Request for profile evaluation

[sason]

Hi ,

Please evaluate my profile and let me know the colleges that I should apply.

It is a bit long post but please dont ignore it

Undergraduate degree: BTech -IIIT Allahabad (India) (2008)
gpa: 9.17
GMAT : 750 ( Q50 , V40 ) AWA 6

experience:
6 months internship at IBM India software Labs during the final semester
2+ years as Associate Software Engineer at IBM India software Labs (since Aug 2008)
Mentored 3 students directly and 3 others indirectly in the first years itself.
dont have any international travel exp , but my team had may member from US and Taiwan,my direct supervisor in the project is from US ( also my rec )

Extraco :
student rep for microsoft in coll ,org many tech events.
Won quite a few competitions (college and national level )
merit scholarships form coll etc.
Organized many events in college.
Maintain my own blog (I write about Indian stocks with a med to long term view ) ... its a simple site should I write about it in my app considering I don't have any specific/relevant exp in finance.

Certs :
Passed CFA level 1 in June 2010 ( first attempt) , Currently CFA Level II candidate.


Would appreciate if anyone replies to my queries given below

1. In my college , I scored badly in the second semester (7.8) due to some personal reasons.Now the score is definitely an outlier as one can see that my total cgpa is above 9 (in the top ten student of my class ) . My question is whether I should write about my bad grades of second semester in the additional essay ( currently writing for MIT MFIN ).The issue is more important that many of the math &prob courses I did were in the second semester and I scored badly in them too.

2.would passing CFA level I help me in overcoming the bad grades in maths ( described above).

3. I want to switch my field from IT to finance and therefore dont have any prof experience in Finance though I have some knowledge about it and also have been maintaining my trading portfolio for quite some time,blog, CFA level 1etc. So will not having any relevant exp have any negative effect on my profile.

4. Regarding community service,due to some issues I do travel to my home over the weekend ( overnight by train and that too 700km ).The point is I am active in community service there. But when I discussed it with a local Ad consultant they suggested me to not write about it as it would not look good and believable (but I really do travel ) .I was actually thinking of writing about this in one of my essays (work life balance) ,but now I am a bit confused.Please guide me.

5. Finally,which schools should I apply . I have heard that a three year exp would be a negative factor in schools like Oxford and Cambridge ( am interested in them for since they have 1 year program),which have more than 6 years average experience.Would request you to provide some schools fit for my profile ( safe , reach and dream).Schools I am currently looking at are
US: Stanford,Harvard,MIT,NYU Stern,Kellogg,Yale,Booth,Wharton ,Cornell
Europe:Oxford,Cambridge,IE and IESE
Please be free to add or remove any school.





I know I have written a very long post here .But I would really appreciate if someone answers to my queries

Thanks and Regards
Sason

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear Sason,

Generally speaking, your profile is competitive but very common in the global MBA applicant pool. Your education and professional experience will not differentiate you, so you need to find aspects to your background that will. Likewise, it is critical you present a solid, well-written rationale for your MBA in relation to your future career goals. A quality presentation of this rationale, including your plan to achieve your goals, is often overlooked and can be one way to stand out from similar applicants. To answer your questions:

1. In my college , I scored badly in the second semester (7.8) due to some personal reasons.Now the score is definitely an outlier as one can see that my total cgpa is above 9 (in the top ten student of my class ) . My question is whether I should write about my bad grades of second semester in the additional essay ( currently writing for MIT MFIN ).The issue is more important that many of the math &prob courses I did were in the second semester and I scored badly in them too.
2.would passing CFA level I help me in overcoming the bad grades in maths ( described above).
It is not unusual to see a bad semester or a rocky first year in college. However, I do think you should write the optional essay and acknowledge this rough patch. Your total GPA and strong GMAT score do mitigate average performance in one semester, but you do not want to let the admissions committee assume what might have been going on at that time. The CFA does show a certain amount of quantitative aptitude, but it does not mitigate poor academic performance as much as the GMAT or doing well in subsequent math coursework.

3. I want to switch my field from IT to finance and therefore dont have any prof experience in Finance though I have some knowledge about it and also have been maintaining my trading portfolio for quite some time,blog, CFA level 1etc. So will not having any relevant exp have any negative effect on my profile.
The majority of people applying to full-time MBA programs are looking to make a significant career change. It is not a negative that you do not have direct finance experience, but you do want to highlight any relevant experiences, both personal and professional, to demonstrate what you are doing to move your career in the new direction. I think you should emphasize your activities like your portfolio, blog, and CFA as evidence of your commitment and initial steps taken towards your new career in finance.

4. Regarding community service,due to some issues I do travel to my home over the weekend ( overnight by train and that too 700km ).The point is I am active in community service there. But when I discussed it with a local Ad consultant they suggested me to not write about it as it would not look good and believable (but I really do travel ) .I was actually thinking of writing about this in one of my essays (work life balance) ,but now I am a bit confused.Please guide me.
I am not quite sure what the question is here to really answer the question and provide my insight on your admissions consultants recommendation. If you are working in the community, whether it is on the weekends in your hometown or during the week near your job, it is still community activities that you should note in your applications. Travelling to your hometown each weekend is not community service, but it is commendable to prioritize your family by spending the resources (time & expense) to go home every weekend. Whether or not to disclose your commitment to going home depends on where in the application you intend to do that. If it makes sense for an essay, then I don't see why that is a problem. I do not think it is something to note as an extracurricular activity or something to write an optional essay about though.

5. Finally,which schools should I apply . I have heard that a three year exp would be a negative factor in schools like Oxford and Cambridge ( am interested in them for since they have 1 year program),which have more than 6 years average experience.
You need to target schools that are a good match for you in terms of your career goals and what you seek in your MBA experience. For tips on school selection, I encourage you to visit our sticky on school selection. Just be mindful of your profile against the school's profile, keeping in mind that you are applying with an over-represented background so the challenge is a bit greater to stand out from the competition. You want to have a good mix of reach and reasonable programs, maybe 1 or 2 safety options.

Good luck,
Lisa