Profile Evaluation

[cheenakapoor88]

Hi,

I gave my GMAT on 03.09.2013 and came out disappointed with a score of 630 (48 Q; 28 V).

I know its not a good idea to apply in TOP schools with this GMAT score. Please recommend me any 2nd RANK good B-Schools.

To give an idea about my profile-
Nationality: Indian
Gender: Female
Undergrad: Bachelor of Engineering (Electronics)
GPA: 3.0
Work ex: 3yrs (till now)
Designation: Operations Analyst
Company: Top US based e-commerce company (NASDAQ listed)

Past Work Ex.:-
Worked for a reputed IT company for 2.5years as Systems Engineer for a UK based Insurance client. Was sent on-site- London, for 6months. Got appreciation for my work from the client.

Extra-curricular:
- A passionate photographer, associated with a group that is promoting live music in India. Work has been featured in few websites.
- Work for an NGO that educates street children.
- Have won prizes in college for Sudoku and dance competitions.

Kindly answer my below queries:
1. Are there any schools I can still apply to and hope for acceptance (along with RA/TA/Fellowship)?
2. My first thought after getting the score - retake somewhere Oct end and apply for R2. Is it still possible of getting RA/TA/Fellowship then?
3. Want to move into Risk Management, will my work for the Insurance client earn me extra points? How are the job opportunities in Risk mgmt?
Second option will be Consulting.

Thanks!

[cheenakapoor88]

Hi,

Can someone please advise here?

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi Cheena-- sorry for the delay on your post, I am on the road but will respond fully to your questions this afternoon. Thanks!

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi there,

Sorry to hear you weren't thrilled with your GMAT score, I know that can be frustrating. Was it close to your practice test scores or much lower? If you scored a lot higher on practice tests then it's likely it wouldn't be too challenging to improve. Taking the test a 2nd time is actually pretty common and schools take the highest score, so probably worth going for it again. With a 630 any top 25 schools will be quite tough to get into. You can look down the list of US News & World Report rankings and see the average GMAT scores and other stats, and/or check sites like Businessweek for individual school profiles, or look at Financial Times MBA ranking for global rankings. You'd like ideally to be within 50 points of a schools average for a shot at admission, the closer or higher the better. Certainly there ARE b-schools with average GMAT more like 650 or even below, it all depends on what you are looking for and whether you re-take and improve.

Otherwise in terms of your profile, schools are always looking for qualified female applicants. But on the flip side, there are a LOT of engineering applicants from India.... so you'll need to figure out how to stand out from that crowd, in addition to being female. ;) And focus on the non-technical side of your profile and strengths since the technical side is already apparent in your resume.

In terms of anything related to scholarships, generally they are given out early, so without applying R1 it is more challenging, and keep in mind they are often given to the very most qualified applicants. Other financial aid options are generally available, such as low interest rate educational loans paid back slowly over time with your post MBA salary.

In terms of risk management per se, it's not my area of expertise but I encourage you to research the employment statistics at schools you are interested in-- they are available on each school's website, lots of detail and pie charts of where their grads go, lists of companies etc, very useful. Consulting is of course one of the most common post-MBA paths and most programs have a number of consulting graduates and some schools are particularly known for it. (My personal background is in brand management, marketing, and entreprenuership, as well as the education & MBA admissions area; lots of experience advising applicants to b-school over the past decade, so let me know if you have other q's! )

Good luck on your decisions!