Indian IT Applicant and top US FT programs - impossible?

[sperinko]

Mayank,

I am referring to the "average Joe" Indian IT applicant who has nothing spectacular in his profile other than academic excellence and quick career progression.

In such groups, the GMAT becomes a big differentiator for schools like Tepper/Ross/Duke etc. that are outside the M7 . All things remaining the same, the GMAT decides why IITM(Indian+IT+Male) A gets an admit over B. Of course, I am not discounting the possibility that some people in this IITM group have truly amazing extra-curricular or special interests which might get them an admit even with a lower score, but I believe such applicants are rare.

The essays, however polished and well-written, are only a reflection of your experiences and interests in life, which for me atleast are not very diverse. I did the best job in presenting the limited "interesting" experiences and events in my life as best and honestly as I could, and I am suprised to see that this was not enough to get me an admit.

Frankly, the way I look at the admissions process is that the Top 10-20 ranked B-Schools use Indian+IT applicants to boost/maintain their GMAT averages while admitting folks outside this pool who may have lower GMATs but may have interestng experiences or jobs to help contribute to class-discussion and improve classroom diversity.

I think similar logic applies for why Female applicants from India may get a lot of admits....schools want to improve % of women in class...but at the same time not lower their GMAT averages...who best to admit than Indian female applicants who have amazing academic and GMAT scores.

With regards to interview, in my personal opinion, this has the least impact on the admissions decision. I know of someone this year who had a poor interview but managed to get admit from Kellogg. The same person had a very satisfactory interview with Chicago GSB, but was dinged there.

Originally Posted by mayank_rasu

Great discussion going on. It was good to know about the colleges who like to blood younger applicants. However, I need to beleive that there is something more to the profile that the top notch schools look for.
If you start comparing profiles as they appear on this forum, it will be equivalent to comparing a tomato with a tomato. All seem alike.
Though Im not an authority on this but common sense tells that essays and interview play a defining role in the selection procedure.

BTW...It was heartbreaking to know that female applicants are being prefered.

[singhn11]

IMHO, for an average joe IITM in the US , given the enormous power that the US work visa rules put in the hands of the employer , its actually very hard to control your career in a way so as to add wow factor based on your work-ex in your MBA app.
And sperinko is right when he says that a lot of IITMs do not have the amazing extra curriculars or amazing life experiences in life.

As an applicant pool, I guess we have much better chance at Post graduate programs in India , but then although these programs are good , and placement prospects at these programs are even better than some of the top 30 US FT programs , the whole immersion experience that comes with being at a top FT program is missing.

Do you guys think that it makes sense to apply in the first round , because then the adcom has less number of applications in such competitive pools. But then, as per an admissions consultant , applying the first round is like swimming with the sharks , because the quality of applications is very good at this stage.

[sperinko]

Applying in Round 1 is definitely recommended, provided you put in a strong application, and not hurry it to meet the deadline. The best thing about applying in R1 is you get your decisions early and can plan out the shift to b-school from work well ahead....not to mention the relief of having an admit in hand.

I believe Round 2 applications are just as strong, as most of us would have learnt from our R1 essay mistakes, and improve the quality of essays.

Originally Posted by singhn11

Do you guys think that it makes sense to apply in the first round , because then the adcom has less number of applications in such competitive pools. But then, as per an admissions consultant , applying the first round is like swimming with the sharks , because the quality of applications is very good at this stage.