Kindly evaluate my pofile

[papumba2011]

Here is my background info:

Class-Xth Standard - 93.6%
XIIth Standard - 83.2 %
Engineering Entrance Rank - 210.
Graduation - 81%
GMAT - 710 (Q 48 / V38)

Extracurricular activities - Actively associated with an NGO called Bhumi in Hyderabad.
o Mentored 4 students in career and life choices.
o Conducted "Know about Bhumi" sessions in various colleges thereby increasing the volunteer base of the organization by over 80 members. Also conducted fund raising activities for Bhumi.
o Conceived and initiated the "I am the Change" program in Bhumi Hyderabad chapter.
o "Bhumi Flood Relief" team: Volunteered during floods in Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh in Oct, 2009

Played cricket, football in College and Office teams.
Got 2nd Prize in All India Colour contest way back during my school days.

Work Exp:
1) Worked as a consultant for 2.5 yrs in top consulting firm(one of the big 4). Handled projects both domestic and offshore.Worked in projects in Health Care, Insurance, Government Risk and Compliance, etc.
Some select exp:
"¢ Analyzed business process, prepared proposal, conceptualized and designed a prototype of Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) that helped in clinching a deal of INR 20 million.
"¢ Orchestrated a team of 6 people to develop and deploy a distributed LIMS that completely automated every stage of the laboratory operation cycle reducing the turnaround time of patient report generation by 35%.
-promoted to senior consultant within 1.5 yr

2) Working as a Senior Member in an Investment management and hedge fund firm for the last 2+ yrs.
- Responsibilities are modeling and designing of financial instruments ( fund accounting system) that has reduced turnaround time by 70%
- Cor-ordinating with investors in poviding account statements, financial repot and performance reoports of the funds.
-Joined as Member and promoted to senior member within 9 months

I am planning to apply to ISB and some other top schools like Stanford, Duke, GSB - Chicago, Columbia, IESE Spain, etc. Do I really stand much chance in getting into these schools. It will be great if the experts can throw some light on my chances of getting into these schools.
I am kind of apprehensive about my chances because my score is not in the range of 740+. I do understand the application part will be important but then how important is the score part. Will 710 affect my chance of getting into these schools?
Also I don't have much intl exp. But have worked/working with global team and investors.

[Jessica@VeritasPrep]

Your profile sounds very strong and your GMAT score will absolutely qualify you for any of the schools you mentioned. Your challenge will be to write compelling essays and get fantastic recommendations. If you can do those two things, I think you have a great shot!!

Just remember what makes a "compelling essay" - you need to explain why you truly want an MBA and how this degree will help you achieve your long term goals (hopefully goals involving the extracurriculars since those sound really interesting!). When people sound too successful, Adcoms sometimes wonder why you really want the degree. You need good reasons and not just that you want a stamp on your resume! (does that make sense?).

And, when you consider recommenders, don't pick people with fancy titles - pick people who will sing your praises and be your biggest cheerleader!! It helps if the recommenders are good writers and will put in time to talk to you about your goals and achievements so that your application shows consistency.

Let me know if you have further questions, but, yes, based on the information you provided, I think you have a shot at all the schools you mentioned (Stanford is notoriously difficult but you should be competitive at Duke and at my alma mater, Booth!).

Good luck.

[papumba2011]

Hi Jessica,
Thanks a lot fo your suggestion. I have one question in my mind. While writing essays regarding career goal do I need to align myself with the particular school's speciality. For e.g Booth is famous for Finance, but my long term goal is to venture in entreprenuership with a focus on increasing the IT penetration in Healthcare domain. In a developing country like India and with various govt policies, the oppurtunity is huge. I have a plan as well where we can involve the insurer as well.
I have done an end-to-end health care project in my previous job. But in my current job I am more in designing of financial instuments (fund accounting software and tax prepration software ) which mainly handles the after trade activities.

I am wondering how such a career goal will be taken by the Adcom of Booth. Will it be a stong career goal in my case?

Thanks in advance.

[Jessica@VeritasPrep]

I think that your career goal is great. For the Adcoms, it is important to have a well thought out plan and be able to articulate why an MBA will be helpful, but, it is NOT necessary to align yourself with your perception of a school's strength (Booth for Finance, Kellogg for Marketing, etc.). Schools want applicants with diverse backgrounds and equally diverse future goals.

However, for a school like Booth, you might want to mention that you are drawn to the program because it would enable you to take healthcare classes through one of its other graduate schools (Booth is known for a flexible curriculum which allows students to take electives at the law school or school of public policy, etc.). Or, you could discuss some of the fantastic entrepreurial programs at Booth (the New Venture challenge, etc.). Most any school will have something special that might be interesting to you so I'd suggest you research the parts of the program that best align with your goal and focus on these in your application.

If you can't find anything that aligns with your goal than I suggest you don't attend (or apply to) that school!!

Jessica

PS - As a personal anecdote, I was an undergraduate Art History major and in my Booth applications I discussed how I knew almost nothing about Finance which is why I wanted to go to a school that I thought could best teach me finance. I later learned that this was a different strategy from many applicants (applicants to Booth often write that they love finance and want to go to "the" Finance school, etc.), but, it was true for me!

[papumba2011]

Hi Jessica,
Thanks a lot for that candid reply. May ask you another question? Considering my technical backgound and the type of work I am doing rite now (software development for post trade activities ) , would the goal of IT penetration in healthcare be a acceptable to the adcom. I am kind of confused a bit.
Would like to know your opinion for any other suitable career options.

Thanks,
Arnab

[papumba2011]

Hi Jessica,
The essay fo Chicago Booth is out. The essay 3 (ppt one) looks like this:
Essay 3
At Chicago Booth, we teach you HOW to think rather than what to think. With this in mind, we have provided you with "blank pages" in our application. Knowing that there is not a right or even a preferred answer allows you to demonstrate to the committee your ability to navigate ambiguity and provide information that you believe will support your candidacy for Chicago Booth.

Can you kindly do an analysis and let me know what kind of expeinces/content should be covered in this essay.

[Jessica@VeritasPrep]

First of all, my apologies for such a tardy reply!

The third essay for Booth is a fun one. There are no real expectations and I've seen it handled a variety of different ways. The most important thing to remember is to let your personality show and to try and cover things that you were not able to cover in your essays and resume. You are free to be creative which can include pictures or other graphics. I'd suggest using limited text and not to simply make a typical power point presentation with bullet point "highlights" of your application. Instead, use the flexible format to include things that are difficult to convey in words alone (a timeline of your life or quotes from others about you). Feel free to be as inventive as you like - creativity is valued, think outside the box!!

Hope this helps. And, remember, there isn't a right answer. Do what feels most authentic for you!!

[papumba2011]

Thanks Jessica.

The strategy which I have in my mind to get around the ppt question is as follows:
Slide 1: Portaying my personal life and challneges faced
Slide 2: Portraying the challenges faced during commuinity involvement and
Slide 3: How the idea(long term career goal) came into being and a the framework I envisage.
Slide 4: What I plan to do in Chicago to meet that goal.

What do you feel about the strategy?

Will it be a right strategy to put in some pictorial vision of the long term career goal I envisage and connecting it with how I got that idea and what I plan to do in Chicago to turn that dream into reality.

Keeping in mind that there is a career goal essay. I was thinking whether it will sound a bit cliched although I plan to share the info that I have not shared anywhere in the app.

Waiting to hear from you.

Thanks,
Arnab

[Jessica@VeritasPrep]

I think all of it sounds great - I would encourage you to make the slides as coherent as possible (tell one story, not 4 seperate stories). And, make sure to portray yourself in a positive light - it is fine to incorporate challenges but make sure the focus is on a positive outcome and how you successfully overcame challenges (and what you learned from challenges) rather than just the challenges themselves. You don't want to look like a victim or try to make people feel sorry for you!!

Hope this helps!

[papumba2011]

Thanks Jessica again for your kind reply.

I have another question for Essay 2 which reads as follows:

"Chicago Booth is a place that challenges its students to stretch and take risks that they might not take elsewhere. Tell us about a time when you took a risk and what you learned from that experience "

Can you thow some light on what kind of experince will be taken as "risk taking". Obviously I have not ventured in entreprenuership so that is kind of ruled out.
I was thinking of stating a scenario in my work situation where I have brought a technological innovation to design a system for portfolio accounting. And for that I have to convinc my senior managers about the utility and benefit of the approach and how it is going to add value to the firm.

Will such an experince be regarded as "risk taking" one?

[Jessica@VeritasPrep]

Many situations can be framed as a "risk" and it is possible that the scenario you described could be as well. You need to ask yourself (and convey to the Adcom) what the "risk" was - were you risking your job if you were wrong? Were you risking a strong relationship with your superiors? Did you truly feel that you were taking a risk?

In the essay, you should try to communicate the risk itself (and that it was a real one) and your thought process for knowing/believing that the rewards outweighed the risks, etc. Remember, your "risk" doesn't need to be a professional story. Personal stories make great essays as well.

[papumba2011]

Hi Jessica,
I have a couple of questions for you. It will be great if you can throw some light on them as a Booth Alumni.

1. I have gone thu the Booth website. But in your view what are the biggest assets or unique aspects of Booth?
2. Also what are the biggest challenges an international student(Indian) can face in Booth?

Thanks in advance