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

[Bryant@VeritasPrep]

Rituraj-

while your profile is going to appear pretty average for your applicant pool, you definitely have all the core elements for a run at a good business school. Which school kind of depends on where you want to work after you graduate. If it's back in India, you could do fine with a one year program in Asia, but if you want to work in the US, you will need to come here for school, and I would target the schools in the lower half of the top 25 according to Bloomberg BusinessWeek rankings. You have been recognized and promoted at work, racked up a solid 4-5 years of experience by the time you start school, and seem to be engaged outside in the community as well. These credentials when coupled with a thoughtfully crafted application should earn you some attention at these schools. Let us know if you need more help.