Profile Evaluation: Indian/IT/Female/GMAT 710/Exp 3.6 years

[maanasa83]

Hi,
I apologize for a long profile summary. Please find the details below:

Age = 30

Academics:
PGDM (Equivalent to MBA) - marketing and systems (2008 - 2010)
"¢University - Among top 30 B-schools
"¢CGPA - 3.27/4
"¢Awarded a Gold Medal for outstanding performance in the Systems Specialization

B.Tech - Computer Science and Engineering (2001 -2005)
"¢University: SASTRA University
"¢CGPA - 8.2/10
"¢Received a scholarship of Rs. 5000 during 2002 and 2003 for being in Top 10% - Dean's List for academic excellence

GMAT : 710 [Q48,V38], AWA 6/6

Work Experience:
I am currently on a break owing to personal reasons.

Industry verticals: Manufacturing, Banking, and Embedded Systems
Total Experience: 43 months

1. Infosys Technologies - 8 months - After PGDM (April 2010 - Dec 2010)
Role: Associate Consultant - Siebel 8.0 CRM

Significant Contributions:
"¢Successfully led an end-to-end implementation and deployment of a mammoth Siebel Service 8.0 Change Request as a single offshore business analyst
"¢Received appreciation for my articulation skills, team management, and achieving cost optimization of around $100,000
"¢Infosys Siebel internal certifications

2.Honeywell Technology Solutions Lab - Before PGDM - (Jun 2007 - May 2008)
Role: QA Engineer

Significant Contributions:
"¢ Initiated a LEAN implementation at Honeywell QA Lab, thereby fetching a Team Achievement Award
"¢ Took an initiative to design the installation work-flow logic for a Security Management Solutions Software upgrade based on customer experience captured by Sales and Delivery Teams
"¢ Earned a Six Sigma Green Belt certification at Honeywell for increased product test coverage by 11%, cost savings of $23,000/annum and, reduced testing time by 10.2%.

3.Wipro Technologies - (Jul 2005 - Jun 2007)
Role: Project Engineer/Module Lead

Significant Contributions:
"¢Successfully lead a team of 3-4 Testing Engineers to complete testing and certification of Toshiba e-STUDIO printers and supported Document Management Solutions
"¢ Improved product and/or processes by implementing DSM (Dependency Structured Matrix) - a process tool to model and analyze the dependencies among the entities of a system. This resulted in reduction in testing time by 12%.

Promoted after 12 months

Summer - Internship:
-I headed a 4 member student team and worked towards creating 'CINDEX - India's first ever Comprehensive Index on customer experience at country level and regional level' - May - Jun, 2009
-The CINDEX project report was published in The Hindu - India's National Newspaper (https://goo.gl/52pRv) on Jul 16, 2009. The CINDEX findings (https://goo.gl/IM1Uh) are revised every 3-6 months and closely monitored by the industry experts
-In the essays, I can write about my leadership experience.

Extra-curricular Activities:
"¢Event Manager for a a cultural week (People week) for the TOSHIBA Embedded Systems domain at Wipro Kochi, Jul 2006 - Was awarded PES Excellence award
"¢Active participant of the 6th National Youth Parliament competition conducted by Government of India , Oct 2003
"¢Secured Ist place in the MBA students paper presentation contest in an International conference in Mysore, Jul 2009

Volunteering:
"¢Socially relevant project - Worked with Mysore Dasara (a 10 day state festival of the state of Karnataka) team
-Closely worked with Mysore District Commissioner, Journalists, and Tourists - to understand event management, identify operational issues while organizing a state-level mega event, and propose solutions based on research, survey report collected from tourists and residents, and interviews from residents, police officers, and government officials.

-No other volunteering experience

Target schools for MBA:

University of Maryland
Louisiana State University
University of Colorado - Boulder
University of Cincinnati
University of Missouri: Trulaske - Columbia
University of Utah - David Eccles School of Business
Texas A&M University
University of Georgia - Terry School of Business
University of Wisconsin Madison
Georgia Tech

Purpose:
Although I already have an Indian MBA, my real purpose of doing another MBA is to leverage my skills and further my capabilities to enter in Financial Analytics.

Goals:

Upon graduating, I would like to work in Financial Analytics Consulting, banking vertical with an IT services/consulting firm. After 4 - 5 years of solid experience I will be targeting Big 4 Consulting firms to work as a Practice Consultant - Financial Analytics - Banking

Concerns:
1. I have taken a break for 2.5 years and I can explain it in my essays. Would this hamper my chances of getting an admit?
I have utilized my break for GMAT and some online courses in coursera. I am currently working on the role of statistics in big data.
2. Since I have taken a long break, I cannot get a recommendation letter from my previous supervisor as he travels frequently and is currently unavailable to write a letter.
So I have requested:
-My professor who supervised my research thesis on 'Study of Saas - ERP in SMEs' during my PGDM
-Summer Intern Supervisor who monitored our CINDEX project - After my internship, he offered me a full time position with the firm
-My professor who supervised the socially relevant project

Questions:
1. Kindly evaluate my profile and suggest whether the listed universities are safe or long shot
2. I am planning to apply in Round 2 and I am unsure whether my profile is competitive for an admit+scholarship
3. Is my age a factor while applying for B-School?

Your suggestions will be very helpful.
Thanks in advance,
Maanasa

[mbaMissionJenK]

Hi there,

Thanks for your post and detailed profile.

While your GMAT and academics are strong and you have some solid work experience, especially technically, I would have to be honest and let you know that it will be extremely difficult for you to gain acceptance into b-school programs given a) the fact that you have an MBA or MBA-equivalent already, and b) the 2.5 year break you've taken.

I am not an expert on Indian degrees so if your degree is different enough from an MBA that may be a different story, but I would encourage you to contact the admissions offices at schools you are interested in and ask them if they would consider an applicant with the degree you hold. Schools want to make sure the program is worth your while and makes sense for your career!

As for the break, if you truly were involved in coursework/education for the most part, you may be able to explain it fairly effectively.. BUT keep in mind that taking a break for GMAT prep is generally not looked upon as a valid reason, as all applicants also prepare for the GMAT and most do it while also working full time. So this could be challenging.

Finally, you do also come from a common applicant profile-- Indian IT/Engineering applicants, so even beyond what I've mentioned above, you'll have to work hard to stand out from that applicant crowd and ensure your criteria are well above average.

First and foremost I encourage you to speak with some admissions reps at the schools themselves to get a feel for how realistic the whole possibility is, and go from there.

Wishing you the best.

[maanasa83]

Thank you so much for evaluating my profile. I would like to get a few things clarified.

I was forced into a break from Infosys owing to some personal circumstances. At the same time, my father was sick and I had to extend my break to take care of my family. So, I did not take a break to prepare for GMAT.

I can write about the personal circumstance in an optional essay. After evaluating some options and brainstorming, I decided that I want to transition to a career in Finance. I am also looking to gain some international experience with diverse student community.

So, during the break I explored the courses offered by www.coursera.org. I have enrolled for Financial Econometrics.

Moreover, I have read that US B-schools do admit students to get into another MBA if they are aiming for a different specialization that is in line with the goals.

[mbaMissionJenK]

Hi there,

Thanks for clarifying. Some additional thoughts based on your posts:

-Re: the personal break, that is ok and certainly personal circumstances happen and are explainable and understandable, and admissions officers have seen it before. Yes you'll want to explain in the optional essay. The hardest part is the length of time... 2.5 years is definitely on the higher side of what admissions officers have ever seen re: a break for personal reasons, and being out of the workplace for so long especially leading up to b-school is not ideal. It will likely be a negative on your profile, in a competitive environment with so many strong candidates, fyi.

-You mentioned 'enrolling' on a course; that is a good thing, but not sure if it's just starting or what. Certainly it can be a plus and showing a strong grade if available is another plus.

-Re: 2nd MBAs, I won't say it is IMPOSSIBLE, but it is very very difficult.... i.e. your chances of being accepted would in most cases be more challenging than average, because many admissions officers question the value of doing such a similar degree again, when again many other qualified applicants are applying without an initial MBA. We've talked with many admissions officers at top schools who have told us frankly that they have never admitted someone for a 2nd MBA. There are a few isolated stories with exceptional profiles where we've heard of it happening, but it is rare and challenging. You would also want to include something about your rationale for the 2nd MBA in your optional essay, and actually I'd say the more differently you can describe the degree you obtained compared with the MBA, probably the better! There are a number of Indian MBA grads APPLYING to US b-schools, but generally acceptance #'s for that group are quite low.

-The schools are your list are more realistic, with perhaps GA Tech & Texas A&M being more 'reach'. If you focus in on a few of those you are most interested in, you can still contact admissions and ask what their view is on the degree you hold or other concerns, fyi... these schools on your list also tend to get slightly fewer applications than top 10 schools etc and may take more time to give you some feedback, and certainly most will answer general q's about admissions.

-You asked about scholarships... I do want you to keep in mind that scholarships are not super common for b-schools, and those given are offered to top applicants by far. Most b-school students finance their degree with low-interest rate educational loans, paid back over 5-15 years with their post-MBA salary.

Wishing you the best and I hope it works out for you in the best possible way!! Keep us posted on your decisions.

[maanasa83]

I have a question, do you mean to say that there are some chances with GATech and Texas A&M? What about University of Maryland?

I can thoroughly explain my break to the adcom and I think I can do it.

I also have a strong reason for doing another MBA and can present a unique case.

I did not know that grades do matter for online courses. May be in the future courses I can think of what you suggested.

[mbaMissionJenK]

Actually I was saying that of your list, GA Tech & Texas A&M are probably the more competitive so more of a 'reach'/stretch. U of Maryland is probably next, though not as challenging as Texas A&M specifically.

Wishing you the best, keep us posted!