Profile Evaluation Plz

[PrashantS122]

Hi.

Could the experts here please evaluate my profile and lemme know which schools should I target?

I am 29. Indian mechanical engineer working as a scientist for the Government of India for six years.

TOEFL, 2014 118
GMAT, September 2012, 700 (Q49, V35, IR5, AWA 4.5)
GMAT, October 2012, 700 (Q45, V40, IR7, AWA 4.0)
GMAT, August 2014, 710 (Q49, V38, IR6)

I am involved in high altitude biking as a hobby and am starting to get into amateur bodybuilding (I have lost over 50lbs over the last 8 months. This too as a hobby.

I applied to quite a few schools in 2012 but got dinged at all of them without interview. They were all top schools.

I have shortlisted the following schools and will be extremely grateful if the experts here could help me guage my chances at these schools:-

Booth (R2)
Kellogg (R2)
Fuqua (Early Decision)
Yale
Tuck
Ross (R1)
Anderson
Johnson (R1)
Darden (R1)
Tepper (R1)
McCombs (R1)

I know that's a lot of schools but I'm gonna spread the apps out over R1 & R2 Except fuqua. So I am kinda also looking for a strategy here. I am personally highly inclined towards Booth, Kellogg, Fuqua and McCombs. I know that my low GMAT score will pose a problem esp at Booth and Kellogg. That's why I am confused as to what should I do. Should I go ahead and apply to the higher ranked schools in R1 or should I first finish with the lower ranked schools, try to secure an admit, retake the GMAT (and hopefully score better) and then apply to Booth, Kellogg and Tuck? I have already taken the GMAT thrice (2 x 2012 and 1 x 2014) and I am afraid that any more misfires might weigh heavily against me, but then I might not have a realistic chance at the top schools with this GMAT score anyways.

Also, is it possible that my score on the TOEFL (118) might offset my low GMAT verbal score to some extent?

Please help with your valuable suggestions.

Thanks

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi there,

Hmm, thanks for sharing but I feel it's tough to really assess your candidacy without knowing more about your professional experience... have you shown leadership in any way? What have you accomplished? How have you made an impact?

Also-- WHY do you want to go to b-school? (this is actually relevant to admissions too!)

And do you have any community involvement?

Admission is about a lot more than just the GMAT. Schools are assessing all of the above and what you'll bring to the program and what you'll do with the degree after.

Yes generally I would feel top 5 and really even top 10 schools will be a reach for you. Part of that is that there are so many Indian engineering applicants and it's tough to stand out from that crowd, and so far I don't really see too much that would catapult you into top-10 range. So if you have your heart set on it, you could apply to 1-2 of those, but I'd focus more on schools in the 15-25 range for better chances.

If you'd like to discuss further, fyi we do offer a free 30 min consultation, at http://mbamission.com/consult/.

Good luck !