Profile Evaluation - GMAT 670 - Retake?

[agnikirupha]

Hi,

I would like my profile to be evaluated and the list of schools that I could probably look at for a Fall 2014 admit. I am not sure as to where my profile exactly stands and would like to know if I have a chance at the top 10/20 B-schools in the US.
GMAT (October 2013) - 670 (Q 48/V 34/AWA 5/ IR 3)
Planning to retake it in November and apply for round 2 deadlines.
GRE (April 2013) - Total - 320 (Q 163/V 157/AWA 4)


Background: Indian, Male, 25 years old

UG
Education - BE Mechanical Engineering, Kongu Engineering College (Affiliated to Anna University), May 2009 pass out
GPA - 7.1/10 (Above Average)
Final Year Project/Paper at Wabco India Limited (A subsidiary of TVS motors, one of the leading Auto manufacturers in India) on "Multi-Criteria ABC Inventory Analysis", where the primary objective was to device a systematic method to reduce inventory and thereby reduce inventory costs
Additional Secretary of the Mechanical Engineering department
Part of the Placement coordination team

Work Experience
Indian Hotels Company Limited
1. 3 years full time work experience at Indian Hotels Company Limited (Taj group of hotels - Part of the Tata Group). Initiated as a Graduate Engineering Trainee and then was posted as an Assistant Engineer (Second in command in the Engineering division at the unit level), leading a team of 25-30 employees
2. Lead the department during transitory stages when the unit did not have a Chief Engineer for 4-6 months.
3. The job profile included, but was not limited to, installation and maintenance of engineering equipment (Light/Heavy Machinery) at the unit, including DGs, boilers, chiller plants, transformers etc. The profile also included budget allocation and resource distribution between the various teams in the department.
4. Certified Internal Auditor for OHSAS 18001 and ISO 14001
5. Lead the team to achieve Earthcheck Silver Certification in 2012 (Environmental bench marking initiative)
6. Certified Gold level in Process Improvement
7. Have been the team leader/Project coordinator in 10+ installation/commissioning projects (Large/Medium/Small machinery)

After 3 years, quit the company in Feb 2013

Bhumi
1. After, quitting IHCL, I started to volunteer at an NGO called Bhumi. It's India's leading youth non-profit youth volunteer organization which aims at providing supplementary education during the weekends at orphanages and community centers in English, Maths, Science, Computers, Arts and Sports and Career Counselling.
2. Part time teaching volunteer at Bhumi
3. Zonal Coordinator for Maths and Science - In charge of operations at 4 orphanages, that consists of 50-60 volunteers and 110 kids
4. Overall Science Coordinator for Bhumi - Involves development of syllabus and classes in tandem with the kids' education; Training of new volunteers, Budget allocation and distribution between various centers, Resource Management, HR coordination, expansion of program to other cities and core team development.
5. Involved in a program called Joy to the World at Bhumi, which involves fund raising activities for operational purposes
6. Received the Emerging Einstein award in April 2013 (4 months after joining Bhumi
7. Joined as a teaching volunteer in Jan 2013 and was promoted to Zonal Coordinator and then Science coordinator within 6 months
Bhumi is volunteer driven organization, wherein 99% of the team consists of non-paid volunteers and everyone works part-time.

Extra-curricular activities
1. Currently learning Italian at Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce (Beginner's level)
2. Learned French for 7 years at school (My French is a bit rusty though)
3. Part of Chennai Trekking Club (Non-profit) - wherein 2-5 day treks are organized on a weekly basis and I participate at least in one 2-3 days trek every month. I have not organized any treks but have been involved in the Photography and post-trek write up teams of all the treks that I have participated in.

As of now, I am currently volunteering for Bhumi and an active member of Chennai Trekking Club. I have taken a year's break from full-time employment to pursue my other interests. I would like to know as to how the admissions committee at the colleges would perceive it.
I am looking at MBA programs in Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Nonprofit and Government, General Management, Education and Engineering.

I would like to know as to what are the pros and cons of my profile and what are the aspects that I can highlight to the admissions committee in my SOPs and essays.
And I am planning to retake GMAT in November end as I am targeting a score of 730+. I would also like to know if it is safe to give the GMAT in November end and planning to apply for Round 2 deadlines.
I would also like to know as to what are the colleges that I should be targeting for, with my current GMAT score of 670 (As a safe bet)

Thanks

[mbaMissionJenK]

Hi there,

Thanks for your post.

Overall I'd say your strengths are:

-GPA
-experience leading a large team
-quantitative experience (budgeting etc)
-volunteering extensively at Bhumi
-leadership & coordinator roles at Bhumi
-various awards

Potential weaknesses or concerns:

-current GMAT for top 20 or so programs
-part of a large pool of engineering applicants, though you have more leadership and management experience than average so that helps you stand out
-potential questions raised about leaving your job (but if you can explain the whys and what you've been able to experience at Bhumi etc, it can be ok)

Unknowns:
-essays/recommendations/interview
-your goals!! I would say this could be a big factor, as you mention interests in many areas. Schools want to know you have a plan in mind and know WHY you want the MBA.

In terms of schools, if you do get in the 700's on your GMAT you could aim for schools ranked 10-25, with maybe a top 10 reach school if you really want. With current score, I'd aim outside the top 30 or so, just very rough guidance so do some more research into what schools mesh well with your goals. Good luck on the process and keep us posted!

[agnikirupha]

Hi,
First and foremost, thanks for your reply. I really appreciate the feedback and it has helped me list out my priorities.
The reason why I left my job at IHCL was that my role was confined to the Engineering section while I wanted a bigger portfolio. I had conversations with a lot of my peers and mentors in the industry and the general consensus was that transition from an Engineer to say a General manager or the head of a corporate unit was not likely as the industry preferred people from the Front office, Sales and marketing background. Hence, I am in need of the tools to make the transit and I believe that an MBA in General Management will help me out here.
Regarding my volunteer experience at a non-profit over the last year, it was something that I wanted to do right out of college, but due to my job restrictions, working 14 hours a day 6 days a week, I was unable to do so. I was interested in it for a long time but had no real experience and hence wanted to gain some real exposure on the field. I was also considering a career in it. That's why I spent the last year at Bhumi and Chennai Trekking Club (CTC), the former working in the education sector and the latter in the tourism and travel sector, two sectors that I have got my sights on. Volunteering is not something that I dabbled or experimented with. It is something that I have wanted to do for a long time and will also continue with it during and post my MBA.
My immediate goal post my MBA is to gain experience across different functionalities so that it would help me to start my own venture in 7-10 years.
And I retook the GMAT and got a 720 with a 50 in Quants, 38 in Verbal and a 7 in IR.
I would like your opinion on what I have mentioned and how the adcoms would view it.

[mbaMissionJenK]

Congrats on the new and improved GMAT score which is very strong! That will help a lot. Thank you for the additional info and insight into your situation. I believe overall you have a strong profile, and could apply to a couple of top 10 schools, still a challenge for anyone to get in and still up against a large pool of Indian engineering applicants, BUT you have a lot of factors that help you stand out from that crowd, so with stellar essays and interview, you could have a shot.

I would just encourage you to further develop your goals, so that you could explain to someone (in an essay or interview) what exactly you would aim to get into post-MBA, as opposed to keeping it general about gaining a lot of exposure. Just a small tweak in how you describe it. If you are interested in the education or travel industries as you mentioned, discuss that. Good luck and please keep us posted!

[agnikirupha]

Hi,
Thanks again for your feedback. As you mentioned, we had already connected on GMAT Club and Manhattan, so I am going to continue our conversations on GMAT Club.
Thanks again for your help.

[mbaMissionJenK]

Sounds good!