Ask ARINGO MBA Admissions Consulting

Hey,

Can you please help me in evaluating my profile :

Indian female

Grades :
Xth - 91%
XIIth - 88% ( Have been on scholarship since class 8th in school)
Undergrad ( NIT kurukshetra ) - 7.93/10 (2008-2012) Gpa 4.0 according to WES
GMAT - 720 (Q50, V38, IR5)

Work experience -
* Have been working in Samsung from the past 3 years
Have had 2 promotions in 3 years
First as a software developer, then moved into Pre-sales consulting owing to my interest in Marketing.
In that I worked with Samsung Sales division in APAC regions, assisted clients and partners in Dubai, SA, Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Singlehandedly set up a whole Enterprise business conclave in India marketing Regional HQ, Worked with directors of engineering of Hyatt, Oberoi, and Taj hotels.
Demonstrated Samsung solutions in events, conclaves, summits to CXO's of different verticals.

* Member of cultural commitee in Samsung, Won the best innovative project of the Quarter for a project, Winner of many cultural competitions held in Office.

Extra Curriculars -
* Won accolades for Dance from age 6, Working as a dance instructor in a Dance studio.
* 2 District level prizes in Arts, College level athlete( won 10 medals ) in NIT sports meet' 09, '10, '11
* Head of 3 committees in tech and cultural national level fests in NIT.
* Started a society for teaching Underprivileged children of College's workers. This has been published in a local newspaper of Kurukshetra.
* Working as a UN online volunteer for a research project on Women Situation in Thailand.
* Represented North Zone ( 4 states ) In a national level General knowledge Quiz held in Hyd.
* 1 district level prize in Analytical ability (scholarship given).

Working on my startup idea as well ( It would be completed by the end of the year )

Post Mba goal - I want to enter into Brand management or marketing.

My target schools are - Kellogg 1 year program, ISB, Insead, HEC paris, NUS, NTU.
I even want a partial scholarship for these programs.

Can you please tell me about the shortcomings in my profile and how can I be the good fit for these above schools?

Do I need to hire consultant for the essays or should I try writing them on your own?

Hi Gil.

Thank you so much for taking out the time to evaluate my profile. My credentials are:

Gender : Male
Nationality : Indian
Age : 29 years

Academics :
Xth - 83%
XIIth - 87%
Graduation : Chemical engineer from IIT Delhi (Consistently ranked among the top 2 engineering universities in India)
CGPA - 6.5/10

GMAT - 740

Work experience :

Total 48 months

* 1 year 8 months as a Proprietary trader at one of the largest prop trading firms in India. Not very famous outside India though.
* 2 years 2 months as cofounder of an educational startup that grew to 60,000 monthly users. Did not not raise venture funding. The startup has been closed.
* Managing director of family investment firm for the past 6 months. This is part-time so I don't really know how much it counts.

Extra Curriculars :

* Director of a family run Non Profit organisation that is working towards the prevention and eradication of Encephalitis. It's a small organisation currently and work has been limited to 3 districts in India.
* Captain of hostel soccer team.

International Exposure:

3 months as an International Research scholar at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Activities & Interest:

* Traveling : Have traveled to more than 15 countries. Into exploring cultures and understanding the values and traditions of people living in different parts of our beautiful planet.
* Soccer.

Post MBA goal - Product Management at an established technology company or a high growth startup so that I can learn valuable skills I am currently lacking, and which along with the lessons from my previous startup enable me to create an organisation that significantly improves the lives of people involved.

My target schools are - Wharton, Berkeley, Kellogg, UCLA. My main considerations are Location (Silicon Valley) and placement in technology companies.

I would love to know your view on my profile, preferably the weaker points and things that can be done to mitigate the weakness in my profile.

Again, thank you for doing this.

Hi, thanks for checking in with us.
1. Your academic credentials look great, GMAT is solid.
2. Professionally, great that you made the move already from development to consulting; that will work strongly in your favor.
3. Terrific international angle, workwise. And you seem to have great managerial experience, and building relationships with your company’s clients/associates. The presentation skills you have are also a plus, which can be emphasized in the application.
4. Finally, your extracurriculars are VERY impressive – so many, and with great achievements and leadership experience as well. Well done!!

You really have a wonderful profile.
Your post-MBA goal looks good; although I can also see you going the entrepreneurial path.
School selection looks very reasonable; you might even go for 1 or 2 ‘dream’ schools, if you want. You never know what you might pull off! Also, if scholarships are the most important to you, then acceptance to a Top 10 program could be even more leverage for winning a scholarship at a lesser ranked program.

Regarding applying on your own vs. working with a consultant, I highly recommend working with a consultant. Even if you invest in working only on the first school, the lessons you will learn about applying will be invaluable, and you can then apply them in working on the rest of the applications. I’ve seen too many applicants have to reapply the following year, because they worked on their own the first year, and made silly yet critical errors that could easily have been avoided.

Good luck!!!

Joy

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Hi, what an interesting profile! You will definitely be able to find ways to stand out from the pack.
My biggest concern is the diversity of your professional experience – you will have to find a story that explains jumping from one thing to another: Chemical engineering…trading… investment….education? And now you want to be a product manager in a tech company! This may raise eyebrows. Another option would be, in terms of your career goals, to find a goal that better relates to the path you have taken, and enables you to show a clear line of progression. Think about it.

Your extracurricular activities are terrific – do play them up, including the managerial/leadership experience you acquired.
You seem to have a great deal of leadership throughout your profile – and a lot of initiative. So make sure to highlight all of that.

The failure of your startup is fine – this was a great experience, so don’t be afraid to talk about what you learned and how it developed you as a future leader.

The schools you picked are mostly stretch schools – consider adding 1 or 2 less competitive ones, as backups. Which ones will depend on the direction you ultimately choose for your goals.

Good luck!

Regards,
Joy

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Hello Aringo team

I hope you're well.

It would be great if you could give me a profile evaluation. I only plan on starting a MBA program in September 2018, but I'm already thinking about what kind of narrative I'm going to use to join a top MBA program (given my rather unique background). Therefore, it would be great if you could help me out with some insight.

Gender: Male
Nationality: Portuguese
Age: 28 years old (30 years old in Sep 2018)

GMAT: I'm only going to take it next Summer (aiming for around 700, it should be achievable)


Work Experience:

Co-Founder & Minority Owner of a Sports Betting Consulting Firm (2008 - Current)

• Creator of an innovative array of mathematical formulas for sports betting
• Leader of a 10-people international team (people from the US, Central America and Europe) formed by a stats unit, data researchers and consultants
• Attracted an US investor (living in Central America) who bets approximately 30 million dollars per year in the firm’s projections/recommendations
• This position not only requires a lot of managerial and analytical skills from me, as it also requires regular international travel to the US and Central America

I have had other minor work experiences in the past, including a recruitment consulting position in London for a few months and a travel consultant position about 4/5 years ago, but my real full-time job has always been owning and managing my entrepreneurial project, which went from being a small start-up for some frustrating years to a massive success about a year and a half ago when we attracted a multi-millionaire investor.


Academics:

• ISAG - European Business School / Bachelor's Degree in Tourism, Branch Business Management / Class of 2011 / Grade: 16 (0-20) - Top of my Class
• Faculty of Arts, University of Porto / Master's Degree in Tourism / Class of 2013 / Grade: 15 (0-20)
• Faculty of Economics, University of Porto / Bachelor's Degree in Economics / Class of 2018 (hopefully)

Skills, Extracurriculars & Achievements:

• Beat over 15 000 people to win an European Commission Internship in 2014 (passed on the offer, as that was exactly when we managed to attract the big investor into the firm)
• Speak native Portuguese, fluent English and Spanish, intermediate French & basic Italian (my English, Spanish and French language skills are officially certified)
• Member of ISAG’s student council since 2008 (honorary member-for-life since 2013)
• Class representative, volunteer tutor and peer mentor in ISAG and University of Porto between 2008 & 2013
• Regional champion in judo (under-11, 12 & 14), volleyball (under-13) & indoor soccer (under-14 & 16)

MBA Goals: Join a top European MBA Program - LBS/INSEAD/IESE (not particularly interested in US programs)


Post-MBA Goals: Sell my part of the firm to my business partner prior to joining a MBA program, as I want to follow my dream of using my analytical and consulting skills in a MBB company post-MBA as an associate consultant. I am especially interested in business strategy and management, with this being the main reason why I've enrolled in an Economics program in the most challenging Economics program in Portugal, after successfully graduating from a bachelor's and a master's program in tourism in the past. I hope my bachelor's in Economics helps me making an easier professional transition into general management in the future, besides giving an extra proof to the business schools that I can handle their demanding programs.


I know this is a rather unique profile (and therefore a bit hard to evaluate), but I hope this uniqueness helps me grabbing a spot in a top MBA program in the end.

Thanks in advance for your insight.

All the best

Hi Mazzacane,

I think your profile is terrific – you’ve got great entrepreneurial experience, leadership, international experience and teamwork. The academics are great, and the extracurriculars in university are a boon as well. You’ll need to explain the move from Tourism; shouldn’t be too hard, and you’ve already made the correction by going back to get your second bachelor’s and by founding your business. The judo as a child is interesting, but less relevant unless you continue to practice it today. And while you are making a career transition, you have the consulting experience in your background; you’ll just need to find the best way to present the rather unusual path you’ve taken until today.

Best of success!

Joy

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Hi Everyone,

The reason I am writing here is because I have hit the wall, badly! I graduated in February 2014 with a degree in Marketing. I was able to get myself a job in logistics industry and worked there as a sales trainee for about 7 months. I was soon brainwashed(Which obviously is my fault) by my friends to go to Australia to get myself further education which would also help me in immigration (Yes, I belong from middle-east).

I resigned from my job in October 2014 and applied for Australia which took around 4 months of total time which brings us to February 2015. I got my visa and flew to Australia. I am currently doing Masters in Information Technology and I am in my second semester. I hate this place, literally. The education over is ****(according to me) plus with no job scope for international students.

My university offers an exit plan for Graduate Diploma rather than going for Masters degree. I am planning to take the exit and go for an MBA from top university of my country(the average score is 610). I will be taking GMAT in about 2 months time. I have realised I am not type of a person who can live far away from home. I come from a well-off family but this year has been ****. My graph has drastically gone down. Let alone, financially but also personally and professionally.

I do understand that my profile as an MBA candidate is not so strong but what can I do to make it a strong one with this given situation? I am planning to apply in February 2016.

I feel guilty and ****.

Hello Joy

I hope you're well.

First of all, thank you very much for taking the time to take a look at my profile and for your very kind words.

When the time comes (I'll only do the GMAT next summer and I'll only be applying to a September 2018 MBA start), I'll definitely use ARINGO to help me present my case to the business schools the best way possible!

Once again, thank you very much for your help.

All the best

Hi, don’t be so hard on yourself. You are young, have lots of time ahead of you, and it was just a year, which you spent gaining some valuable international experience.
I don’t know the school you plan to apply to, or what their requirements are, so hard to answer more than generally.

Seems to me you should come back home, get a job that’s in some way connected to the industry/career you wish to pursue following your MBA.
Relate to the year in Australia as an experiment to gain international experience and explore other fields of study; it confirmed for you that you indeed wish to return to your passion for marketing (if that’s the case?)

Study for your GMAT and do well; see that you have enough extracurricular activities, if not, start something now.
Look for a job that will give you, as I said, some kind of experience related to your goals, and if possible, something leadership – oriented.

Good luck!!! Let us know if you need anything else.

Regards,

Joy

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You are most welcome!
I’m so glad we could help. Good luck this year, and look forward to helping you when the time comes

Best regards,

Joy

Hi Aringo Team,

Can you please help me evaluate my profile?

Below are the details:

Age: 24 years
Nationality/Gender: Indian Male
Work Ex: Around 3.5 years of experience in Consulting (Marketing Analytics), 2 promotions in 3.5 years (1 in current company in 1 year - fastest in my department and 1 higher designation post switching from ZS Associates). Currently working with IMS Health and have worked with ZS Associates in the past
Industry: Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare

Duties at work: Project management from India, management of about 4-5 analysts on projects, managing timelines and SPOC for on-shore team members on projects. Also, have designed the training material and deliver training to about 35 members (from analysts to managers) of marketing analytics group - Marketing analytics SPOC for training at India level

GMAT: 670 (Q46, V35, IR - 4)
College: Ramjas College, University of Delhi (Among top 10 colleges in India for science)
Degree: Bachelor in Statistics
Aggregate: 66℅ (First Class)
Year of graduation: 2012

Academics:
High School: 88%, 91% (best of 4)
Intermediate: 86%
Graduation : 66%
1 internship completed with NTPC Ltd. while in college
Worked on a project with an NGO in college for 6 months - recruited and on-boarded 5 team members to establish the project in college and spread awareness of recycling paper which was recycled and sent to underprivileged children while employing hearing impaired women (recycling of paper).
Took part in one-day management workshop at Faculty of management studies (FMS), University of Delhi
Part of college's placement committee

Target Programs:
MBA

Plan to Apply in 2nd round (Jan 2016) for Sep 2016 intake.

Post MBA goal: To accelerate growth in Pharma and Healthcare market research

Please evaluate my profile for the following schools:
1.Rotman (University of Toronto)
2.Schulich (York University)
3.Desautels (Mcgill University)

Thanks,
Kunal

Hi, regarding your profile: I like the leadership, both supervising the analysts and creating and passing on the training – great stuff, for someone so relatively young. The promotions are terrific, as is the trust your company places in you. Solid Academics and good extra curricular involvement during college. Weaknesses are in extracurriculars after college; I don’t see anything else there, as well as the GMAT. It might be sufficient, as you are applying to Canadian programs, where the average GMAT scores are lower than in the US, and despite coming from a large pool, your career in consulting sets you apart. There’s not much you can do about the extracurriculars at this point, but if you have any chance of improving your GMAT, I say go for it. Otherwise, with a top notch application, I think you do have a chance at the schools mentioned.

All the best,

Joy


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Hi,

I've just given my GMAT and got a score of 670(47Q/35V, IR 7).
A bit more about myself:
I'm an Indian male, age 24 years. I have lived outside India for the major part of my life (in the middle east).
I have a bachelors degree in Electrical and Electronics form NIT Warangal ( Rank 8 college in India ) with a CGPA of 6.3/10, graduated in 2013.After which I worked at Bank of America as a Tech associate in India for 18 months. Here I was the offshore point of contact for an agile project. Worked in the role of Business Analyst in gathering business requirements and developing test cases working extensively with the developers and business partners. Got a silver award for my work in this project.

I then started a company with my friend called Urbserv which is a online/mobile app that allows you to book a handyman around the clock at your convenience. We launched in March and have received around 1000 orders till now.While working on the startup our aim was to create an app for cooks and cleaners on the go and improve their living conditions by the profits we generated from this but to change the idea because of security laws that govern this kind of work and the investors werent interested because of this.

I then moved to Riyadh,Saudi Arabia after working for a few months in the startup and started working as an Assistant Manager in a mid sized Printing and Packaging Firm(generates business of around 5 million SAR monthly ) to improve my leadership skills and to learn all aspects of running a company.Here I supervise the overall working of the company focusing mainly on operations and sales and have about 80 people reporting to me. Over the course of 6 months that i have worked here the company has improved its profit margin from 14-18%. We have used the extra money to improve the living conditions of our labour employees and in educating them. In the past 3 months we have focused on using a part of our profits in helping the under privileged by organizing volunteering activities.

During the process I have learnt that an MBA would have been very helpful.I would like to start a Social enterprise after my MBA, which aims on creating revenue generating businesses marketed with a social theme and the profits generated from these business will be used for building homes and providing food for the underprivileged in the country .In 10 years time I would like this Enterprise to improve the living conditions of the people living below the poverty line by building homes, proving food,education and providing proper healthcare.

To further my career at this point in time I would like to apply for an MBA program. Given my profile it would be very helpful if you could advice me to which colleges I can apply to. With colleges considered, ambitious, moderate and safe.

Thanks
Arjun

Hi,

I am an Indian male, 28 years old.

I have an Integrated BE honors civil engineering and MBA degree from BITS Pilani (5 years, with 1 full year internships, coursework completed in 4
years, GPA 6.98...Just Missed 7 .

X/XII both 86 %.

GMAT 750 (Hope this will mitigate my low CGPA).

I worked with a major KPO in the area of Sales and Operations Planning. In 5 years was promoted thrice and was leading a 6 member team of data analysts. For the past 6 months I am working with Myntra, India's largest fashion ecommerce company, as an individual contributor in the process excellence function.

Extra curricular.. was on the organising committee of our management fest, nothing much post college.

Have got a number of awards at work, for being the best team leader in my vertical, for teams which i was leading.

Post MBA want to get into consultancy.

Confused about which schools to target.

Planning to apply this year.

Regards,
Shashank

Hi Arjun,
What an impressive profile for someone your age – that’s amazing, really! You have terrific things in your profile; the managerial experience, the entrepreneurial activity, international experience and the constant social impact. Wonderful. The GMAT is on the low side for top-tier schools; if you think you might be able to study hard and bring it up, that would definitely increase your chances.

As is, roughly from easier to harder, in the US, you might consider Babson, Anderson, Cornell, Darden, Yale, Haas, MIT. In Europe, IESE, INSEAD.

Good luck!

Joy

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Hi Joy,

Thanks for your quick reply.About the venture its still in existence and planning to scale up operations after next round of funding start of 2016. I m still part of the company and hold a stake in the company. I started working on it since 2014 September while i was still working in BOA and launched in march I left the company in May. I left the company because the companys vision didnt meet my own vision of helping the underprivileged and it wasnt where i wanted to see myself in 10 years. In Riyadh i was able to find a job that helped me grow as a leader and a company that has allowed me to realize my vision and enhance the social brand of the company.

About the universities i was aiming for, Stanford or Yale as they have an amazing scope for social entrepreneurship and can attract the right investors and find an amazing team.I have scored a little less on the Gmat than expected as I was constantly scoring around 710 in my practice mocks. During the real test i entered the math section 4 mins late due to a misunderstanding with the invigilator(was under the impression she would inform once my 8 min break was over) and only got 47 in math. But at the same time I dont think it is wise to waste a year because staring a company requires a lot of energy and time and I dont think you can be fully prepared to do it unless you start doing it. I have researched a lot about the programs in the above mentioned universities and dont know much about other programs in the US.

I would like to conclude by asking what would your advice be Joy. Will waiting a year and retaking the gmat be worth it or should I apply to some lower ranked universities with a great scope for my kind of vision.I would prefer the US given its population and a good infrastructure to support my business idea.I am open to similar programs in Canada as the gmat median scores for most programs are lesser that of the us. I would also like to take up a free consultation with your organisation because you have mentioned some pretty impressive programs in your post and would like to know if their programs match my interests

Thanks ,
Arjun

Dear Aringo Experts,
I'm preparing for MBA application now and still not sure what school is right for me. I'm looking for business schools in the US.

I'm 32/female/Chinese with 10+years of experience.
B.Comm from UBC/Sauder(Canada) - major in logistics and supply chain management and minor in economics.
GPA: 71/100
GMAT: 700(going to retake the test this month)

Background:
After I graduated from high school, my mother and I decided to open a school offering ballet and piano classes in Nanjing(one of China's major cities). We have no employee at the beginning. Starting from distributing flier on the street and giving free class in public school, we managed to build the foundation of our business and make profit in two years. Then I went to Canada in 2003 for university education. After that I had two jobs in Vancouver Canada(one job as purchasing assistant and one job as full cycle accountant for a small company). I was part time teaching piano at the same time. Then I went back to China and work as a sales and marketing specialist in an MNC in 2011. At the same time I started to do the management work for the school again. I quit job in 2012 and devoted all my energy to the school. Now our school has very good reputation in Nanjing and has over 1000 students. We are offering courses for nationally and internationally recognized certificate now. Currently I invited a partner to join our team and she will take over the daily operation in the school when I pursue MBA degree.

ST/LT goal:
My plan is to enhance my soft and hard skills as an entrepreneur, to professionalize my school and to grown my business through MBA program. My short term goal upon graduation is to expand my school. My long term goal is to build a international school brand in China and provide education from kindergarten to high school(International Baccalaureate(IB) programmes).

Please kindly give me some advice on which schools I should apply and where I stand with my profile. Thanks in advance!