Profile Evaluation for Retake/Shortlisting target B-schools

[Ritu Raj]

Hi
Yesterday I took GMAT and got 690 [Q48,V35,IR6].I am not able to decide whether I should go ahead with the applications or retake the test. Also, I am not able to shortlist my target schools. My criteria for school selection are ROI, Job after MBA/placement of international students and college rankings (top colleges).

It would be very helpful if you can evaluate my profile and suggest if I should retake the test ; also which schools can I target for based on my current profile. The details are as follows:

Class X - 89.8 %
Class XII (PCM)- 81.8%
Bachelor of Engineering(B.E) - Mechanical Engineering from M.I.T, Manipal |CGPA- 8.08/10
Work Experience -
5+ years [ July 10 to present ] in Vedanta Resources Plc.
Experience in projects planning, execution and management (4 years) and mechanical maintenance(1 year) in a pig iron manufacturing plant
Identified as Star of Business , received few awards , promoted after 3 years, rated excellent/very good through out during appraisals , undergone some professional trainings/management development programs

2 months Industrial internship at TATA Motors and 1 month at Bharat Wagons during college

Academic achievements:
-Campus recruitment offers from 3 multibillion companies including Vedanta & TCS
-Awarded Certificate of Merit by CBSE for being among the top 0.1 % candidates at AISSE
-Certificate of Merit for outstanding performances in Science & Mathematics Olympiads
Extracurricular :
-Elected as Secretary of Hostel Committee : responsible for resolving day-to-day issues of hostel residents
-Executive Committee Member of Institution of Engineers (India) M.I.T Student's Chapter (Mechanical Engineering & Industrial Production)
-Organized Mechtrix 2008 - responsible for event management and publicity
-Associate Editor of Institution of Engineers (India) M.I.T Student's Chapter in-house publication "Impulse" 2007 to 2010
-Captained school Basketball team at the regional CBSE Inter School Competitive Sports Programme held at Army School, Barrackpore
-Active Sportsman. Special interest in Karate, Volleyball and Basketball. Semi-finalist in Inter-department Volleyball tournament held in Feb'14 at Vedanta. Green Belt (5th Kyu) in Karate from Seigo-Ryu Karate-Do, India in 2000.

Also supporting Akshay Patra Foundation (NGO) in their cause of hunger eradication and education by donations for past 5 years. Raised funds this year to feed 11 children for a year through online campaign.

Thanks
Rituraj | India

[MargaretStrother]

School choice is tricky in this case: I don't have a clear idea of what your short-list is, or even your long-list, nor do I see your post-MBA goals or the country or region you hope to study in, so I couldn't really help you narrow that down. This is something you should work on in a private consultation with a professional consulting company such as ours. However, for the purposes of this public board, I do want to weigh in on what I see: I'd see you as competitive for top MBA programs in the second-tier rankings, such as Fisher, Olin, Simon etc. You have a lot of great material here, but there is also a lot that will be hard to differentiate for a US admissions reader.

If these choices are not where you want to be, you will probably need to re-take the GMAT and also try to build more international exposure. If you're not sure, try planning a trip to the US, where you could visit these campuses in person. This will add immeasurably to your decision-making process, and will be a great personal experience for you as well!

Good luck,
Margaret Strother