Please evaluate my profile

[rk123]

Hi,

It would be great if you could find some time to evaluate my profile. I have tried to keep the sentences short, just understandable.

Background
Personal: 27 years old, Male, Indian
GMAT: 740 (Q 50/ V 40/ AWA 5 / IR 8)
Undergrad : National Institute of technology(one of the top and oldest Engineering college), (B.Tech Computer Science & Eng)
GPA: 7.9/10
I am not sure whether I should mention these things as I am not looking for any pity, but just to mention, writing these things below separately.
(First generation graduate in family, I have to drop my education for 3 years after high school to help my family financially (I lost my father at the age of 3, mother is a housewife, completed my education from free govt. boarding school) by farming and tutoring, not to mention I taught few students, with backgrounds like mine, free.)

Work Ex:
3+ years in largest Mobile phone manufacturer company as Senior Software Eng, took some responsibility work such as mentoring freshers every year after 1 year WE(no managerial roles are given in my organization before 6-7 years of WE)and some leadership initiatives(such as arranging and giving training to my team to get the proficiency in my organization's global internal assessment)that I am sure I can ask my supervisor to highlight in recos.
Two Employee award (one quarterly). 1 promotion in first 2 years. International exp of working in S.Korea and with clients in US.

Extra-curricular:
Pursuing NGO volunteering in the field of orphanage education, CSR, opened a small computer center in my village to help children get basic computer knowledge(I did not have a CS background when I joined College, so I understand its importance)
Was active as an executive in different clubs in college, and organized cultural and tech fests. Won awards in inter-college competition.
School captain,number one student in 10th and 12th standards(88% & 87%)and vice captain of the college physique and yoga team for inter-NIT competition.

Career goal:
Want to work in the strategy/consulting field post MBA.

target schools:
Sloan
Booth
Kellog
Hass
Yale
LBS
Insead

I realize that I don't have 'wow' EC and I am from one of the most competitive pool(Male, Indian, IT), So please give me an honest opinion, do you think my profile is competitive for any of the top 10 US Schools or LBS/Insead? Which would you recommend? I want to apply and focus on 5 programs where I will be competitive(may be a bit stretch).
One question, in case I am not able to finish my essays before R2 for Insead, should I apply in R3 or should I apply in R1 for the next January intake?

Thank You!

[mbaMissionJenK]

Hi there,

Thanks for your post and detailed insight into your experience. Congrats on the excellent GMAT score.

Overall I believe you have a pretty strong profile. You are correct in terms of being part of a competitive applicant pool, but with the top notch GMAT and it sounds like a lot of important experiences you can draw from in terms of leadership, making an impact, and community involvement, I think you'd have a better-than-average shot among that applicant group at top programs IF you can put together strong essays/overall application.

In particular, detailing/showcasing the experiences you had of leading/mentoring others; arranging the training particularly if it was mostly your own initiative (and having your recommenders support these points in their letters is great); opening the computer center for children sounds very interesting; volunteering in the orphanage, etc. All of these show that you are the type of person to go beyond just what is expected of you, and that you aim to make a difference in the community. Involvements in school activities also show that you'd likely be active in a b-school class/activities as well.

Be sure that you have a strong story/case for why you are interested in strategy/consulting as that can sometimes sound like a vague goal... but if you can articulate the WHY behind your interest in it/passion for it and show that you truly know what that field will be like, then you'll stand out from those who just mention it generally.

I think your list of schools is within reach but still challenging. I would suggest in terms of narrowing those down you focus on what YOU want out of a program, keeping in mind factors such as geographical region, urban/rural setting, class size, program strengths, student culture, etc. In terms of when to apply--- you want to make sure you have the strongest application possible, and if you are confident in that, apply as early as you can with an application you are confident in.

Keep us posted on questions and progress, good luck!