Indian Non-IT Male - 760 - Full Time MBA

Launched August 9, 2011
This topic has expert replies
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2013 6:00 pm
GMAT Score:760
Hello Admissionado,



My top choices are Chicago Booth, London Business School, Indian School of Business and INSEAD.

I was wondering what schools and what strategy would suit me to achieve such a career switch.

Here is my profile:
Last edited by Ya_I_Seen_Pegasus on Mon Jul 15, 2013 5:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
Elite Legendary Member
Posts: 3135
Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 8:55 am
Location: Everywhere
Thanked: 589 times
Followed by:332 members

by Jon@Admissionado » Mon Feb 11, 2013 12:29 am
Hey there Pegasus,
Well things look good to start off with. As an IIT graduate with a 760 GMAT you definitely started this voyage off on the right foot, and my gut tells me you can likely continue the same by working on your application to boost your work experience, which from the outset looks good (although we'd have to dig deeper here). Your volunteer work/extra currics are pretty standard, but that is nothing to worry about, for the most important thing first of all is simply to HAVE them, and you do.

I think you would be competitive at the schools on your list, although I would suggest adding a few more (I noticed Booth was on the list although you seem not to prefer to study int he US, any reason for that? I mean if you have Booth there's no reason for Wharton, Columbia, HBS not to be on your list too)
"Hands down the best MBA admissions consulting firm of all-time, and boy, what an incredible founder!" -- Raj Patil, Founder of Admissionado

Something for everyone:
https://admissionado.lpages.co/admissio ... nter-2018/
https://admissionado.lpages.co/50-essay ... ked-vol-4/
https://admissionado.lpages.co/case-studies-lp/
https://admissionado.com/mba/reviews/
https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Admis ... 700945.htm

Reach out, and let's gab. Our only requirement is that you don't prefer warm milk over cold milk. Everyone else, 100% welcome.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 866-409-4753
Hit us up on WhatsApp.
Ping our satellite: 0884#&@-2#101101
Contact us via web form you lazy git: https://admissionado.com/contact/
Mostly, email Claudia.

Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2013 6:00 pm
GMAT Score:760

by Ya_I_Seen_Pegasus » Mon Feb 11, 2013 9:17 am
Hi Jon

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I did see that question coming - about the conflicting choice of region and school (Booth).

I definitely want to move to Asia-Pacific or to Europe (to be closer to family), hence schools in those regions appeal to me. However I am bit skeptical as most are 1 year programs and mainly focus on general management/consulting rather than finance (thinking INSEAD, IMD and Spanish schools here).

This is the reason I am looking at a few "quant-heavy" US schools. Of course, I understand that these are generalizations; your comment on this strategy will be insightful.

Also, the reason for Booth and not Wharton/Columbia was simply because in my preliminary research I was able to find 2-3 Booth alumni that had backgrounds similar to mine.

My essay strategy is a bit nebulous, but I think I can link my future area of interest to my background. Additionally, I do have a genuine catalyst (for the change of interest) which also needs a bit work. My main concern however, is that I will have over 8 years of experience in engineering when I enroll into an MBA. I wonder if it will be a hindrance to a career change into finance.


Kind Regards

Al

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
Elite Legendary Member
Posts: 3135
Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 8:55 am
Location: Everywhere
Thanked: 589 times
Followed by:332 members

by Jon@Admissionado » Tue Feb 12, 2013 7:04 am
Your notes about Europe are pretty much on the dot, with the exception that the UK tends be far far more finance heavy (it has a lot to do with culture, law, the way of perceiving money etc.) and there you have Oxford, Cambridge and LBS which you should look into.

I think that if you are willing to go to Booth than Wharton/Columbia should definitely be on your list.

As for your career change, it is debatable whether you should tell this to the Adcom, for you should know that the most common story they hear is "Indian candidates from IT wanting to go into Finance", so unless you have some CONCRETE experience to make this a reasonable proposition, you might want to present the AdCom other goals (but this depends on lots of things... just a thought for the moment). The 8 years of experience can never hurt, only give you better stories, so I wouldn't worry about that too much, but you DO have to make sure that whatever career story you present the AdCom that it makes sense.
"Hands down the best MBA admissions consulting firm of all-time, and boy, what an incredible founder!" -- Raj Patil, Founder of Admissionado

Something for everyone:
https://admissionado.lpages.co/admissio ... nter-2018/
https://admissionado.lpages.co/50-essay ... ked-vol-4/
https://admissionado.lpages.co/case-studies-lp/
https://admissionado.com/mba/reviews/
https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Admis ... 700945.htm

Reach out, and let's gab. Our only requirement is that you don't prefer warm milk over cold milk. Everyone else, 100% welcome.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 866-409-4753
Hit us up on WhatsApp.
Ping our satellite: 0884#&@-2#101101
Contact us via web form you lazy git: https://admissionado.com/contact/
Mostly, email Claudia.

Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2013 6:00 pm
GMAT Score:760

by Ya_I_Seen_Pegasus » Wed Feb 13, 2013 12:10 pm
Jon, Thanks.

Very helpful to know that mentioning a career shift into finance may not be too helpful. It seems like even my non-IT background (civil engineering) will not set me too much apart from other Indian engineers wanting to make the same career switch.

However, by doing that I am at a loss on how to formulate my "why MBA" case as I am not aware of other avenues post-MBA for a civil engineer. Project Management typically does not require an MBA and neither do leadership roles in my industry (and moving up typically takes a long time).

May be I can mention my goal as getting into the leadership programs of one of the energy/utility giants. (GE, PG&E).

I was wondering if Admissionado provides a preliminary consulting service to help formulate the "why MBA" case. In my case it will be more career counseling :), since I am not too sure what post-MBA opportunities can be linked to my background apart from finance.

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
Elite Legendary Member
Posts: 3135
Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 8:55 am
Location: Everywhere
Thanked: 589 times
Followed by:332 members

by Jon@Admissionado » Mon Feb 18, 2013 1:46 am
Glad to help out Pegasus,

So regarding your goals, it's really something that needs to be worked on once we have all we need to know about you. Right now my tendency would be to say - what about a top management position or something governmentally-related? (CEO of company XXXXX, Director of Governmental department ZZZZ) These are both typical sorts of goals that an MBA can be helpful for.

But like I said, its something to think about once we have everything in hand. If you want to chat with someone from our team about your goals, we offer a 30 minute free consultation to any who want and you are free to use that to only discuss your goals: https://admissionado.com/mba/free-consultation/

Although to get them down pat, it might actually take longer, but still it should at least get you started.
"Hands down the best MBA admissions consulting firm of all-time, and boy, what an incredible founder!" -- Raj Patil, Founder of Admissionado

Something for everyone:
https://admissionado.lpages.co/admissio ... nter-2018/
https://admissionado.lpages.co/50-essay ... ked-vol-4/
https://admissionado.lpages.co/case-studies-lp/
https://admissionado.com/mba/reviews/
https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Admis ... 700945.htm

Reach out, and let's gab. Our only requirement is that you don't prefer warm milk over cold milk. Everyone else, 100% welcome.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 866-409-4753
Hit us up on WhatsApp.
Ping our satellite: 0884#&@-2#101101
Contact us via web form you lazy git: https://admissionado.com/contact/
Mostly, email Claudia.