Do i stand a chance with any of the tier 1 colleges in US.
Govind based on the information you have provided here - I can say your numbers are right but how you articulate your story is all together a different matter.
And guys - don't worry so much *just* about numbers. Unless you have a low 600s you shouldn't worry about anything else. How you articulate yourself is going to be the make or break.
All 3 admits at Chicago GSB. Iday was working with HCL as a software engineer for 3 years before he applied to GSB. So take heart. Infact bookmark the thread and go through the detailed posts they have made.
Can anybody tell me while counting for the words in SOP should we count preposition and/or article in the counting?
Also, anybody has any idea about the word count of SOP for the 1-year exec MBA program in IIM-A/B/C? They are yet to open their application process for coming year; so I can't see it from their site.
I wanted to know whether CAPM (Certified associate project manager) certification helps/improves one's profile while submitting application to B schools. I currently have a 3.5 yrs of exp in Technological department of a Bank and have a GMAT score of 690. Not too keen into giving the GMAT again.
Further since i am looking forward to getting into a B school next year (thereby applying end of this year), is there anything else i can do to improve my profile (besides the obvious like toastmasters/NGO) ?
First of all thanks a billion for this wonderful thread!!!! I am putting forward my profile. Please answer some of my questions
10th - 75.0 12th - 69.2 AIEEE - AIR 1732 BTECH - ECE from NIT with GPA 8.16/10 Work Ex - 1) 2.5 years with a "Big 4" IT company as a Java educator 2) Currently working in public sector steel company as an electrical and automation engineer (so far 1 year).
I want to get into Management Consulting in the generalist profile. Please let me know of my chances. Is my experience of two different sectors a plus or neg? I am targeting for ISB, Hyderabad.
I want to get into Management Consulting in the generalist profile. Please let me know of my chances. Is my experience of two different sectors a plus or neg? I am targeting for ISB, Hyderabad.
Again a general profile so hard to tell anything till we dig up your "dirty" past and see if there are any stories there
Some general tips for you:
1. A great GMAT score will almost be a make or break with your profile.
2. Ensure that you have atleast 1 more aspect to your profile than IIM (Indian IT Male). This could be EC, or a hobby.
3. Apart from ISB try to spread your net by applying to a few other programs since keeping all your eggs in 1 basket is not a good strategy.
4. Be very clear about your Post-MBA goals and why you think an MBA will help you achieve them.
Management consulting is a very tough nut to crack. However first focus on getting into a good school - you can always spin the story later.
Can anybody tell me while counting for the words in SOP should we count preposition and/or article in the counting?
Also, anybody has any idea about the word count of SOP for the 1-year exec MBA program in IIM-A/B/C? They are yet to open their application process for coming year; so I can't see it from their site.
Thanks, Rittick
Hi Rittick (Sanjay Jumani? )
Don't worry - essays need to be written only for shortlisted candidates. Also all the relevant details will be put up on their site once the application season starts.
I wanted to know whether CAPM (Certified associate project manager) Cheers
Firstly why not PMP? It might be better than CAPM.
Secondly all certifications are taken positively because it shows you have the aptitude to sit and study for a test, along with your work. However it won't swing the scales in your favor - its a "nice to have" thing on your CV.
To answer the last part - everything that you will do from now till next year (say you apply in 2012 Aug) is still not going to change things too much. Try doing something that will help your career irrespective of whether you get into an MBA or not - such as learning a foreign language.
Thank you Sir for your prompt reply... Please let me put some more points from my profile which are not evident above - 1. My 10th and 12th marks do not reflect my academic ability in those days. In 10th it was sheer bad luck and in 12th it was the ignorance on my part to neglect the 12th. But I do have degree from a reputed institute with good gpa to prove it. Also in 12th, I was in top 1% of 27k candidates in Indian Physics Olympiad.
2. Topper of vlsi design course in college. Presented my final year project paper in a national conference.
3. I have self taught myself 4 musical instruments. Have been a part of orchestra in school. In college gave solo flute performance. But no national or state award for it.
But my main question is - I have switched industry after 2.5 years working in IT. For the current company, I have cleared a national level entrance exam. Will this experience of two sectors viewed as positive or negative by the B Schools? Thanks
Doesn't matter - BSchools don't look into pre undergraduate scores. I don't know if this is good news or bad news for you
2. Topper of vlsi design course in college. Presented my final year project paper in a national conference.
How do you say topper? Is there anything to prove that? Also what was the minimum threshold to be a speaker at that conference? I am not saying this to belittle your achievements - sorry if I am coming across like that. But this is how Adcoms will look at it. So you need to be sure you are able to quantify those achievements. Even then it should be something that should stand out - I don't think topping 1 course fits that bill.
3. I have self taught myself 4 musical instruments. Have been a part of orchestra in school. In college gave solo flute performance. But no national or state award for it.
Sounds very interesting - how long have you pursued it? How can it benefit your classmates? What makes you special because you have this talent? What else can you do with this talent? Answers to which you can write in your essays. Definitely a plus.
But my main question is - I have switched industry after 2.5 years working in IT. For the current company, I have cleared a national level entrance exam. Will this experience of two sectors viewed as positive or negative by the B Schools? Thanks
See you need to plot a graph which will take you from X (where you are) to Y (MBA Degree) to Z (Post-MBA career). You need to be able to justify why the career shift was crucial to your eventual goal in life (of which MBA is a critical milestone). If you are able to justify this well then no one will bother about it. Don't worry. But yes definitely something you need to address.
I just finished mailing a lot of schools on what to do about the GPA thing. and following are replies I received:
Stanford: Applicants are not required to convert their GPA while applying for the Stanford MBA Program.
Wharton: Do not convert it, leave it blank please.
Kellogg: You do not need to convert your GPA to a 4.0 scale. The admissions committee is familiar with the various grading systems from different countries and we can evaluate your academic performance.
Yale: Thank you for your interest in the Yale School of Management. You should report your GPA on whatever scale is used by your school. You do not need to convert it to a four-point scale. Chicago Booth: Please do not try to convert your GPA. You need professional assistance or send them in their original state. MIT Sloan: No need to try to convert an Indian CGPA into a US 4.0 Version. We are well familiar with the Indian universities and their system of grading.
So I guess most of the schools do not require the applicant to convert his/her CGPA to a US 4 point GPA.
But Columbia does. In fact CBS has specified a conversion method on its website.
Now the thing is this:
My undergraduate university graded us on a 10 point scale and ,according to the conversion formula specified by the university on the mark-sheet itself, even a person scoring 10/10 will only be getting 90% after conversion of scores.
Which means that it was simply not possible (impossible, not even improbable) for anybody,not even the best of the students, to score more than 90% in percentage terms.
This was a result of the relative grading system adopted by the university which really undermined the performance of the students as reported by the 10 point scale.
So, effectively, the topper of my class who scored a CGPA of 8.6 actually only got around 78-79%.
I received a 7.27.
Keeping this in mind, I reckon that a suitable GPA of mine on the 4 point scale would be something around 3.2 but if looked strictly without taking into account the factors stated above, it would seem to be around 2.3, which puts me at a grave and unfair disadvantage.
I'm definitely not a 2.3 . NO. NO WAY. NEVER!
To be honest I'd give myself even a 3.2 but DEFINITELY NOT BELOW 3 AND MOST DEFINITELY NOT A 2.3. Hell NO!
What should I do while reporting my GPA on my business school application?
Can/Should I discuss this in the optional essay?
Could someone please help with this? Thanks for the patient reading.
I have done my graduation in Ceramic Technology and is currently working as a research fellow in a research institute. how do i tackle the question of why mba in finance since i know nothing much about finance.
Hi puys, I just finished mailing a lot of schools on what to do about the GPA thing. :
Thanks Prashant. That should address the queries of a whole lot of guys concerned about GPA conversion.
For your own case, contact the Columbia admissions team over email and explain your situation. Don't jump to conclusions on your own. You'll just get more stressed out.
Thanks Prashant. That should address the queries of a whole lot of guys concerned about GPA conversion.
For your own case, contact the Columbia admissions team over email and explain your situation. Don't jump to conclusions on your own. You'll just get more stressed out.
Good luck with you apps.
- Sameer MBA Crystal Ball
Hi Sameer,
Actually I had contacted the Columbia guys about a month back as well. But they also only referred me to the chart on their website. They expressed their inability to help beyond that and now I'm clueless as to whom to contact about Columbia specifically.
As for the CBS' chart, firstly, it does a grave injustice to my academic performance and , secondly, it doesn't talk about the 10 point scale at all.
Although my undergrad marksheet does specify a method to convert my CGPA into %age but it also mentions that this is an 'approximate' formula.
Hence, I believe, what I'm going to do is just report a self-estimated GPA as far as CBS is concerned. For other B-schools, I'm only going to report my CGPA on a 10 pt. scale.
But still I think I need to know where I stand on the US 4.0 scale.
As I said earlier, as of now, I believe that I should be something like a 3.2 or 3.3. I'd seriously hate to be called a 2.3.
An unfair disadvantage as far as GPA is concerned is a big worry for me.
Hi Sameer, Actually I had contacted the Columbia guys about a month back as well. But they also only referred me to the chart on their website. They expressed their inability to help beyond that and now I'm clueless as to whom to contact about Columbia specifically. :
See if you can get someone from the Admissions team on the phone. If nothing works, write about it in the optional essay and explain your rationale for using whatever number you've used.
Hey please evaluate my profile and see whether it's fit to apply to ISB/any top 20 Business schools of the world. What is the GMAT score that I should target.
Xth - 81.5 XII th - 84 B.E - 73.78% Accenture 4 years of experience Industry - IT
please evaluate my profile and see whether it's fit to apply to ISB/any top 20 Business schools of the world : Accenture 4 years of experience Industry - IT
Gurudev, aisa ghor anyaay naa kijiye humm tuchh praniyon par. Though we have the clairvoyant sounding 'Crystal Ball' in our brand name, we are still pretty much dependent on candidates to tell us about their story before we can help.
And 4 yrs with Accenture doesn't tell us anything. Give us some more masala to chew on, bhayyaji.
Check out the other nicely structured posts on this and the other threads to get an idea of which posts get the best (and highly specific and useful) responses from the consultants.
I have been on PG for a long time and thanks to this wonderful website for giving aspirants all the information.
I want a look at my profile and an opinion on schools I can apply to.
Class 10- 87% Class 12- 72% 10th and 12th from CBSE Economics (Honours)- 59.9% University of Delhi, 2007 1 year with Ernst and Young Joined as Audit Associate, promoted to Advanced Audit Associate within six months 6 Months as a fashion merchandiser 2 years with State Bank of India as Probationary Officer (Assistant Manager), have worked in Dehradun, Bazpur, currently posted in Agra
Gurudev, aisa ghor anyaay naa kijiye humm tuchh praniyon par. Though we have the clairvoyant sounding 'Crystal Ball' in our brand name, we are still pretty much dependent on candidates to tell us about their story before we can help.
And 4 yrs with Accenture doesn't tell us anything. Give us some more masala to chew on, bhayyaji.
Check out the other nicely structured posts on this and the other threads to get an idea of which posts get the best (and highly specific and useful) responses from the consultants.
Happy to dig in after that.
- Sameer MBA Crystal Ball
Ok here goes my masala,
Xth (2001) - 81.5% Xth (2003) - 84 % B.E (2007)- Jadavpur University (73.38 %) One of the reputed Universities Internships in TATA MOTORS and TISCO (During College days)
Joined Accenture as an ASE Got Promoted to SE Again got Promoted to SSE Again getting promoted to Team Lead (One post lesser than a manager)
3.7 years of experience getting change in roles almost every year. Lots of stories and awards to dig upon.
Planning to take up Six Sigma Green Belt in June and will try to implement it in one of th eprojects within Accenture.
In addition NGO work - CSR initiative
Have additional things also to boast upon :). Just an overview above.
Jadavpur...nice, promotions...better, awards...good work. In your stories wala hat, hopefully you've got some teamwork, leadership etc.
But to get back to your orig query about GMAT for ISB, get over 700 (720+ would be great).
Would've also helped to know what your post-MBA plans are. We've noticed that this is a problem area with most guys who come to us (specially reapplicants). ISB likes their candidates to have ample clarity of thought when it comes to this aspect.
So do some solid homework on that part before you submit your application.
. NO. NO WAY. NEVER!