Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant

Dear Admission Consultants,

I would like to know your opinion on my background and chances of getting into below programs:

Safety schools: UNC, Tuck, Duke
My ideal schools : INSEAD, Cornell, Columbia - However I am not applying to these in R2, until I increase my GMAT
Age: 30 now

1.UGPA- 58%-Bachelors in Mechanical Eng from University of Mumbai.
2.Work Exp before Grad school-2 yrs
3. GGPA-3.71, Master in Industrial Eng from a Decent university, ( not prestigious or ivy league) Work Exp after MS- 6 yrs on entering August 2010 + 9 months internship

Profile summary:
I have I have over 6 years of healthcare and automotive experience in a regulated environment, excluding about 9 months of internship , have been a Functional trainer for Diversity Awareness at both my companies, solid community service for over 2 years at work. Further, I have also worked as an Associate Product Manager at my last company in my off-work hours (usually late in the evening) to actively move to a Marketing role. Below I have listed all the extracurricular activities and awards.

My GMAT breakup : 620 (Q46-72%, V31-58%). Overall 70%. I have improved my GMAT score by 150 points from my first attempt. In each of my attempts my GMAT score has improved at least by 40 points, if not more.

Extracurricular:
Certified ASQ Six Sigma Green Belt (Feb 2009)
Leadership Award at work for onboarding new hires effectively (Feb. 2008)
IPDA (International Public Debate Association) National Season Champions (2004, Master's level)- National's level.
Faculty for teaching courses at both my companies - approx 4 yrs.
Third Prize- Business Plan Competition (2004) (Master's level)
Many undergraduate awards in debate and public speaking.

Plan to switch career tracks- Marketing, which I am showing through my marketing experience as a Associate Product Manager


Weakness:
1.Low Verbal score.


My questions:
1. Realistic chances of getting into these schools
2. To address my low verbal score: I am working with my recommenders to highlight my verbal and written communication skills. How else can I address it to strengthen it significantly? By giving TOEFL or by taking a Written or Communication course at a local school?
3. 58 % ( life changing event during this time, my mother passed away due to unnatural death and not due to any disease, something very uncommon happened with our family for a Indian society) for Undergraduate may sound low, but the highest at university level especially for Mechanical Engineering from University of Mumbai was around 70%. How is this percentage viewed? Should I consider taking Calculus, Finance, Economics courses to strengthen my application? Should I get this percentage evaluated my WES, etc?

Thanks for your help.
750Goal

UGPA
Your undergraduate university should be able to translate your GPA for you. The schools you are targeting all have plenty of experience with the Indian grading system. See whether you can get a class rank of percentile from your undergraduate school. Most applications will have an optional essay through which you can explain your UGPA. BE very direct. Don't complain or blame, simply state the circumstances. Your GGPA should alleviate concerns about your ability to handle the work.

GMAT
Your "safety" schools will require a GMAT around 700 so you have a lot of work to do to raise that score. You talk about raising your score at each attempt. Are you referring to practice exams or actual scored GMATs? Be very careful about taking hte test too many times. Schools will be concerned that you are focusing on the wrong things. You should work to bring up both the math and verbal. While your math score is solid, it is not at a level schools are used to seeing from technically-trained individuals.


Your strength will be in your experience. I particularly like that fact that you have taken steps to familiarize yourself with marketing. One of the challenges applicants face is explaining why they are making a career change and convincing the reader that they know what they are getting into and why. You show both foresight and initiative in getting marketing experience before committing to a career change.

Be certain you know which schools will accept your graduate work as proof of English proficiency and which still require TOEFL. Some will only accept an undergraduate degree from an English-speaking program, not a graduate degree. You may find you need to take TOEFL after all.

Consider Indiana and Ohio State as safety schools. They have excellent marketing programs with strong industry connections. I advise my clients to work backward. Find out where your dream employers hire their MBAs and which campuses they interview on. That will give you a good idea of the type of starting marketing position you could target after completing your MBA.

Good luck,

Dear Tina,

Thank you for the prompt and detailed reply.

1. UGPA - your input is very helpful. I hope to find some information from the University of Mumbai's internet system as long as they have data going back to 2002.

2. Thank you for the Indiana and Ohio recommendations.

A little more about my background:
My professional non-marketing experience is unique amongst most of my peers in the sense it is with a biotechnology industry, specifically focused personalized medicine and genotyping.

I have given the GMAT many times, so I am guessing it may raise a concern to the Adcom, which I can't do much about it now. However, do you know of a way to tactfully alleviating this concern?

Thank you.

There aren't any great ways to cover for having taken the test several times. If your score has gone up steadily that would help, but if it has been flat or bounced around they may ask about it. Simply say you now recognize that you made an error in repeatedly taking the test and should, in fact, have focused more on building specific skills before successive tries.

Only take it again if you have demonstrated via practice tests that you can consistently beat the scores you have earned so far. One more test with no real improvement can only hurt you.

Your best bet now is to focus on your essays. Emphasize those things that make your background unusual and that promise you can contribute to the class discussion. Genotyping and personalized medicine are hot topics. Be sure they understand where you have been working.

750Goal wrote:Dear Admission Consultants,

I would like to know your opinion on my background and chances of getting into below programs:

Safety schools: UNC, Tuck, Duke
My ideal schools : INSEAD, Cornell, Columbia - However I am not applying to these in R2, until I increase my GMAT
Age: 30 now

1.UGPA- 58%-Bachelors in Mechanical Eng from University of Mumbai.
2.Work Exp before Grad school-2 yrs
3. GGPA-3.71, Master in Industrial Eng from a Decent university, ( not prestigious or ivy league) Work Exp after MS- 6 yrs on entering August 2010 + 9 months internship

Profile summary:
I have I have over 6 years of healthcare and automotive experience in a regulated environment, excluding about 9 months of internship , have been a Functional trainer for Diversity Awareness at both my companies, solid community service for over 2 years at work. Further, I have also worked as an Associate Product Manager at my last company in my off-work hours (usually late in the evening) to actively move to a Marketing role. Below I have listed all the extracurricular activities and awards.

My GMAT breakup : 620 (Q46-72%, V31-58%). Overall 70%. I have improved my GMAT score by 150 points from my first attempt. In each of my attempts my GMAT score has improved at least by 40 points, if not more.

Extracurricular:
Certified ASQ Six Sigma Green Belt (Feb 2009)
Leadership Award at work for onboarding new hires effectively (Feb. 2008)
IPDA (International Public Debate Association) National Season Champions (2004, Master's level)- National's level.
Faculty for teaching courses at both my companies - approx 4 yrs.
Third Prize- Business Plan Competition (2004) (Master's level)
Many undergraduate awards in debate and public speaking.

Plan to switch career tracks- Marketing, which I am showing through my marketing experience as a Associate Product Manager


Weakness:
1.Low Verbal score.


My questions:
1. Realistic chances of getting into these schools
2. To address my low verbal score: I am working with my recommenders to highlight my verbal and written communication skills. How else can I address it to strengthen it significantly? By giving TOEFL or by taking a Written or Communication course at a local school?
3. 58 % ( life changing event during this time, my mother passed away due to unnatural death and not due to any disease, something very uncommon happened with our family for a Indian society) for Undergraduate may sound low, but the highest at university level especially for Mechanical Engineering from University of Mumbai was around 70%. How is this percentage viewed? Should I consider taking Calculus, Finance, Economics courses to strengthen my application? Should I get this percentage evaluated my WES, etc?

Thanks for your help.
750Goal

I am not optimistic about your chances at UNC, Tuck, Duke with your current GMAT. I agree that Kelley and Ohio State are good alternatives for you. YOu may also want to look into Vanderbilt.

To deal with the low verbal score, yes ask recommenders to comment positively on your verbal skills. Also, you might consider writing an addendum and spotlighting your debate experience as well as other examples of communications skill.

Given your grad GPA and the circumstances you dealt with as an undergrad (you should let the schools know what was going on), I don't think courses at this point will make a difference. They certainly can't hurt, but I don't view as necessary.
You don't need WES to evaluate your transcript. The schools will know how to interpret it.

Best,
Linda

Firstly, thank you Tina for the super fast reply. Appreciate it. I agree with your recommendations. I will highlight my current work experience too.


Linda,

Thank you too for your prompt reply. Your assessment is realistic, while I know my chances are low, but
I am going to take the risk of applying to these schools. I believe, "Do it from best or else rest at Home".

I specifically like your comment about adding an addendum to my profile explaining my Debate, etc; skills. Great idea.
I did explain it in my optional essay.

I am planning on giving my GMAT again. Lastly, I am guessing if I improved my score to 670-700 or more, then I would be quite competitive for most of these schools and your thoughts would change?

I really appreciate both your expertise in my profile evaluation.



Thanks,
750Goal

750Goal wrote:Firstly, thank you Tina for the super fast reply. Appreciate it. I agree with your recommendations. I will highlight my current work experience too.


Linda,

Thank you too for your prompt reply. Your assessment is realistic, while I know my chances are low, but
I am going to take the risk of applying to these schools. I believe, "Do it from best or else rest at Home".

I specifically like your comment about adding an addendum to my profile explaining my Debate, etc; skills. Great idea.
I did explain it in my optional essay.

I am planning on giving my GMAT again. Lastly, I am guessing if I improved my score to 670-700 or more, then I would be quite competitive for most of these schools and your thoughts would change?

I really appreciate both your expertise in my profile evaluation.



Thanks,
750Goal

The closer to (or above) 700 the better. A score in that range will improve your competitiveness, especially at UNC. It is still unlikely to be enough for Duke and Tuck, but at least you will be in range.

Best,
Linda