Ms. Indian Quant

Hi this is Deepak Punwani from MBA Exchange. IIT KGP and a 750 GMAT, nice ! Even though the GPA is a bit low you come across as really strong on academic side. That’s the good news. Don’t worry, the rest of the news isn’t bad but more of a developing story. What I mean is that you have all the ingredients in place to become a really strong applicant at all schools on your list. The probabilities of admission may wary depending on other aspects of your profile, but with a few “enhancements” you will be an interesting profile for all schools. As of now, the one school where you seem the strongest is LBS. They like IIT + financial services profile quite a lot. For others my suggestion would be to show leadership at work and outside it more strongly. Also maybe get another promotion under your belt and look for some international assignments. If you can build on what you already have, you are in play at all schools you have mentioned. Good luck !

Hi, it’s Nisha here from mbaMission! You’re coming from an IIT, have an above-average GMAT score, and have made progress on the CFA, so academics shouldn’t be an issue. So let’s look at other parts of your profile. Regarding your work experience, can you clarify what you meant by “Switched job because I felt the need to be expert in a field before leading”? Business schools will want to know what shaped your path, so you’ll want to be clear on why you changed companies so early on (not that this is necessarily a negative). In any case, the strength of your professional profile will depend on the impact and progression (in terms of title, responsibility, compensation) that you’ve made at work, so at this point I don’t have enough information to fully assess that.

You’ll also want to clarify your career goals: when you say you’d like to improve funding to firms, in what capacity? You’ll want to charter a short and long-term path that is a logical outgrowth of the experience you’ve had to date and that you’ll be able to attain with an MBA.

Regarding your community involvement – it sounds like it was very strong in college. While it sounds like you volunteer these days, keep in mind that HBS (as well as the other schools you’re targeting) really value community involvement (as I’ve seen with the clients I’ve had who’ve been accepted to the program), so see if you can elevate it to a leadership capacity before you apply and make some meaningful impact to an organization close to your heart. Admission is extremely competitive for Indian applicants, so this is one way that you can help distinguish yourself from the pack.

Speaking of target schools, one note about Stanford is that for Indian applicants, the two-year master’s degree following the three-year bachelor’s degree is preferred (but not required).

Hi, it’s Jennifer Jackson from Stratus Admissions. You have a really strong GMAT and a fine GPA from a challenging major and school. I’m intrigued by your extracurricular work at the nonprofits and think that should be an area you really explore in your applications, particularly because you mention wanting to start your own company one day maybe focused on inequality. Connecting these dots will be critical for your story, or else it will be hard to differentiate yourself from other Indian applicants with great experience in finance and engineering. HBS will really like the leadership roles in college and at your jobs, as well as the strong analytical skills you’ll be able to show. This community citizenship piece is the third major area they look for and that’s where you can shine with highlighting the work you’ve done and the impact you can make with the benefit of an MBA. I’d put your odds slightly above the average applicant’s odds because of that aspect. Good luck!