Ask Prep MBA

Thanks Alex, very helpful. Appreciate your time.

It's great that you are not giving up on a higher gmat score. Persistence usually pays off, especially when people study "smart" and not just more. I recommend a private tutor to many of my clients who are struggling to hit their goals, and it generally has material impact. It can be a bit pricey, but when you weigh what you will pay for an MBA, it's a justifiable cost.

Your school selection shows you are thinking broadly in terms of geography and not limiting yourself to just top 15 schools--some folks are not realistic.

Best of luck and I think if you can get closer to 640-650, then some of your choices will be reachable with solid essays.

Hi Sir,

My Brief Stats are as follows:

UG: Btech NIT Calicut( Tier 2 Engineering College India ), GPA: 6.95/10, Highest GPA was 8.8/10, Class rank: 17/42, No of Distinctions in class( GPA 8 and above): 8

GMAT, GRE: Yet to give I am contemplating something around 700 or 720.

Actually my story goes as follows..

Before entering college I had to drop a year during my 11th grade because my dad got a transfer to a different part of the country & after completing my 12th grade I again took a year off for the purpose of coaching myself for the prestigious IITJEE exam.Thus as you can seen I was about 20 years old when I entered college.


I graduated from a tier 2 Engineering college in India ( NIT), however I had serious health issues during my first year of college and hence i couldn't attend classes for half of the semester..( I received 6 F grades because of this..).My dad who happens to be a doctor of course treated me, hence I can provide some reasoning for this in my Essays as well as in some recommendation letters from some of my professors who know me quite well. Towards the end of my college I had began to do a bit of financial modelling and with sufficient interest I had taken up my final year thesis with a professor of my college for a financial modelling and optimization project.

I became interested in this field and again took up another 2 finance project under the same professor, all based on higher degrees of financial modelling and optmization ( He is now an Assistant Professor at IIM Indore). Since I needed time to put myself into this track I had to devote near to around 8 months solely for making out these thesis and subsequently publishing them into an International Finance Journal. These 3 projects have now been published.. I have plans also to present them in a national or an international conference.

After 8 months of research in finance i decided to spend some time in doing social cause work and for around another 7 months was actively working for 3 to 4 NGOs in the field of Child rights, Environment protection etc..helping them with fundraising and campaigning. I was also subsequently offered to become a campus ambassador for a micro finance NGO in helping them find investors for the firms operations.( I am presently doing this apart from my full time work)

Thus after 1.5 years after graduation I joined for a job in Dubai at a reputed I bank. My plan further down the lane is to take a one year MS in finance preferably in US course by applying for a sabbatical at my firm. ( partly because it will help me understanding more about finance and also it would help me in offsetting my GPA in UG).

Along the way I have taken CFA level 1 and 2 and FRM level 1 and 2 as well. Also I am planning to take up GRE Math ( apart from GRE and GMAT) as well some UC Berkeley extension courses to help rectify my academics ( prior to my MS In Finance).

My dillema here is take a trade off between taking up an MS in Finance and gaining a substantial boost to my profile in term of academic and other prospects or to use those precious 1 to 1.5 years for work experience since I am already aging quite fast with respect to an MBA application.



Now the point is that i would be around 31 or 32 by the time I have 4 to 5 years of experience. What kind of MBA program should I target for in your opinion? ie to say should I opt for an E MBA or a part time MBA program. Or Can I still make it into top 10 full time programs programs..?

Or can you provide me some guidance in stating what would the ideal thing to do in my case if I am aiming for top 10 MBA programs..?

Hope you can help me out.

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I think that the principal question you need to address is what you want to do forgetting about the graduate school process. I do not get a strong sense of the goal you are driving towards. And in that regard, getting an MS in Finance is quite different than getting an MBA. Do you want to be a controller/CFO or do you want to be a general business manager, or do you want to start your own business? Some folks with limited work experience can also go for a Masters in Management if their resume is not yet MBA ready, and some of these programs may be more forgiving of a low UG gpa.

So, forget about all the extra courses and GRE Math for a bit, and focus on what it is you are trying to achieve.

Best of Luck,

Alex

Thank you Sir, for your insights.

To be precise my long term goals would be to reach higher levels within an Investment banking structure( read Director, MD..etc). To do this I am pretty sure an MBA would help me explore the previously concealed regions of efficient management skills.

Since I don't have a previous degree in Finance ( I am from a really core engineering back ground... other than a couple of certifications that is..) I was hoping that the masters degree would place me right in the middle of finance & also get rid of the pressure I am facing right now in the midst of my working hours being from a technical field. The other plus point is that I could effectively hedge myself from the risk of a poor UG GPA when it comes to the time that I would be aspiring for an MBA( a point where my knowledge seems to scarce for management at a whole different level)

Can you tell me which MSF programs I can target for now..? Because I feel that a masters in management would not really help me out as far as my objectives are concerned..

Also do you think that in the long run I would be able to obtain an MBA from a top tier university..?

Hello. I am a 25 year old male from a developing nation. Can you please evaluate my profile based on the following? I am planning to apply this year for 2015 intake. I want to choose some good schools. But confused on which schools shall I apply with the following profile. I have included details. I am looking for a good MBA program. Please help me by mentioning some school names where I will be competitive. Thanks.

Post MBA Goal: Want to move into Consulting from the financial services industry.
Back up plan: Will develop my career in the financial services industy
Academic Profile:

GMAT 660 (Q48, V32, AWA 6, IR 6), IELTS 8, Undergrad CGPA 3.86 (BBA major in Finance from a Top 5 University in Bangladesh in 2013)

Professional Work Experience:

Dec 2013 - Present: A US based private equity firm in Bangladesh (will be 19 months by June 30, 2015)

Investment Analyst

- Analyse financial Statements of SMEs to make Investment Decision
- Monitoring Investments, preparing financial models
- Dealing with New Clients to Complete the Investment Process
- Conduct HR functions as required.
- Engage and fulfil all administrative works to close a new deal
(project)
- Maintaining liaison with USA Head-quarter for inputs, reporting,
improvements and discussing outcomes.
- Prepare budget and financial plan for portfolio companies

Aug 2013 - Oct 2013: A US based private equity firm in Bangladesh (3months)

Intern

- Evaluate SME profiles, assist in administrative works.

Dec 2012 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh

Conference Aide, Friends of ’71

- In charge of full support to the Guests
- Managed Scheduling for the guest’s various programs
- Maintained Communication with the Guests about official events

2010 - 2013 Needle to Fashion (Family Business)
Needle to Fashion is an embroidery house.

Accounts and Administrative Officer

- Prepared Financial Statements
- Maintained the journal entries
- Engaged in budgeting, and cost controlling activities
- Maintained communication with foreign buyers

2010 – 2013 Mentored Students

Private Tutor

- Full study guidance to high school and primary School students
- Mentored students for MBA Admission tests

EXTRACURRICULAR EXPERIENCE


 Maintained all administrative works and Scheduled all activities as Class Representative at University
 Organized Social Events
 Founder of a inter-university formal Voluntary group
 Volunteered in the Social Welfare Club at University
 Ensured successful arrangement of the Science Fair as Volunteer at school
 Arranged seminars and career counseling sessions at University
 Helped students by providing information on GMAT and Business Schools as the Admin of the largest facebook group of Bangladeshi aspiring GMAT test takers
 Arranged free seminar to help Bangladeshi students perform well in GMAT

HONOURS AND AWARDS

 2nd Runner-up of Biz Maestros 2013 (A marketing case competition) arranged by Unilever Bangladesh
 Champion of ROBI YTP intra University Case study competition (arranged by ROBI Axiata Limited)
 Lead the Team to top 30 in Inter University HSBC Business Case Competition
 Made to the top 100 among 1500+ participants at Battle of Minds 2013 arranged by British American Tobacco Bangladesh
 Winner of a Case Study Competition arranged by Bangladesh Brand Forum (BBF)

Hi Asif,

Thanks for your patience. I am busy helping Round 2 clients now.

In terms of your profile, the big question is why the rush? You will only have a year of post grad experience at the time of application if I read your chronology correctly. And you have a solid job and are 25. Why not work longer, secure even better LORs and try to improve your GMAT score. With that GMAT and your short work experience, you are not a likely candidate for a top 15 school.

If you are intent on applying now, focus on schools in the top 20-30.

Regards,

Alex

My GMAT is scheduled on 31st Oct,14 and am hoping to get a score of 680-710. I wont compromise on a score lower than 680.

Below is my profile snapshot:

I am a Chartered Accountant (India's highest professional qualification in the field of commerce)
10th: 75%
12th: 86%
B.Tech. : 72%
3 years of work exp in Fertilizer manufacturing company.
Age 24 years
Male Indian Guy
Not associated with any NGO. Will join some NGO after my GMAT exam.

Kindly help me to decide which schools should i fill in the 5 options available after the GMAT. i have decided to go for ISB, India as one option. Kindly suggest me other top institute, especially US colleges. Please while suggesting, keep in mind my work ex and my age. Scholarship is also required.

Thanks.

Hi,

I will assume you are working in financial control/accounting at the fertilizer company (not 100% clear). And with your Indian male profile, a 680, accounting experience, and a solid undergrad (though perhaps not first class?) I think your focus should be on schools in the range of Georgetown, Emory, Mendoza, and perhaps on the reach top range Flagler and Tepper. But you are also still young, and I would encourage you to consider waiting to make your profile more attractive with a higher GMAT, increased work experience and some outside of work activity. By the way, extracurriculars do not have to be NGO related. People train for marathons, take formal cooking classes, start side commercial businesses--these are also extracurriculars that are valid and meaningful as long as you can share you passion for them in the application process.

Good Luck!

Alex

Hi PrepMBA,

Could you please evaluate my (rough, very early) profile? All information is based on the year when I would apply (for intake 2017, graduation 2019)

Demographics: 27 year old white, American male (26 at time of application, 27 at matriculation)

GMAT: 680 (only taken first practice and haven't studied, expect 720)

Education:
Undergrad: 3.7 GPA in English with Honors while working in the university Writing Center from private top 100 school
Grad: 3.3 GPA in top 20 in Public Policy with specialization in Regulatory Policy from top 20 program. GPA is a little low here because it was my first real experience with heavy quant work and I admittedly struggled initially. Final pro bono team consulting project research paper was published and received some media attention.

Work Experience:
3+ years as a Regulatory Economist for a Federal agency
do my grad school internships matter here? I am guessing no...

EC:
Mentor and tutor for underprivileged high school students through a nonprofit
member of Toastmasters
leader for Federal charity campaign within agency

Focusing to apply R1 for 2017:
UC Berkeley Haas
MIT Sloan
Duke Fuqua
UVA Darden
Northwestern Kellogg

Reach: Stanford GSB

Questions:
What are some things I can do in the upcoming two years to improve my chances? What programs do you believe I should focus on? Are my ambitions totally off-base?

Thanks so much for your time and consideration! I appreciate any guidance you can give at this early point in this process.

Thanks for your patience. I was heads down helping my R2 private clients get over the finish line.

In terms of what you can do:

[*]take some business classes at a reputable university and try to get A- or better--this will show business interest and quant capability given lower grad gpa
[*]focus very hard on the gmat--don't be afraid to change strategies if you are not getting results (for example, some folks benefit tremendously from private tutors)
[*]work on developing attractive career goals that make sense of your public policy degree
[*]work hard for your bosses to get glowing recs
[*]research schools, including visits when classes are in session--this is extremely useful for getting up the learning curve on your specific choices and it helps in writing essays and doing interviews
[*]your choices are not way off base but make sure you don't over apply when your gmat scores finally firm up. Maybe add another school in the Darden range for more safety

Good Luck!

10th: 86%

12th: 83.4%

GRADUATION
B.Tech. in Computer Science from IP University, Delhi with an aggregate score of 72.6% (First Class)

GMAT: 740

WORK-EX:
Working with Samvardhana Motherson Group (SMG) (World’s 5th largest group) for past 2 years as a Software Engineer. Involved in different roles for 2 years. Was a JAVA developer for the first 12 months and worked on a project related to automobile industry wherein we tracked all the activities of major automobile players (like Mercedes, Audi, Volkswagen etc.) and their manufacturing plants. In this project I proposed a module which involved scanning of invoices, of which I proposed the algorithm, to potentially reduce the effort at customer’s side. This brought a business of 60.2 Million INR to organization. Received Star Performer of the Year award for the initiative taken.
In lieu to this initiative taken, after 1 year in the organization, I was shifted to Business Intelligence Team to use the critical data like revenue; budget etc. of the organization to track down the lacuna’s to suggest possible changes to be made for organization’s benefit. Working under this team, I proposed the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) which shall mitigate the re-work done in few teams in the organization. Upon review it was implemented in the organization. I inked down the proposed SDLC and got it converted in form of a research paper, published in a prestigious journal.

Total Work-Ex at the time of ISB 2016-17 application will be 2 years 8 months.

OVERSEAS EXPERIENCE
Went with project leader and other team members for installation and demo of the project to the client for duration of 3 months in Hungry during my tenure as a JAVA developer in initial 12 months

ENTREPRENEURSHIP EXPERIENCE
In last year of under-graduation, founded a tech company along with 2 friends, to develop websites and applications ranging from android to ecommerce website. The company is registered in the name of www[dot]crebertech[dot]com. The company generated a revenue around INR 1 lakh. Currently serving as the business head in the startup.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR
I have categorized extra-curricular into following categories.
Scholastic Achievements:
• Have 5 research papers being the 1st author published in prestigious journals with a high impact factor. For one of the research paper published, was selected as a reviewer at the same journal (Science Alert) where mostly doctorate and post-doctorate professors are selected.
• Was selected to represent my school in a competition of Mathematics and English conducted by University of New South Wales.
• Winner of 3 state awards in technical events conducted at Delhi College of Engineering (DCE). Runner-Up in 4 technical events conducted at Delhi College of Engineering.
Dramatics
• Winner in 1 competition and runner up in other organized in IGIT.
• Played Football at National Level. Represented Delhi and scored a hat trick and helped team to reach semi-finals. Was also adjudicated Man-of-the-tournament by sports head of IIT during an intra-college football tournament in my college.
• Organized literary events during college fests in the year 2011-2012-2013. Recoded higher participation with each successive year.
Debating and Literacy
• Winner of 3 State level debate competitions organized at Delhi College of Engineering.
• Winner of 3 State level extempore competitions organized at Delhi College of Engineering.
• Winner of 3 State level essay competitions organized at Delhi College of Engineering and 1 essay event organized in my college.
• Contributed to college and school magazines and remained an active blooger in my organization monthly newsletter.
Social Initiative
• Involved with an NGO for past 3 years. Working as a treasurer now. During my time I organized events to raise fund for the NGO and used the same money to prevent cow smuggling and prevent slaughtering of cows in the small villages of Haryana.
• A short 3 months internship at AIESEC under the program Iccha, to help slum children identify the basic cause of malaise. Helped them identify major pollutants and areas acting as a breeding ground of mosquitoes. Drafted a survey on the area visited and was adopted as a blue print by the local residents to palliate the waste.
• Worked for 5 months at Children Home, Delhi Government foster home to orphan kids. Provided pedagogy to students and was involved in various teaching drives organized at foster home during those 5 moths.
• Active member of CSR committee of my organization. Awarded for an active role in donation and social drives.

My target schools are Yale, Booth, Ross, Anderson, Tuck, Stern, Hass, Insead, Kellogg, ISB, Stanford GSB, LBS, Tepper and Johnson. Is it too ambitious or can I count some of them as moderate ? if yes, which one ?

Well done on the GMAT! And you certainly have a range of activities and contributions to offer. You seem like a bit of a Renaissance man. Alas, you are also coming from a very competitive profile and I think your list is a bit too aggressive. I would say that schools like GSB, Haas, LBS, INSEAD, Tuck, Booth, UCLA and Kellogg may be out of reach for various reasons. In addition to Tepper, Cornell, and Ross I would look at some other schools in that ranking range--like McCombs, Flagler... Or grow that side business to a much higher dollar level and apply later on down the road!

Good Luck!

Alex

1) Brief description of full-time work experience
I am working for a $3.1Bn company Tech Mahindra as a tech consultant for HCM domain.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Description of my duties.

Tech Mahindra (Hyderabad, India) Feb ‘14 - Present
A global provider of network technology solutions and business support services to the telecommunications industry
Human Capital Management | Functional Consultant
 Spearheaded the implementation of end to end performance cycle for Benefits HR module for a $xxxx project
 Managed a team of 2 for the quality assurance activities of various HCM modules
 Developed functional design documents for maintenance of Oracle FUSION by gathering requirements through interviews with various functional stakeholders
 Acted as a subject matter expert and trainer to the team of 4 and the client on FUSION HCM domain.
 Participated in multiple Business Development activities and worked with solutions team to respond to complex Request-for-Proposal (RFP)
 Formulated the implementation guides outside the project scope for the client, as a value added activity and helped the organization to win the implementation project

Oracle (Hyderabad, India) Oct ‘11 - Feb ‘14
Multinational company specialized in developing and marketing computer hardware systems and enterprise software products
Fusion ERP | Quality Assurance Engineer (Oct ‘11 – Mar’13), Senior Quality Assurance Engineer (Mar’13 - Feb ‘14)
 Led the cross functional team in strategic assessment of new product launch. Conducted performance analysis by executing the Release Readiness Flow transactions before the application roll-out
 Performed the initial implementation to setup the application in every release for further transactions by other teams in India, USA and China
 Developed rigorous use cases to deliver a bug free application to the client and enhance customer relations
 Conceptualized the Release Readiness Flows and saved 800 man-hours amounting to $24k
 Created a training program for new recruits about the technical and business know-how of the product. This reduced the average ramp up time, and was used by 4 other teams
 Maintained the use case database for further use and reduced the execution time by 25%, saving $ 60k
 Successfully participated in business development activities for a multi-million $ deal with ING
 Accelerated promotion ahead of the requisite experience required for the role.


Infosys (Hyderabad, India) Sep ‘09 - Oct ‘11
Indian multinational corporation providing business consulting, information technology, software, and outsourcing services
Oracle Fusion ERP | Test Engineer
 Interfaced with onsite stakeholders for requirement gathering and managed the weekly communication which facilitated knowledge sharing and enhanced customer relations.
 Received accolades by the internal leadership and the client for designing test-fixtures as required per the client requirement, test plan and test standards
 Resolved customer defects by collaborating with internal product teams and external client stakeholders
 Rated as the 4th best employee in the project and got nominated for “Employee of the project” award by the Senior Leadership


2) GMAT-760(Q50 V42 IR8 AWA5.5)

3) College info:
GPA: 72/100 Jaypee Institute of Information Technology NOIDA, India
Published a research Paper on "Voice Controlled Wheel Chair" as a part of the final year project

4) Significant college and post-college extra-curricular activities or community service

Badminton district level player.
Cricket awards at Oracle
Painting awards at Oracle


COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Teach For India (Hyderabad, Indian) May ‘11 - Apr‘13
Ambassador to Oracle and Infosys and conducted events to introduce Teach for India’s mission and opportunities to employees

Make A Difference (Hyderabad, Indian) May ‘11 - Apr ‘12
Taught English to underprivileged children and conducted career workshops to expose them to future opportunities

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
 Completed the “Oracle Fusion Human Capital Management 11g Human Resource essentials” certification. To become and Oracle certified HCM specialist
 Tied for best rated moderator on GMAT Club
 Was ranked 8th in my state against 500 other athletes in 2009 and played for Oracle in corporate tournaments-

Planning to start up a firm for GMAT preparation.
Undergoing some relevant courses for MBA at Coursera
Planning to add another language to my resume


5) Target programs:
Ross, Duke, Tuck, Kellogg, Tepper, May be UNC-KF, ISB
I am a reapplicant at all of these schools. I was accepted by Tepper, but could not attend the program due to financial constraints as I did not receive any scholarship.
Waitlisted at UNC, NUS Singapore, and then finally not accepted after two rounds.
Invited for interview at Tuck, but was not accepted. The feedback call suggested to research more about Tuck, connect current work to your goals in a better way and bring a wow factor in the interview
Rest, not accepted without interview.

Last year, I applied to a bunch of schools without a strategy, so want to improve upon that.
Any other school you would like to suggest?

6) Post-MBA goal.
Consulting in the Education Domain.

Can you please comment on the selection of my schools. Also, if you have any other suggestions for me.

Well, you would not be getting bites and acceptances if there was not a lot of positive energy to your profile. Your GMAT rocks and you have worked at some very well known companies. I had a Mahindra client this past season and he is going to Booth! But based on the feedback from Tuck and the waitlists, you can make improvements to your essays and interviewing. Be careful with career goals--even in this forum you are talking both about educational consulting and starting your own GMAT prep firm. Don't send mixed signals!

My suggestion is even if you are not interested in using a consultant for a full engagement, get one for some hourly help on reviewing your essays and mock interviewing. I can't tell you how often qualified candidates sink themselves.

If Ed is your passion, also consider Yale as a reach school.



Regards,

Alex

Hi Alex,

Thanks a lot for the reply. Yes, I need to work on my goal and connecting in to my work in the application and the interview.

A small doubt though, If I open up a GMAT preparation firm, wouldn't it be seen as a step towards my goal?
Also, what kind of roles do education consultants perform. I know you are en education consultant, apart from your role, what other roles are there?

Thanks and Regards,
Ankur

Well, yes, starting a firm in the ed space can be good. Of course, if you are about to start a venture then adcoms may not get why you want to go to b school now vs building it. If the firm has already not been launched, then I would consider holding off, as even a small revenue/recently started venture will not make a huge impact on your app.

In terms of ed consulting, people consult in that industry if they have been involved with things like teacher training/evaluation, curriculum development, organizational growth and hr....as you really have not worked in ed full time, I would avoid pushing that kind of goal for now as you don't have the industry expertise. Maybe working at an ed company like Teach for America/India, a private school system in India, or an educational media company (given your tech background) might be a better move.