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[tarun.vatwani]

Hi David,

While identifying my career options after MBA, I realize that most recruiters opt for candidates having specialization in their respective industries. My current professional experience is related to Business Services for Telecommunications industry.
Could you suggest some top schools that attract recruiters from my current industry?
How decisive should be the location of a program?

Regards,

Tarun Vatwani

[jjay]

David,

Looks as though you've been on this thread for quite some time; we all appreciate the help.

So I have decided to use your company's services, but for now I am hoping to get some information about GMAT scores from you.

I am an Indian-Americna (born and raised in the U.S.).

Currently scoring (on the practice test mind you) in the 620-630 range. I am not taking the test for another two months so I am hoping to beef it up to about 700 (hopefully).

My target is NYU. They have exactly what I want and I feel as though I can demonstrate a good 'fit' with the school.

I am a consultant (non-IT) for a great firm and will have 4 years post-undergrad experience by the time I start in summer 08. I have good career progression and lots of extra-curricular activities. I am worried about my low GPA however.

So, with that in mind, what kind of GMAT score should I shoot for in order to offset a 2.9 gpa? And how should I address it?

Also, while in undergrad. I worked full time (at one point 2 jobs to support myself) and was a double major and double minor finishing in 4 years.

Any advice??

Also, I will be looking to procure your company's services post-GMAT

Thanks!

jjay

[jjay]

(not sure if my original post made it...sorry if repeat)

David,

I wanted to gauge my chances for admission at NYU.

Background; Indian-American born and brought up here in the US. Went to a top ten public school. Low gpa (2.9) but worked full-time and paid my own way. the jobs were actually not that of your average worker. I had a double major and double minor.

Currently, I am a consultant for a big reputable firm and will have 4 years experience by summer 08 (when I plan to start).

I have extensive extra-curricular activities pre-undergrad and post-undergrad.

I am studying for my gmat right now. And due to my low gpa, I was wondering what type of score I would need to offset my grades.

Please let me know. I appreciate your advice! thanks again.

jay

[jjay]

technical difficulties, i posted twice. my apologies

[AdmissionsConsultants]

Hello David,
First of all thanks a lot for advising us on such an important aspect.

I wanted to take your advice on

1. Are any of the top 10 b-schools within my reach?
2. Which sections should my CV contain when I appear for the personal interview with it?
3. Which questions can I anticipate in my interview?
4. I have my explanation, but would like to hear from anybody who has already been through this, "how can I explain the switch from IT to Finance"
5. Is a part time program from Chicago GSB(or from any top ten school) worth it? Does it do any justice to the efforts that I will put in?
6. How do I get my Indian academic performance converted into GPA? Is any organization/school/university/attorney/notary is designated in US to do that?

My profile:

Male
Indian
Single
Age: 27 years
Currently in US Chicago

GMAT (second attempt taken on 21st May 2007) : 720 (96 percentile) Q49(90) and V38(85) and AWA 5.0.
first attempt score was 620(taken on 16 April 2007).

WorkEx: 6 Years IT experience in a top Indian company which recently grossed 4 billion dollars(half of this experience is a managerial leadership position and recent half is technical leadership position).

International WorkEx: 2 years in USA(tech lead position) and 1 month in Germany(due diligence for a new project for my company)

Domains worked: E-Commerce, Manufacturing, Telecom, Legal, Investments, Pharmaceuticals(in chronological order with most recent being Pharma).

Academics: Highest degree - BE Electrical with First Class Distinction from the best engineering college in my University(a good government recognized and accredited university which is ranked 4th in my state) in India. University topper in second and third year engineering.
Undergraduate performance is excellent being a topper(among first three) in all the undergraduate & graduate exams.
Sixth in the board in 10th exam(93.85%). Board topper(first rank) in Sanskrit in 10th exam.
12th exam(87%).

Essays: I am in the process of writing my essays. Any advice in this regard is welcome.

Community Service: I have been working for raising funds through my personal contacts for a non-profit association in India which works for physically challenged persons in the society. Although the funds raised by me were not of great amount I have been doing this once a year for last three years. Apart from this I am not involved in any other community services.

Looking for your advice and guidance. I have already applied for wknd program in Chicago GSB.

Basically I am looking for a good(1 or 2 years full time or part time) finance program from a top class university.


Thanks a lot for your time and concern.

Regards,
Mars

Hi Mars and thanks for your inquiry.

You pose many important questions. Regarding your overall profile, you most certainly are of the fact that your particular demographic pool is quite competitive. However, I believe that your leadership experience and international exposure may work in your favor to help differentiate you from the competition.

The work experience you highlight indicates that you have held key leadership positions within your place of employment. Being able to demonstrate that you have also branched out from the IT/technical aspects of your job is a strength that you will want to highlight within your essays. In addition, the posts that you have held abroad and in the US also provide you with more examples to help articulate your experiences and widened perspective. You may want to obtain a letter of recommendation from your supervisor which will help validate your leadership experience.

In regards to your academic profile, I cannot assess your strengths without knowing your translated GPA. There are several firms out there that work with international students to translate their academic qualifications to the US grading system. You may want to contact a few schools of your choice to determine which accrediting service they recommend and use.

Also, you mention your community involvement; it is great to see that you are so active in development efforts in your native country. However, it will be imperative that you tie in your involvement in such a way that helps create a well rounded profile which demonstrates your vast interests and objectives.

Now, you ask many questions regarding the interview phase of the application process. I appreciate and applaud your enthusiasm, but each school has a somewhat different approach and different questions. Therefore, it will help you to ask these questions once interview invitations have been extended.

Finally, it is crucial that you on the onset determine which program format will best suit your needs. Admissions committees are looking for candidates who are confident in their decisions. Therefore, you must decide if you are interested in completing a part-time or full-time course of study. Both have great differences and offer several advantages depending on a person’s overall objectives. This being said, I must state there are some really great part-time programs available to candidates but this depends on many factors. You must first outline your list of criteria for a potential school before you begin to identify your final list of target schools.

Best of luck with your applications!

Sincerely,

David Petersam
DPetersam@admissionsconsultants.com
703.242.5885

[AdmissionsConsultants]

Hi David,

While identifying my career options after MBA, I realize that most recruiters opt for candidates having specialization in their respective industries. My current professional experience is related to Business Services for Telecommunications industry.
Could you suggest some top schools that attract recruiters from my current industry?
How decisive should be the location of a program?

Regards,

Tarun Vatwani

Hi Tarun and thanks for your inquiry.

You are reflecting upon a very important issue, post-MBA objectives and goals. However, in order to narrow down a list of potential schools, there are several criteria that must be outlined and discussed. Geographical preferences are just one of those criterions. I cannot recommend a list of target schools without further detail and this sort of public forum does not allow for such detail. If you would like to discuss your concerns and profile in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact our office.

Best of luck with your applications!

Sincerely,

David Petersam
DPetersam@admissionsconsultants.com
703.242.5885

[AdmissionsConsultants]

(not sure if my original post made it...sorry if repeat)

David,

I wanted to gauge my chances for admission at NYU.

Background; Indian-American born and brought up here in the US. Went to a top ten public school. Low gpa (2.9) but worked full-time and paid my own way. the jobs were actually not that of your average worker. I had a double major and double minor.

Currently, I am a consultant for a big reputable firm and will have 4 years experience by summer 08 (when I plan to start).

I have extensive extra-curricular activities pre-undergrad and post-undergrad.

I am studying for my gmat right now. And due to my low gpa, I was wondering what type of score I would need to offset my grades.

Please let me know. I appreciate your advice! thanks again.

jay

Hi Jay and thanks for your inquiry.

NYU is a great school and it has a very competitive MBA program. You had mentioned in your first post that your greatest concern at this point is your anticipated GMAT score and low GPA. In regards to the GPA, you mention that you were working full time during your undergraduate studies. This is something that you should mention in your essays to help clarify or eradicate any concerns related to your academic potential. You could use the full-time work experience to reflect your strong dedication and resilience. These characteristics are what admissions committees are looking for in future candidates. So allow the experience to work in your favor.

In addition, if you would like to build your confidence concerning your GPA, you may consider taking a few graduate level courses this summer to further help validate your academic performance and ability.

Finally, it will be important to score competitively on your GMAT. A score of 700+ would be ideal.

Best of luck with your applications and the exam!

Sincerely,

David Petersam
DPetersam@admissionsconsultants.com
703.242.5885

[target_800]

Hello David,

I want to do my MBA in Strategy, and that too from top 15 B-schools, but I am not able to figure out which schools are good in MBA in strategy.

Could you please list the schools that are considered good for MBA in strategy, both in US and outside US.

Thanks in advance.

[suntory1]

Hi David,
First of all, just want to say how much we all appreciate your help and advice in this forum -- over 100 threads and you never fail to answer! Thank you.

I'm hoping to seek some advice about my potential for top-tier US schools, specifically Stanford GSB, Harvard and Columbia.

Background: Top 5 US university, GPA 3.6 (however my major is communication, what is commonly known as an easy major, unfortunately. My main interest was journalism then, but I'm now very interested in exploring the non-profit sector and esp. social entrepreneurship (hence GSB)

Work experience: large tech company in the US, spent the past 2 years in the Asia offices to help train/buildnew teams. Total of 3 yrs work experience.


GMAT: took it yesterday and scored 720 (48 quant, 42 verbal). However I'm a bit worried I screwed up the AWA as i didn't have time to complete the Issues essay (alas i wasn't keeping track of the time) Haven't gotten my AWA scores yet but how much can a negative score count against me? My Arguments essay should pretty ok though.

My main questions for you are:
- Should I retake GMAT? I thought 720 was not bad until I'm seeing how many people here are shooting for much higher. Should i be more aggressive? I believe 720's just about the average for S, H, etc. At the same time, I'm not sure if I can keep up the same score next time round!

- Does it count against me if I went to the same undergrad school as the business school I'm applying to? (e..g columbia/stanford/harvard) I heard somewhere that b-schools actually don't look favorably at candidates who attended their undergrad programs (less "diversity" i guess), but wanted to confirm
- What should I focus on in my application? i think my work experience is pretty decent, and i'm planning to get my recs from 3 previous supervisors, which might/might not be a good idea?

Your evaluation most appreciated, David! Thanks.

[AdmissionsConsultants]

Hello David,

I want to do my MBA in Strategy, and that too from top 15 B-schools, but I am not able to figure out which schools are good in MBA in strategy.

Could you please list the schools that are considered good for MBA in strategy, both in US and outside US.

Thanks in advance.

Hi and thanks for your inquiry.

First let me state that I understand and sympathize with your frustration. School selection is a very important and intricate process. In addition, b-school is quite a large investment and thus you want to make sure you find the proper fit. This being said, I cannot begin to randomly throw out a list of potential schools without having discussed your profile and overall objectives in more detail. It would be unprofessional on my end and it would not serve your best interests. This sort of public forum does not really allow for such an exchange, however, you may contact our office directly if you would like to discuss this matter in further detail.

Best of luck with your search and applications!

Sincerely,

David Petersam
DPetersam@admissionsconsultants.com
703.242.5885