Please evaluate my profile

[humbled4real]

African American
Female
30
BS- Printing Management - Rochester Institute of Tech
GPA: 2.8 (i know this is low)
GMAT: 650
Work: 9 years - in print servicing - transitioning to project management
Extracurricular: Big Brothers/Big Sisters Mentor, RIT Alumni Reginal Volunteer, Diversity Council (at previous and current employer)

Although my major at RIT provided a business core, it was very specific to printing. I am looking to get out of the printing industry and change my career focus to a business analyst/project management role in info systems.

Schools of interest:
Carngie Mellon - stretch
Emory
Fordham - Dual degree MBA/MSIS
Baruch - Zicklin

I know CMU is a reach as well as Emory but they are my 1st and 2nd choice respectively. What are my chances?

[Amy]

Hi humbled4real,

I don't think CMU or Emory are a reach. Your GPA is fairly low, but if you have the time you can mitigate that weakness a bit by taking some classes (see the sticky thread on low GPA). You have great extracurriculars - have you taken on a leadership position with any of them? How is your work progression in terms of promotions?

My advice would be to shore up some of your weaknesses, highlight your strengths and aim a bit higher. I would investigate some of the African American MBA associations to find mentors who can help you.

Good luck!

Amy

[humbled4real]

Hi humbled4real,

I don't think CMU or Emory are a reach. Your GPA is fairly low, but if you have the time you can mitigate that weakness a bit by taking some classes (see the sticky thread on low GPA). You have great extracurriculars - have you taken on a leadership position with any of them? How is your work progression in terms of promotions?

My advice would be to shore up some of your weaknesses, highlight your strengths and aim a bit higher. I would investigate some of the African American MBA associations to find mentors who can help you.

Good luck!

Amy

Amy,

Thank you so much for the feedback. I do not hold any leadership roles for my volunteer work. I held many of my leadership roles during undergrad (hence, the low GPA). I took on way too much during those times. At any rate, I do have time to take a couple of courses during summer and Fall 2008.

As for work progression, I have been promoted. At my previous job (small advertising firm), I was promoted from Production Coordinator to Assistant Production Manager. I then left that organization for a much larger printing company (Fortune 250) to take on a more analytical role in printing (Pricing Analyst). I did that for 2 years and then had an opportunity to use my print background in an operations role at the same company. That was a promotion and a much higher profile job.

I've done a lot of team management through the projects I work on. I am already asking for recommendations. My current manager will be a great reference. I've also asked the VP of Operations. She oversees my department and the project work I do. As a back up I've asked my mentor, who is a high level manager at my company.

I'm going to looking into National Black MBA and the Consortium. Thank you for that tip.

[Amy]

Hi humbled4real,

Your work progression sounds great. I think that if you take some classes and work hard on the essays and application you'll have a good chance of doing well in the admissions process.

Good luck!

Amy

[richardwang6430]

Concentrate on the essay writing. Good luck.

[prem.jiitian]

Please let review my profile.

Bachlore Engineering in Coumputer Science and Technology - 66%
Work integrated Masters in Science from BITS Pilani - 7.46 CGPA (on scale of 10)

5 years of experience in providing Quality Assurance and Consulting for CMMI, ISO 9001:2008, ITIL and Six Sigma. Worked with IBM Software lab, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Syntel Ltd, QAI (Software Engineering Institute Partner)

- Certified Six Sigma Black Belt from American Society of Quality (ASQ)
- Certified Internal Auditor on ISO 9001:2000
- Certified Green Belt Six Sigma from IBM
- ITIL Service Management V3 foundation Certified

- Recieved Star Award in Syntel for contribution towards Corporate Social Responsibility

I would like to go for 1 yr MBA in General management / Operation Management

Not yet given GMAT ... however I am a bit affraid of it as I am not expecting score more than 550 based on my practice exam. (Low score in Verbal section)

Please suggest which colleges I should target.

Regards
Prem Krishna