Profile evaluation

[chetanthapar]

Hello,

I have been putting off my profile evaluation for a while now...about time I got it started. And what better day to do so than Saturday arvo, with entrails of poached brain cells clouding the lenses of articulation. Nevertheless, here we go...

I recently gave my GMAT and scored a 730 (49Q, 41V). Albeit not stellar, I am still looking at it with the kind of respect you reserve for a 70 y.o. marathon runner. I mean I did study for this one, I really did. Actually, I had been planning to do so since 3rd yr in my college. However, it was not until last year that my personal life (read: girlfriends' parents circumspect about my future) dictated a change of course to my 'comfort zone' sailing life. In hindsight, I believe or have been led to believe that these reasons were conceived by myself to give myself the good ole' stick. I doubt it. I digress...I am a 27y.o. Indian male, and have been working in TCS (pretty big in the IT world, some say) since Sep 2006. Graduating as a civil engineer from NIT Allahabad (top 20 engg college I believe...ha modesty is thy name), but always interested in technology and easy money, I was recruited by TCS whilst still in college. After college and before TCS, I worked as a blogger in this start-up blogging company...I got a lot of appreciation, but the work was getting rather tedious and insipid. I worked for some 7 months in India, and then was shipped to down under, where the women glow and men plunder. Since June 2007, I have been in Australia, working in several teams and am currently leading a team of some 8 associates, as well as heading a carbon reporting project for a major airline. One of the things that I have discovered about myself is that I am good at handling crisis situations, and at conversing with humans than with machines. Though am in a lower management position, and in a relatively comfortable career, I don't have a lot of people from whom i could learn the tricks of the management trade. (reminds me of the story of those Zimbabwean baby elephants, who went psycho after all the males had been slaughtered a decade back by mugabe's regime). Thus, my desire to do an MBA. In case you have been bored to death by the girth of this introduction, lemme do something which I hate to do, but perhaps has become second nature to me...thnks to 'effective business communication'. Let's tabulate:

School : 10th and 12th : 80%, 78% respectively

National rifle shooter, debate champ, Headboy/ school captain from 10th - 12th ...don't know if this even matters, but I got a precious few to flaunt as extra curriculars after skool.

MNNIT Allahabad, Btech Civil Engg. GPA - 7/10

Professional Blogger for blogging start up : instablogs.com (3 - 4 months)

Sep2006 - May 2007 TCS India, Systems Engineer Trainee

Jun 2007 - Now TCS Australia. Currently involved in carbon reporting project and team lead of 8-9. (spread among various apps)

GMAt 730 (49Q, 41V) AWA: Abyssmal 4.5 (trigerred by nervous circuit breaks, symptoms include, not limited to clattering of teeth and blackout...long time, no see standardized tests!)

Well, the girlfriend factor I mentioned earlier in my ramblings also dictates that I go to a school in US. She's a US permanent resident, and we are thinking of being together...it would make much more monetary sense to stay in US. Besides, i do believe that US have a better higher education system, and I definitely want to experience it...the target schools are:

Columbia
BoothStern
Kellogg
Tuck
Yale
ISB, India
INSEAD

Need to do more research and fine tuning on the prospective schools, but I guess you get the picture.

Now comes the most flogged query ever in pre MBA world...I am almost IT, almost pot bellied (nah..), and totally Indian...do you think the original sin of being associated with the aforesaid demographic will bite me bad? I am thinking of getting a bit of professional paid consulting as well, but I need to know whether I can get some guarantee on my investment.
The lack of extra curriculars in my profile definitely emasculates it ...not really paving a way for let's say HBS or LBS, however I need to know where do i realistically stand? Help pls.

I apologize if my query and post in general seems vague, but I am still learning the ropes of the admission process...It would be greatly appreciated if you could help me get started.

P.S: After receiving my GMAT score report, I saw GMAC trying to pimp some diagnostic software by the name of careerleader to me...I laughed my ass off on the inexorable pursuits of GMAC towards my wallet, but after having settled down from the disappointment of a 730 ,I did a bit of online research and found the tool to be a bit handy, especially if one needs to be a bit more aware of the fields of study down his alley. What do you reckon?

[mbamission]

Hi Chetanthpar,

Thanks for writing in and providing such a detailed post. Of course many of the issues you are thinking over require a more-detailed conversation than I can provide over a message board, so let me address the core of your post -- "do you think the original sin of being associated with the aforesaid demographic will bite me bad?"

The key to sticking out among the male Indian IT contingent is differentiation. What about your background or your goals separates you from the pack? Your work for the blogging network could be interesting here, and I don't think you even really dug into your goals, which could be a differentiating point as well.

mbaMission offers a free 30-minute consultation to all applicants; speaking to myself or another consultant could help you narrow your focus a bit. If you're interested, just sign up at:
http://mbamission.com/consult.php

Daniel Richards
http://www.mbamission.com

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