I only want to go for a top league

[tellkp]

Hi!,

I am 32 year old Indian male, with 10 years of work experience in senior manager level corporate strategy role. I hold a Masters in International Business (Regular) from university of Delhi and a MS computer Science (Distance Learning). I have been part of setting serial enterprises at the begining of my career and have a cross Industry work experience. My work involves a profile similar to a management consultant and I done well at it. I intend to go in for an MBA at a premier Ivy League institution only with an objective to help me swith my career to a prominent mangement consultancy firm or an early CEO ship in Industry. I am yet to take the GMAT and feel that I would be able to get a score in the late 600's at best~ 690. Which B schools shall be suitable for my profile. Iwas advised against Harvard and Stanford by a consultant.

Eager to know

[mbamission]

Hi, and thanks for your inquiry. While your work experience seems impressive, there are a number of other elements of your profile that are either missing for me to give a complete assessment, or are going to present challenges.

First, as an Indian male with a technology degree, you are in the most over-represented demographic for business school applicants. Your work experience, however, does not seem to be in technology despite your degree in it, so to differentiate yourself I would recommend really focusing on the strategic and leadership elements of your job. You should also emphasize the international and cross-industry experience you bring.

The other significant challenge is your age; business schools tend to trend younger, and while applicants over 30 are accepted every year, it does become a bit more challenging. Again, try to differentiate yourself by turning your age into a positive, showing your experience, growth, perspective and maturity.

Schools are also going to be interested in demonstrated engagement and/or leadership outside of work, and you don't mention any community service involvement or elements of your personal journey that would demonstrate that. That's an important area to explore for the essay as well.

Finally, in your demographic, a 690 GMAT is at the lower end of the typical range that schools see. It's not going to be a strike against you, but nor will it be a positive differentiator.

I think Harvard and Stanford are a stretch, but if one of them is your dream school it doesn't hurt to apply, being realistic about the odds. You won't get accepted if you DON'T apply, after all! But other than that, I would encourage you to think through your school selection a bit more thoroughly than simply "Ivy League". There's a HUGE difference, for example, between urban Wharton, with 900 in a class, and rural Tuck, with 250 in a class.

Best,

Jessica Shklar
mbaMission

[tellkp]

Hi! Jessica,

I really appreciate a prompt and such a detailed response. My education has been in International Business, and I have additionally undertaken short management development programs for advanced analytics for marketing and financial decisions. My MS computer science was a distance learning program that I undertook while I was running my technology linked ventures. My objective for the course was primarily to help me appreciate IT more as a businessman with the businesses in the areas of DOT COM, IT enabled services and IT based education models, and not to be technocrat myself.

My social engagement have been my work with an NGO for orphan children and the nature of work was raising charity, contributing myself and spending time with children and counselling them. It cant be called leadership though.

Since the sabbatical would be big decision for me and that I intend to work in India in the medium run, hence its imperative for the B School to be an internationally well known entity.

Is it true that Wharton, Chicago and Kellogs have more broader perspective to suit my profile. I would need you to elaborate on what do you mean by ;'There's a HUGE difference, for example, between urban Wharton, with 900 in a class, and rural Tuck, with 250 in a class.'

Thanks and sorry for a repeat question.

[mbamission]

Thanks for the chance to elaborate - it's a topic I think is incredibly important and overlooked. Most applicants pick schools by ranking and tend not to consider other factors as strongly. While I do understand the importance of name recognition, you also don't want to be at a school where you'll be miserable! So some of the other factors we recommend you look at are:

Location - do you want to be in an urban setting (like Wharton) which may be more decentralized, less of a community, more expensive...but closer to recruiters and have more activities going on, or a more remote location (like Tuck) where the student community can bond tremendously and be really close-knit, but where you and the admissions committee may have to spend more time on recruitment.
Class Size/Structure - 900 in a class vs. 200+ changes the dynamic, network, etc. More people to meet vs getting to know fewer people well.
Curriculum - flexible vs mandatory - how much control do you want? Do you want to pick all your classes from day 1 (like Chicago) or have the school first tell you what they think you should know (e.g. MIT, HBS)
Pedagogy - what teaching methods do you prefer? All case method (Darden, HBS) or a mixture?
Academic Specializations/Recruitment Focus - does the school you're interested in offer enough opportunities in the areas you're interested in?
Alumni Base - are there a lot of alumni or fewer who are more close-knit?

There are no right answers - everyone has a different style and preference. But rankings are only an initial tool to help you narrow down your selection.

I hope that helps!

Jessica