Can you tell us more about yourself?
My name is Rachit and I am from India. I graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology, Pilani in India, with a minor in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. I also worked in the Consulting unit of PwC India where I handled projects in multiple sectors including Electric Vehicles, charging infrastructure, bus terminal design, rural household electrification, and renewable energy.
What prompted you to apply for a MIM?
My education is technical and all the internships that I had during my studies were in the same field. In addition to that, I got into community development and I worked as a negotiator and business developer, which was more in the non-technical sector. Here I began to realize that maybe my interest lay more in the non-technical sector. Having a technical degree would not help me in my search for a job in top consulting firms so it seemed logical that I would need to augment my technical degree with something that would help me improve my non-technical skills. At the same time, I am very keen on developing my international career and I thought that studying abroad could be great for my personal and professional development. Therefore I decided to apply for the two best MIMs in Europe, London Business School, and HEC Paris.
What did you find the most difficult in the application process?
I realized early on that I had three major weaknesses in my application. First of all my GMAT score was really low. I had begun my preparations for my GMAT with a center in India itself. I managed to get a 680, but I was not happy with the score as being an Indian, I need to compete for the seats in top programs with other Indian candidates who score equally well. The second handicap was that the school that I come from is not that well known outside India. Finally, I had no experience in management consulting. My education was technical and my internships also did not touch upon management consulting. As such it was very difficult to explain to the admissions committee why I wanted to be a management consultant and why I would be a good one.
Dr. Hubert Silly advised me to be authentic in my application and not try to be someone I am not just to try to impress the admissions committee. So in my application I tried to explain my values, my aspirations, and the legacy that I want to leave behind. So I discussed more my values than my actions, more about my future ambitions than my past and explained how the experiences I had in the NGO could testify for my skills and my ability to reach my future goals.
What is life like at HEC Paris?
I applied to HEC Paris and London Business School as I believed that an education in Europe would help me in my career. I have been accepted to both schools. I have chosen to go to HEC Paris and I hope that going to school there will help me learn something beyond what India has managed to teach me. Living in France could introduce me to the European market and I would be able to learn a lot from the huge network that HEC Paris already has. The school has one of the best MIM programs in the world so I have no doubt that the classes would be very helpful for me when I decide to further internationalize my career.
What would be your advice to someone applying for a MIM program?
Many Indian students believe that it is impossible to get into a top business school with a low GMAT score. I am an example to them that it is possible to get in if you have a good coaching support, good help from an admission consultant. I applied to two schools and managed to get accepted into both of them with a scholarship.
Another thing is that you should remain optimistic. Business schools in Europe are looking for diversity, they are not looking for a certain profile students, rather they are open to different profiles. I am a perfect example of this: an engineer who does not want to work as an engineer, an Indian with a low GMAT. But because of my values and the tone that I used and my past achievements, these business schools decided to take me in.
The final thing I’d suggest is that people work with professionals. I was very lucky to have got the help of Dr. Hubert Silly who helped me with my application. I would recommend his services to any of my friends and relatives who would apply for the MBA or MIMs abroad.