Profile Evaluation

[mba2012Hopeful]

Hi,

I am considering applying to MBA Programs for admission in 2010.

Here is my profile

Indian, Male, 23+

GMAT 760 (99%) Q51 (98%) V41 (92%) & AWA 5.5 (76%)

Undergraduate Studies : B Tech Electrical Engineering, GPA = 8.75/10 (9.0 in Final 2 years) from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (class rank : within top 15%)
I have published papers in international journals

Work Experience : 27 months @ 1st Oct 2009 in the IT organisation of one of the top 5 Investment Banks. I interned there and got selected in the Grad Program. It is not a leadership position per se, but I have led project implementations, coordinated team efforts and have been recognized for my work a few times times.

Passed CFA Level-II exam.

Leadership : School Head Boy, Organized events at uni, treasurer of a student body

Diversity : I did a couple of years of junior school abroad and all my part-time / full-time work-experience is outside of India (in Oz).

Community Experience: part of social service scheme at school and uni, but not too much since i started working apart from the odd thing here and there as part of my company's community work.

Extracurriculars: Debating, quizzing etc at school, member of student bodies at uni. But EC's have tailed off since i started working.

Career Aim: Transition to a Business role into sales and trading / fund management and open my own fund at some point if possible. As a result, I am interested in schools that have a strong focus on finance.

Could you please evaluate my profile. How much being an Indian/IT and lacking extracurriculars recently will hurt me?

Given that there is very little time left till the Round-1 deadlines, I am considering applying to 2 schools in Round-1 and 3-4 schools in Round-2. Here is the tentative list of schools I am thinking of applying to:
Round-1
Columbia (Deadline 07-Oct)
Michigan / LBS (Deadline 07-Oct) (Considering)
Round-2
NYU (Deadline 15-Nov)
INSEAD (Deadline 02-Dec)
School-3 ( ?? )
School-4 ( ?? )

Based on my profile, do you think that I stand a chance of admission to any of these schools. Is my profile too weak for schools such as Chicago Booth, Kelloggs and LBS (which are kind of dream schools for me) or should I consider applying to them as well?

Could you please suggest a couple of other schools that I can apply to in R2? How much more competitive is R2 compared to R1?

Thanks.

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear mba2012Hopeful,

Nothing in your background and profile is a negative, per se, but there are some things that will be more of a hurdle for you. You are from an overrepresented profile in the applicant pool. As such, you will need to distinguish yourself from these similar applicants to be noticed by the admissions committee. Since you have not done much in terms of ECs, you might need to think more about personal experiences that will help in this regard.

As for the lack of ECs, it certainly does not help your case, but how much it hurts is relative to the school and what those with a similar profile have done. You can't change it now, so you will need to spend that much more time ensuring your essays, resume, recommendations and interview put you in the best possible light.

There is no disadvantage to applying in R2 versus R1, but you do not want to apply any later than R2. I agree that you should go with your top choices for R1. You have a chance at any of the schools you mention; you just need to use your essays and interview to your advantage to set yourself apart and make a compelling case for your admission. I would suggest identifying a couple of schools outside the global top 10. There are many programs that are strong in finance, so perhaps pick a couple that have strong ties to the sales & trading arm of the banks or good electives in investment management.

Good luck,
Lisa