GMAT 640(Q48 V28 AWA 4) 3yr exp in IT

[arun.srivatsav]

Hi,

I am Arun from Hyderabad, India. I have 3yrs of experience in IT. I have also been abroad to work with the client in US for about 3 months. My undergraduate GPA is 3.56. I have good Academic record also.

I am planning to apply for the following colleges

1.ISB
2.Nanyang(My bet is on this one)
3.Cornell
4.Insead

What are my chances for the Cornell University/ISB/Insead. Can you please suggest colleges that I have good chance of getting in. Or should I consider taking GMAT again

Thanks,
Arun

[mili]

Hi Arun. Thanks for your note. I think that with your current profile, INSEAD is a bit of a reach and rather unlikely. Cornell and ISB are more reasonable, but even with these schools it would really help to get your GMAT score up. You’ll be competing against a lot of Indian male IT candidates, unfortunately, and broadly speaking, their GMAT scores are very high. The fact that you seem to lack extracurricular activities and community experience also does not really help your case. I’d probably suggest looking at other schools like Fisher, Indiana, etc, but I do recommend that you retake the GMAT if you think you can improve your score. You also may consider bolstering your extracurricular and community dimensions by getting involved with a nonprofit or volunteer organization that you care about. The key is to demonstrate leadership - my sense is that your professional role has not lent itself to too many leadership opportunities, though, so then the emphasis will fall on leadership demonstrated elsewhere. In the absence of these experiences, it will be tough to make your case! You might want to wait a year to apply, and use that time to strengthen your leadership profile and GMAT scores. Hope this helps!


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[arun.srivatsav]

Hi Arun. Thanks for your note. I think that with your current profile, INSEAD is a bit of a reach and rather unlikely. Cornell and ISB are more reasonable, but even with these schools it would really help to get your GMAT score up. You’ll be competing against a lot of Indian male IT candidates, unfortunately, and broadly speaking, their GMAT scores are very high. The fact that you seem to lack extracurricular activities and community experience also does not really help your case. I’d probably suggest looking at other schools like Fisher, Indiana, etc, but I do recommend that you retake the GMAT if you think you can improve your score. You also may consider bolstering your extracurricular and community dimensions by getting involved with a nonprofit or volunteer organization that you care about. The key is to demonstrate leadership - my sense is that your professional role has not lent itself to too many leadership opportunities, though, so then the emphasis will fall on leadership demonstrated elsewhere. In the absence of these experiences, it will be tough to make your case! You might want to wait a year to apply, and use that time to strengthen your leadership profile and GMAT scores. Hope this helps!


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Hi,

These are my achievements in academic and professional life. Can you please consider these and evaluate my profile again.

a. Have participated in Great Mind Challenge-2007, which is an IBM Academic Initiative across the country, and successfully completed the project.
b. I was the school pupil leader at my school.
c. Have worked on a project called "Issue Of Directory" for Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, a government organization, as part of industrial training in 2008 in 3rd year of my undergraduate program.
d. Have participated in Inter state Junior Red Cross National Integration Camp held at Hyderabad from 5th October to 9th October in 2002.
e. Have stood in 7th place in State Science Seminar-2002, which was sponsored by ISRO, on Remote Sensing Applications for national development.
g. I was the runner up in the Kurnool District Secondary schools cricket competition in 2002.
h. I have also passed the lower grade in Drawing held by the Office of the Commissioner for Govt. Examinations in 2002.
i. Have secured 10th place in Math Olympiad held by Kurnool City Private Educational Institutions Management’s Association in 2002.
j. Have secured a State level Rank of 764 in EAMCET-2005 exam.
k. Have secured a Rank of 3918 across India and a State level Rank of 1006 in AIEEE-2005.
l. I have secured 541/600 in SSC Examinations-2003 where I stood as my School Topper.
m. I have secured 972/1000 in Intermediate Board Examinations-2005 that is state level rank of 14.
n.My undergrad GPA is 3.56/4

Thanks,
Arun

[mili]

Arun - as most of these achievements are from 7-10 years ago, they will not help your application stand out much at a school like INSEAD. These types of schools tend to accept students who remained active after college, not those who dropped extracurricular/leadership activities as soon as they began working. I think that to be competitive at a school like INSEAD, you'd really need to demonstrate more recent achievements/interests/activities, and raise your GMAT score. Good luck!

Mili
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