Mr. Dreamer

I was immediately drawn to your profile simply by the name you chose for it: Mr. Dreamer. Who doesn’t like someone who dreams? Even better, for a quant, you have poetic passions in your ability to play the piano and to enjoy both creative writing and public speaking. That’s a fantastic right-brain, left-brain combination. On the numbers, you are well qualified for Cornell: A 730 GMAT is well above the 697 class average, and your 3.6 GPA is above the latest class average of 3.41. Your work at both ZS Consultants and Cognizant shows you would likely make a valued contribution to Cornell’s MBA class. And both those firms are selective in their hiring. Cornell’s acceptance rate is 38.3%. I think your odds of getting a ‘yes’ are nearly twice as high.

You have a well-rounded profile, with solid academics (and from a good university in India) and strong work experiences at well-known consulting firms. At ZS, were you promoted and/or did you receive substantial increases in responsibility/compensation during your time there? Also, did you demonstrate leadership experience (perhaps in the form of mentoring others at the firm)? I would need this info to better assess your professional experience further. It’s great that you’ve had articles published – how involved are you in public speaking (for example, are you part of Toastmasters?) And, great to see that you have volunteer experience with Teach for India and the UN as well. I think that if you fully communicate your professional and personal impact in your application and if you make a very strong case for why Cornell is a good fit for you based on its culture and resources (and explain how you will contribute to its community, as this is very important to them) you’ll be viable contender. Best of luck!