Profile evaluation please. Thanks

[themangoman]

Hello,

Kindly evaluate my profile and give me a feedback. Though I understand that a brief write up such as this would not be sufficient enough for a thorough evaluation, I appreciate your effort. I am looking for Ivy League colleges. Harvard,Stan,Haas,Booth,Wharton etc.

Undergrad GPA : 3/4
Undergrad University : Indian Institute of Technology
Some key points in my profile that I plan to highlight in my essays :

Extra Curriculars
--> Captain, Table Tennis team representing high school and undergrad college.
--> Member of the Core Organizing Committee of institute's cultural and technical festivals.
--> Secretary of Music Club in college. A passionate guitarist.(don't know if this is worth mentioning)
--> Have been individually sponsoring an underprivileged child's education for two years ( Again, I don't usually like mentioning in public if I have done some community service. I feel it demeans the whole purpose. Need your advice here ).
--> CRY India did not have a chapter in Pune( a city in India). I had been trying to persuade them to do so but they never had many volunteers. I managed to spread the news in and out of my organization. In the end, I was able to gather enough volunteers that led to a new chapter of CRY Campaigns in Pune.

Academic
--> As mentioned above, GPA of 3/4. I understand this number is not exactly what H/W/S would appreciate?
--> I have an international publication with IEEE Transactions. The paper is on wireless communications (on a subject which has very few researchers working on it till date ). I wish to use this as an evidence of my quantitative and analytical abilities. The paper involved rigorous application of mathematics.
--> Cleared CFA Level 1. Appearing for Level 2 in June 2011.
--> GMAT 740 (Assumption. I am yet to appear for the same. But let us say I am lucky enough to get that score).

Career Goal
--> After 20 years, I want to end up working for Government of India. I have a very specific goal in my mind which I would disclose if you need that to assess my profile.

Employers
--> Summer Internship in University Of Reggio Calabria, Italy as a research assistant on mathematical modeling of Communication Channels, 3 months
--> PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt Ltd, 25 months as a Finance Consultant.

I would appreciate any sort of comments.

Regards

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear themangoman,

Your post indicates your understanding of the admissions process and a sold self-assessment of your profile. Your GPA is a bit low for the schools you note, so your GMAT score needs to be above average to mitigate the GPA. While I understand you don't like to mention your community service, it is important to accurately reflect your involvement in the community. Schools like to see that applicants have outside interests and can effectively juggle commitments between work and activities. You do not have to write an essay about it, but certainly can; just be sure to list your involvements in your applications. For any school, how you present your background and rationale for an MBA are critical components in your applications. Do not discount the importance of your essays, recommendations and interviews in this regard. Finally, I encourage you to broaden your school research beyond the top 10 and usual suspects. You will want to have some reasonable and safety programs identified, especially since you do not currently have a GMAT score.

Good luck,
Lisa

[themangoman]

Hi Lisa,

I appreciate the feedback. I definitely have other safety schools in mind too. I just mentioned those ivy league names because I wanted to know whether I 'stand a chance' in these schools. I can work on my essays. I am confident about excellent recommendations and not just general ones. My recommendations will be from (2/3 out of these)
1. Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt. Ltd.
2. My manager, who is a Chartered Accountant(similar to a CFA/CPA in US), an MBA (from THE best management institute in India) and a professional Certificate holder from Stanford.
3. Peer reco. - my colleague who is pursuing an MBA from Haas School of Business currently with whom I have worked very closely on projects.
4. My professor from a university in Italy( from my summer internship on a EU sponsored project)

So I have one last question, with this profile, do I stand a chance in these top schools? Are these one of those schools where there would be no point in applying with this profile? Nonetheless, I have safety schools in mind but I want to be sure that my profile is at least competitive for the top colleges

Thanks a ton,
Regards,

[Lisa Anderson]

I cannot really comment on your chances at any school as your profile is incomplete. While you provide a GMAT score, it is not your actual score which is difficult to predict. If you do manage to score at or above a 740, then I think it puts you in a competitive range for any school. However, your decision will be based on your entire application, meaning your essays, recommendations and interviews will be integral to the decision. I am glad to hear you will have strong recommendations and encourage you to use those from your professional experience.

Good luck,
Lisa