Profile Evaluation Request

[skysailor85]

Hello Everyone

I am just starting off with my GMAT prep and also currently finalizing the schools to which I'd like to apply. Following are some details about my profile:

Demographic: Indian, Male

GMAT: Not given it yet

Undergrad: Electronics Engineering from Univ of Pune
Undergrad GPA: Approx. 3.5 (graduated with a first class, my maths scores weren't great though)

Grad School: MS Information Science and Tech, University of Missouri, Rolla (I did take a grad level stats class and received an A in it hoping that eventually it might even out my poor undergrad maths scores)
Grad GPA: 4.0

Total work ex: 8+ years
Current Job : Senior Technology Consultant at a small tech consulting firm. Responsible for managing and delivering projects, solutions and providing L3 support; along with identifying inefficiencies in processes and suggesting, prototyping and delivering technological solutions for a client in the consumer goods domain.

Previous Jobs:
Technology Consultant/Business Analyst focusing on clients in the agriculture industry/chemicals industry: 3 years
HR Associate (before going to grad school): 18 months

Extra curricular activities:
Club Representative for local soccer club where I'm responsible for managing the club's travel team program with respect to budgets, sponsorship, marketing and schedules
Founder and of the official USA fan club of one of the largest international soccer clubs

Short term goals: Transition from tech consulting to a startup / Entrepreneurial role
Long term: Start my own company delivering tech solutions to large enterprises

The few school's I'm currently considering applying to:
Columbia
Cornell
Yale
NYU
Tuck

What do you think?

[EduSimplified]

Hi skysailor85,
Your profile seems excellent and well rounded. One thing I would suggest to include in your profile is community service and/or leadership role. Furthermore, if you are able to score 7XX on your GMAT that will be awesome. Provided you are able to make you application package distinguishable from typical Indian candidate I see no reason why you can't get in your mentioned dream schools. Let me know if you need any help. Good Luck !

[VantagePointMBA]

Hi there,

Thanks for sharing your profile! Your undergrad and grad grades look pretty strong - nice job! You're right to call out some softness in your math coursework but a strong GMAT score (you should really aim for 730+ given your competitive demographic and school list) and evidence of quantitative rigor in your professional experience should offset that. I really don't expect that to be a "deal breaker" in your profile.

What stands out to me is your career trajectory - why now, after 8+ years of work experience, are you pursuing an MBA? That's a question I recommend you answer clearly in your application given that you skew a bit older than the average student at your target schools. You state that you want to transition to a start-up / entrepreneurial role, but my challenge to you is to answer "why?" and "why now?". What do you hope to achieve in this new role and why do you need an MBA in order to take this next step in your career? These will be important parts of your story that you'll want to flush out in order to be competitive against other applicants who are 3-4 years younger than you (and therefore may be perceived as more desirable to post-MBA recruiting companies). The great thing about applying to an MBA program with a few more years of work experience is that you have a richer history and perspective to share with your classmates, since you've simply been around longer. So highlighting what that is for you will also be key in your applications in helping you differentiate yourself. I hope this all doesn't seem too negative but I think it's important for you to know some of the challenges and opportunities you might face as an applicant.

I also agree with the feedback above around strengthening your extra-curricular profile, if you can. In general, Indian applicants tend to be very active in community service, for example, so anything you do outside of work to give back, ideally in a leadership position, will be important to showcase in your application.

So, back to your original question - if you're able to present a compelling and inspiring story that answers the questions I mentioned above, I think you'll be competitive for many of the programs you listed. However, the chances of admission at any of those schools are quite low for anyone and given the outlier of your profile, you may want to consider a couple of top 20-25 programs to hedge your bets - Tepper, USC Marshall, and UT Austin are a few that stand out to me right away given your entrepreneurial ambitions. You should always reach for your dream schools but also make sure you're mitigating your risk, especially if you're completely committed to getting an MBA!

I hope that helps! I'm happy to chat through your profile in more detail if that would be helpful - my firm offers a free 30-minute consultation, which you can register for here.

Best,
Melody

[skysailor85]

Deep and Melody,

Thank you both for taking the time to evaluate my profile and for posting your responses. I've been involved with the Movember movement for a few years now - raising funds and awareness, didn't occur to me to include this as part of the application - but community contribution is an area I certainly have room for improvement in.

Once again, thank your for sharing your insights.

Anurag