Profile Evaluation

[harmeet.0206]

Hello,
Consider my profile and kindly suggest which schools would be dream, reach and safe for me.

Also do let me know what sort of a chance i stand with the top 15 schools.

GMAT 1st attempt( June 2012)- 570 ( V- 21, Q- 49)
GMAT 2nd attempt( July 2012)- 680( V-34, Q- 48)
GPA- 3.7( Undergrad) Electronics and Communication engineering.
Grade 12 - 94%
Grade 10- 89%
Gender- Female
Community- HIV AIDS Awareness workshops in schools, Child rights initiatives for underprivilidged children through AIESEC.
Age- 21

Currently working for a reputed MNC,( Amazon.com) in the HR department ( University Relations) . I will have completed 2 years by Aug 2014, which is when i wish to join a B school.


Part time Voluntary Work:( during college( grad))
A. National Steering Team, AIESEC INDIA
Handling Training and Development and HR troubleshooting initiatives for 23 Local chapters ( cities) in India.( leading a team of 23 Vice Presidents)

Key Deliverables:

1. Analyzing global strategy for Team Leader and Team Member Progress
2. Creating Tier Based pilot Projects for Local Chapters to Boost Team Leader/Member
Programs
3. Trouble Shooting for Team Leader and Team Member initiatives at Local Levels.
4. Commission Management at conferences
5. Extensive National talent training
6. Driving Behaviors for member engagement, development and retention
7. Creation of the National Resource Hub.


B. Vice President Student Sector, AIESEC Hyderabad.

Key deliverables:-

1. Responsible for facilitating International Internships for students of Hyderabad and around.(Development and Technical)

2.Coaching and mentoring of new Recruits to AIESEC

3. Strategically planning various marketing events in order to promote International Internships

4. Partnering with schools and colleges in Hyderabad in order to become their first choice partner for developmental Internship


I have actively been involved with AIESEC for 3 years and hence developed a deep interest in HR processes and therefore pursued a Recruiting job.

I currently work as a recruitment co ordinator and Branding Manager for my company for all B schools in India.

My questions to you are as follows:
1. Should I take the GMAT again?
My restrictions being:
My work does not allow a lot of leaves and enough time to study
is taking the GMAT 3 times,too many times?

2. Do you think 2 years of work experience would help in making a strong profile.? I wish to persue an MBA in HR or Organisational behaviour only.

what else would help me build my profile? I wish to enroll for fall 2014. Which dream colleges could i give a shot?

3. Which colleges are the Best for their HR/ OB courses
what are my chances at making through Cornell/ UCLA/ Booth?

Thanks
Harmeet

[mili]

Hi Harmeet,

Thank you for submitting your profile information. I would say that your professional background and experience is quite interesting and unique, but that you've not had quite enough time on the job to demonstrate the depth of leadership that your peers applying to MBAs will be showcasing. Average MBA applicants have 3-5 years of work experience at the time of matriculation -- you'd only have 2. The more time you spend at Amazon, the more leadership opportunities you'd have, the more promotions you'd have, etc. My fear is that with your current profile, just a year on the job, you won't be able to effectively demonstrate that you are top talent with strong leadership capacity. I'd suggest applying once you've had 3 years+ on the job.

I didn't see too much mention of extracurricular activities or any post-college community activities. This would be considered a gap in your profile at top programs. Even if you apply in 2013, I would definitely recommend that you take on some community leadership activities and extracurricular activities asap to round out your profile.

As for the GMAT, if you really want to go to a top 15 program and feel that you could improve your GMAT score, it would probably be worth retaking. You want to aim for a 700+ score, with an 80th percentile or above on each section. It's good that your quant score is high (they weight this slightly more than verbal), but it would still be safer to apply with a stronger score. Taking the GMAT 3x is not too much, especially if you're consistently improving with each test. Four times may be excessive though :)

My advice to you is to hold off on applying until you've developed a stronger leadership profile and multi-dimensional experience. If you do decide to apply for admission in 2014 with your current profile, I would suggest aiming for schools in the range of UCLA, Yale, UT Austin, etc. Cornell should be a good target for you as well. Booth would likely be a reach, but it would be a good reach for you, as it does have a strong organizational management/HR program. Kellogg also has a strong program in this area, but I think that would be too big a stretch.

Hope this helps!
Mili

Mili Mittal
Senior Consultant
http://www.mbamission.com

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