAD
A quick response will be highly appreciated.

Cheers
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by kalyankumar.new » Thu Aug 13, 2009 9:49 am
Hi,

Your profile sounds good. You have shown your career growth well in your past assignments.

I may not be able to exactly tell you about possibiliites.
I suggest you to go thru the profiles of current students of these schools. It may give you a fair idea about the kind of profile the schools are expecting. Also try to go through the converstions /blogs written by students in the respective schools websites.

Hope this helps,
Kalyan.
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by Lisa Anderson » Thu Aug 13, 2009 11:07 am
Dear DestinationMBA,

Based on the information provided, I think you have the foundation for a competitive application to your target schools. Your GMAT score is within range, right around the average for these schools. If you feel you can increase it at least 20 points, it might be worth retaking. Your essays, recommendations, and interviews are critical to the ultimate decision though. I think you have some interesting professional experience that should distinguish you from other applicants from India. Being in the oil and gas industry and doing field work in many countries should be an advantage for you. Be sure to convey your successful leadership and teamwork experiences in your essays as well as a solid rationale for getting your MBA. Finally, you might consider adding 1-2 safety schools to your list. While you have a good shot at one of your top 4, it is always good to have a backup plan.

Best of luck,
Lisa
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Thanks kalyan

by DestinationMBA » Sat Aug 15, 2009 2:48 am
Thanks for the suggestions Kalyan. I'll definitely keep them in mind.
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Thanks Lisa--Some more queries

by DestinationMBA » Sat Aug 15, 2009 2:58 am
Hi Lisa,

Thanks for reviewing my rofile and encouraging me. You mentioned about the safety schools. Though I had a look at most of the top schools' wesites, I am not able to figure out the safety schools for me. Now that you alrady have an overview of my profile, can you suggest me the names of a few safety schools for me? It would certainly be a great help.

Refarding the GMAT, I guess I am not let with much time to retake the GMAT, given that I plan to apply to the shortllisted schools in the 1st round itself. Thus, i think it would be beneficial to utilize my time in writing the essays rather than concentrating on just the number game. I asked current students from some of the top schools and they suggested me to go forward with my present score of 710. What do you reckon?

One more query---As I mentioned earlier, my aim is to enter into consulting and the long term goal is to become a part of the decosion making comittee or team of the firm. Do you see this as an adequate reason to enter a B School?

Thanks once again for your advice,

Regards
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by Lisa Anderson » Sun Aug 16, 2009 9:11 am
Dear DestinationMBA,

Safety schools are generally programs that are a good fit for your career goals and where your GMAT/GPA are above the average for the school. In my opinion, all top 15 programs are reach schools for anybody. I would suggest looking at some schools outside the top 15 as possible options for your safety list--perhaps with GMAT averages in the 650-700 range?

Only you know how much time you have to spend on your business school applications, so you do not want to sacrifice the quality of your applications for a GMAT retake at this point.

Making a career change where a MBA will serve as a bridge from your current career to your desired career is a legitimate reason for business school.

Best of luck,
Lisa
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