Please evaluate our chances !!!!!

[anuj_pulstya]

Hi...

here is my profile:

Indian IT male: 27 years...will be 28 by fall'06...

2.5 yrs work ex in leading MNC's and MS in Computer Sc. from University of Southern California...(graduated May 2004) GPA:3.64 and CGPA:3.34
will have 3 years work ex. by fall '06...

GMAT-680 Q49( 90 percentile), V 32 (67 percentile)..overall - 90 percentile..

have good amount of involvement in extra cuuurricular activities during undergrad as well as in Association of Indian Students at University of Southern California..

have done community service...Initiated the idea and construction of a girl's school at a remote village in India....and part of Lion's club...

can get good strong recos..from my current employer..from the place where i worked in US...and from my undergrad....

and a few certificates.. "Certificate of Diligence" awarded by my employer at USC...and All India rank 2 in a National Talent Search Examination...and a certificate awarded in a painting competition...active participant in cultural events...in India as well as US.....

my wife is also applying and here is a brief about her too:

Indian IT female:
GMAT 710 (Q 50(95 percentile)), (V 35 (77 pecentile)...overall 94 percentile....

Work ex.. 4.5 years and will be 5 by fall'06...
extremely competent...have been promoted several times and now working as a Project Manager with a leading MNC....have won Company Achiever award...and Star Performer awards...

has done a good amount of Community Service....funded a child's education for around 2 years....

a plethora of certificates in extra curricular activities..ranging from Debate to dance to painting....around 50 of them...


I would like to know what B schools shud we target ..

we plan to apply to Cornell, Columbia, Stern....and 2 more schools...

can u please advice......

thanks....

[mchakrain]

Your selection of schools will depend on your career goals too.

Investment Banking - Chicago,Columbia,Stern,Wharton
General Management/Consultancy - Kellogg,Harvard,Tuck,MIT

I think your wife can have a go at Harvard/Stanford.Do you have any 'wow' factors ?Are you entreprenially inclined ?Have you started anything of your own,however small it might be ?Then go for Harvard.

If you think that you have any 'wow' factors then have a go at Stanford ? 'WOW' factors might be something unique which distinguishes yourself from others in your applicant pool.

However,both S/H are notorious for very low acceptance rates,so you might like to rethink.
You will be clubbed with the highly competitive Indian IT pool.So my advise will be to spend good time researching the schools and on your essays.

What are your thoughts about Stern ?I can see that you have selected two NY based schools but do you have an idea how are they different ? Stern salary figures are lower in FT rankings,so I have my reservations ? What are your thoughts as I am also planning to apply to either Stern/Columbia ?

[anuj_pulstya]

hi..
thanks for thy insights !!
I am finally applying to Stern, Darden, Cornell, Michigan and Tuck.

As for Stern/Columbia, I was more interested in the courses offered at Stern as they provide me an opportunity to better reach my long term goals...both schools are good and are in NYC...however, the criteria u r judging for between the schools is not the right one as per my understanding ...because job and salaries are more luck than any avg. figures....

Avg. figures at Stern might be lower than Columbia but that does not guarantee that a person entering Columbia will always get more pay then the one who graduated from Stern....its all destiny ...

i think u shud concetrate more on the courses and thy interests rather than looking at some figures !.....pls dont mind my comments I am just providing my honest inputs..
i graduated from USC(rank-8) dont know abt the avg figures though but many of my batch mates were not able to secure a job even 6 months after graduation but some frnds of mine who graduated from not even ranked schools managed to fetch 80k ....so job and money u will get what u are destined for..but u can choose to learn..so choose the school tht adds value to thy knwoledge base...and u will eventually fetch money for sure !!

As for me I dont know anything abt any WOW! factors but I was actively involved in starting a girl's school at a remote village in India...i am a member of Rotary club since school and I am playing on my MS which I dont think many IT applicants do plus i think my age is another factor tht could help me convince tht i am at the right time of my life to get an MBA for meeting my future goals !

Do let me know thy inputs abt my approach...may be we can be of help to each other !!

thanks

All the best..
Anuj

[mchakrain]

The reason I am concerned about salary is because I am already at the high end (120K incl. bonus).My objective of doing an MBA is long term career growth/career change and I am also concerned that with around 9 yrs of experience I get value for money from my MBA.So as you can see salary do matter.I won't delve too deep into courses/electives at this point of time as I think is too early for me to decide.I will look a good overview of the school,what it offers,what the recruiters think,what is the ROI and how far it meets my long term career goals.My perspective is slightly than your simply because of my higher job experience.