MBA Crystal Ball

My name is manpreet singh i'm a first year PGDIM student at National institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), mumbai, i want to do a research in the field of operations management, can you tell me what are the various US universities that i can target with my profile.

Name : Manpreet Singh
Education : B.tech
Percentage: 67.67%
Work exp. 34 months (state govt. psu)
work ex field: core telecom (project management)
MBA: NITIE PGDIM ( first year)

Hi Manpreet,

// i'm a first year PGDIM student at National institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), mumbai, i want to do a research in the field of operations management, can you tell me what are the various US universities that i can target with my profile.

Some universities that are strong in Operations management are:
In the top league: MIT (Sloan), Stanford, Wharton, Harvard
Just a notch lower: Kellogg, Ross, Columbia
A few more: Tepper (Carnegie Mellon University), Krannert (Purdue), Fisher (Ohio)

These programs attract a lot of strong candidates with solid technical backgrounds. So roll up your sleeves and get ready for a tough fight.

I am Ramya,currently no work experience.I am planning to apply for an MBA after I complete my MS.I am applying for MS as of now.MS in CS.
Primary reasons why I am doing MS is:
1.I dont want to work in the IT sector now though I am placed in TCS.I am looking for something more narrow and specialized or diversified which can be possible after my MS.
2.I have been a bad student in my undergrad.I am with a consistent 65% without backlogs but I was not motivated throughout the course.So I dont have a strong profile.
3.By doing MS I plan to work hard right from the start and complete with really good grades and render to my profile so as to pave my way for the top Bschools.

Having said that,
I want to finish with an MBA later,I am hellbent on doing both MS and MBA.I d like to know the right time to give my GMAT,now that I have a few months at hand,from march to june and I am majorly jobless so I can start the prep.
2.I am also skeptical about my GMAT essay as people who ll be writing GMAT with me might have work experience and mostly a differnet age group and hence might have more maturity,lucidity and other factors in their essay.
(But I can work towards it right?)
3.Can anyone please throw light on social entrepreneurship specialization?Like what is a social entrepreneur supposed to do exactly.
4.Will my undergraduate GPA and all that still be damaging and impacting on my profile if I ll apply for my MBA after my MS?

Also,
I have an option to accelerate my MS and complete in 18 months I can do so,if I dont want to submit a thesis.I was thinking a thesis in pure technical stuff might not add to the MBA advantage.If it will help make my profile better I ll sit and complete in two years.

Ironically however this is an MBA related question I presume.

Hi Ramya,

// currently no work experience...planning to apply for an MBA after I complete my MS.I am applying for MS in CS. I dont want to work in the IT sector now though I am placed in TCS.I am looking for something more narrow and specialized or diversified which can be possible after my MS.

I'm not sure I get this point completely. 'Specialized or diversified' sounds a little too vague. Wouldn't TCS fall in either of these?

// I have been a bad student in my undergrad...By doing MS I plan to work hard right from the start and complete with really good grades and render to my profile so as to pave my way for the top Bschools.

If you haven't flunked in any subject and you've got a first class throughout, it may not as bad as you think. But yes, if an MS is the next thing on your to-do list, you can try to ensure that the grades are top-notch.

// I am hellbent on doing both MS and MBA.

That sounds more like a threat, than a plan

// I d like to know the right time to give my GMAT,now that I have a few months at hand,from march to june and I am majorly jobless so I can start the prep.

If you want to apply for an MBA after your MBA, you'd still need to work for 2-3 years to gain real world experience, if you are targetting any of the top schools. Which means, your MBA apps are atleast 5 years away. So no point in taking it right now, as the GMAT score will not be valid then.

// I am also skeptical about my GMAT essay as people who ll be writing GMAT with me might have work experience and mostly a differnet age group and hence might have more maturity,lucidity and other factors in their essay.

GMAT essays are not about maturity or experience at all. In fact, many GMAT coaching insitutes will give you a standardized approach to tackling GMAT AWA essays. The MBA application essays would be where maturity and experience will count.

// I have an option to accelerate my MS and complete in 18 months.

No point in cramming too many things into a short span of time. Frankly I don't think using an MS as a stepping stone to an MBA degree is a good idea. It'll be too long drawn and too expensive.

Hi.

My Profile is as follows:
Age-23 Years
Workex:Accenture(10Months now)
Computer Engineering: First Class(62.08%)
XII(CBSE):78%
X(ICSE):91%
extracurriculars: Quizzer throughout school and college. Won a national Level Quiz Competition, besides many inter-college quizzes. Vice chairman of newsletter committee in the IEEE chapter of our college. Represented department in table tennis competitions. Was Student Council member at school. regular at debates, organizing of events throughout school and college.
Hobbies: Voracious reader of books, traveling.

Ideally I would like to do an MBA from a very good college, as due to various reasons I have consistently under-performed because of lack of focus. However, I do understand that with a nondescript profile like mine, I stand zero chance.

My situation is that my family business is : a 50 year old tea trading company, a 25 year old paper-trading company, and a recently taken over Paper manufacturing Factory. However, since i have been outside home for the best part of the last decade - for studies and work, I have limited knowledge of any of these.

Considering that I have the following aims:
1. I don't want a job. I would like to use the existing platform to diversify. However, I do feel inclined to think that 2-3 years of work in an international workplace would add greatly to my competencies.
2. I want to professionalize and consolidate the existing setup.
3. I want to learn business both theoretically and practically so that I may apply it.
4. I want to sincerely study as I have been a good student throughout and what those marks don't indicate that I was consistently better or as good as the toppers always in most of the subjects.Only I haven't performed well. I fell ill sometimes in exams, etc.
I want help in the following way:
1. What kind of course suits my situation? MBA?Masters in management?
2. Should I aim for another degree like CFA and do well in it to provide my academic caliber for an MBA later?
3. Should I do a masters in management straight so that I can take up the reins of my family business soon?


I have quit Accenture, because the project in which I was working (well) got over. and I didn't see any long term or even short term goal fulfillment in continuing work at accenture.

Please help.

Hi squenx,

// Age-23 Years
Workex:Accenture(10Months now)
Computer Engineering: First Class(62.08%)
:
I have consistently under-performed because of lack of focus. However, I do understand that with a nondescript profile like mine, I stand zero chance.

I won't agree with that. You've got a first class in Engineering and assuming you've completed it from a decent school, that's not too bad a performance, right?

But the lack of focus could be a hurdle for you irrespective of whether you target an MS or an MBA program. Do you think you are more focussed now?

//My situation is that my family business is : a 50 year old tea trading company, a 25 year old paper-trading company, and a recently taken over Paper manufacturing Factory.

So you've got a mini empire ready for you. Good.

//However, since i have been outside home for the best part of the last decade - for studies and work, I have limited knowledge of any of these.

Hmmm..let's hang on to that point for now and revisit it while addressing your queries.

//1. What kind of course suits my situation? MBA?Masters in management?

Either option would work, if your primary goal is to get back to your family business.

// 2. Should I aim for another degree like CFA and do well in it to provide my academic caliber for an MBA later?

I don't think that would help much. From what you've described, you are looking for a broad-based management education. A CFA is a finance degree.

//3. Should I do a masters in management straight so that I can take up the reins of my family business soon?

Now link this back to the earlier point that you know nothing about your own family business. If I had my way, I'd suggest joining the family business right now (considering you've quit your job anyway).

Simultaneously, apply to a few good Masters programs (not just any random program that'll take anyone in). If you don't get in, continue working for a couple of years more than then apply for an MBA.

That way both tracks, your theoretical and practical ( learning curves, will continue moving and will also be aligned towards your longer goal of becoming the Emperor of your empire.

i m trying to know how is my profile for applying to lse for masters in public adminstration or for mba in which schools

m working in public sector....as a class one officer(in india the top most level is known as class one) in adminstration branch.i have been handling cases dealing with construction, civil administration, legal matters, welfare campaigns in my sector.

i have 2 yrs+ of work experience.have distinction in engineering(actually m an engineer), had a gpa of 8.5/10. worked with sife,won at regional level.(u can check sife at internet...pretty big organization)...president of sife team at college level.

now at my home town working with an ngo working for upliftment of women...got recommendations from city magistrates and politicians for this work

please rate me and please help me out....do help me which else universities should i aim for....i will be going for my gre shortly....serious help needed...

Hi Deepti,

//i m trying to know how is my profile for applying to lse for masters in public adminstration or for mba in which schools
:
please rate me and please help me out

I like the richness and the variety of experience you bring to the table. Good work.

Though it's not mandatory for many Master in Public Administration (MPA) programs, many good programs prefer applicants who have had real world experience.

//....do help me which else universities should i aim for....i will be going for my gre shortly...

There are many other good choices in other countries as well. For instance Harvard Kennedy School might be the most prestigious one in the market and also the most competitive. Then most of the other Ivy League universities (like Columbia) also offer MPA courses. NUS Singapore also has a good MPA degree if you prefer something closer.

// serious help needed...

Unlike MBA programs where taking professional help for top bschool applications doesn't raise eyebrows, LSE specifically mentions that they do not want their MPA applicants to take professional help.

If you do approach consultants, many may not be aware of this (or might not point it out if if they know) and would be happy to work with you. So in your interest, I'd suggest that you carry out your background research and manage the application on your own.

Good luck.

Greetings,
I would like to know my chances of admission into top universites like USC marshall,nyu stern or other 2+2 programs like harvard,lsb yale and mim.
P.S: I dont have any full time professional work experience

RESUME:
EDUCATION: 10th grade aggregate -86.33%
12th grade aggregate -93%
B.Tech cse- 70% (local college affiliated to jntu)
GMAT-700 (assuming i get 700)
ACHIEVEMENTS:
AIESEC EXPERIENCE:
*Gained Corporate Exposure working as Business Development Manager
*Worked in Marketing department and raised 5 lakhs rupees for the organisation


EXTRA-CIRRICULAR:
*Leading college dance team of 40 active members in 17 dance events
*Achieved a win streak of 17-0 in my mentorship
*Managed to win both the dance events in IIIT-H Felicity-2012 and Bits-Pearl 2012
both being conducted in the same day.
*Worked as a Team Lead of 7 in college technical fest
*Worked as a Core committee member handling 4 teams in college cultural fests
*Won Elocution competition conducted by Department of Atomic Energy
*Won Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha conducted badminton tournament
*Won Seniors 6th A.P State Inter karate Tournament
*Won Bournvita Quiz Contest Intra-School Quiz 2001 in second position
*Won Frobels Inter-school Badminton championship


The above are few of my achievements and the list has been pretty big.However I would describe my biggest achievements as how AIESEC changed me as an individual and how I now perceive things.That however is written my essays...

My main questions as i asked above are regarding admissions into colleges mentioned above with similar profile