Request for profile evaluation

[sudhanz]

Dear All

I request you to please take a look at my profile and kindly share your thoughts on that. I took the GMAT recently and would like some advice from the consultants here before I begin the application process)

Nationality : Indian
Gender : Male
Age : 26 years
Education : Bachelor of Engineering (Computer Science) , NSIT, DU
GMAT : 720
GPA : 2.7 (68% in college (absolute score))

Work ex :

current role
22 months : consulting role in Intellectual property management and patent research.

Past
24 months in software development, Telecom and Electronic design automation


Social service : I have taught underprivileged children for few years but not as a part of an organization or NGO.

I contribute to the Greenpeace to support their mission to protect the environment.

I have been a part of CSR clubs at both the companies that I have worked with

Extracurricular : I have been a part of quiz and debating societies at school, college and work and I play the guitar as a hobby.

Internships : 2 stints with Reliance Infocomm

I want to pursue an MBA with a focus on Consulting, Business Strategy and Advisory.

Target schools :

ISB
Tuck
Darden
Booth
Haas
Fuqua
Kelloggs

(or any other top b school focusing on consulting and strategy).


I know my GPA is a little less than desirable, so kindly give your views on that and please also suggest B schools that you think would suit my profile.

I will be very thankful for any replies.

Regards
Sudhanz

[mili]

Hi Sudhanz,

I think it's really great that you've already made the transition from software engineer to more of a business oriented/consulting role. You should definitely position yourself as a business person rather than an IT person. Academically, your GMAT is strong but as you pointed out, your GPA is a little weak. Professionally, I'm unclear on how much leadership responsibility you have in your current consulting role. If it's a research role, it'll be more difficult to showcase leadership, but if it's a true consulting role, it'll be easier. Do you work with/lead teams? Do you take initiative within the firm? Have you led a project, engaged with senior level clients? These are the types of things you want to demonstrate, but it's unclear to me whether you'll be able to. My sense is that it might be difficult?

It's great that you work with underprivileged kids and tutor them and that you have outside interests. What I don't see in your non-work profile is a lot of leadership.

All in all, I would say that in addition to a slightly low GPA you might have a bit of a leadership gap in your profile (of course, I could be totally wrong here as I am only looking at a high level summary of your profile!!). In this case, I would aim slightly lower than you are currently aiming. I think that Haas, Kellogg, and Tuck might be stretch schools - perhaps you choose one of those to apply to instead of both. I would look at schools like Michigan, Duke, Darden, NYU, UCLA, etc as your target range and potentially add a safety like Cornell.

I hope this helps,
Mili


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

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[sudhanz]

Hi Mili

Thanks for your response.

I'd like to describe my role to you and would request you to comment.

I work with one of the top IP management firms and I am part of a team that dedicatedly works for one of the biggest tech companies in the world.

I am an analyst in the IP advisory and research team, and my work involved technical, legal and market analysis and research.

We advise our clients on IP acquistions, buyouts and licensing deals, and infringement and offensive/defensive lawsuits and help them save a lot of money through some cutting edge critical work.

My work has been really appreciated by my line managers and I am due for a promotion soon.

I have worked on projects as an individual contributor and have also mentored new recruits in the team. Also, I have led teams of 3-4 analysts on some 2-3 week projects and delivered good results, and I have also taken initiatives to streamline and improvise our delivery model in some streams.

I work with a set of senior patent attorneys in the US and I have also been trained on US Patent law by them.

Other than the assigned tasks, I have also taken few initiatives such as

a) representing the patent and analytics group in monthly presentations and orientation programme for the batch of new joinees in the company and this stint has helped me improve my presentation n people skills a lot

b) organize and manage team (team size 60) events such as excursions, parties and outdoor activities

c) manage and report the team monetary budget and expenses.

d) Have won monthly/quarterly awards and the yearly IP quiz at work.

e) been a part of the book club at the company and I contribute in the capacity of a book critic and publish a monthly newsletter.

f) been a part of the CSR team in my organization.


I aspire to be a consultant in the area of a mix of business strategy/M&A topped with my knowledge in IP and law.

I see that you recommend Fuqua/Darden but with the broader insight into my current role do you have any further suggestions.

Kindly advise me on this and please let me know if you'd like to know something else.

I'll be very thankful if you could give me list of top 8-10 schools which suit my profile and experience.

Regards
Sudhanz

[mili]

Hi Sudhanz,

Thanks for the additional detail. As I thought, your role sounds much more research and analysis oriented. You'll be able to demonstrate a lot of firm stewardship and contribution, as well as some team leadership, but not a lot of interaction with senior clients or decision making responsibility.

I really can't put together a school list for you, as there are many additional factors to consider, but from your list, I might suggest:

Kellogg
Booth
Darden
Duke
ISB

Haas and Tuck I've left off as they have very low acceptance rates overall (due to small class sizes) and therefore end up being very difficult to get into. You could also consider schools like:

Michigan Ross
UCLA
NYU
Cornell

Good luck!
Mili

[sudhanz]

Hi Mili

Thanks a lot for your reply.

I'll try to work accordingly.

Is it possible to get in touch your team here in New Delhi.

Please let me know.

Thanks again!

Sudhanz

[mili]

Hi Sudhanz,

Yes of course - you can use mbaMission's services from anywhere in the world. Feel free to sign up for a free consultation via our website: http://www.mbamission.com/consult.php.

This would be the best way to connect with our team and discuss your profile in more detail.

Best,
Mili