PGPX IV - 2009-10: Application Process and Beyond

[figure_out]

Originally Posted by Riya05

Hi
First of all congratulations on getting shortlisted with 4 yrs WE. This shows that there's something in your profile that the adcom liked which made them shortlist you. So I guess you should not lose hope and try again, if not this year atleast few years down the line. I am saying so because a couple of more years will not only add quantity to your career but hopefully quality as well in terms of more leadership positions, more international exposure etc. And if seats are increased this year, that number will remain (or improve) down the line as well. This is just my view and I leave it to you to take call on this.

Regarding your sense of "'never mind, kid' attitude of the panel", even I had the same feeling during my interview (btw I have 10+ yrs of exp). I guess it's the same to everyone of us irrespective of our experience levels. Unless we have like 20+ yrs in the field, all of us seem like kids in front of the experience (and age) of profs who interviewed us. What say?

cheers
Prabhu.

Hi Prabhu,

Thanks for your response ! Sorry for a late reply .. Wish you all the very best for your stint in IIM A.

About applying to IIM A again, I am undecided. It allures. Yes. But I guess, PGPX is a road to senior management. And there may be a mismatch between my profile and their expected ones.

Anyways, take care and good luck again,
sb

[hasansabu]

Hello Prabhu and Pramod,
It would be great if you could post your profiles...and last year i.e. for PGPX 2 IIM A had created a brochure containing the profiles of all the selected candidates.....has that been created this year? if yes would you mind posting it in the forum so we get a better idea of the class mix........

thanks for replying to all our posts.........

thanks and regards....

[Surjendu]

Hi All

Great to see everybody gearing up for PGPX-1V..Let me introduce myself.

My stats

Btech: Metallurgy ( Indian Institute of Technology...IIT Roorkee)
Acads - Passed from IIT with honours(75%).
GMAT - 730.

Work ex : 7 years 8 months by April 2009.
In IT since last 7.8 years. Worked in various capacities( Developer,Module Lead,Team Lead,Manager etc). Worked for big names like Apple, RSA Security, EMC etc...

International Exposure: around 5 years in USA.

Extra Curricular:

1. I am an entrepreneur and Founder/CEO of an
organization(codearmory.com).
1. Lots of prizes won in Quizzing,Crosswords and Literary events.
2. Prizes won in Hockey,Cricket,Tennis.
3. Member of White Water Rafting Team etc.
4. Technical Column Writer for prestigious online sites like TheServerSide.com
5. Did freelance journalism/Column writing for Sulekha.com.
6. Worked with CRY(Child Rights and you)
7. Member of TIE(The Indus Entrepreneur,USA) etc
8. Apache open source contributor.

My questions are

1. Will being an IITian help me?
2. My work ex is on the lower side( 7 years 8 months). Is that a hindrance?
3. I am an entrepreneur. Will the adcom take this positively? They should not be under the impression that why does this guy need an MBA?

[aspire_2007]

My profile is:

8+ yrs of WE. 4.5 yrs of international WE across countries.
Work domain has primarily been IT (Product development, Project Management, Pre-sales) and Civil engg (very brief)
BE, MBA
GMAT - 740
Very good acads
Good extra curricular activities
PMP

As far as the profile book is concerned, I presume that you're talking about the placement brochure. If you're, it is not yet ready since we're only 1-day old at campus now. It will be prepared in due course of time. As and when it comes out, we'll send out the link. It'd also be available at IIMA web site.

-P-

Originally Posted by hasansabu

Hello Prabhu and Pramod,
It would be great if you could post your profiles...and last year i.e. for PGPX 2 IIM A had created a brochure containing the profiles of all the selected candidates.....has that been created this year? if yes would you mind posting it in the forum so we get a better idea of the class mix........

thanks for replying to all our posts.........

thanks and regards....

[aspire_2007]

Surjendu,

Answers to your questions:

1. Will being an IITian help me? - I'm not sure if there would be an explicit, obvious difference in terms of treatment to you and others (graduating from non-IITs). Even if there is a benefit, you may not come to know about it since it may be one of the criteria. However, graduating from a better institute is always a good thing. That is why, we're at IIMA and that is why, you're applying to IIMA

2. My work ex is on the lower side( 7 years 8 months). Is that a hindrance? - You'll have 7 yrs of experience by Aug, 2008, which is what goes in application (I guess). Anyways, WE is relative to the pool of applicants. If you WE has been pretty good in terms of quality, role, responsibilities, etc, you'd be in good shape. There is not much you can do about it, if you apply this year. Better would be to bring out the positive aspects of your work life and mention them in your application.

3. I am an entrepreneur. Will the adcom take this positively? They should not be under the impression that why does this guy need an MBA? - Question here is that do you think, you need an MBA? If you think so, obvious question would be, why? If you have the convincing answers, adcom does not need to feel anyway. Adcom is going to look at your profile, essays and interact with you without any biases (to the best of my knowledge). People are grilled in their interviews and they tend to think that adcom had a bias. It may not be true.

Hope this helps.

-P-

[/quote]

Originally Posted by Surjendu

Hi All

Great to see everybody gearing up for PGPX-1V..Let me introduce myself.

My stats

Btech: Metallurgy ( Indian Institute of Technology...IIT Roorkee)
Acads - Passed from IIT with honours(75%).
GMAT - 730.

Work ex : 7 years 8 months by April 2009.
In IT since last 7.8 years. Worked in various capacities( Developer,Module Lead,Team Lead,Manager etc). Worked for big names like Apple, RSA Security, EMC etc...

International Exposure: around 5 years in USA.

Extra Curricular:

1. I am an entrepreneur and Founder/CEO of an
organization(codearmory.com).
1. Lots of prizes won in Quizzing,Crosswords and Literary events.
2. Prizes won in Hockey,Cricket,Tennis.
3. Member of White Water Rafting Team etc.
4. Technical Column Writer for prestigious online sites like TheServerSide.com
5. Did freelance journalism/Column writing for Sulekha.com.
6. Worked with CRY(Child Rights and you)
7. Member of TIE(The Indus Entrepreneur,USA) etc
8. Apache open source contributor.

My questions are

1. Will being an IITian help me?
2. My work ex is on the lower side( 7 years 8 months). Is that a hindrance?
3. I am an entrepreneur. Will the adcom take this positively? They should not be under the impression that why does this guy need an MBA?

[Surjendu]

Thanks a ton P...Appreciate your prompt response.

Regards
Surjendu

[me_stunning]

Hi,
Do you think if it makes sense for me to do PGPX in IIMA or ISB (of course in case I do get selected.. ). What do you think should be my minimum GMAT score in order to get selected?

Xth-CBSE-84%
XIIth-CBSE-86%
Electronics & Comm. Engg. - Delhi College of Engg.-80%
Total work ex. ~ 9 Years right now
Currently Manager (and technical contributer as well) of a small team in one of the top 10 Semiconductor design company.
Already earning > 25L per annum...
GMAT score - Yet to take it. Planning to take in July end to apply for IIMA PGPX.

Please guide..

Thanks!!!

[aspire_2007]

Hi,

As long as you're convinced about the need to do an MBA at this point in your career, I'd suggest, go for it! Many of us doing the same

On the point of where to do it from - I'd suggest you to do the research on what suits your needs, IIMA or ISB. There are various threads on different sites (including Pagalguy.com). You can even look at other options in India or outside India.

Based on the data from current batch of PGPX (at IIMA), GMAT scores were primarily 700 upwards. I'd suggest getting a score of at least 700-710 to remain competitive. Beyond this, higher the score, better. Good luck with your endeavors.

Hope this helps.

-Pramod-

Originally Posted by me_stunning

Hi,
Do you think if it makes sense for me to do PGPX in IIMA or ISB (of course in case I do get selected.. ). What do you think should be my minimum GMAT score in order to get selected?

Xth-CBSE-84%
XIIth-CBSE-86%
Electronics & Comm. Engg. - Delhi College of Engg.-80%
Total work ex. ~ 9 Years right now
Currently Manager (and technical contributer as well) of a small team in one of the top 10 Semiconductor design company.
Already earning > 25L per annum...
GMAT score - Yet to take it. Planning to take in July end to apply for IIMA PGPX.

Please guide..

Thanks!!!

[arun agarwal]

Hi Guys,

Prabhu and Pramod are already answering most of the queries. I join them in from now onwards. Before I post info about admission, I will like to post our situation first.

Most of us have arrived at IIM-A within last 2-3 days and our Term-I starts on Sunday (April 6th) and first two terms (till Mid –Aug) are very tight, hence most probably we may not visit this thread everyday but we will try to take turns and reply to most of the queries within a day or two. Also all our replies are our own opinion / judgement and are not official IIM-A replies and these should be taken as such.

Coming to issues you are facing.

High Average GMAT Score of third batch:

From what I gather, even though most of us and Prof. are happy about same but at the same time there are few concerns that this will put-off low score candidates from applying. Hence try for good GMAT score but do apply even with low score if you have a good profile and some thing to differentiate from other applicants. For IT guys, please don’t simply put IT in your profile, put the work domain also which will differentiate you within the IT pool. FYI, in general Indian students have a very high average GMAT scores even at leading international B-school and IIM-A PGPX group being mostly Indian students, this reflects in overall average as well.

As already mentioned by Pramod / Prabhu, pay special attention to your application and start preparing the essays from now itself, as you will get very less time to submit the essays after interview call. Try to be as honest as possible and avoid inflating your achievements. Profs with their experience will see thro’ any such attempts.

Giving GMAT multiple times has no disadvantage. There are few students with multiple attempts. One of the student has given GMAT twice within last two month. (last attempt was on last date for submission of application).

I hope this helps will post more whenever time permits.

Arun

[arun agarwal]

Sorry for the bold fonts in previous post. In this section I am unable to edit my post ??????

Arun