The verbal score will not keep you from going to b-school...but if the rest of your story (leadership, extracurriculars, etc) lacks the wow factor, you should definitely broaden your list and look at schools outside of the top 5.
Hey Monica,
Thanks for the reply. Frankly speaking, this is not my best attempt at verbal . Its quite deviated from the scores I got in the GMAT Prep software (I was usually in early 40s). But, I am not keen on taking the test again and would prefer to channel my effort towards applications. What do you think?
As far as the work is concerned, I have been a good performer. I have worked on quite a few "out of the box" projects. I continue to hold responsibilities related to civil engineering & construction. I have been involved in company events, social work and environmental activities (not outstanding, but decent)
I hope that gives you a good insight. I'll wait for your reply.
Yes, that is the reason. I don't think you are competitive at a top program right now. Additional experience would help. You can pursue greater leadership opportunities in your current role and a transition to a front office role with an investment bank might boost your profile as well. You should also aim to get involved since community leadership is an important aspect of the application process as well. Find something that you are passionate about and make an impact!
Monica, thanks for your reply. I think I am missing something. On one hand you say that my CA plus workex differentiates me from other candidates from the same demography. Yet in the last para you say that I may not be competitive at the top 10. Is that because of a not-so-good community service and extra curriculars? Or the workex + qualification in itself is not good enough?
If so, can also suggest the way forward in terms of what I should be doing, in addition to getting a very good GMAT score, so that I am considered at the top b-schools. I am particularly interested in the top 10/15? I am also not too keen on pursuing MBA immediately.I do not mind doing it in 2-3 years if tat does not get late. So, with this info in picture, can you suggest the best way to build a ivy type CV in my case? Will a 2 year exp in a good i-bank (front office) help? Pls suggest anything else that you may deem fit as nothing else come to my mind.
Your grades are not stellar, but they are fine. Your verbal score in your GMAT might raise a red flag about your verbal abilities. I do think your international experience is a positive aspect of your profile. However, the degree of professional leadership is more important, and it is difficult to judge this based on the information provided.
You current/collegiate extra-curricular activities/leadership is light which will make it difficult for you to show a continuous history of leadership. Regarding your questions:
1.So could you please suggest 2-3 Stretch schools and 2-3 schools where I stand a very good chance with a good scholarship. Please take into consideration that securing finances is a big issues for me. So basically I am looking for decent schools with good ROI.
Can you first share information on what you are looking for in a program? Location, size, etc. I recommend that you list your target schools and then we can provide an opinion on your shortlist.
2.Do you think it would be good decision to join an average B-School in the current scenario? Your choice of school really depends on your individual goals.
3.Also, do you think I will be able to switch my domain from IT to General Management or Consulting post MBA in this slowdown, even if I graduate in fall 2012? I can't predict how well the economy will recover in 2012 (or any year)! However, you should certainly talk to students at your target schools about recruiting opportunities and trends. As you prepare your applications, also think hard about your "plan B" since this is something that can come up during interviews.
Hi Monica and the mbaMission Team, I am a 2010 fall aspirant. My Profile is as follows: GMAT: 710(Q: 49, V: 38 ) Exp.: 4+ yrs by Sep,2010 IT Acads: ok ok X: 78% XII: 67% B.Tech.(CSE): 71.3% Extra Curr.: Not much. I play a lot of games like Lawn Tennis, Badminton, Pool ,Snooker, Squash, cricket etc. I am an avid reader and read a lot. I was also one of the organizers of the Technical Festival in my college. Specialization interested in: General Mgmt/Strategy/Entrepreneurship I have lead a team for around 18 months and was responsible for the training activities of the new joinees in the project. My USP is the diversity I offer. I have worked for 3 different clients like Bank of America, Wachovia and American Express and many domains like credit cards, Data warehousing, Credit Bureau , Associate application development etc. I have worked for 5 different projects and 6 different technologies . So, I have had to adapt quickly to the technology, people and work culture of the different teams. 4 of the 5 projects that I have worked had really tight deadlines and since my company had got work in those areas for the first time, there was additional pressure to do well to gain a foothold in that area. Though I have no International experience, I have interacted with clients from different locations like Australia, US and China. Also, I have stayed at 6 states and 9 different cities across India and have had to deal with different cultures and different mindsets of the people. I am a punjabi born in Rajasthan who belongs to Delhi. :) I have always been above average at everything but not exceptional at anything. So I would like to pursue MBA in General Management with a focus on Consulting so that I gain insight into the various aspects of running a business as my long term goal is to start my own business in 10-15 years after MBA. 1.So could you please suggest 2-3 Stretch schools and 2-3 schools where I stand a very good chance with a good scholarship. Please take into consideration that securing finances is a big issues for me. So basically I am looking for decent schools with good ROI. 2.Do you think it would be good decision to join an average B-School in the current scenario? 3.Also, do you think I will be able to switch my domain from IT to General Management or Consulting post MBA in this slowdown, even if I graduate in fall 2012?
Your progression sounds pretty strong. Broadening your list of schools is definitely smart. A list of 4-6 schools is reasonable and you should have a decent shot at at least one of your target schools.
Regarding your essay topics....you want to ensure that you're showing community/personal leadership in your essays in addition to your professional accomplishments. It really depends on the story, but you should probably not write about the journalism accomplishments in more than one essay. There should be a good balance between professional, personal and community topics.
Best of luck with the process!
Thanks for taking the time out to go through my profile and answer my queries. As an addendum, let me state that I had joined Citigroup in 2006 as an Assistant Manager and got promoted to Manager within a year - a rarity in the organization. I think I can get good recommendations from a person quite high up in the organization.
Also, following the recent economic turmoil, Citigroup had been forced to offload several international units, one of which happens to be the one I work. It has been acquired by India's largest IT major, Tata Consultancy Services. Recently, I have been asked by company HR to consider applying to an internal management trainee program called Tata Administrative Services, which is an extremely elite section of the Tata Group.
As for my role in the organization, it is a little different from the typical IT/software guy. I am in the Risk Analytics department where most of my colleagues hold Economics or Statistics majors. So my work involves Analytics and Software, and daily interactions with my American teammates in Texas and New York.
Although I had initially considered applying only to Harvard, Kellogg and Wharton among American B-schools, I have decided to hedge my bets by including Stern and Tuck in that list as well.
How much do you think I should emphasize my journalistic achievements in my applications? Should it be more, equal, or less than my IT career? I look forward to your esteemed advice on my profile and applications to these elite schools.
Based on the information you provided, I do not see any other deficiences. As I mentioned, continue to stretch yourself when possible. Promotions, special projects, challenging leadership opportunities, and international experience will help boost your profile. If you feel that there are key weaknesses that you are concerned about, please bring them to my attention.
Thanks for your feedback.
I was involved with an NGO during my college days. It dealt mainly with rehabilitation of juvenile children. But it was not at the same level as my present involvement. Also I was in the organising committee for various fests held in the college.
Do you think that apart from securing a high GMAT score there are any other deficiencies which I should take care of in my efforts to secure an admit in 2011?
The verbal score will not keep you from going to b-school...but if the rest of your story (leadership, extracurriculars, etc) lacks the wow factor, you should definitely broaden your list and look at schools outside of the top 5.
Kudos to you for taking all the pains in reading and posting replies.
My Profile:
Xth-- 84.16% XIIth-- 79.2% B.Tech (I.C.T)- 76.8% Participated in various sports/technical contests member of organizing committee of cultural/sports events for 1 academic year. A rural experience also exploring possible uses of I.C.T
GMAT- 740 (QA-50, VA-40, AWA 5) Work-ex: 3yrs in IT-Software Received accolades from customer (i-Phone) etc. Won an on the speech-contest in the company
Post-MBA Focus: Consulting/Technology Leadership
Target schools:
USA Tuck Tepper McCombs Kelley Kenan-Flagler Ross
India ISB
Canada Rotman-Toronto
what do u feel are chances at these univ.?? am i being overly ambitious?? any additions/deletions u suggest??
However I think (and hoping) you have miss read my profile.. esp the GMAT part.. you mention my verbal scores are weak ? My verbal score was 41 (92%ile).. if anything I would say my quant score was weak.. i.e. 45 (74%tile).. please could you have re-read my profile and let me know if your comment on anythin change.. Also any idea about my chances in Cambridge or it too much of a 'reach' college for me ?
Thanks...
Thanks for your question. I do think your grades are lower than other candidates with similar profiles. Was there a specific reason for your performance? Also, your overall GMAT score is lower as well. While your quantitative score is strong, the verbal score is not as strong and can potentially raise a red flag regarding your verbal skills. If you feel that you can achieve a higher score with more preparation, I recommend retaking the GMAT.
I also feel that your leadership in community and college activities are relatively light. Do you have any community activities within your professional job (i.e. leadership regarding training, mentoring, social activities, etc). These are activities that you can leverage to highlight your leadership outside of your job.
We specialize in the top MBA programs in the U.S. and Europe, so I am not familiar with the schools you've listed (except Cambridge). I recommend that you look at your profile in relation to the class profile for all of your target schools to see how you measure up. If your personal story is pretty unique even if your statistics are lower than the averages, you might have a reasonable shot. Otherwise, I recommend that you boost your GMAT and take on more leadership roles.
I have work experience of 2.3 yrs currently,good acads and have started preparing for GMAT. I will be ready for exams till December mid. Yes I have heard 1st rounds are will get over till I give GMAT exams is it true that second rounds are of no use most of the seats are already filled.
Please give me some guidance about it . Thanks in advance
Your grades are not stellar, but they are fine. Your verbal score in your GMAT might raise a red flag about your verbal abilities. I do think your international experience is a positive aspect of your profile. However, the degree of professional leadership is more important, and it is difficult to judge this based on the information provided.
You current/collegiate extra-curricular activities/leadership is light which will make it difficult for you to show a continuous history of leadership..... As you prepare your applications, also think hard about your "plan B" since this is something that can come up during interviews.
Monica, Thanks a lot for your reply.
My leadership Exp.: I have lead a team of 7 members for around one and a half year and was responsible for training and mentoring activities. I organised a Technical festival in my college in my third year of studies.
I have been promoted to Senior Systems Engineer recently.
I plan to apply to the following colleges and target GM/Consulting positions post MBA: Queens(Canada), Emory, Katz, Cambridge(UK), Cranfield(UK) and NUS.
So which ones from the above list do you think are Stretch/Safe schools for me?
Hi , Here is my profile. Indian, Male, 28 GMAT : 720 - Q50,V38 Experience - 6 years in IT, Product Development. Lead a team of 3-4, mentored as well. No managerial Experience. Acads : 70% - BE in Computer Science, NIT. ECs - below average. I am looking for a MBA program with a focus on Product Management/IT Consulting. Would like to move into a product management or a consulting role in IT post MBA. Also I am looking for a one year course (12-18 months, preferably in UK). Could you please suggest a few stretch schools and a few other schools that I can apply this fall. I am looking at Said, Judge, NUS as of now.
Hi Monica First of all hearty thanks to you for taking all the pains in reading and posting replies. My Profile: Xth-91.73% XIIth-- 87.3% B.E (Biotechnology)- 78.0% Founder student president of department Student council Executive committee member and Editorial chief of IEEE student branch College magazine, college cultural fests book fairs, debate club etc GMAT- 680 (QA-47, VA-34, AWA 5) Work-ex: 3yrs in IT-Software Nominated for most promising fresher Awarded "On the spot award" for outstanding contributions to the project Awarded most valuable player for the development centre (approx 6000 employees work in this DC) Short onsite stint ( 10 days at Switzerland for requirement gathering) Doubly promoted as a Tehnology analyst from software engineer due to company re-organization.The promotion being based on my performance over past two and half years. Currently lead a team of 8 resources to cater to the support for the corporate governance internal application having an user base of 100,000 users. Also involved in design and development of code changes suggested by corporate governance, corporate planning and Finance team.
CSR: Notebook distribution drives, clothes collection for poor, facilitator for student visits to campus so as to seed early interests in IT sector among bright students. Post-MBA Focus: General Management/Corporate Governance/Strategy/Operations Target schools: India ISB USA Tepper Ross Duke university Singapore: Nanyang NUS UK Said Lancaster Warwick China CIEBS HongKong UST Switz IMD Canada Rotman-Toronto Is my GMAT score good enough or do I need to improvise upon my score? What do u feel are chances at these univ.? Do you suggest any additions/deletions to this list? Will it be better to apply in R1 or R2? Thanks in advance. Looking forward to hear from you. Appreciate your help a lot
Great work.. You guys have been of gr8 help to all of us..
I have the similar question and want to take your opinion on my selection of schools...
I am particulary interested in Business Analytics, so have been looking for the electives related to my concentration in different US colleges.
My GMAT score: 710 Quants: 50 Verbal: 35 AWA: 5
Acads: Graduation: (7.56/10) National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirapalli(Among top 10 Engg College) AIEEE- All India Rank 730 (Top 0.5%) 10th - 89.6 12th - 83.3 Work exp will be 3 years by Fall 2010 in a Australian Bank as Test Analyst in its Software firm
I have been involved in quite a few Event Management activites at college like organising Technical Festival, Department Symposium etc etc.. Won in few technical and mathematical events... My Hobbies include photography, dance, organising events etc..
At company, I have initiated few Process Improvement Initiatives for which I got awards as appreciation.. Have been closely working with my Melbourne counterparts... Lately, I have started handling independent projects where I have been guiding new joinees... Additionally getting few Test Lead opportunities too...
I was quite inclined towards those schools which have the electives I want and generally offer scholarship to students:
Thats how I have sent my score to following schools: 1. Virginia(Darden) 2. Emory 3. Indiana(Kelley) 4. Ohio(Fisher) 5. NUS Singapore(one Asian MBA)
I am inclined to return back to India after my MBA, so looking as much as possible for scholarship..
What do you suggest which other schools should I include as other schools which offer the electives for Analytics are: MIT, Chicago, Duke, Michigan, Anderson, Warwick, Maryland, Rochestor, Katz, Mays, Hough, Foster, Purdue etc..
If you can help me out to finalise my list with any of the above colleges or any other which you think I have missed out, it will be great...
Your progression sounds pretty strong. Broadening your list of schools is definitely smart. A list of 4-6 schools is reasonable and you should have a decent shot at at least one of your target schools.
Regarding your essay topics....you want to ensure that you're showing community/personal leadership in your essays in addition to your professional accomplishments. It really depends on the story, but you should probably not write about the journalism accomplishments in more than one essay. There should be a good balance between professional, personal and community topics.
Best of luck with the process!
Thank you for replying to my second question on this thread. I just have one more:
Some people have advised me to apply to Stanford as well considering my Risk Analyst profile and Stanford's preference for technical profiles. However, I researched that the school has comparatively less number of seats. What would you advise considering my profile in its entirety?
Yes, that is the reason. I don't think you are competitive at a top program right now. Additional experience would help. You can pursue greater leadership opportunities in your current role and a transition to a front office role with an investment bank might boost your profile as well. You should also aim to get involved since community leadership is an important aspect of the application process as well. Find something that you are passionate about and make an impact!
Monica, many thanks for your reply. Highly appreciate it..
We all talk of top 10, 8-15, etc. I have seen ratings given by 5-6 publishers (avbl from wikipedia). Each of them differs and many cases differs by a huge margin like school no 4 in one rating would be school no 17 in another rating.
How does one read all these ratings?
I understand that each rating has a different methodology. They cud be based on placements, infrastructure, industry interface, etc. Yet without getting into such details if one wants to see which school is good taking into all major parameters, which rating would you recommend?
When you speak of top 10, 8-15, etc. which rating are you referring to? If you have a rating of your own, could you please share it for the benefit of everyone?
Appreciate your help in providing us with your valuable insights. Please evaluate my profile and answer some of the questions which I have on the same.
Academics: BE (IT) from a locally well known university - scored 76.9% (Honours i.e. 1st Class), which gets converted to a 3.5 GPA. CFA Level 1 certificate holder(June 2009). Planning for CFA Level 2 in June 2010 (don't know whether I'll be able to prepare for it due to R1 application prep timelines and other professional commitments)
GMAT: 720 (Q50, V34)(Appeared 2 years back). Studying to appear again to crack 750+. Pretty sure I can do that.
Work experience: 5+ yrs (will be 7 by fall 2011) with one of the largest software companies companies in India. Got 4 promotions in 5 years. Current role business analyst (project execution in compensation management and data analysis) in an international assignment. Have worked with four different clients in four different continents in as many years with 2 international assignments in last 3 years. Awarded thrice for my work.
Extra curriculars: Pretty good in sports. Specially passionate about a single sport which I have represented successfully in school, college and company level (involved in this sport at my international assignment location also). Also into arts (painting and cinema).
Leadership skills: Good record in both professional and personal (setting up a local club for the same sport)domains.
Community Service: Volunteered foundation work in college and company level. Specially volunteering to educate economically depressed children (a small incident in my life changed my perspective to poor children). This community service is at present halted due to my international assignment, which is going to continue for another 1 year.
Post MBA, I'm targeting a strategy consultant / general management profile with a mix of finance. Planning to apply Harvard, Stanford, Chicago, Wharton, Tuck, Duke, Stern and Kellogg. All in round 1 2010. I have not thought of R2 till now.
Please let me know which part of my profile needs further improvement, which part I should concentrate to improve further and whether I'll be a fit for the schools I am looking for. Your opinion will be really worth for me.
First of all I would like to thank you for helping & guiding us so much.Please evaluate my profile and suggest me which schools I can apply for fall 2010.
10th - 89% 12th - 96% ( Was a state topper) Received few scholarships in school College - Engineering (electronics) 83% It is one of the best college in our state. GMAT - 710 (QA-50, VA-36) AWA-4.5
I am working for one of the Big 4 consulting firms since last 3 years as a ERP consultant. Work includes technical and business consulting, continuous interaction with clients,leading small teams in many projects. Never travelled out of India for any assignment. But worked for a German client in a project. Planning to start a recruitment consulting firm along with two other people. Extra curricular activities: Outside office I work for a community service organization. We are trying to help children of sex workers with better life and education. I donate money & sometimes go and spend time with them. Hobbies: dancing (trained classical dancer), travelling, reading books, blogging
Post MBA I would like to continue in consulting & after few years want to start my own consulting firm.
With this poor GMAt score I am really confused which school to try. No chance of taking GMAT again due to hectic job schedules. Can you guide me about 5-7 US colleges where my chances of getting admission is quiet high.
Thanks for the wonderful job you are doing of guiding students like me. Here is my profile:
BE (Electronics) Mumbai University: 61% MS (Computer Engr) (USC): 3.65/4.0 Gmat: 730 (Q 49, V 42)
Work exp. 3 yrs software engineer (developer)with Cisco, San Jose
At acads I have shown a steady upward curve all through the years. And really excelled during MS, choosing a diverse breadth of courses and performing well. And acads are not really my concern.
At work, I have had limited opportunities to lead a team or interact with a customer. Also, no promos till date to show, but promos are slow to come in my company. However worked and delivered on 3 different projects.
On the extra curricular front, however, I have been the captain of my soccer team consistently at school as well as at a local league in the bay area, with the team composing of players from different backgrounds and ethnicity. (Does that count towards leadership experience?)
Aim is to do marketing/entrepreneurship at top schools in US. Targeting HBS, Stanford, Wharton, Kellogg, MIT Sloan. How does this profile look for these schools? WHat are the gaps you see?
