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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

Dear Experts,

I am an Indian male, 28 years old.

I have a dual degree BE honors civil engineering and MBA degree from BITS Pilani (5 years, with 1 full year internships, coursework completed in 4
years, GPA 6.98/10 ).

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, was responsible for official fest website and social media accounts, nothing much post college.

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

Post MBA want to get into consultancy.

Confused about which schools to target, don't know about the strength of my profile.

Planning to apply this year.

Regards,
Shashank

Dear Accepted. com Experts,
I'm preparing for MBA application now and still not sure what school is right for me. I'm looking for 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!

Hello All,

I am looking to apply for part-time MBA programs.

profile: Indian male currently working in USA.

1) Undergrad: Engineering (First Class with distinction, 75.22/100)
2) Masters : USA, Electrical & Computer (GPA= 4.0/4.0)
3) Total 7 years of professional experience - 4 Years as Lead.
4) topper in maths in high school, topper in Masters - got full tuition waiver for my master program.
5) NGO work - 6 years (thou, I stared at the young age fo 14 years and was part of high school & undergrad activities as part of Bharat scouts & NCC, companies NGO participation)
6) achievements at work, NGO and sports activities

I am looking for the following schools in order of priority - specialization in Technology Consulting.
1) Foster evening MBA UWashington Seattle -
2) EMBA Broad MSU - ( can apply for GMAT waiver based on my Masters GPA)
3) Gonzueita evening MBA -
4) Schellar, Georgia Tech evening mba

Can someone please let me know which colleges I can get an admit. if not, my weak areas in the profile

Thank you in Advance.

Female, US Citizen, South Asian descent (but born and raised here)

GMAT 730 Quant 48 Verbal 42

Education
Cornell University, 2011, BA, Economics, GPA 3.2
Johns Hopkins, 2013, Evening Masters Program, Energy and Climate Policy, GPA 3.5

College Activities
Business team leader of Cornell University Solar Decathlon - this drove me to pursue a career in energy and sustainability
Serve as a College Ambassador for both Cornell and my Johns Hopkins Program

Community Activities
Pro Bono consulting through Compass Pro Bono for a Sustainable Agriculture nonprofit
Pitching a comedy drama show/screenplay that I've been working on for the last year
Improv

Work Experience
Federal Government (FERC) for almost 3 years
Consulting in Energy Efficiency for a year and a half
Utility for 6 months (will be a year upon matriculation)

I had to leave my consulting gig because the company was not getting work and was going under! Switched to the utility world, which has been great, but I want to pursue business school right now. Should I explain this in my application?

In my application, I'm going to stress my career in the energy industry. I want to work in the social/technological innovation space as a thought leader, focusing on solutions to our energy problems.

Any insight would be great (let me know if you have additional questions)! I just took the GMAT yesterday and am applying R2, so it's going to be a hustle! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE HELP!

Background: 24 y/o White Male

Concerns:

1. I missed a number of classes in a literature elective my junior year due to illness (unexcused, so I was technically in the wrong), my professor was unforgiving, and he flunked me for the course. Trying to overcome what I assume is a pretty costly blemish in the eyes of admissions officers, and I'd love any insights you may have.

2. Should I try to switch into either a corporate strategy / direct investment role at another firm and wait before applying? I'm worried that BlackRock isn't a "gold-level" feeder firm into top three business schools.

School Applying to: HBS, GSB, Wharton

Undergrad Institution: H / P / Y

Undergrad GPA: 3.52 (with the F..., ~3.65 without)

Major: International Affairs, with a focus on International Trade; Minor in Theater.

GMAT: 780 (Q 49, V 51)

Languages: Spanish

Work Experience: Internship with a public sector banking group (think Bank of America, JPMorgan, Citi) after sophomore year. Spent ~five months working for the White House Council of Economic Advisers as a research analyst in the trade policy concentration, then spent two years working for BlackRock's Financial Markets Advisory Group in New York (advises government institutions like the Federal Reserve, Her Majesty's Treasury, ECB).

Quant Experience: Introductory micro + macro. Intermediate micro. Introductory and intermediate political statistics. Econometrics. Latin American political economy. Course on innovation. Seminar on the Federal Reserve. No accounting / pure finance classes.

Strength of LoR 1: Dean of the College, with whom I've taken three seminars. Likely best LoR.

Strength of LoR 2: Managing Director from BlackRock, who has extensive policy experience from working at the NY Fed. Quite close with him, so I'm hopeful this will be cogent as well.

GMAT - 650
Under graduation - Delhi College Of Engineering, 64%
Work Ex - 4years, in core construction as Planning engineer
at Mega construction projects like Delhi Metro, Jaipur Metro,
Major skills include - costing, budgeting, cash flow, cost flow, scheduling, project management, PMG, Resource optimization and tendering

Entrepreneurial experience - started 2 online ventures - failed; now in progress with my 3rd starup

NGO- active team member (corporate relations and coordinator) at Happy Horizons since 2013 - NGO education underprivileged children

Family Business - Have past experience at my family business too, sales monitoring, claims preparation, mobile distribution business in a district. Controlled region of more than 20 Million Rupees.

Additional Experiences - Doing additional courses like Six Sigma certification, Etc

Extracurriculars - Creative writing - Blog writing, college newspaper editor, Magazine editor of my company, Content developer at NGo-happy horizons

Hello,

You have an interesting and strong profile overall! Your excellent GMAT and solid grad GPA will do much to mitigate the somewhat low undergrad GPA. In addition, your range of work experiences (plus of course your grad education) give you broad and deep preparation for your goals – together they illustrate your commitment to this path.

I do think you’ll need to explain “why now” for the MBA – actually many goals questions ask this specifically. But that’s not because there’s a problem or question about your work/career path – most if not all applicants have to explain why now is the right time for them to pursue an MBA.

I suggest going deep into your experience as a differentiating factor, to the extent feasible given the particular applications. You have an interesting relative sense of this industry given your work in consulting, government, traditional utilities, sustainability (from your volunteering), etc. You’ll bring a really informed voice and perspective in this critical industry and arena.

Your list of schools is on target I believe – HBS will obviously be a huge reach, but it makes sense to apply. There are other great programs to consider if you wish to broaden your list – Darden and NYU come to mind.

Good luck!

Even with the F you present a strong academic record – although of course you should briefly and straightforwardly explain the grade in an optional essay or additional info section.

One factor that will have a bearing on your competitiveness that I can’t tell from your write-up is your career track record. I see WHAT you do, and it looks very interesting and potentially an acceptable level, but did you excel among accomplished peers; can you cite a strong track record of impact and leadership? These also are things the adcoms will look for.

Assuming you DO have a strong performance record, right now, the schools you mention are all reasonable reaches – but they always will be, because they are highly competitive. Since you are only 24, I believe it makes sense to apply, because you are well qualified. With great applications, you’ll have a quite reasonable shot at admission at one or more of the schools. Worst case scenario you’re not admitted – but there is no downside really to being a reapplicant to these schools, so, to me, it makes sense to go for it now.

Hi,

My question is a bit unconventional. I applied to CBS, Wharton, Tuck, LBS , Booth and Stern for R1. After securing interview from all the schools except CBS. My results were:
Wharton - waitlist after interview
Booth - ding after interview
LBS - waitlist
Tuck - waitlist
CBS - ding without interview
Stern - admitted

My profile is given below.

4 years when I join-2 years in a niche Financial Consultancy, worked with Bank Front Office teams in India and Singapore on valuation post global financial crisis
2 years - Thomson Reuters (Singapore) - in a pre- sales role, involved in revenue generation and interacting with business stake holders focusing more on buy-side clients.Managing client expectations, proposing and designing solutions. Geographic mandate includes South Asia and have travelled to 8 different countries within region for client meetings.

2) GMAT - 760 (99 percentile, Q-51 (97) , V- 41 (94), AWA -5)

3) Indian Institute of Technology - Bombay, GPA -7.8/10, Bachelors in Chemical Engineering

4) Managing investments for friends and relatives (140 K USD) in Indian debt and equity markets for last 3 years
Part of Foundation at current organization and have participated and led multiple drives for raising funds and creating awareness against human trafficking
Part of Debating club, co-founder first-ever National Debate in the institute.Led a team of 25 co-ordinators to organize the event
Won prizes in debating at college and national tournaments
Volunteered as a teacher and content planner for NGO which helps in child education for almost a year

5) CFA and FRM charters

6)Make a long term career in investment management.

Currently, I am very close to securing a role as risk analyst at a leading sovereign wealth fund(SWF). Given my current results and the offer from SWF, would it make sense to pursue Stern or gain an additional year of experience and re-try again next year at schools like CBS, Booth. How do these schools view re-applicants?

Looking forward to your reply.

Hi all,

this year I will be applying to MiM programmes at several universities in Europe. I have a question regarding my cv and mentioning my high school diplomas.

I graduated from high school in Germany with the normal Abitur like everyone else. Additionally, at my school we were given the opportunity to do the international baccalaureate on the side.
So I did that as well. The thing is, on the one hand this is quite rare so it might help me differentiate myself a bit and it shows that I am willing to work hard. On the other hand my IB is pretty mediocre with 34 points. That's not terrible, but my Abitur is a bit better and my Bachelor's degree will be significantly better. My GMAT score is 750.

So no now the question is whether I should mention my IB in addition to my Abitur. I feel that if grades are very important I'd better leave it out, but I am not sure on how important they are to application commities.

Thanks a lot in advance for your advice.

i Guys,

I am Indian Male with GMAT of 650 (Q49, V29), Chartered Accountant with 11 year of Work Ex (Worked with GlaxoSmithKline, Hersheys, General Mills, Gulf Oil).

I am applying in 3rd round at Broad (Michigan State)...any feedback on the application.

Regards

Vish

Hi Tiger,

You have to do the first two items and possibly the last two also:

1. Address the circumstances surrounding the F. Take responsibility for any mistakes.
2. Provide strong compelling reasons for acceptance. You have lots of them above. Black Rock to my knowledge has a good name. So if you are moving up at Black Rock, don't feel compelled to change jobs. If you are stagnating, then make a move.
3. Consider other schools that may be more willing to overlook the F given everything else you have going for you and that will help you achieve your goals.
4. Put a little more time between your undergrad record and your application. Don't apply this cycle; wait at least until next cycle. I'm not saying it's impossible for you to get in now, but a little more time may help.

Please see:

MBA Admissions A-Z: U is for Undergrad Grades

5 A’s for Your Low GPA

Best,
Linda

Age : 25
Educational Qualifications : Bachelors in Applied Petroleum Engineering
CGPA : 2.97, Equivalent percentage : 79.40%
Year of passing : 2012
Location :India

GMAT:710
10th: 89.8%
12th: 86.4%
TOEFL: 115


Work Experience
4 Years (By the time I will start applying it will be 5 yrs) in Reliance Industries Ltd. (India's largest private company with more than 40000 employees)
- Working as Workover Engineer (planning, executing and managing drilling and workover operations of oil and gas wells)
- Managing a team of 20+ engineers directly and more than 200 employees indirectly.
- Managing 200+ sites and 10+ Rigs (In-charge of all rigs).
- Revised and implemented operations procedures that led to reduction in down time from 15%(approx) to <2% effectively saving more than $5,000,000
- Take mentoring classes for new recruits (fresh graduates) and provide training to them about different oil and gas field operations.

Extracurriculars
- Teaching orphans, underprivileged children and illiterate adults via NGO subjects like Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Computers( More than 3 yrs now.)
- Team member of project's Table Tennis and Badminton team.
- Organized Free Health and Eye checkup camps, and Blood donation camps in various villages in India since 2013 , held half yearly. (Through company's CSR policy)

Target 1 : Full time MBA 2 years at a leading college
Target 2 : M Finance at a leading college

My questions :

1. An honest opinion about where I stand
2. What could I do to improve my case ?
3. As per my case, which are the schools that I should be looking at ?

1. You have strong work experience and some interesting community service. Your work experience is probably the most impressive part of your profile.
2. Raise your GMAT. clarify your goals. I'm assuming your work has an international component. If not, get international experience.

Please respond to the unanswered question in the second post in this thread and I'll do my best to answer #3 regarding MBA programs.

Linda

HI,

Thank you guys very much for doing this. Could you evaluate my profile? I am looking to move into ERP consulting in Manufacturing / Supply Chain Management domains.

Age : 29

1) Brief description of your full-time work experience. What do you do?



- Graduated with a B'Tech degree in EEE (Electrical and Electronics Engineering) in 2007 from a local college in Hyderabad, AP.
- Joined IBM as an associate systems engineer in Sept'07.
- Left IBM in Oct'08 to join BHEL as an Electrical Engineer. Working there presently. Total workEx - 8 Years +
- Posted to Pumps Division, oversee product testing (Technical evaluation, testing management, lead a team of 5 workers, 2 supervisors, 1 engineer)
- No noteworthy ECA. Implemented some good project in BHEL (Technical stuff, but lead a team of 2)


2) Your GMAT/GRE with breakdown, preferably in percentiles.

- Yet to take.

3) College info: The name of the college, your GPA or grade average, your major, year of graduation. For any graduate degrees, please provide the same info. If you grades are low, please indicate if there were extenuating circumstances.

- DVR College of Engineering, B'Tech EEE - 77.4 %

4) Significant college and post-college extra-curricular activities or community service, especially leadership experience.

- Nothing noteworthy.

5) Important certifications like CFA, CPA, FSA, or CA.

- None

6) Your target programs. Please note that our experience is with the top MBA programs (FT, PT, EMBA, Sloan Fellows) around the world. If the programs you are targeting are not listed here, we may not respond due to lack of time.

ISB / IIM Executive programs.
7) When you plan to apply? Please specify round and application cycle, for example R2 2015-16 or R1 2016-17.

R1-2017-18

8) Your post-MBA goal.

- Make a career change into ERP consulting in Supply Chain Management / Logistics / Manufacturing

Can't comment on IIM, but if your GMAT is competitive at ISB, then the other elements you presented are also competitive and you have a chance.