Please Evaluate my profile: Gmat 730

[anurag1982]

Hi Stacy/Leena,

Please evaluate my profile.
Gmat Score : 730 Q-49 V-40 AWA 4.0
Experience : 4.5 Years
Domain : IT in Finance (One of the best companies in the sector)
Acads Averag : 67% from one of the top institutions in India
Extra curricular : Not much

I am looking to do MBA in finace from the best colleges in the US.
Please advice few colleges based on my profile and please suggest my chances.
So far i know about these universities.
NYU (Stern), Carnegie Mellon, Yale,
I already have sent score to NY sterns and Washington University.

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear anurag1982,

I encourage you to visit our sticky on school selection for tips on identifying schools. You will find plenty of schools that are strong in finance, so these tips will help you to narrow down the list.

Good luck,
Lisa

[anurag1982]

GMAT: 730 Q49 V 40 (AWA 4)

LOW AWA  I had headache (migraine) at start of the Test and could not write much in AWA. The medicine I took showed its effect in later exam. I am wondering how much affect my AWA will have on my application as whole.

Education:
B Tech from N.I.T (One of top 20 colleges in India).
Percentage: 67 % (Don’t know how much GPA it transforms into)
Low percentage is due to my abysmal performance in 3rd year of school, as there was strike at our college that agitated the professors and that reflected on my GPA. (Whole class got less marks). In my last two semesters I had (75% +).

Extra curricular in college:-
 Paper Presentation
 Executive Member Organization Club
 Volunteer PR Club

Experience:
 4.5 years of IT Experience (Most Common Pool).
 Whole of my experience is into Finance domain.
Banking: 2 years
Investment banking: 2.5 years.
 Two certifications in finance domain

Leadership Skills:-
 Supervised a R&D project in First Company.
 Lead Developer for Automation project
 Coordinate the team of 4 people for 3 months.
 Participated regularly in talent recruitment for the last company.

Awards and Recognition:

Outstanding Team Achievement award (Team)
Outstanding Individual Achievement award

Community Service (Not much):
 Volunteer for a NGO

LORs: I can furnish strong recommendations from my superiors.

I want to pursue my MBA in finance from the good schools only.
The MBA fulltime will only help achieve my career goal of shifting career to asset management, portfolio management or IB.

I short listed below colleges from where I want to do MBA finance.

1) Tepper School of Business.
2) Yale University.
3) NYU Sterns.
4) UCLA.
5) HKSTU (Hong Kong University)

I want to know if my target list is realistic and how much chance I stand.
I have about 20-25 days to prepare my application for round 2. I know I am running quite late for round 2 but don’t want to apply for round 3 it might not be worth.

I am seriously thinking of trying to upgrade my profile and try next year if that helps my application.

Please suggest I am in dilemma.

[Lisa Anderson]

Based on the information you did provided, you seem to have the foundation for a competitive profile at your target schools. The AWA is not going to be much of a factor if your essays are well-written. What makes the difference for any applicant is how well you put your application together. It is imperative you present a strong rationale for why you want a MBA, how it fits into your overall career plan, and why the school you are applying to is a good match for you. Likewise, you must distinguish yourself from the competition and demonstrate successful leadership experiences/evidence of leadership potential. If you feel you can present a strong application encompassing these things in the next 3 weeks, then get busy and get your applications submitted. If you do not feel you have enough time, then you might consider waiting until the first round next year.

Best of luck,
Lisa