Profile Review : Ask mbaMission

Hi,

I want to apply for MBA this fall 2023 and would like to get my profile evaluated. Please look at my profile and tell what are the top US MBA b-bschools which I can target.

Name : Ishan Goyal
Age : 25 yrs
Work ex till now : 2.3 yrs
GMAT score : 730 (V39,Q50)

Undergrad degree : B.tech in Electrical Engineering PEC chandigarh
Score : 9.0/10

Class 12th score : 96.2%
(Awarded with letter of Appreciation from Ministry of Human Resources India for being among 0.01% successful candidates in 12th board exams)

Work ex details :
1. Currently employed (from october 2021) : Family Business
I work as Assistant to Director at my family business and mainly handles sales , marketing and new initiatives. Our business is 70-80cr turnover business.
Second generation in family business
[Due to some issues I had to leave corporate and join family business]

2. ZS associates ( feb2021 - sept 2021) :
worked in market research team of ZS as Decision Analytics Associate.

3. O9 solutions (oct 2021 - jan 2021)
worked as functional consultant - handled customization requests of client in o9 platform

Extra curricular : handled college events and was member of some college clubs

Volunteer work : volunteered to teach underprivileged children . Organized blood donation camps in college every semester

Hello Ishan, and thanks for your post.
The application process is truly holistic, and committees will look at your stats (GPA and GMAT), work experience, and extracurriculars.

Your GPA is strong, so that is a good start. Your GMAT is also strong, though compared to others in your demographic, it is about the average, at best. If you haven’t already, I suggest taking it up to 3-4 times. You have nothing to lose since schools will only look at your highest score. And even a slight increase can boost your profile. You may still want to illustrate to the schools that you have the academic ability to succeed in the classroom. You could showcase your quant ability in your resume and your recommenders could do the same in their recommendations.
It is hard to gauge your work experience without knowing your accomplishments and impact you have made there. Hopefully you have strong leadership experiences to cite. However, the average years of work experience is closer to 5, so if you choose to apply with fewer years, make sure you demonstrate why now is the time. And because of your lighter experience, it’s even more important to show you have made an impact and demonstrated leadership there. Ideally this will be supported by strong recommendation letters as well. It will also be important to explain why you want your MBA, and to also illustrate the skills you already have which are transferable. Be sure your story makes sense, and is realistic and specific. (In general though, your profile would likely be stronger if you waited an additional year to apply to business schools.)
Regarding extracurriculars, make sure to really emphasize your leadership roles you have taken on. Volunteering to teach underprivileged children sounds impressive though; that is one aspect of your profile on which you can elaborate.
If you continue to strengthen your profile, I would say that you do have a chance at US schools ranked in the top 20. Your target schools could be those ranked around 15-20, and I suggest apply to several schools, including reach, target and safety. Hopefully they will see that you have a compelling story and are someone who will add value to the classroom and community.
Good luck!