Profile Evaluation request for ISB,IIMs,Colleges in SE Asia

[VarunP635]

Hii I am Varun Pant . I work as an IT professional with a work-ex of 4 years ,out of Pune, India.
I gave my GMAT just last month and contrary to my expectations ,fared relatively badly there.

GMAT-1 650 (Quant 46, Verbal 34)

I do plan to give the test another shot, not because I think 650 is bad score , but because I think I have prepared well to score a 700+.
Any ways, this time I am trying to prepare through a plan, I have a list of colleges that I want to get into and based on that I am trying to forge a preparation cycle. As I am from India , and want to stay more or less near to it, I am planning to do my MBA from South-East Asia/India. And as finances are a concern to me, Asia , seems to be a fine choice.
I am primarily targeting NUS, NTU and SMU,ISB and IIMs. Out of these three, NUS would be a dream destination . I am also researching for some good colleges in China as it is too coming up with good colleges , probably will keep them in the back up list.
Here is my profile
Undergrad - B Tech in Information Technology from U.P.T.U. India
Undergrad CGPA 3.5

Proffessional Experience 4 years of experience in Mobile Application(Android) development. In a leading Indian MNC. Have worked closely with team from the inception of the design to the development and have been part of some of the very first business-intensive Android apps for insurance industry in India. Also have been intensively involved in bringing android technology in the newest forms in our projects( for example we recently unveiled Android Wear Feature for our project.
Currently working in a US-based firm and working for a critical Banking client.

Extra Currics Was in the Editorial team for both School and college Magazine, member of the cultural committee, Avid writer of blogs and Write-ups. Have got 4-5 articles published in a leading English daily while in college. Participated and in various national -level fests’ debate competitions. Also Edited my company’ bi-weekly magazine for four months.
Also worked for Teach for India foundation for 3 months, and have participated for the company’s Go-Green initiatives.
Lover of Indian classical music and books

Area Of Interest Indian Classical Music, reading Non-fictional Books, Watching Documentries on World-Economics and History, and reading/reasearching about Functional impact of the booming Mobile Technology.

My Target Schools - I am basically targeting Schools based out of South-East Asia and India , in order of Preference
NUS,Singapore
NTU, Singapore
SMU. Singapore
ISB, Hyderabad/Great Lakes ,Chennai
IIMs

Also researching emerging schools in China

Future Aspirations- -I love to play around with the functional aspects of the code/application we develop and the impact it has on Society as a whole. In the coming years I see myself as Strategic Consultant/Product Manager for a IT/Software product critical to the Banking/Financial/Insurance market or even working as a Product Owner for any of such Products. To cut the long story short, I very much want to be in the “our very own” IT industry.
Would be highly obliged and overwhelmed if you can judge my profile and provide your precious bits on School Selection.

Moreover , as I belong to the common IT applicant pool, what are extra steps should I take(apart from getting great score in GMAT) so that I may be able to take m profile ahead and stand out in the crowd.

Any input from your side will be great and definitely worked upon.
Thanks!!

Varun

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi Varun,

Thanks for posting. I would agree with giving the GMAT another shot with the schools you are aiming for. And schools will take the highest score so if you feel you should be able to do a fair amount better, you might as well give it another shot.

You are correct in that you are part of a large pool of applicants, Indian IT applicants (who also often have very high GMAT scores btw). So you'll essentially be competing most against the people who are most like you. The best advice is to brainstorm and identify what makes you different from other similar applicants... think about leadership examples, teamwork, international experience, life influencing stories and experiences, personality, strengths, passions, interests, etc.

It could be challenging and without a stronger GMAT, even more challenging, to get into the schools on your list, but the best approach is to really show your personality and what makes you who you are, and also to show a great fit with each school and make a strong case for why you need the MBA. Good luck!