Candidacy Evaluation

[Kim]

Hi,

I would like to have a candid and an honest evaluation of my profile. I am trying for Schools such as Wharton, Haas, Tuck, Kellogs, UCLA and Darden. As it stands, they belong to categories of dream, realistic and saef schools. I would like to know how reasonable the dream schools are, how close the realistic schools are and how safe the safe schools are, for my candidature.

GMAT
710 (Q50, V35)

Personal Information: 28 Years, Male, Indian, Engineer

Career Profile:
3 1/2 (Aug09) Samsung Electronics, South Korea: Involved in developing and deploying solution for Next Generation 3G Networks in Europe and Korea. Forming strategy of a product and collaborating with 3rd parties.
Represented Samsung and presented the products in big conferences
Have worked with good number of International Client. Assured to have an excellent reco from CEO of one of the companies. Have worked very closely with him for an year. Have substantial proof for delieveries of the project and leadership roles although not exactly like leading the team.

9 Months Samsung Electronics, India: Worked in US for 4 Months on an on-shore project. Nothng to great to brag about here.

Education:
IIT - India's Premier Technical Institute - GPA 3.37/4.0; I hope to have a perspective from Adcom as IITs are misers when it comes to awarding grades
Seoul National University (South Korea's Harvard) , Electrical Engineering - GPA 3.56/4.0 - Under Full Scholarship from Samsung Electronics under Global Scholarship Program

Extracurricular Activities:
1. Community Service
2. Served as Head Cricket Coach at Seoul International School for 6 Months
3. Member of Samsung Cricket and Tennis Club
4. Former Member of Korean Cricket Association (KCA), consortium to promote Cricket in Korea
5. Represented IITs in Sports Festival

Work and Achievments:
1. Awarded third prize in Samsung Global Essay Competition, 2007 among more than 2000 entries.

2. Co-founded International Student Association at Seoul National University and served as the President of the association for one year.

3. Only Indian to score Samsung Global Scholarship Program for the graduate studies at Seoul National University, Korea among many applicants.

4. Co-author of a chapter in "Advances in Security and Payment Methods for Mobile Commerce", Edited by Wen-Chen Hu et. al., 2005, Chapter XIV, pp. 312-337.

5. Recipient of Merit cum Means Scholarship from the Ministry of Human Resource and Development, Government of India, for 3 consecutive years awarded by our institute.

6. Some other publications and awards

[MBAApply]

I honestly think you've chosen a decent list -- you're not being unrealistically ambitious, nor are you being overly cautious either.

Wharton will be a stretch (but you have enough of an outside chance that it's worth a try), whereas the rest are sweet spots. None would be truly safe, although UCLA is probably a good bet. If you want safe, you have to go beyond the top-16. You have decent stats and a relatively interesting work background (not a lot of Indian dudes working in Korea! - it's an interesting cross-cultural experience)

Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com

[Kim]

I honestly think you've chosen a decent list -- you're not being unrealistically ambitious, nor are you being overly cautious either.

Wharton will be a stretch (but you have enough of an outside chance that it's worth a try), whereas the rest are sweet spots. None would be truly safe, although UCLA is probably a good bet. If you want safe, you have to go beyond the top-16. You have decent stats and a relatively interesting work background (not a lot of Indian dudes working in Korea! - it's an interesting cross-cultural experience)

Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com

Thanks Alex for your straight answers, as always. Will getting GMAT arnd the figure 0f 750 help in Wharton case?

[MBAApply]

It will be marginal given where your GMAT is already. Every little thing helps of course, but you have to focus on what has the greatest impact - if you can boost it with little effort, then re-take it, otherwise you're better off spending more effort on your essays.

Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com

[DAG]

Hi Alex,

Wanted to assess my chance of getting into a school like Kellogg.

Undergrad went to a Top 5 University (MIT) graduated in 2003.

Undergraduate GPA was low in a very difficult major: ~3.8/5.
Master's GPA (also from MIT): 4.8/8

I was admitted to the Master's program at MIT because a number of professors were willing to vouch for my academic ability, despite my lower than average GPA.
4 years of stellar work experience in the technology industry, with roles in engineering and product management.

GMAT: 730 (96th percentile) (Q: 49, V: 41)

[MBAApply]

Your numbers shouldn't be a handicap given where you graduated from -- adcoms know that MIT doesn't practice grade inflation at all (and are known to be harder on grades than other schools) so that they'll cut you some slack, especially given that your GMAT is strong.

Just focus on the written application and interviews - that's what will make or break you at Kellogg, assuming you have decent work experience.

Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com