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anonymous Request for a Profile Evaluation Hi. I am Siddharth Dhariwal from Kolkata, India. I am planning to apply for an international MBA next year, so want to start early. My target schools are Top-20 US B-Schools + Top-5 in Europe + Top-3 in Asia. With that in mind, I appeared for GMAT and scored a decent 750 (V40 Q51 AWA 5 IR 8), will reappear once more aiming for a higher score. Once I started reading up, I got to know from leading gmat websites like poetsandquants etc that (i) US B-Schools don't usually prefer candidates in their early 30s (I will be 30 when I join, 31/32 when I passout, so I totally fall in this category) and (ii) the Indian+Male+IT professional is the most over-represented population in the applicant pool & that makes us undesirable. A consultant from a local center even went to the extent of telling me that I have no chance whatsoever to crack my target schools (though I appreciate the fact that she didn't show false dreams just to land one more client). That has left me demotivated & confused on what to do in the road ahead. Could really use from experienced advice. My profile reads something like this- ICSE (X)- 92% ISC (XII)- 91.25% B.Tech in Electronics & Communication - 81.3% M.Tech in IT - 85% (one of the toppers) Work Ex- 45 months, currently working Tata Consultancy Services as a Software Engineer ECs- normal, nothing jaw-dropping. Now I would really like a preliminary holistic analysis from the experts on where my profile stands in their esteemed estimate & whether such a profile can arrest the attention of ANY Adcom from my target schools. Going ahead will require an expenditure of 200,000 INR atleast. So can really use an honest comprehensive analysis and also my scholarship prospects (along with some realistic colleges). #MBA {{ 1430097368310+1-1 | date : 'short' }} mba freeevaluation All Replies User Picks
Kofi Kankam expert Hi Siddhartha - please post this in Ask a Question and we'll get to it. We need you to flesh out your profile and add more information so we can comment appropriately. {{ 1430113740322+1-1 | date : 'short' }}
anonymous @Kofi Kankam Sir, this will sound very naive but how to post in 'Ask a Question' exactly? When I click on 'Ask a Question', all I see is a Search bar & on the right hand of the screen, options like 'Post a Question' , 'Get a Free Evaluation' & 'Request Application Help'. I don't see any specific options post my question under that thread. Please help. {{ 1430128122016+1-1 | date : 'short' }}
anonymous Sir, please help me out here, I don't see any option to post my question under 'Ask a Question'. {{ 1430148554513+1-1 | date : 'short' }}
Eric Allen expert Sid, for the record, the "Post a Question" was what Kofi was going for, but you seemed to find the right place. Would be great if you could get this information into your profile so we could give you specific feedback, but I'm fine giving you some general feedback in this setting: You are seeking entry into business school, so being a male technologist from India is the most competitive demographic for MBAs. That being said, you seem to have a solid academic background (topper) and a solid amount of work experience. Your GMAT is fine at 750 - you don't have to take again. Bad news is that in the short description, you are lacking differentiation. You didn't mention much about your work experience, so I will assume that it's solid, but not spectacular and your extracurricular activities were self-described as such. You are older, but 30 is not a deal killer. Good news: you DO have a chance - that person who told you that you have no chance was playing the odds, but a candidate w/ your background does have a chance (we have clients with your background that are in school as I type). Bad news: it will be an uphill battle. You will have to do everything in your power to leverage your work experience, show leadership and try to really show the committee that you have a differentiated background. Breath. It's not guaranteed, but it's worth the investment because each additional year you wait will make it more difficult. You should strongly consider U.S. schools in the 15-25 range as I don't think you have a high likely hood at top 25 schools. You can see rankings at ft.com/mba or U.S. News or Bloomberg business week to find a school that is right for you. I hope that helps. #mba #freeevaluation {{ 1430219676684+1-1 | date : 'short' }}
Linda El Awar expert Sid, also think a lot about what you want to do after your MBA. That will help you narrow down potential schools, too. {{ 1430268894942+1-1 | date : 'short' }}