Request for a profile Evaluation.

[ravimaniar]

Hi,

I am planning to apply to Business Schools for the Class of 2016. Since the applications are already on I would really appreciate your views on my profile.

So far, I am still researching the speciality of each school and their methodology of teaching but I intend to apply to Harvard, Stanford, Kellogg, Darden, Ross, Booth and Tepper.

Some details:

Male 29 years (30 when the course starts)

American Legal Permanent Resident of Indian Nationality.

Work Experience of: 6 years 2 months

GMAT 740 with AWA 6.0

Final year Percentage in B.Sc Nautical Sc: 76% (My university does not give any GPA is that okay with universities in US, plus I have a 3 year bachelors degree)

I also hold the license to act as an Officer in charge of Navigation Watches on board foreign going ships (we had tough licensing exams for this)

Work Experience details: Worked in the Merchant Marines for almost 5 years in the position of a Deck Officer (3rd officer and 2nd officer). My employers include Shell and Maersk. The setting was very international and have worked with many different nationalities on board. The nature of the work demanded that we deal with shore personnel from the country we are carrying out our operations in.
The job was a high pressure operational job with requirements of very high safety standards and a complete compliance with company, industry, local and international rules. Emergency preparedness and trainings also made up a big part of the job. Working on Oil Tankers specifically made the job demand higher responsibility towards the safety of people and environment.

Did take a break from my career to set up a Health food chain start up. Bad timing (recession 2008) and dependance on the IT industry in India forced me to sell out and return to my sailing career. Eventually in a few months the chain had shut shop. This is also one of my reasons to study business before I venture out next time in another entrepreneurial project I want to have education to be prepared for it as well as some experience after my education.

I decided on going to B-school in 2011 and took the GMAT, post which I wanted more work experience working in a diversified field ashore so that I could understand my business classes better and contribute more to them. I started working in an Ahmedabad based construction company as a Site Co-ordinator, since I had more time at hand I started participating in their purchase process soon. The company then gave me a chance to work as an assistant purchase manager as well. Also I put my Shipping back ground to use and with the help of senior engineers in the company helped develop SOPs for their standard processes on site. I also took up a course in SAP R3 Material Management module as it helped me understand the Procurement cycle better. But I don't have any experience on SAP yet.

I have recently moved to the US to join my partner here and intend to apply to B-schools while looking for meaningful employment.

In extra curricular: I have played basketball for my college and been a part of the swimming relay team. I have taken several computer courses since a young age but none of which are programming courses. I was the Parade commander/Squad leader at my college and have lead squads in state level events.

Apart from that am a keen traveller and have travelled extensively across India on my motorcycle. Have done challenging solo trips in the himalayas on my motorcycle crossing the some of the highest motor able roads in the world and difficult passes.

I would be happy to receive a response on this and if you can throw some light on my chances at getting into the aforementioned schools.

Many thanks for your time.

[mbaMissionJenK]

Hi there and thanks for posting...

You have a pretty interesting profile, which is a good starting point, because admission readers may 'perk up' and pay attention when they see a more unique applicant background, particularly when that is coupled with a strong GMAT and academics. (Congrats on that GMAT by the way).

Your strengths as I see it:

-GMAT
-non traditional background and experiences in merchant marines, and construction industry
-entrepreneurial experience
-extensive international experiences and experience working with people of different nationalities
-your motorcycle cross country travel experiences are less common and could make for some interesting stories/essays as well

Potential weaknesses or questions:

-First and foremost-- your "WHY". What are your goals? For b-school and in particular the top-ranked schools on your list, you'll need to make sure it doesn't sound like you want to go to b-school just because you're not sure what else to do. You'll need a clear plan of action of short and long term post-MBA goals, and you'll need to explain how your past experiences led you to where you're at now, which leads to your MBA and your future career goals.

-Being unemployed currently (?) could raise some q's; not sure how long that has been but be prepared to explain

-Having the non-traditional background can be a double edged sword-- it can really help you stand out, but you need to be sure you can effectively draw from your past experiences, talk about what you learned, any people and project management skills and communication and teamwork skills, and make sure your goals and reasons for WHY get the MBA are clear and convincing!

If you put your story together well (i.e. in the essays!) you could have a decent shot at the schools on your list. A lot will come down to those essays so do NOT underestimate the time and effort required to put them together! Stanford will be the toughest on the list-- they have lowest acceptance rate AND a smaller than average class size, so it's so tough for ANYONE to get into, just keep that in mind. Next would be Harvard and Kellogg. Then Booth, Darden, Ross, and Tepper. I would think you should have a very good chance at Ross & Tepper, and slightly less as you go up the rankings of the others but not impossible even at say HBS given the rest of your application... your goals will also make a big difference and could affect which schools you have the best 'fit' with.

Also be sure to have clear reasons why EACH school you apply to is right for you. You have a long list of schools... be sure not to sacrifice QUALITY of applications for quantity. Most applicants find that applying to 3-4 schools MAX per deadline round is all they have time for, as you do need to tailor each application to each school. And don't forget, your recommenders will have to complete that many recommendations as well!

Good luck to you, please keep us posted on q's and your progress!

[ravimaniar]

Hello Jennifer,

Thank you for the very detailed evaluation of my profile. I like that there are a few good strengths in my profile which make me competitive.

Now as I had mentioned I was still just considering the schools and as of now I am sure to apply at these 4 schools for their respective strengths.

HBS and Darden for their Case Study Method, Ross for the Unique MAPs and Chicago Booth for various reasons.

I will work on focussing on my strengths and getting them across successfully and in a logical manner.

OKAY so regarding the WHY?

I have been entrepreneurial through my school days, college and even while holding an exciting steady job which I can demonstrate with examples. Plus I have a special interest in development of standard procedures and review of processes carried out at the company management level. I always try to look at each process with a fresh perspective rather than just following the conventional wisdom. For this reason I need to be on the Management side of things to make a difference also my motorcycle travels and my extensive sailing experience has made me very eco sensitive and I am in full agreement in finding sustainable solutions to non sustainable processes.

I just relocated to the US a month ago and the 2 months before that I had been wrapping up for the big move and getting over with the formalities at the immigration offices. This is the reason I do not have a job now. Do you think this is a good enough reason? I had been living away from my wife for quite some time since she was living and working in the US.

Teamwork, Leadership, Communication skills and Project Management (timeline management) are some of the areas where I can easily show my experience through my work experiences and stories.

Each application will be tailor made, that is quite clear to me, I wont be recycling the essays specially.
It would be very helpful if you could throw some light on recommendations. i.e: When do they email the Recommenders? What information do they ask? Do they set format in which the recommenders have to reply?

It would be very helpful if you can clear a thing or two more for me.

Thanks a lot again

Regards,
Ravi Maniar

[mbaMissionJenK]

Hi Ravi,

Thanks for the updates and info, sounds like you are nailing down your plans. Re: the unemployed situation, I think your explanation is valid for the most part; just good to keep in mind that questions will arise about your being unemployed and you'll want to pre-empt that within the essays and expect to discuss if you have an interview... it's fairly subjective in terms of doing a good job at explaining so that the admissions person reading your file or meeting you is assured that there isn't a negative reason for why you're unemployed or that you've been out of the workplace too long such that it would be a negative to what you bring to the classroom, if that makes sense.

Re: recommendations, you'll provide the email addresses of your recommenders and as long as applications are open (which they are), they generally email that person immediately and they have a log in and fill out an online form with q's etc, for most schools. The q's vary from school to school and generally you will have or be able to see what is asked.

Hope that helps! If you ended up working with us through the process we'd also provide an Insiders Guide for the schools you apply to with plenty of info specific to that school and work with you on how to set up and prep your recommenders appropriately.

Keep us posted with q's or progress!