Please Evaluate Profile

[Kam]

Hi,

Here is my profile:

female
Indian
GMAT - 660 (43 Q, 38 V) This was my third attempt in last two years. The previous two attempts yielded 620 and 640.


Undergrad:
major - History
GPA: 3.5 approx

Post Grad:
major:History
GPA: 3.75 approx

Professional Experience:
Journalist
3.5 years
Have worked for the biggest newspaper and the biggest television network in the country.
Have been a beat reporter. Now, cover special off beat stories on the economy and the society.

Have substantial volunteering experience. I took six months out between two jobs to teach students at an NGO.

- Have intermediate knowledge of French. I am also learning Mandarin.

Why an MBA?
- To facilitate a shift to the management side of media organizations.
- There is a dearth of managers in the media world who can understand and know how to balance the reporting/content and the management side of a media organiz toation.

- I want to do a general management program where I can focus on marketing and branding in the end. Other sectors I am interested in are FMCG and luxury.
- Advantage of my profile: Unique profile especially when the Indian applicant pool is taken into account. Having reported both from the cities and villages I can bring a perspective on India that very few of my peers from India would be able to.
- Disadvantage - no academic exposure to quantitative subjects during undergrad and postgrad. Low quant score on GMAT.

Pool of Schools I would like to apply to (I am probably not going to apply to all these schools, but these are the ones I am considering)

- HEC Paris (high on priority list)
- Judge
- Said
- Manchester
- ESADE
- IESE
- SDA Bocconi
- NUS
- NTU
- Erasmus Rotterdam

Should I take my GMAT again? In all these attempts I didn't study much for verbal, although it is my verbal score that has improved over the three attempts. If I take it again I am convinced I can break the 700 barrier but that would happen only with the help of a higher verbal score. My quant will probably get stuck around 45.

Are there any schools I should add/drop from this list?

Your help will be appreciated.

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear Kam,

I agree that your education and experience are unique for an applicant from India. From your travels and experiences, I would assume you have some interesting stories to tell in your essays which will help to distinguish you from the applicant pool. A higher GMAT score will help as it will make you more competitive as an international applicant; however, you should not sacrifice other aspects of your application for a retake as your 660 is not out of range from programs on your list. I do think your list is a bit long, but it is your prerogative on how many applications you want to write. If you do want to narrow it down, I would suggest cutting any programs you feel are not as good of a match for your career goals. Likewise, you want to be sure to have a solid mix of schools, so be sure to have a few reasonable and safety options.

Good luck,
Lisa

[ajaykumarmidhun]

Hi,

Here is my profile:

female
Indian
GMAT - 660 (43 Q, 38 V) This was my third attempt in last two years. The previous two attempts yielded 620 and 640.


Undergrad:
major - History
GPA: 3.5 approx

Post Grad:
major:History
GPA: 3.75 approx

Professional Experience:
Journalist
3.5 years
Have worked for the biggest newspaper and the biggest television network in the country.
Have been a beat reporter. Now, cover special off beat stories on the economy and the society.

Have substantial volunteering experience. I took six months out between two jobs to teach students at an NGO.

- Have intermediate knowledge of French. I am also learning Mandarin.

Why an MBA?
- To facilitate a shift to the management side of media organizations.
- There is a dearth of managers in the media world who can understand and know how to balance the reporting/content and the management side of a media organiz toation.

- I want to do a general management program where I can focus on marketing and branding in the end. Other sectors I am interested in are FMCG and luxury.
- Advantage of my profile: Unique profile especially when the Indian applicant pool is taken into account. Having reported both from the cities and villages I can bring a perspective on India that very few of my peers from India would be able to.
- Disadvantage - no academic exposure to quantitative subjects during undergrad and postgrad. Low quant score on GMAT.

Pool of Schools I would like to apply to (I am probably not going to apply to all these schools, but these are the ones I am considering)

- HEC Paris (high on priority list)
- Judge
- Said
- Manchester
- ESADE
- IESE
- SDA Bocconi
- NUS
- NTU
- Erasmus Rotterdam

Should I take my GMAT again? In all these attempts I didn't study much for verbal, although it is my verbal score that has improved over the three attempts. If I take it again I am convinced I can break the 700 barrier but that would happen only with the help of a higher verbal score. My quant will probably get stuck around 45.

Are there any schools I should add/drop from this list?

Your help will be appreciated.

may i ask you why are you not considering any us schools?

[Kam]

Thanks a lot for the reply Lisa. I will keep your suggestions in mind while applying.

ajaykumarmidhun - I would prefer a 15-18 month program to a 24 month one as it would be a little shorter (hence a little cheaper) but would still give me the opportunity to do an internship (essential for someone with my profile). I plan to shorten my list by dropping the schools that offer a 12-month program.