Profile Evaluation Indian /Female/ 29 / 8 years / 700 GMAT

[smartdev123]

Hi Experts,

My profile: Female / Indian / 29Yrs / 8 years work experience

1. GMAT : 700 (QA:48 -81 %, VA:37- 80% ,AWA-4.5).Wrote my GMAT in 2011.
2. Educational Background :
- B.E in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Anna University.(Ranked in Top 10 Universities in India) .
-86% (First class with distinction, Top 5% of the class)
- 94 % in 12th boards
- 94 % in 10th boards
3. Work Experience-
- 8 years in IT Industry ,currently working with DELL ,managing the Team of 15 for project delivery.
- Constantly ranked in top performers of the team.
- Received recognition and awards from client and also Employer. Currently having 4 awards from customer and 4 from the employer ,including the DELL CHAMPIONS AWARD.(Awarded only to TOP 25%)
- International experience: total 1 year from client location in Newyork.
Was acting as a single point of contact for client and delivery lead for my offshore team of 5.
- I'm also a corporate trainer and have delivered multiple training sessions
4. Extracurricular: Average
- Have involved in EC only during schools. Classical singer, Dancer.
- Involved with company CSR activities where we visit orphanages, hospitals, etc and help them in several ways for a day.

5. MBA: General Management ,Operations (as i am in IT operations)
I am mainly targeting Asia-pac and European B-Schools. Below is my B-school list ,
1. NUS -Singapore
2. Nanyang
3. ESSEC
4.Warwick Business school
5. Cambridge
Dream schools: HEC ,ISB but given the GMAT score am not so sure about the chances!
Also ,
I would love to know the my chances in other B-Schools in Europe ,UK,Asia.
Though I belong to the minority group (Female) ,could my work experience is in IT detract my chances ?
Can you please evaluate my profile and let know my chances?

Thanks a ton

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi there,

Thanks for sharing your profile. On one hand you do come from a common applicant group-- Indian engineering/IT applicants. Yes there are fewer females than males in that group, and schools ARE looking for qualified female applicants.... so that helps some. But it's still quite competitive. The other challenge is you're getting to the upper edge of average years of work experience, with 8 years already, so you may be more challenged to make the case for WHY and WHY NOW... so there is no doubt that the MBA is the best path for you at this point in time.

What you DO have going for you, it sounds, is a lot more leadership experience than the average Indian engineering applicant, and I think that will help you greatly.... leading the team of 15; leading the offshore team; and acting as a corporate trainer-- great evidence of your communication and management skills. Your community experience as described would also be a plus, especially if you can speak to why you got involved, what you learned from it, etc.

Be sure your CV and essays/application focus not JUST on product/engineering/technical accomplishments, but also on those communication, leadership, and teamwork skills to help you stand out!

Your GMAT is average or just below at top schools and among similar applicants, so certainly a bit higher wouldn't hurt, but I wouldn't stress too much about it with a 700, generally most of the decision will come down to the rest of your application when you get to that point and with your profile, in my view.

I think you could actually have a shot at the schools you have listed and possibly even HEC and ISB with strong essays/applications if you really nail the 'why MBA' and make a compelling case for why you need the degree, why now, and why that school is great for you. Maybe aim for 3-5 schools at first, those applications are quite time consuming! And essays need to be tailored to each school!

Good luck and keep us posted!