Profile Evaluation for HBS 2+2

[sj1776]

Academics -
Class 10th- 10.0 CGPA
Class 12th - 95%
College - Top 10 in India ( Not an IIT)
Course - Bachelors of technology-Mechanical
Currently top 3% of the class after 4 semesters(2 years)
Percentage - 81.4%
Percentage of topper - 84.1%

Projects -
1. Worked with Delhi metro for uav development
2. Part of technical team at college which competes in international event.
3. Developed a cost effective rapid prototyping machine.
4. Competing in one of the biggest international events with high chance of making it to the finals.
5. Implemented computer vision (self taught) in hand detection programme.
6. Initiating project for 6 axis robotic arm.

Internship-
1. Week long internship at one of the most successful company in India.
2. International Intern in middle east for a month.

Positions of leadership-

School -
1. House captain
2. House vice captain
3. Basketball team captain
4. Basketball team vice captain

College -
1. Technical head at a society A. ( starting frm 3rd year)
2. Technical head at society B.( during 2nd year)
3. Project manager at society B.( starting from 3rd year )
4. Junior council member society A.(1st and 2nd year )
5. Corporate head for society fest.
6. Core Organizing committe member for national level competition.
7. Core organizing committe for college fest.

Extracurriculer -

1. Won several technical competitions during 1st and 2nd year.
2. Sent a paper for publishing in journal.
3. Selected as most excellent student at society A.
4. Worked as a designer for a start up.
5. Working as a designer for societies and college newspaper.
6. Social activities at society C ( social + entrepreneurship ).
7. Dukes of edingburgh gold medal recipeint.
8. Several gold medal for academic performance.
9. Represented school at several interschool events.

I HAVE NOT GIVEN GMAT YET. I EXPECT A SCORE OF AT LEAST 750.

What should I do to improve profile further ?

[mbaMissionKate]

Hello! Thanks for sharing your profile. I'd say you have many things in your profile that are very strong - good grades, good leadership and lots of involvement in extracurriculars, technical background too which is good because they emphasize analytical skills. The 2+2 program at HBS is very competitive though, I believe they only accept 12% of applicants, so just be aware that even if you are a competitive applicant, it's still a big risk.

I think I'd focus on a few areas...

1. Testing - Getting a strong GMAT will be important, the median for the 2+2 program is 730, so I would start preparing and taking practice tests sooner rather than later. I hope you're right about your predicted score! You may also need to take the TOEFL if you're attending a non-English speaking university.

2. Leadership - this is huge for the 2+2 program so make sure you have plenty of examples of your leadership - it can be at work, in school, in extracurriculars. In particular, think about the skills that are required to succeed in Harvard's case-method curriculum and make sure you can demonstrate those - sharing your opinions, persuading others, communicating effectively, working in a diverse team, etc.

3. Work experience - it looks like your internships have all been quite short. Is it possible to get something a bit longer - perhaps for a whole semester or summer? I think that would help to demonstrate commitment, development and growth from that internship plus it may lead to a good option for a recommender who's known you for a longer period of time.

Hope this helps and good luck to you!

[sj1776]

Thanks a lot for your help. As far as GMAT is concerned i will be taking it after 2 months of prep. During my school years I was lead for lot of school projects working with students of different nationalities. My international internship involved dealing with different nationalities as well. This summer i will be interning at 2 different companies. Also I have a year left for my final year. Anything else I should focus on ?

[mbaMissionKate]

That's great! Sounds like you've got a good plan in place for GMAT - good luck! It sounds like you have good leadership too, never hurts though to continue to seek more leadership opportunities and stretch your skills there. Only other thing I'd recommend is to do some focused research on HBS to make sure you have a clear sense of their program, culture, and curriculum. It is quite unique from other programs in use of the case method. Try to talk to current students / alums via your network, attend prospective student events, or even visit campus if you can. This research will really help you to understand why that's the right program for you (beyond just its reputation). Good luck as you finish your final year!