Profile Evaluation - GMAT 690 (Q48,V36,5.0)

[roshan85]

I gave my GMAT a couple of weeks back and got a score of 690(Q48,V36,5.0). I'm considering retaking the GMAT, but wanted to know if a 20-30 point increase is worth the effort.

My Profile
I'm a 27 year old Male, Indian IT professional with around 5 years of experience in the industry. I realize that this is an extremely common profile and, a highly competitive one at that, and that is what worries me about my score.

I joined my company right out of college. For about 3.5 years I was an individual contributor and over the last year and half I've been a lead. As a Quality Engineering lead, I have 3-4 people in my team. Also, I've often gone beyond my role description and led the development team as well, worked with the project management to improve processes within the team etc. I will have recommendations vouching for this.

Recently I've also been given an opportunity to be part of an initiative of the company to improve Total Customer Experience. As part of this initiative, I'll be working on bridging the gap between engineering (my function) and the Customer Support folks. I see this as an opportunity to work across functions and act as a relationship manager between the 2 functions to help improve customer experience with my company.

At work, I've also taken the initiative to setup a charter of ToastMasters, an international organisation that helps people build public speaking and leadership skills.

Other than this I've been actively involved with an NGO working on urban governance and electoral issues since late 2008. I was involved in their nationwide campaign to encourage youth to register to vote for the 2009 Indian elections. I went to different companies and colleges in Bangalore and spoke to people on importance of voting in a democracy and got them to register to vote. I was also part of the their outreach core team which planned such activities. The NGO had a follow up campaign, more focussed to a city which involved getting people from around the city to act as volunteers to clean up the voter rolls withing their neighborhood. I helped create the training module for these volunteers and also conducted many training sessions. I continue to be involved with the organisation.

Post MBA Plan
I want to move away from the engineering function of technology firms. I want to be the one making strategic decisions and direction for a product by working and collaborating with multiple stake holders. I realize that my current skill set and education doesn't equip me for that. After an MBA I would want to be involved in Product Management and Development of a Technology Company.

I'm keen on applying to ISB, CMU and would also like to know schools which have a bias towards technology and would fit my interests. I want to know how good my chances are with a 690 and my profile. If not that great, what can I do to improve my chances.

[mbamission]

Hi Roshan,

Thanks for writing in. While I can understand your concerns about your GMAT score in such a competitive group, you do have some experience that can differentiate you -- your work with Toastmasters, your NGO experience, your move from Tech to Product Management, and your people leadership experience. I'd say the schools you list are probably right in between "reach" and
"competitive" for you right now (although more of a "reach" if you are still applying for class of 2012.

Assuming you are applying for Class of 2013, you may want to take the GMAT again -- an additional 30 points could vault you into a more competitive score as compared to your peers in the applicant pool. Beyond that, I suggest focusing your essays on those points of differentiation that I listed above, and stating very clearly how the MBA can help you meet your goals.

Good luck!
Daniel Richards
http://www.mbamission.com

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