MBA mom for 2011 - please evaluate profile

[pkp]

Dear Stacy,

Thank you very much for taking the time to read my post and give your expert advise. I am planning to apply to business school fall of 2011. Below, is a brief description of my background.

Gender - Female
Ethnicity - Indian

Education:

- Engineering in Computer Science, India. Honors student
- MS from one of the reputed universities in US in Information Science, GPA 3.7/4.0
- GRE score - 1300/1600
- GMAT Score: 620 (V- 58%, scaled score- 31 and Q - 75%, scaled score - 45)

Experience:

-Total 5 years in IT industry. Below is breakdown of the 5 years -
a. 2 years as an IT Analyst
b. 1 year worked as a onsite coordinator
c. 1 year worked as a business analyst
d. 1 year worked as a module leader

Community involvement:

-Volunteered as a teacher in SOS children's village where I taught maths and science to middle school students.
-Several Leadership roles for female students - I took classes on female sexual harassment on work places
-Worked in AID (Association for India's Development)

The low GMAT score is because I had a C-section and a 2 month old baby. I intend to apply with the 620 GMAT score.

I'm interested to apply to the following colleges- (Plz help me to make it to only 2 colleges)

Berkeley,
USC Marshall,
Stanford,
UCLA and
UC Davis

Please let me know my chances of getting into the above colleges. I will be grateful if you can eliminate the ones which are very tough to get into.

Thank you very much for your kind help!

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear pkp,

With a strong set of essays and outstanding interview, you have a shot at UC Davis and maybe USC. I think it will be quite difficult for you to be competitive at Berkeley, Stanford and UCLA with your current profile as your GMAT is significantly below average for these schools. While you did well in your MS and undergraduate programs, your background of computer science and IT experience is over-represented in US business schools which makes your job of distinguishing yourself from the competition a bit harder. Thus your essays, recommendations and interview are integral pieces to the evaluation and will be critical in your decisions. Finally, I strongly encourage you to visit the schools where you decide to apply and establish a rapport with the admissions office.

Good luck,
Lisa