Kindly evaluate my profile and guide

[archit.great]

Hi
I'm 23 year old Male from India. I would like to get my profile evaluated for the full-time MBA program.

Acads:
- GMAT: 690 Quant: 49 Verbal: 34
- 10th: 88.60%
- 12th: 72.60%
- B.Tech in Computer Science (non IIT, non NIT) : 74.56%

Professional Experience:
- Working for last 14 months with Vodafone Shared Service Centre, currently part of SAP Testing team.
- Responsible for the deliverables of 4 out of 24 operating countries. Only 4 other senior members, from the team of 24, are responsible for deliveries and management of the services.
- Within a year got directly promoted from 'Trainee' to 'Senior Executive', skipping 'Executive', though the average work experience needed for senior executive is 2 to 3 years.
- Will also be getting involved in my new family business in manufacturing industry, which will be fully implemented from September 2013

Internship:
- Presales and Business Analyst Intern at Pyramid IT Consulting (6 Months)
- Helped in fetching and proposing a solution for the project of Republic of Rwanda (Rwanda) , Carnation (India) and Watania (UAE)
- Was deeply involved in proposal building and bid submission process.

PUBLICATIONS:
- Proposed a sound forensic model for smartphones acquired on a crime scene 'Smartphone Forensic Investigation Process Model (SFIPM)'.
Research paper got published in ' International Journal of Computer Science & Security (IJCSS), Vol(6): issue(5): 2012 '

- Presented a Research Paper 'Image Steg analysis in Cloud', focusing on the forensic investigation of images in cloud computing environment, in a National Seminar 'TECHNOPHILIA-2011'.
Paper got published in annual national journal.

POSITION OF RESPONSIBILITIES
- Committee Member, VPS 2013-14, Vodafone India Service Pvt Ltd, Pune
o Member of the committee responsible for process optimization and Vodafone way of working.
o Responsible for maintaining engagement index and management index activities for the employees.
o Implemented Reward &Recognition and Learning & Development framework at the vertical level.

- Co-Founder, TGIF, Vodafone India Service Pvt Ltd, Pune
o TGIF is the committee responsible for all recreational activities and other corporate events at EVO
and VISPL level.
o Organize weekly recreational activities every Friday on the ERP floor and All Hands meet every quarter.
o Responsible for managing and editing of 'FLASH', the quarterly magazine of VISPL- EVO

- Chief Organizer (2011), Fnord'11, NIEC
o Organized the annual techno-cultural fest "FNORD" of NIEC, New Delhi
o Played an active role in synchronizing the other 15 organizers and assigning work to them
o Indulged in sponsorship work and was the head of the volunteering committee of more than 100 volunteers.

- Organizer (2011), Technophilia-2011
o Organized the National Seminar on Advancement in Cloud Computing and Green IT technology
o Headed a team of 35 coordinators and volunteers
o The seminar invited delegates and students to present their research papers on the topic
o The event was attended by almost 300 students and 50 industrial delegates.

- Supervisor, Coca cola, Common Wealth Games (2010), IG Stadium, Delhi
o Worked as the supervisor from coca cola (official sponsor of CWG 2010) for the whole IG Stadium for 22 days
o Had to supervise a team of 54 volunteers divided into three different stadiums
o I had to mainly focus on maintaining the synchronization and public relations with the other working authorities and the organisation committee.

- Coordinator (2009-2010), Logix, NIEC
o Logix is a computer hobby group that explores modern-day IT
o The society sees participation from more than 350 students annually.
o My tenure in the society saw the introduction of multiple new technologies and hardware/software implementations.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
- Organized blood donation camp at VISPL, collecting 114 donations in a day.
- Coordinating with NGO's in maintaining corporate-social relations of the company.
- Volunteered annual techno-cultural fest- FNORD consecutively for 2 years (2009 & 2010).
- Was the Head-Boy of the School.(2007-2008)
- Obtained 153 AIR in 6th National Cyber Olympiad (2007).
- Was the Head-Captain of the school house committee for the two years (2006 - 2008).

Need for MBA
- I tried to work on some of my business plans but while implementing I faced several hurdles such as legal obligations involved, lack of proper business process knowledge and vital experience in the domain.
- Would be concentrating on general management and marketing with inclination towards entrepreneurship.

Post MBA Plans:
- Would like to initiate my post mba career in brand management or new product development in consumer product company so that after 3 4 years I could use my experience and knowledge gained to construct a firm base for my entrepreneurship ventures.

Universities currently I'm targeting:
1) Emory
2) Kelley
3)Kenan-Flagler
4) Cornell
5) Georgetown
6) Univ of Maryland - Smith

Below are some of the specific questions I have :
1. What top programs/colleges I should apply for General Management , and marketing according to my profile?
2. Does my profile to some extent can make up for relatively low work experience? Do I stand a chance?
4. Will applying in R1 or R2 would make an impact in my profile consideration?

Looking forward for your reply and suggestions
Thanks & regards

[mbaMissionJenK]

Hi,

Thanks for your post. It sounds like you have a good quality of work experience so far and progression/promotion, as well as a list of leadership roles in your past... but still with just 14 months of full time experience (am I reading that correctly?), that will make it more challenging, though not impossible, to get into some of the programs on your list. If you decide you want to go for it anyway, just be prepared to really make a case for why you need the MBA NOW vs in a year or two from now, and how you've gained a lot of great experiences (with examples) through the experiences you have had.

On your list, Cornell will be a pretty big reach. The others are a little big more in-range though not easy per se. In terms of specialities, they'll all be good for general management. In terms of specializations, for entrepreneurship check out this list: https://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandr ... p-rankings; for marketing, you could check out this list: https://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandr ... g-rankings.

In terms of timing your application, earlier is overall better in that there are more places available in a given class. That said, you should also make sure your application is the best that it can be, and if that means waiting until Round 2 that's ok... we just advise not waiting til R3 if you can help it.

Keep us posted and good luck to you!

[archit.great]

Hi,

really appreciate your detailed evaluation.

Actually i have 14 months of work experience till now. I would be completing 2 years by May 2014 (almost 2 motnhs before the program starts), so wouldn't they consider me with 2 years of work experience.

Also, should i use the optional essay to explain why need an MBA now and not after 1 or 2 years.

the link for marketing program is not opening.

I really want to be in Kelley and Emory because i feel they are the best fit because i want to get into Brand Management and new product development and these two colleges are among the best. Just want to know if i'm a fit for them currently.

Can you suggest me some other colleges also which are good and in which i have beter chance.

[mbaMissionJenK]

Hi there,

Yes 2 years by the time you start, but the average incoming student has 5 years, so you are definitely on the lower end. You'll want to be sure to address the 'why now', but in most cases that does fit into your overall essays about why the MBA and your goals etc. If you complete all of those and still feel it's not addressed sufficiently then you could use the optional essay.

Here's the marketing link:
https://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandr ... g-rankings

I would think Kelley and Emory could be in reach if you put together very strong essays and really can make the case that you have gotten a lot of valuable experience within a short time and that you are ready and certain of your goals, etc. Other schools you could look at with marketing strength and more generous acceptance rates include Ross, Kenan-Flagler, and Fordham (NY).

Good luck on the process!