710 + 4 on IR + profile = Top 10 b school?

Hi Guys,

I seek advice from everyone here who has had a tryst with b school admissions in one way or the other. any info will go a long way in helping me in this journey

I recently gave the GMAT exam and scored -
Q47 (70th percentile)
V40 (92nd perecentile)
AWA 6
IR 4 Sad
Overall 710 (90th percentile)

This score breakup has put me in a worried state of mind. I am contemplating whether to take the test again or to go with this score.

Target year - 2015 admissions
Target schools - HBS, Standford GSB, Booth, Tuck, Insead Singapore, Sloan, Kellog, Berkely, NYU Stern
(ie top 20)

I am putting in a brief write up of my profile. It would be very helpful if you could give me your views on my profile's suitability for the mentioned schools in the light of the GMAT score i attained (specially the combined not so good show in IR and quant)

Educational Background -
1. Schooling - Consistently achieved a Top 5 position in school in each year starting 8th grade
2. 10th Grade - (something like the national education board exams) - 89% (not percentile. 89% was my score)
2. 12th grade - 95% (not percentile) (again national board exams, which form the basis for admission to prestigious undergrad colleges in india)
3. Undergrad - Bachelors in commerce (accounting, taxation, cost accounting). Obtained admission in Sriram College of Commerece in Delhi university. This college is the number 1 college for undergrad commerce studies in India and also rate in the top 4-5 in asia.
4. Professional education (after graduation) - Chartered Accountancy. The Indian chartered accountancy program is probably the toughest in the world. It has 3 successive levels of examination. I cleared all 3 in one attempt with the following All India ranking -
Level 1 (PE1) - All India Rank 19 (approx 50000 examinees)
Level 2 (PE2) - All India Rank 35 (approx 50000 examinees)
Level 3 (PE3) - All India Rank 14 (approx 30000 examinees)
Only about 2-3% people are able to clear the level 3 in any particular attempt. Further this professional course entails a mandatory 3 year stint with and accounting and auditing firm. So one works for 12 hours a day and then studies to prepare for level 3.

Work experience -
1. 3 years of articleship (mandatory work ex under Chartered accountancy) with PricewaterhousCoopers
in financial auditing
2. Moved to ITC limited (5bn USD cigarettes to Hotels conglomerate in India - ITC hotels, Classic brand of cigarettes. also a big player in personal care and foods and snacks business.) Worked for 1 year as Assistant manager in the Internal audit team.

3. Reckitt Benckiser India - Management Trainee (1 yr)
Eventually wanted to move out of auditing and into operations so took a decision to join the Reckitt Benckiser India management trainee program. For 1 year worked in various functions - sales, supply, commercial, factory finance, corporate supply finance. Did a major gross margin improvement project

4. Reckitt Benckiser Singapore - Assistant Manager Finance (6 months)
First finance management trainee in the history of RB India, to be given an international posting on completion of traineeship. Worked with the latin america and asia pac supply director and supply finance controller
Was offered extension of anothr 18 months in the singapore office and additional responsibility with the area marketing innovation finance team.

5. Reckitt Benckiser India - Assistant manager supply finance (current)
Chose to return to the India business and work at the grass root level to learn day to day operations, problems and solutions.

In summary total work ex
3 yrs PwC
1 yr ITC
1 yr RB India and 6 months RB singapore
5 and a half years.

I am clear that i do not want to do Ibanking or PE or consulting since number crunching is not what i want to do all my life and i am not the most quantitatively gifted person. I have a tilt towards general management, marketing, brand management.

Regards
Saurabh Malhotra

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