Which schools to apply to?

[gujralvikas]

Hi All,

I am planning to apply for the Fall 2013 intake and need help shortlisting schools. I am interested in building a career in Management consulting. For shortlisting US schools, I am only interested in schools which offer loans without any co-signer. Currently, I am looking at Kellogg, Booth, Tuck, Fuqua, Darden and Ross. Any thoughts/comments/help is appreciated.

Profile:

GMAT - 760 (V 41, Q 50, AWA 5.5, IR 6)
Undergrad - GPA of 8.16 out of 10 from a reputed college in India
Work Ex - 48 months (by Sep'13) in ZS Associates, a sales & marketing consulting firm

Academic Achievement -
Among the toppers in my High school (Full Scholarship during 2003-05)
Certificate of merit for excelling in Mathematics (100% marks in national level board exam)
Graduated with an honors degree
Participated in many business/technical competitions during college (Regional winner in Agilent Technology awards, Finalist in Schneider electric innovation challenge, Won 1st Al Gore sustainable technology venture competition, Participated in business venture competition at Tepper)

Extra curricular interests -
Regular member of High school's Kho-Kho (a south asian sport) team (Stood 3rd once at the zonal level)
Participated in many scouting camps during High-school
A travelling and adventure enthusiast (Just went to a 10-day motorbiking trip to Ladakh, Have tried river-rafting, para-gliding, Bungee jumping)
Organized a major 3-day business event (named Brand Equity) during college festival
Regular participant in dance and fashion competitions during college festival
Organized office outings at ZS

[milimbamission]

Hello there,

Your academic profile is very impressive. Your professional experience sounds strong, too - ZS Associates is a great company. It's unclear to me what your track has been there - what is your role, have you been consistently promoted, do you have strong leadership stories from ZS? If the answer to all these is yes, then that is great.

I'd say your big weakness is lack of non-professional leadership activities and community work. Still, you might be able to overcome these gaps with personal stories of your adventurous side, etc. I think your school list is pretty well rounded, with Kellogg/Tuck as reaches, Booth/Fuqua/Ross as targets and Darden as a safety. You could consider adding one more safety school if you end up having time!

Overall, pretty good strategy and pretty good profile.

Best of luck,
Mili

[gujralvikas]

Thanks Mili. I have worked extensively on sales force effectiveness projects as well as on many other analytical projects related to sales & marketing. I got my first promotion after a little over 2 years (standard at ZS). However, all of my work has been focused on the pharma industry.
I am aware of the weakness you mentioned. I did try to get involved in community work but could not find a nearby place where I can contribute over the weekend. I am still looking for such opportunities. Will it affect my application if I get involved in community work right now and mention that in my application? I do not want it to appear as if I am interested in community work just for the sake of an MBA admission.

[milimbamission]

Hi,

Joining a community activity at this stage may seem like a shallow attempt to check the box, unfortunately. If you do decide to get involved in something, make sure it something you are truly passionate about and something where you can make a big impact in a short amount of time. That way you'll be motivated to go the extra mile with the organization and may perhaps come out with a story to include in your apps. If you can't think of such an activity, then I'd probably say it's not worth getting involved at this stage.

Good luck,
Mili