Profile evaluation request (gmat 710 , Work ex 3+)

[vardhaman.patil88]

Hi!,

I am planning to apply for Fall 2015.
I request you to kindly evaluate my profile as I am bit confused with the schools to focus on.

Profile: Indian male. Age:26

UG: BE- Mechanical engineering , from Visvesvaraya technological university,India (78% aggregate , Ranked within 5% of the batch)
XII: 88%
10th: 92%

GMAT: 710 (Q47, V40, IR:6, AWA 4.5)
IELTS: 8.0 (ReAding:7.5, Writing:8.0, Listening: 8.0, Speaking 7.5)

Work Ex: (3+ during application round)

Worked for 2 years (full time)in a reputed South Korean firm as a sales and technical support engineer.This company manufactures and deals in cutting tools for CNC machines

In these 2 years:
1)Provided technical as well as marketing support to around 7 branches across India.
2)Directly dealt with major automotive customers such as Hyundai, Ford, TAFE, Nissan etc
3)Leadership experiences:
a)Conducted product campaigns across 15 cities in india.
b)Founded a Rock band within the organisation and performed on multiple occasions
c)Managed many turn key projects for Customers mentioned above.

Currently I work as Tool Room Manager within the family business in which i lead a team of 20 members. I have applied my past tooling experience and facilitated major changes in the department.
Company is a medium scale organisation (dealing in engineering services)with around 80-100 employees.

I have received substantial knowledge on finances, Accounting,marketing, production and, HR management and the unique problems a Business in India faces when it comes to Man,machine and material.

Achievements:

Academics:
1) Received 1st place in a national level technical Event for a paper on Six Stroke IC engine.
2) Department topper in multiple sems.


Extra curricular activities during my UG studies:
1)I am a professional pianist. Me and a few friends started a college rock band during UG studies.
a)We have organised and performed in multiple concerts
b)We have received multiple national level awards
c)We will soon be launching our own album

2)Represented my College and led the Music team to many cultural events

3)Worked in the sponsorship committee to organise funds for our annual Event.

Extra curricular activities During school: ( I dont know how much weight-age is given to actives taken up during school. Nonetheless i thought i should mention)
1) member and group leader of Boy scouts
2) Member and Vice president of Interact club ( Rotary club initiative) . Through this club we organised many polio eradication drives, Blood banks , Environment awareness camps etc.

I wish to major in marketing and focus on entrepreneurship and return to my family business post MBA and a little work ex.
keeping all this in mind I am planning to apply to 6-7 universities and my Target schools are as follows:

Kellog,Stern,UCLA,Kelly,Mccombs, Ross.

Thank you!

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi there,

Thanks for posting. It sounds like you are on the right track as you prepare for applying for business schools, and you're researching early enough if you are looking to apply next fall. Keep in mind we recommend applying as early as you feel you can put together your best application.

So your GMAT is solid, academics are strong, work experience a bit shorter than the average applicant but not necessarily a problem. In some ways you're still competing with a lot of technical applicants, but you can help differentiate yourself by focusing on your leadership experiences, marketing exposure, customer interactions if relevant, and the in depth cross functional experience gained at your family business. And your music experience shows another side to you as well.

It's good that you have an idea of your focus in b-school, but I'd recommend strengthening your post-MBA goals a bit more... be sure it doesn't sound as though you don't NEED the MBA and would just go back to the same thing... you should have some aspirations in mind where you can explain what the MBA will help you with (can be the same business or your own but try to articulate how the degree will make a difference).

As for schools, as you probably know, Kelley, McCombs and Ross would be more within reach than the others, but you can apply to a mixture if you'd like. Keep in mind that each application and set of essays is quite time consuming, so many applicants find that 3-4 schools is good, though it's a personal decision based on how much time you have etc. And if you applied to a few for R1, could do a few R2 if needed too.

Good luck on the process, keep us posted!