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Richard Ivey MBA - Top MBA in Canada Essay Analysis 2015

Ivey MBA essays 2015 have not changed at all from last year (2014-15), and remain exactly the same for the 2016 intake as well. However, rather than go over a detailed analysis of these essays from last year (which we already did in this post), we will go over some points of learning and some advice based on our work with many applicants last year.

Ivey MBA essays 2015-16: Top tips to keep in mind
Most applicants found just two essays as part of the Ivey MBA application to be insufficient. Many felt that they had much more to speak of, and the essay topics did not allow them to do that. While we understand that, applicants also need to understand that they need to operate within the constraints of what is available, and try to sharpen their preparation to give their best to these two 250-word essays. Successful applicants addressed the issues asked for in these essays well rather than worry about what they could not address.

Stick to the Ivey MBA essay core topics

The MBA Optional Essay – Is it Really Optional?

The MBA Optional Essay is a bit of an enigma to most MBA applicants when they first see it. For most people preparing their MBA applications, the other essays adequately cover the applicant’s career goals, reasons for choosing the relevant school, and key achievements and learning. The optional essay therefore presents an opportunity to provide yet more information, but in most cases, applicants are not clear about what exactly it should contain. As a result, many applicants tend to use this essay to provide random information, extend other essays, or make a further case for their candidature. This article attempts to remove the confusion underlying the content of the optional essay, and presents a few scenarios on how it should be used.

How to Use the MBA Optional Essay Wisely

5 Don'ts for ISB MBA Admissions You Should Know

Every year, thousands of students apply to ISB. Many of them have strong GMAT scores, good academic profiles and work experience, and a high likelihood of success at the ISB admissions process. Yet, many year, many deserving candidates fail to make it to ISB in spite of these credentials. GyanOne has worked with many reapplicants, helping them to make it to ISB the following year. Yet, this article is not about us – it is about ISB applicants themselves, and how they can avoid some common mistakes that can lead to the rejection of their candidature at ISB.

ISB Application Mistake 1: Not Understanding the Process

Life at ISB: Campus, Teaching, Placements and Peers

ISB Hyderabad. Almost every Indian MBA applicants aspires to get into this top ranked MBA institute. And Why not? It is not just management education that you go his institute for. It is an experience in its own.

Campus: ‘One school, two campuses’ is what was reiterated time and time again during the earlier days to get it through to our stubborn heads that both the Hyderabad and Mohali campuses have exact modus operandi. And gradually we got to see that the professors teaching in Mohali travels to Hyderabad for the next term and vice versa to keep the academics seemingly indistinguishable. I know there are a whole lot of state of the art campuses in India, but ISB campuses are beyond the lifeless buildings shining under careful investment…it is an example of flawless operations and most humane maintenance system some 770 individual will agree on never seeing before every year.

ISB Hyderabad Teaching, Peers and Placements

Hi,

I have read the posts about ISB and really want your expert eye to evaluate my profile.

Ethnicity: Indian Male
Qualification: B. Tech (Electrical Engg.) with 73% aggregate.
10th std: 91%
12th std: 93%

Work-Ex: 48 months as on date.

(1) Currently working at BHEL (eminent PSU of India in Manufacturing sector) as a Design Engineer for the last 42 months. Have been on many tours with team-lead roles (though teams consisted of 2 to 5 people only).

(2) Worked in Power Sector company for 6 months, prior to BHEL. Underwent a formal Power Generation Training at NPTI (Professional Power Training Instt. under Govt of India)

Extra-curriculars: (1) Been a consistent winner since school time in literary competitions.
(2) School Captain (Head Boy) during 12th std.
(3) Co-ordinating team member in College Annual Fest.
(4) Good hobbies
(5) No significant social service

GMAT: 690 (Q48, V35)

(1) Please evaluate my chances at ISB this year, my pitfalls in profile or elsewhere.

(2) Im planning to take GMAT next month and im really tensed to get a better score. Is it genuine? I mean how strong are my chances with a 690?

AA2014,

As a public-sector candidate, you are high on the diversity factor and that will help you. We don't really have too much insight into your actual role at BHEL, given what you have posted, but assuming that it is engineering related. By 'tours', we assume you mean multiple assignments in different places, and that is always a big positive. You are well set from the work experience perspective. Acads are also good.

On the ECA side, some of your ECA activities seem a little dated (for example, the Head Boy achievement is now 8+ years old), and the fest co-ordination part is not going to be a heavyweight. Perhaps you have some ECA activities done in college and thereafter that you have missed mentioning.

On your chances, if you are retaking, of course aim for 720 or above. With a 690, you do have a chance, especially as you come from a PSU, but your chances will be more concrete with a higher score.

All the best and feel free to come back with more questions or clarifications as needed.

hi,

First of all thanks a lot for such a lucid reply and evaluation of my profile.

(1) yes at BHEL, im in the core Electrical Engg sector.
(2) By "Tours" i mean that I've led many on-site troubleshooting and product commissioning teams which involved direct customer dealing, engineering expert job as well as managing on-site problems.
(3) You are probably right on the ECA though since I'm struggling on how to highlight them in my essay as well. During college i was part of College Dramatics team as an actor and later on as a Director and organizer of street play events etc for my team. We even participated in a national level comptt organised by UTV-BINDASS channel.
Also, my hobby is poetry writing and i maintain a journal and blog that i can show to Ad-Com (if at all i get an interview call and they ask me about it).

(4) My boss is very much reluctant of people leaving the company, so im struggling with LOR issue and i think that might trouble me a bit.

So, in the light of above factors, I just wanna ask the biggest question that's worrying me this month: How tensed should i be for my GMAT as its taking its toll since i dont know how much chances i have with a 690.

An honest yet optimistic word from you would do the trick i suppose.

Thanks for reading.

First things first - don't be tense about your GMAT at all. Being tense will only lead to poorer performance than what you are capable of. If you need some motivation, know this - even if you don't do very well on your retake, your 690 is still very viable for you to apply with.

Your ECA activities, the way you have described them now, are good. The street play part is awesome. The poetry writing part is good, though the AdCom won't ask you for your work to believe you (you can still show it to them if you want, that's fine).

On the LOR, perhaps you can ask someone else to give you a reco (a superior), and explain in the optional essay why you did not take it from your boss.

Feel free to come back with further questions.

you have truly lifted a rock off my chest by those posts of yours. I'll definitely try my best for my retake and will let you know of my progress.

Thanks a lot. Really.

6 Ways To Improve Your Profile for Top MBA

Applying for MBA admissions soon? Deadlines that are still six months (or even more than an year) away may lull you into a fall sense of security of being well-prepared or having ‘enough time’ to work on those applications when they are due. If you are aiming for top schools, though (from Wharton, Stanford, MIT, and Tuck to INSEAD, LBS, ISB, or HKUST), you need to start looking at your profile now. Applying to top programs is not just about filling in applications. It is also about addressing the gaps in your profile, so you can present the best ‘you’ to the admissions committees. This article aims to give you some advice on how to improve your profile for MBA admissions.

By the time the deadlines are at striking distance, and you begin working on your applications, there will be no time for you to address these gaps. At that stage, the best you could do would be to prepare to explain the gaps well. Therefore, act now.

How to Improve Profile for MBA Admissions

IE Business School: Why Should you Consider this Top European MBA?

IE Business School, ranked 12 as per FT Global MBA rankings, boasts of an extremely diverse class profile with students from more than 70+ nationalities. Udit Bhatnagar, a GyanOne client, looks forward to start his MBA journey at IE and explains his reasons to select this European MBA program, despite the ‘economic conditions’ in Europe.

What attracted you towards Europe?

Like most other MBA aspirants I too was contemplating between US and Europe as an MBA destination. But my confusion didn’t last long as I was very clear to take up the 1-year program. If we look at some of the rankings, then European schools dominate the list when it comes to the shorter duration MBA programs. Also, top European schools offer the opportunity to learn a new culture, language and provide a diverse experience of 80+ nationalities in a single intake.

Opportunities at IE

HKUST is the Top MBA choice in Asia Today: Here is Why

Perhaps the best way to define the HKUST MBA program is through the modified tagline of a famous tourism promotion campaign that used to run in the early 2000s: HKUST – truly Asia. Besides the fact that it is Asia’s top ranked MBA program, the HKUST MBA is also known for its strong Asia focus, its top-notch international faculty, and its focus on developing well-rounded business leaders. The HKUST Business School is committed to delivering a world class quality of business education and offering an exceptional learning experience to our students. It has implemented the following new initiatives in the recent past for MBA students and will continue to strengthen these areas and develop students to be future business leaders.

Enhancing professional skills

The Professional Week is a credit bearing program delivered by four of its leading faculty with expertise in consulting, marketing, finance, and management. Together they guide students to deliver winning business presentations, a feat vital for consultants and client-facing roles.

The iPad Portal

The IE Business School Adcom Advices Indian MBA Applicants

Think of an MBA in Europe, and IE Business School in Spain immediately strikes one as a top option, not just in the region, but around the world. Ranked #11 in the World (FT ranking 2013), the program rates highly in comparison to other comparable programs in Europe, such as INSEAD and IMD. The European economy in general and the Spanish economy in particular, though, have caused some concern in the minds of potential applicants. In this interview with GyanOne, Eliana El Hage, Associate Director at IE Business School, discusses the school’s value proposition, career opportunities in Europe, IE MBA Admissions, and career statistics at IE Business School. Thank you, Eliana, for your time, and your perspectives!

GyanOne: IE Business School has been in the FT top 10 consistently and is considered one of the best options for an MBA in Europe. What are the USPs of the program for international applicants?

Eliana El Hage, IE MBA Admissions: While the program has many unique factors, I would emphasize most on the following three:

The diversity of the class is one of the highest worldwide, not only in terms of nationality but also in terms of backgrounds which is quite interesting and contributes a lot to the class discussions
We have top notch students combined with top notch faculty from all over the world. Many of our faculty members are practitioners so they share their experience in the corporate world with the students
Our practical approach based on the case method where students are constantly wearing the consultant shoes and giving solutions to real life cases

GyanOne’s Interview with the IE MBA

Low GMAT? Read these MBA Success Stories with Low GMAT

Have a low GMAT but high aspirations? Far too many MBA applicants think that this is an obvious mismatch, but it may not necessarily be! This still does not mean that the doors to all top MBA programs are open wide for you, but it does mean that not all doors are closed either! Over the years, we have seen (and fashioned!) many low GMAT MBA success stories. This post is our attempt to explain what may be the possibilities if you have a low GMAT score but are still aiming for the top programs.

What does a low GMAT MBA aspiration really mean?
We think it is important to set the context here. How is a low GMAT score really defined? For some people, a GMAT score below 700 is too low. For others, that figure is 650 or even lower. The truth is, your GMAT score is low or high in relation to the programs you are targeting AND how your profile fits with that program. For instance, a non-profit professional applying to Yale with a lower GMAT score might still have as good a chance of getting in than an IT developer with a score 40 points higher. So look at your own score in the context of what you are aiming for.

How to overcome a low GMAT score – step by step

Richard Ivey MBA Admissions Team Interview with GyanOne

While applicants to top US B-schools often look at the Ivy League, those looking at Canada instead compare with the “Ivey League”. The “Ivey League”, as we at GyanOne call it, is the group of top Canadian B-schools, which includes (and gets its name from) the Richard Ivey School of Business. As noted in an earlier post, Ivey is one of Canada’s best B-schools, and is noted for its excellent focus on learning, its 12-month duration, and the high salaries that its graduates command in Canada and even outside. GyanOne caught up with Greg Yantz, Director, MBA Recruiting and Admissions at Ivey Business School (University of Western Ontario), to get his views on the school, admissions and financial aid, and post-MBA careers for Ivey students and graduates. Thanks Greg, for your time and patience, and for your excellent perspectives that will help applicants evaluate the Ivey MBA better.

The school and the program
GyanOne: The Richard Ivey MBA has been growing in leaps and bounds, and its students currently enjoy the enviable position of being Canada’s highest-paid B-school graduates (source: Financial Times MBA Ranking 2013). What are the key parameters for which top students choose Ivey over other options in Canada and the US?

Greg Yantz, Ivey MBA Admissions Team: There are 5 distinguishing characteristics of the Ivey MBA, which are exciting opportunities for individuals who are considering where to pursue an MBA and which attract students to Ivey:

1) Experiential learning, or “learning-by-doing” that makes use of the Ivey Case-Method;

2) Who Ivey students learn with, namely the high quality of classmates who have a diversity of work experiences to share with the class;

3) What is learned, meaning the important practice of decision making on a daily basis and the overall leadership essentials that Ivey teaches;

4) Access to the global network of Ivey alumni; and 5) the importance of Ivey Career Management where the mandate is to provide the tools and resources necessary to navigate one’s career well into the future.

GyanOne: The case method of instruction is Ivey’s hallmark. Yet, many feel that a learning methodology that is entirely case-based will not be as effective as others that involve a mix of other methods. How true or false is this notion?

Greg Yantz, Ivey MBA Admissions Team:Ivey MBA classes use much more than just cases; we make use of textbooks, journal articles, simulations, and other types of learning materials. But cases are a focus of our philosophy of teaching and learning, and we are one of just four truly case-method schools in the world. Using over 300 cases during the program allows students a hands-on, decision-based approach to problem-solving; not only understanding or thinking about a problem, but actually practising how to solve it. Ivey Case-Method is a collision of theory and practice and is part of individual, small team, and classroom learning at Ivey

Richard Ivey MBA Admissions Team Interviews

What does Johnson Cornell Consider in Indian MBA Applications?

GyanOne interviewed Christine E. Sneva, Executive Director, Johnson Cornell MBA admissions, to help Indian applicants from the consulting and IT backgrounds understand the Johnson Cornell MBA application process better.

GyanOne: The Cornell MBA has fast been gaining a reputation as the program of choice for applicants looking at careers in Consulting. The Consulting Program at Johnson is the only offering of its kind among top schools, after all. Yet, many applicants who wish to get into consulting come from backgrounds in manufacturing, IT, operations, and marketing. How can applicants best prepare themselves in their applications when showcasing a career switch to consulting?

Christine: I am glad to hear about your enthusiasm for our approach to preparing our students for consulting careers. The consulting focus at Johnson is a comprehensive, structured program that we refer to as the “Consulting Passport.” Our students gain a better understanding of careers in consulting, extensive case interview preparation and we are dedicated to helping our students develop the skills and knowledge necessary for a successful transition or continuation in consulting. For those that wish to be successful at such a career switch and therefore in the admissions process, we hope you are able to exhibit the same qualities that employers in this industry are looking to see from the training in our MBA program. *Characteristics include: ability to work on a team, track record of success and initiative, and good business acumen.

Johnson Cornell MBA Admissions Team’s Interview with GyanOne

Hello,

I would like to thank you in advance for doing this. I am not completely convinced that an MBA would be right choice for me. But anyway I would like to gauge where my candidacy stands against my peers for business schools.

My profile:
Indian Male; Age: 29
GMAT: 690
Undergrad: IU Kelley ; GPA: 3.25; Major: Finance
Grad School: WUSTL Olin, Master's in Finance: GPA: 3.6

I worked in the family business for about 6 months. The business has annual revenues approx. $15-$20MM and is a real estate development and constructions business.

After grad school, I got this unique opportunity to work for this small VC firm in Singapore as an Investment Analyst. And that's what I have been doing for the last 3.5 years.
The firm that I work for has a unique business model, we basically are a sales accelerator for high-tech european/american mid-sized companies in Asia through an equity aligned model. It is kinda hard to describe but basically we invest in western mid-sized high-tech firms and bring them to Asia. Help them rigorously to expand throughout Asia and exit in about 3-5 years. We as a firm are involved heavily in the whole life cycle of all the companies in our portfolio.

My role entails almost everything, I do research and due diligence to pick new companies, I have been involved in the negotiations of these deals, and then I am usually involved in overseeing their day to day operations for the first 4-8 months till we can set everything together and after that I usually oversee the firms in a financial capacity quarterly. For the past year or so I have been supervising two analysts. Before that as an analyst I supervised a couple of interns.

Through my role, I have gone on roadshows all across Asia to find new clients for these firms, helped/pitched for these firms to get more financing from Asian VCs, interviewed and recruited people to work in these firms, made great contacts throughout Asia and learnt a huge amount about new technologies mostly.

No extra-curricular after college really.

I don't want to waste two years getting an MBA which isn't not H/S/W. I currently don't think my profile would provide me with strong chance of getting in those schools. So, I primarily focused on 1 yr MBAs.

My school choices are Kellogg, INSEAD, Cornell, Oxford, Cambridge. I would love to get any school recommendations.

My career choice post-MBA is the same as now which is 1) Larger VC firm; 2) Investment fund focused on Consumer/tech/retail; 3) Tech strategy F500. I would like to stay in Asia for work.

Thanks for your evaluation and comments.