Profile Eval - Is it too late now ?

[digvijayk]

GMAT- 720 (V41 Q48)
TOEFL iBT- 115
GPA - 3.3 (Chemical Engineering)(was top 15% of the class- its a tough major)
UPWARD TREND IN GPA - initially was 2.5 level due to adjustment issues, then straight As last 2 years.
Work Ex - 46 months (by matriculation) (Never switched companies- IT company with annual revenue of $6 Billion)
Brand - Knowledge Sharer/ Trouble Shooter

Key Points of the Profile:
1. Selected Facilitator of the 25th edition of the cultural herald intra-org e-zine of my employer.
2. Authored 2 books on kindle - selling successfully- By word of mouth promotions only!
3. Selected from among 30 applicants for the post of Think-Tank Member of the same e-zine.
4. Elected Class Rep of my class in college and helped introduce extra classes not in curriculum but considered important by students.
5. Won competition for post of commentator for Inter-University Sports Meet during college.
6. Promoted 6 months before peers- at work.
7. Conducted a market research(under supervision of an in-house business consultant)- the report's results were utilized to modify my department's business strategy. Received appreciation from all.
8. Initiated a YouTube channel for providing free test prep and touched the lives of over a hundred people directly.
9. Created study groups for weak students during college days and helped them secure placements.
10. Trained new team mates at work on various tech and other aspects.
11. Sponsored a child's education for a year and am personally involved even now.
12. Won inter-school essay writing competition, wrote articles for school and college magz and was on the editorial board as well.

The main thrust of my profile is that I have created study groups in college, used to teach classmates so that they'd gain placements and they did, came to work- trained new teammates and submitted knowledge documents, created a youtube channel to provide free education, created blogs and then wrote ebooks to reach as many people as possible, facilitated the magazine- which is a position similar to an editor's with tonnes of other challenges, including bringing together creative talent (from within the organization)from across the globe to deliver high quality content within strict timelines and finally have a general knack of helping people receive education/training/knowledge.

Goal - Business Consulting in IT with further goal of setting up my own firm 5 years post mba.

Why Goal ? Because I worked under the supervision of an in-house business consultant, carried out a market research, analyzed the data gathered and synthesized with other information to pin-point specific market areas in which to invest. Did a lot of other similar sort of work, but mainly, I know specifically what I want to do even as a consultant.

Other extra-currics/Hobbies - Participated in various cultural events at work and was also member of the movie club in engineering college(responsible for editing n screening movies in the auditorium, managing video recordings during various annual events, etc.)

Target Schools - All Focusing on consulting. Have secured a couple of admissions at good institutes with scholarships. But due to a late GMAT, have not been able to prepare apps for top schools that well, except Cornell.

My fear is that I am a bit late in the admissions cycle to apply to some of the schools I "fit" in to - specifically Cornell(round 3-Jan 30). I have been talking to alums, current students, researching in other ways, and have really put in a lot of work. But, as mentioned I already have some offers with scholarships which came about when I had a lower GMAT score earlier - round 1. The dilemma is that i WANT to go(not NEED to go) this year only! I am 25 and I don't want to be any older while entering the MBA class. But, I can only get an MBA once.

Is it too late for me to apply to cornell and similar good schools ? Should I wait ?
What other schools do you believe I "fit" in ?

If you tell me I have a chance at some of the top 10 schools, I can wait and work on my apps further for another few months and submit in next season's round 1. Advice will be helpful. And many thanks, because it was via your videos that I got interested in Cornell and other schools in the first place.

[Jon@Admissionado]

Hey there buddy,
First of all thanks for sharing with us this very long and detailed post...

Le't cut to the chase: WAIT!!!!

You really have a great profile. I mean you have done stuff that nobody else does, between your youtube channel, mentoring, published books. One of these things alone may not be spectacular but ALL of them together... it tells us you are REALLY an active guy. That plus a 115 + 720 makes me REALLY like your profile. And that's why you gotta wait.

R3 is tough, yes.. and let's say you could get into to a school like Cornell, but don't you want to take your shot at Top 10 schools?? No guarantee you will get in, but with all the very great stuff you have, you have a shot....

So if you want my advice, just wait.. it's only 6 months and you'll already be writing essays!!!



Why rush? You have your whole life ahead of you, and I feel it's far better for you to do your application RIGHT, with the right strategy at the right time.

[digvijayk]

Hi Jon,

Thanks a million for your extremely helpful reply. Will be re-directing my applications towards the next season for sure.

My confusion is removed now.

[Jon@Admissionado]

I'm really glad to hear this dude.. because I think in the long-term it'll be much better for you.

But don't sit on your thumbs dude! You can already now slowly slowly start contacting student and alumni, planning visits to schools if you'd like (best to go while they are still in session) get the brochures of all top 20 schools, open your mind to places you didn't think about.... you know, now that there's no rush, it's a great opportunity to do things right...

And I look forward to hearing from you in June!