Can I apply to Duke?

[priya8712]

Hello Sir,

Please find my brief profile given below:

GMAT: 680(Q 49 V 33 AWA 4.5 IR 5)
Academics
Undergraduation(Bachelor of Engineering in IT):92.5 %(Non IIT,Non NIT)----Osmania university first ranker in IT branch
12th Standard: 98.2%
10th Standard: 95%

Work experience till date: 3.1 years(Indian IT Female)
I work with Deloitte Consulting and have 3 years of experience.I will have 4 years of experience by the time I join the school.Consistently rated as a top performer.


Awards: Got 3 gold medals,2 silver medals,memento and merit certificates in recognition of my oustanding acacdemic excellence(undergrad).
Applause award in Deloitte.
Received the prestigious Prathibha award(Gold medal and merit certificate)for my 10th standard percentage(awarded by Chief Minister).


Promotion:Got promoted within 2 years in Deloitte(early promotion).Normally,it takes 3 years.

Extracurricular:
Selected as President of Students Association for Institute Day in 2010.Played an active role in organizing all the activities.
Selected as Secretary of Students Association for Institute Day in 2009.Played an active role by coordinating with all the volunteers and contributed to the success of the event.
Organized an IT Fest.
Certificate of Appreciation for my contribution as a volunteer in organizing ' Technopreneurial Summit'
Contributed 10 whitepapers on the technology(Business Intelligence) in which I work.
Part of an NGO.Received 'certifcate of recognition' for my dedicated efforts.
Buddy Program at Deloitte.
Part of Recruitment team at Deloitte.
Short Term Goals:Currently,I work as an IT consultant.I want to move to IT strategy Consulting position.I want to take up IT strategy management.Work for a top consulting firm as a IT strategy consultant for atleast 5 years.

Long Term Goal: To become partner/principal for a consulting company.

Please let me know my chances of admission.Do I have any chance at Duke? I like Duke very much, and I want to apply in Early Action round. Kindly let me know my chances. Also,Please suggest me other schools to which I can apply this year.

Thanks in advance!

[Jon@Admissionado]

Hello Priya!

Most excellent to hear from you! You have some great stuff in your profile, most importantly your very quick promotions and advancement at Deloitte. Your extra curricular activities are pretty "normal" for an applicant, although one thing I really liked is your presence on the recruitment team, which can be a fantastic experience to have in terms of leadership. I still have a question mark regarding volunteer work, which you didn't really mention, and if you can write a bit more about that, it would be fantastic.

Do you have a chance at Duke? It'll be tough mostly because of your GMAT. You come from a very difficult and large pool, although being a female helps GREATLY. But still, not coming from an IIT also puts you at a disadvantage. And with a 680 you are going to make it harder for them to take you in. Sooo, do you try anyhow? Do you rather retake and try R2? or next year? A lot depends on what other schools you are interested in, what your alternative plans are, and many other factors in your professional and personal life (which I don't yet know about) so I don't want to say "Do this!" without getting to know you better.

So, how important is it for you to go to Duke? more or less important than you going THIS year? How many times did you take the GMAT? If you retook it say after 2-3 more months of studying do you think you could do better?

If you can write me a bit more about your situation I can try and advise you further,
Best,
JF