Hi,

I am considering a Fall 2009 entry. Kindly look at my profile below and guide me on my chances at H/S/W/Kellogg/Tuck/LBS.

Indian male- IT guy with an exp of 2+yrs in financial services domain with an MNC.Age 25.
B.Tech - Grauated with 74.3% in Mechanical Engineering, 2006.
12th - 86.7%
GMAT score : will be taking this june. Expected 740+.. targeting 770+..
Lots of extra curriculur activities during college i.e. engineering. I was President of the Mechanical club. Organized various cultural and technical events and activities.
Part of the corporate social responsibility club at my organization. But haven't done much extra curriculur activities within the last two yrs.
Career progression is ok or normal.
Pursuing hobbies simultaneously like Guitar, Music and literature.

Kindly tell me how can improve my profile in the coming months. At this level of experience what are my chances at the top 5 mentioned above. I am very serious to apply for Fall 2009 entry. Also whom should we consider for getting recommendation, should he be a colleague or my university teacher?

Kindly guide.

Thank you for your inquiry.

I am not entirely sure what you mean by “Indian male- IT guy with an exp of 2+yrs in financial services domain with an MNC.” Do you have an IT background, but are now working in finance or are you working on the IT side, in operations, ensuring that the financial office is efficient? There is a big difference. Let me know…

To answer your final question, I would not ask a colleague or an academic for a letter of reference. The AdCom wants to better understand your professional capabilities and would like to see a letter from your superiors, who are able to speak honestly and truthfully about you.

Sincerely,
Jeremy Shinewald
MBA Mission

www.mbamission.com
646-485-8844

Thanks Jeremy,

I actually meant , I am an Indian, working in an IT company for the last two years and the domain in which I am working is Insurance ( hence financial services).

Also I would like to clarify your advice that I should ask my supervisor for the recommendation and not my colleagues with whom I have worked closely and since they have also supervised my work for some duration(they were not my managers but my seniors with the supervisor role given to them..).
Also there are situations when your supervisors do not care to look into your holistic abilities rather they are only concerned about the work that needs to be completed by you.

I read in one of the B-School sites that recommendation should come from those people wih whom you have worked closely and who know your abilities. Please clarify.

Also please advise how can I improve my profile in the coming months? Below is a short description of what I have done and achieved during college.


Professional Activities/Other Items
· President of MECH-SOC (society of Mechanical engineering students)
· Organized LITERATI, National Level Technical Festival of the Institute.
· Organized CONFLUENCE, National Level Cultural Festival of the Institute.
· Organized MAGNUM OPUS, Cultural Festival of MECHANICAL-SOCIETY.
· Club Leader at School for Annual Cultural and Sports festivals.
· Leader of the School Choir for taking part in Inter School Level Competitions.
· Member of Music and Dramatics club of the N.I.T. Kurukshetra.
· Member of organizing committee for annual cultural festival of school.
· Participated in theatrical events – vocal music competitions and plays at annual cultural festival.
· Member of various other Technical events and cultural events at the University.

Achievements

· Awarded by district collector for attaining 3rd position in XII board exam.
· Won 1st prize for one act play in Confluence 2003 at N.I.T. Kurukshetra.
· Represented School and Won 1st prize in group song event held at the district level Intra School level Competition.
· Won 2nd prize in Machinability event in MAGNUM-OPUS 2004.
.

I have a great interest in theatrical activities. I am planning to join a theatre group and do some educational plays. Will that be counted as a initiative driven activity? Also I am part of the corporate social responsibility team at my company and we serve some NGOs.
Kindly advice what else can be done.

Thanks in advance!!
Sandeep

Thank you for your follow-up.

I am not very optimistic about your chances at top-schools this year – a year which is shaping up to be one of the most competitive ever. Unfortunately, I just don’t see any strong differentiators in your profile. Even if you achieve your target GMAT score, you will be competing with many others who have comparable scores and have additional contemporary extras which set them apart. I don’t think that there is a “quick-fix” scenario, but if you dedicated a year to improving your extras and building your profile, you may stand a chance at LBS or Tuck, if you had a sky-high GMAT score, but I would still suggest that you diversify your applications considerably.

As for your recommendations, the AdCom wants to read letters from recommenders who know you and your work quite well. This does not mean that they want letters from friends. They want recommenders who are/were your superiors, as they offer unbiased opinions. As long as your recommender knows your work and exercised some authority over you, he/she should be fine.

Sincerely,
Jeremy Shinewald
MBA Mission

www.mbamission.com
646-485-8844