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GMATworm100

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Re: Ask ApplicantLab [#permalink]

12 Apr 2019, 22:09

Hi Maria. I emailed you a week ago and you've led me to this thread. Would love a profile review. Will apply to Oxbridge MBAs next year (4 years WE at matriculation, age 25) so I'm wondering what my chances are right now and what I can do to strengthen my application to make me competitive for scholarships.

Background and nationality: Citizen of a South East Asian (SEA) country. Ethnicity is mixed: SEAn and East Asian.

Age and gender: 23 male (25 by matriculation)

Undergrad Information: Top 2 university in my country, does not rank well globally. Majored in a quantitative business course. GPA converts to slightly below 3.65 (no grade inflation).

GMAT: Yet to take. Practice CATs hover above 700, but I'm targeting a 730.

Work experience and leadership: 2 years (as of right now) in a middle market bank working in Equity Research as a covering associate (so 4 years by matriculation if I apply next year, with a promotion to analyst by then hopefully). Very client-facing. Also informally work (multiple non-hands on roles such as some asset management and HR recruiting) in a diversified family business that's considered medium-sized in my country. Eight digit annual revenues in USD.

International experience: Have gone to business trips to other Asian countries. Constantly in contact with international buy-side clients across the globe.

Community and others: Had strong leadership roles in a charity-based UG org. Semi-active after as a consultant to the org. Plan to be a lot more active.

Post MBA goals: I will run the medium-sized family business one day, and an MBA would help with the network, learning, and reputation. These things are important because: 1. we have been dealing with more international clients lately, 2. reputation helps in making deals and gaining clients, and 3. reputation helps because I plan to IPO one of the companies we hold.

Anything else? Took summer courses in top unis in UK and an East-Asian country.

Cheers!

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kumawatpriyank

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Re: Ask ApplicantLab [#permalink]

14 Apr 2019, 10:03

Hi Maria,
Request you to evaluate my profile.

Indian Male, Age: 30 at the time of matriculation
GMAT: 680

B.Tech: NIT Jaipur (Electronics & Communication)
M.Tech (Aeronautics)

Work Ex:
Indian Navy as Lieutenant Commander (total 10 years at the time of matriculation)
Handled various roles as Department Head, Manager etc.
Presently, Manager at a Naval Aircraft Yard (mainly looking after operations, logistics & HR management)

Extra curricular: Runners up in Indian Naval Boat Pulling Regatta (most prestigious sailing competition of IN), Runners up in Enterprise Class sailing, conducted various events etc.

Awarded Commendation (awarded only to 3% officers)

Other details: Holds a PMP and have done various courses from Coursera & EdX to enhance my skillset and work in the Navy.

Why MBA: Post retirement, I want to get into Operations Management. I have decent managerial skills, good analytical and problem solving abilities and good leadership skills. I think an international MBA will enhance my overall personality, will help me learn from my coursemates & will provide me a learning opportunity to excel in corporate.

Please suggest colleges which are within my reach and which are a bit out of my reach but likely possible. I intent to do a full time MBA from US/ Singapore/ Europe.

Thank you

PS: I will be giving GMAT again in 3 months time and expect to increase the score by 30-40 points.

G

aghosh54

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Joined: 16 May 2017

Posts: 158

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Schools: McDonough '22 (M$)

GMAT 1: 710 Q47 V39 Verified score

WE:General Management (Retail Banking)

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Re: Ask ApplicantLab [#permalink]

21 Apr 2019, 06:58

Hi Maria
I am Asish, and I am from India. Following is my brief profile-
GMAT-710
Age-30
GPA-3.5
WE-2 years (Non profit Govt org) + 6 years in retail banking
Target admission year-2020
Post MBA goals- Corporate finance followed by IB and consulting.

Though I have 6 years of experience in banking, mostly I worked in branch level during these years. I consulted with some admission consultant, and each of them suggested that my experience is a bit one dimensional. Truly speaking I don't have significant leadership experiences.

How should I project my profile to the Adcoms? What kind of profile enhancement do I require? What should be my target schools?

S

ApplicantLab

Applicant Lab Admissions Consultant

Joined: 17 Dec 2013

Posts: 174

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Schools: HBS - Class of 2005

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Re: Ask ApplicantLab [#permalink]

22 Apr 2019, 16:32

Expert Reply

Hello! Thanks for reaching out and apologies for the delay -- I was on vacation last week due to the Holy Week / Passover holiday over here! Let's dig in:

GMATworm100 wrote:

Hi Maria. I emailed you a week ago and you've led me to this thread. Would love a profile review. Will apply to Oxbridge MBAs next year (4 years WE at matriculation, age 25) so I'm wondering what my chances are right now and what I can do to strengthen my application to make me competitive for scholarships.

Background and nationality: Citizen of a South East Asian (SEA) country. Ethnicity is mixed: SEAn and East Asian.

Age and gender: 23 male (25 by matriculation)

Undergrad Information: Top 2 university in my country, does not rank well globally. Majored in a quantitative business course. GPA converts to slightly below 3.65 (no grade inflation).

GMAT: Yet to take. Practice CATs hover above 700, but I'm targeting a 730.

Work experience and leadership: 2 years (as of right now) in a middle market bank working in Equity Research as a covering associate (so 4 years by matriculation if I apply next year, with a promotion to analyst by then hopefully). Very client-facing. Also informally work (multiple non-hands on roles such as some asset management and HR recruiting) in a diversified family business that's considered medium-sized in my country. Eight digit annual revenues in USD.

I think your career is off to a strong start -- a key component of your application will be demonstrating the people skills I'm guessing you have (client facing work) -- but kicking it up a notch to demonstrate leadership skills. In other words, making sure that the different components of your application (essays, recommendations, etc.) really show that you have the ingredients for leadership. I say this because often equity research is viewed as being a "reactive" role (analyzing what other companies are doing) vs. a "proactive" role (actually driving change at a company)... so showing them that you have the raw ingredients for leadership via the application, so that you will be a more "proactive" leader later on, will be important.

Quote:

International experience: Have gone to business trips to other Asian countries. Constantly in contact with international buy-side clients across the globe.

Community and others: Had strong leadership roles in a charity-based UG org. Semi-active after as a consultant to the org. Plan to be a lot more active.

Great! Please do try to increase your contribution to that charity between now and when you apply next year. This can be a great place to go "above and beyond" especially if your work at the bank is more structured / hierarchical and doesn't give you a ton of room to,. e.g. lead projects by yourself.

Quote:

Post MBA goals: I will run the medium-sized family business one day, and an MBA would help with the network, learning, and reputation. These things are important because: 1. we have been dealing with more international clients lately, 2. reputation helps in making deals and gaining clients, and 3. reputation helps because I plan to IPO one of the companies we hold.

OH! Ok so, given your young age, my advice to you is to go work for the family business starting now, work there for a year or two, and then apply then. This will help give a ton more credibility to the career vision -- proving that you actually are committed to (and good at!) the family business. It will also help you stand out more vs. being an equity analyst.

One piece of advice though -- don't tell a school you're only interested in them for their "reputation" -- that's like telling someone you only want to date them because they're wealthy. Your "Why MBA" argument needs to be tighter. Thankfully, in the ApplicantLab I have an entire module devoted to helping you develop a strong rationale for getting the MBA.

Quote:

Anything else? Took summer courses in top unis in UK and an East-Asian country.

Cheers!

The summer courses are not really all that impactful -- they neither help nor really hurt you.

Just out of curiosity, why are you interested in only the UK schools? Several of the US programs have the ability to study topics specifically related to family businesses, e.g. Cornell, Columbia, etc. Also, European programs tend to skew just a smidge older in their applicant pool compared to US programs.

Thanks!,
Maria

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ApplicantLab

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Re: Ask ApplicantLab [#permalink]

22 Apr 2019, 16:51

Expert Reply

Hi there! As per my note to the earlier person on this thread, apologies for the delay in replying; last week was a holiday week leading up to Easter / Passover so I wasn't online much!

In terms of your profile, you face a few headwinds -- one of them, your GMAT, will indeed be helped if you can increase the score by 30 - 40 points. Note that Indian GMAT test-takers usually score about 20-30 points higher than average, so to determine which schools your score is competitive for, a quick rule of thumb is to subtract 20-30 points. In other words, if you get a 720, then I'd look at programs with a 690 or 700 average.

Your existing background managing operations sets you nicely at a program that specifically has an operations focus. Be sure to research prospective programs and see if they offer, e.g. a "major" or concentration in operations management prior to applying to be more certain that the program is a good fit.

Given your age, for the US programs I'd focus on the 1-year programs offered at places like Cornell and Emory. Other programs to research could be Michigan State Broad and Purdue Krannert.

I think ideally you could find programs that are at the intersection of having an avg GMAT score of 690 (again, assuming you're at, say, 720), a focus on operations management, and either have a slightly older student body and/or offer a 1-year program, just because many U.S. programs have students with an average of 4 - 6 years of experience, and right now you're at about twice that.

Apply to some "dream" schools (because why not?) but be sure to cast a wide net too (that is, apply to many schools in your "portfolio") just to try to mazimize your chances of an acceptance.

Thank you!

kumawatpriyank wrote:

Hi Maria,
Request you to evaluate my profile.

Indian Male, Age: 30 at the time of matriculation
GMAT: 680

B.Tech: NIT Jaipur (Electronics & Communication)
M.Tech (Aeronautics)

Work Ex:
Indian Navy as Lieutenant Commander (total 10 years at the time of matriculation)
Handled various roles as Department Head, Manager etc.
Presently, Manager at a Naval Aircraft Yard (mainly looking after operations, logistics & HR management)

Extra curricular: Runners up in Indian Naval Boat Pulling Regatta (most prestigious sailing competition of IN), Runners up in Enterprise Class sailing, conducted various events etc.

Awarded Commendation (awarded only to 3% officers)

Other details: Holds a PMP and have done various courses from Coursera & EdX to enhance my skillset and work in the Navy.

Why MBA: Post retirement, I want to get into Operations Management. I have decent managerial skills, good analytical and problem solving abilities and good leadership skills. I think an international MBA will enhance my overall personality, will help me learn from my coursemates & will provide me a learning opportunity to excel in corporate.

Please suggest colleges which are within my reach and which are a bit out of my reach but likely possible. I intent to do a full time MBA from US/ Singapore/ Europe.

Thank you

PS: I will be giving GMAT again in 3 months time and expect to increase the score by 30-40 points.

S

ApplicantLab

Applicant Lab Admissions Consultant

Joined: 17 Dec 2013

Posts: 174

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Given Kudos: 19

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Schools: HBS - Class of 2005

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Re: Ask ApplicantLab [#permalink]

22 Apr 2019, 17:20

Expert Reply

Hi there Ashish -- great to meet you. It can be difficult to assess chances based on these sorts of message board postings, but your post in particular is pretty "lite" on details so it's an even tougher task.

That having been said, I will do my best!

As you may know, most U.S. MBA programs' students have around 5 years of work experience, so your 8 years (9 at matriculation) as well as age of 30+ puts you at a slight disadvantage. So for starters, look into the "class profiles" of each school you're considering and see if they take older students. Your best bet may be with one-year programs and/or programs in Europe, which tend to be more open to more seasoned applicants.

Regarding your work experience, it's true that retail banking isn't considered all that elite. That having been said, you might have more leadership experience than you know! Just because you have not formally managed teams doesn't mean that you have not had opportunities to demonstrate leadership skills, it just means that perhaps they have occurred in a more informal way.

How many promotions have you received? Are you ahead of your peers, career-wise? Can your recommenders speak to how you have pushed for innovative new ideas, inspired the team during tough times, etc.? All of these things can potentially serve as "evidence" that your career is in fact on an upward trajectory.

One thing I would very much work on are your post-MBA career goals. To be blunt, it would be almost impossible (at any age, but especially at your age) to jump from retail banking to corporate finance to investment banking to consulting. Applying with a career vision like this would automatically sink your application, as it would look as though you had not really researched / thought carefully about what a realistic career path is, post-school. Should you decide to apply, I'd urge you to spend a lot of time researching viable career paths and being thoughtful about the plan you present.

Regarding schools to consider, here is my blog post on the topic: https://www.applicantlab.com/blog/mba-a ... mine-odds/

Research to see -- when other people from your bank, in a similar role , have applied to business schools -- where have they ended up going?

Again, there's very little info provided, so it's not all that easy to do things like provide a list of schools to apply to. Usually, a general rule of thumb for Indian applicants is to start by finding schools with GMAT scores about 30 points lower than yours (in your case a 680), but if you really don't have much leadership experience, etc. then I'd go even further and look for schools with, say GMATs in the 650-ish range, in the hopes that they'd be willing to give you a chance based on the score and not on the strength of the profile.

Now, if you DO have leadership experience, but it's just informal vs. formal, then THAT can be overcome by submitting strong essays giving concrete examples, a resume that shows upward career progression, and recommendations that vouch for you being a rising star. This is why the "qualitative" sections of the application make up about 60% of the admissions decision -- so conveying those experiences correctly can make a big difference!

aghosh54 wrote:

Hi Maria
I am Asish, and I am from India. Following is my brief profile-
GMAT-710
Age-30
GPA-3.5
WE-2 years (Non profit Govt org) + 6 years in retail banking
Target admission year-2020
Post MBA goals- Corporate finance followed by IB and consulting.

Though I have 6 years of experience in banking, mostly I worked in branch level during these years. I consulted with some admission consultant, and each of them suggested that my experience is a bit one dimensional. Truly speaking I don't have significant leadership experiences.

How should I project my profile to the Adcoms? What kind of profile enhancement do I require? What should be my target schools?

S

GMATworm100

Manager

Joined: 21 Jan 2019

Posts: 54

Own Kudos [?]: 40 [0]

Given Kudos: 16

Schools: Said '22 (A$) Cambridge '22 (A$) LBS '23 (A) MBS'23 (A$)

GRE 1: Q166 V160

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Re: Ask ApplicantLab [#permalink]

22 Apr 2019, 21:36

ApplicantLab wrote:

Hello! Thanks for reaching out and apologies for the delay -- I was on vacation last week due to the Holy Week / Passover holiday over here! Let's dig in:

GMATworm100 wrote:

Hi Maria. I emailed you a week ago and you've led me to this thread. Would love a profile review. Will apply to Oxbridge MBAs next year (4 years WE at matriculation, age 25) so I'm wondering what my chances are right now and what I can do to strengthen my application to make me competitive for scholarships.

Background and nationality: Citizen of a South East Asian (SEA) country. Ethnicity is mixed: SEAn and East Asian.

Age and gender: 23 male (25 by matriculation)

Undergrad Information: Top 2 university in my country, does not rank well globally. Majored in a quantitative business course. GPA converts to slightly below 3.65 (no grade inflation).

GMAT: Yet to take. Practice CATs hover above 700, but I'm targeting a 730.

Work experience and leadership: 2 years (as of right now) in a middle market bank working in Equity Research as a covering associate (so 4 years by matriculation if I apply next year, with a promotion to analyst by then hopefully). Very client-facing. Also informally work (multiple non-hands on roles such as some asset management and HR recruiting) in a diversified family business that's considered medium-sized in my country. Eight digit annual revenues in USD.

I think your career is off to a strong start -- a key component of your application will be demonstrating the people skills I'm guessing you have (client facing work) -- but kicking it up a notch to demonstrate leadership skills. In other words, making sure that the different components of your application (essays, recommendations, etc.) really show that you have the ingredients for leadership. I say this because often equity research is viewed as being a "reactive" role (analyzing what other companies are doing) vs. a "proactive" role (actually driving change at a company)... so showing them that you have the raw ingredients for leadership via the application, so that you will be a more "proactive" leader later on, will be important.

Quote:

International experience: Have gone to business trips to other Asian countries. Constantly in contact with international buy-side clients across the globe.

Community and others: Had strong leadership roles in a charity-based UG org. Semi-active after as a consultant to the org. Plan to be a lot more active.

Great! Please do try to increase your contribution to that charity between now and when you apply next year. This can be a great place to go "above and beyond" especially if your work at the bank is more structured / hierarchical and doesn't give you a ton of room to,. e.g. lead projects by yourself.

Quote:

Post MBA goals: I will run the medium-sized family business one day, and an MBA would help with the network, learning, and reputation. These things are important because: 1. we have been dealing with more international clients lately, 2. reputation helps in making deals and gaining clients, and 3. reputation helps because I plan to IPO one of the companies we hold.

OH! Ok so, given your young age, my advice to you is to go work for the family business starting now, work there for a year or two, and then apply then. This will help give a ton more credibility to the career vision -- proving that you actually are committed to (and good at!) the family business. It will also help you stand out more vs. being an equity analyst.

One piece of advice though -- don't tell a school you're only interested in them for their "reputation" -- that's like telling someone you only want to date them because they're wealthy. Your "Why MBA" argument needs to be tighter. Thankfully, in the ApplicantLab I have an entire module devoted to helping you develop a strong rationale for getting the MBA.

Quote:

Anything else? Took summer courses in top unis in UK and an East-Asian country.

Cheers!

The summer courses are not really all that impactful -- they neither help nor really hurt you.

Just out of curiosity, why are you interested in only the UK schools? Several of the US programs have the ability to study topics specifically related to family businesses, e.g. Cornell, Columbia, etc. Also, European programs tend to skew just a smidge older in their applicant pool compared to US programs.

Thanks!,
Maria

Thanks for the review Maria.

I do plan on working in the family business the moment I get an acceptance to a program, which should be around a year before matriculation. Parents made it clear that I have to take an mba before I dive into the family business full time because once I do so, the opportunity cost would be too high to leave for 1-2 years. Especially in the context that we're currently jumpstarting a diversification into new industries. So there definitely is a time aspect to why I'm applying relatively young. Furthermore, I don't think I can get strong LoRs if I work in the family business compared to in my current role. Would it be enough that I tell adcom my plans to work in the fam business righr after an accept?

I do like to point out however that in the last 3 years, I had been involved in the fam business, just not in a hands on manner. I've dabled into wealth management, HR recruiting, and institutional sales (of course not full time) with strong results.

I like UK schools because 1. They are one year programs (less opportunity cost vs a 2 year one in the US), 2. the class profiles are much more international on average vs US schools, and 3. it seems easier to get into top UK programs vs T10 US schools (correct me if I'm wrong).

I'll make sure to get more involved in the charity organization, and find ways to show leadership. But as it is, does it look like I'd be competitive for Oxbridge/LBS?

Cheers!

Posted from my mobile device

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anshkool4u

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Posts: 91

Own Kudos [?]: 61 [0]

Given Kudos: 23

Location: India

Concentration: Finance, Operations

Schools: IIMA PGPX'23 (A)

GMAT 1: 710 Q50 V36

GPA: 4

WE:Business Development (Retail Banking)

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Re: Ask ApplicantLab [#permalink]

22 Apr 2019, 22:59

Hi Maria,

Plz evaluate my profile for CMU Tepper,Haas,NYU Stern and Yale

My profile is as follows:
Indian Male, 32 years old
Engineering graduate in Computer Science.

10th- 78%
12th - 77.6%
B.Tech- 68% From State Technical University.

Total of 8.5 years of work experience :
3 years with Infosys Limited as Senior System Developer.

5.5 years in retail banking with the largest bank in India, State Bank of India (Joined as Probationary Officer). Branch Manager since last 3 years.Dealing with retail finance as well as general management.

GMAT : 710 Q 50 V 36 IR 5 AWA 5

Extra Curricular:
1. Have been a part of an NGO which works in education sector for rural students, for 6 months
2.During my stint as Software Engineer, was a member of employee club and conducted a fundraising program for wedding of poor girls.
3.Have conducted a number of financial literacy camps in rural areas,outside of my work area.
4.Appeared for UPSC Civil Services Interview twice,probably the toughest exam in India.

Achievements: In both my organisations,got promoted to a higher position in the minimum possible time.
.In recognition of my work,was selected to open and head a new bank branch catering to Defence Officers.
.Numerous internal awards for achievements catering to different areas of work.

Have a unique exposure of working with the farmers and the rural population of the country,as well as with High Profile Defence Officers.

Want to change my career field,and an MBA would be a right step in that direction.Post MBA industry preferred is Consulting or Finance.

Thanks
Abhishek

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aghosh54

Manager

Joined: 16 May 2017

Posts: 158

Own Kudos [?]: 82 [0]

Given Kudos: 20

Location: India

Schools: McDonough '22 (M$)

GMAT 1: 710 Q47 V39 Verified score

WE:General Management (Retail Banking)

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Re: Ask ApplicantLab [#permalink]

23 Apr 2019, 07:14

ApplicantLab wrote:

Hi there Ashish -- great to meet you. It can be difficult to assess chances based on these sorts of message board postings, but your post in particular is pretty "lite" on details so it's an even tougher task.

That having been said, I will do my best!

As you may know, most U.S. MBA programs' students have around 5 years of work experience, so your 8 years (9 at matriculation) as well as age of 30+ puts you at a slight disadvantage. So for starters, look into the "class profiles" of each school you're considering and see if they take older students. Your best bet may be with one-year programs and/or programs in Europe, which tend to be more open to more seasoned applicants.

Regarding your work experience, it's true that retail banking isn't considered all that elite. That having been said, you might have more leadership experience than you know! Just because you have not formally managed teams doesn't mean that you have not had opportunities to demonstrate leadership skills, it just means that perhaps they have occurred in a more informal way.

How many promotions have you received? Are you ahead of your peers, career-wise? Can your recommenders speak to how you have pushed for innovative new ideas, inspired the team during tough times, etc.? All of these things can potentially serve as "evidence" that your career is in fact on an upward trajectory.

One thing I would very much work on are your post-MBA career goals. To be blunt, it would be almost impossible (at any age, but especially at your age) to jump from retail banking to corporate finance to investment banking to consulting. Applying with a career vision like this would automatically sink your application, as it would look as though you had not really researched / thought carefully about what a realistic career path is, post-school. Should you decide to apply, I'd urge you to spend a lot of time researching viable career paths and being thoughtful about the plan you present.

Regarding schools to consider, here is my blog post on the topic: https://www.applicantlab.com/blog/mba-a ... mine-odds/

Research to see -- when other people from your bank, in a similar role , have applied to business schools -- where have they ended up going?

Again, there's very little info provided, so it's not all that easy to do things like provide a list of schools to apply to. Usually, a general rule of thumb for Indian applicants is to start by finding schools with GMAT scores about 30 points lower than yours (in your case a 680), but if you really don't have much leadership experience, etc. then I'd go even further and look for schools with, say GMATs in the 650-ish range, in the hopes that they'd be willing to give you a chance based on the score and not on the strength of the profile.

Now, if you DO have leadership experience, but it's just informal vs. formal, then THAT can be overcome by submitting strong essays giving concrete examples, a resume that shows upward career progression, and recommendations that vouch for you being a rising star. This is why the "qualitative" sections of the application make up about 60% of the admissions decision -- so conveying those experiences correctly can make a big difference!

aghosh54 wrote:

Hi Maria
I am Asish, and I am from India. Following is my brief profile-
GMAT-710
Age-30
GPA-3.5
WE-2 years (Non profit Govt org) + 6 years in retail banking
Target admission year-2020
Post MBA goals- Corporate finance followed by IB and consulting.

Though I have 6 years of experience in banking, mostly I worked in branch level during these years. I consulted with some admission consultant, and each of them suggested that my experience is a bit one dimensional. Truly speaking I don't have significant leadership experiences.

How should I project my profile to the Adcoms? What kind of profile enhancement do I require? What should be my target schools?

Thank you Maria for your valuable advice.

G

jayarora

Current Student

Joined: 24 Oct 2016

Posts: 166

Own Kudos [?]: 228 [0]

Given Kudos: 116

Location: India

Concentration: Technology, Strategy

Schools: Harvard '24 (A)

GMAT 1: 710 Q49 V38 Verified score

GMAT 2: 760 Q50 V44 (Online) Verified score

GPA: 3.61

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Re: Ask ApplicantLab [#permalink]

Updated on: 05 Sep 2020, 10:40

Hi Maria,

I read on the FAQs on your portal that you usually do not evaluate profiles but looking at the reviews(@applicantlab) of how you have helped out people in their applications, I could not resist posting this! I would really like to hear from you on my profile.

Thanks in advance, Maria! Greatly appreciated.

Originally posted by jayarora on 29 Apr 2019, 04:34.
Last edited by jayarora on 05 Sep 2020, 10:40, edited 1 time in total.

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Dreamer111

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Re: Ask ApplicantLab [#permalink]

07 May 2019, 00:48

Hi Maria,

I came across your interview with that client who got into Emory and I'm pretty set on getting ApplicantLab in time for my applications this fall. I wonder if you could have a look at my profile and tell me what sort of schools I should be looking to apply to.

Gender: Male
Nationality: Pakistan
Age: 25

Education and Background:
- Born in Pakistan but grew up in Bahrain (till High School)
- Received full scholarship to go to boarding school in Canada
- Went to Uni in the UK (Top 20 in the World)
- Electrical and Electronics Engineering (2nd Class Honours (Lower)) - GPA converts to 3.01 on the WES calculator. Basically I was completely immature and decided to pursue an engineering degree cuz that's what everyone in my family had done before. Started off strongly but then floundered in the middle when I realised this just wasn't for me. Got my head down and worked super hard in the final year (final year GPA is 3.24).

Work Experience:
- Global Project Coordinator for large Industrial Automation company in Tokyo. Essentially technical sales to customers (Big Oil and renowned EPC contractors).
- Currently 26 months. Will be 40 months by matriculation.
- Studying Japanese. Will have official intermediate proficiency certification at time of application (hopefully).

GMAT: 690 (Q44; V:40)

Target Industry: This is where it gets interesting. I'm not averse to moving into operations consulting (as this is what my current role most strongly relates to) and I think this is what I will position as my main goal for North American programs. My dream career is within the sports industry which is why IESE Spain is my highest priority in the coming application cycle. They have dedicated sports treks out to London and NIKE happens to be one of the biggest employers for their graduates. Am I dumb for having two vastly different career paths in mind?

I'm hoping I can leverage my international experience and GMAT to make up for that GPA.

Target Schools: IESE, Rotman, McGill, Emory, Notre Dame, Fisher

Target schools above are the ones I plan on applying to this year but I may swap out one here and there.

I'd love to hear what you think!

Thanks!

delain

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Posts: 9

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Re: Ask ApplicantLab [#permalink]

11 May 2019, 05:46

Hi Maria,

A friend of mine used ApplicantLab and had a fantastic reapplication story last year. I'm probably going to be using it for my applications this year. I did have some questions and was hoping you could do a quick evaluation of my profile as I prepare for applications this fall.

BACKGROUND

GPA:

GMAT:

Age & Nationality:

WORK EXPERIENCE

OTHER INFORMATION

GOALS

TARGET SCHOOLS

Kellogg – my dream school. Also looking at Tuck, Yale, Ross and a couple of others.

QUESTIONS

Option 1:

Option 2:

Thank you in advance for your response!

S

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Re: Ask ApplicantLab [#permalink]

28 May 2019, 17:10

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Hi there!

I'm not sure what happened -- I thought I had posted an answer to this!

The truth is, with only 18 months experience at the time of applying, you will be at a SEVERE disadvantage in the process -- in fact, some schools do not even consider candidates applying with less than two years of experience.

I like that you're working in Switzerland now -- your career seems to be off to a good start!

My advice is to continue doing well at work, take on significant leadership positions at work (volunteer to go above and beyond in terms of leadership), and cultivate out-of-work dedication to a cause or significant hobby, I think in a few years you'll be in much stronger shape to apply.

You may also find this blog post useful: https://www.applicantlab.com/blog/preparing-apply-mba-program-focus/

The good news is, your GMAT score will be valid for 5 years, so if you do a re-take (which can be what you focus on now for the next few months since I do not advise applying this year), then the score can be used later on when your profile is more in-line with what these schools are looking for.

Best,
Maria

jayarora wrote:

Hi Maria,

I read on the FAQs on your portal that you usually do not evaluate profiles but looking at the reviews(@applicantlab) of how you have helped out people in their applications, I could not resist posting this! I would really like to hear from you on my profile.

Could you please evaluate my profile for a top-10 US B school, INSEAD and LBS? I have 18 months of full time work experience. Do you think it would be a good idea to apply to these schools next year?(so I would have 3 years of work experience at the time of joining). I see that most of these schools have an average work experience of 4-5 years. Would I be at a disadvantage the year following the next if I apply and get rejected next year? Is it a right time to work with a consultant?

Hera are more details:

Academics:

10th standard: 94%, ICSE
12th standard: 85% Maharashtra State Board
Undergraduate: IIIT Bangalore, Major Computer Science CGPA 3.61/4(Deans Merit List, among top 5 of graduating cohort), Minor Data Science. It was an integrated program so I have a B Tech and M Tech in Computer Science.
GMAT Q49, V38. Total 710 (I read your previous posts and understand my GMAT is on a lower side for these schools, I am already working on it)

Professional details(Internship):
AMD, BNP Paribas, Yatra.com(Indian startup)
Selected for Summer school organized by Stanford

Professional details(full time):

September 2017-December 2018 Hilti Group in Kuala Lumpur as Data Scientist
Jan 2019- Present Hilti Group in Switzerland as Product Owner(promoted). Leading a team of 4 developers (not direct reports but). I plan to change geographies again next year. The location is not decided but it would be a European country.

Other stuff

Co-founding member of E-Cell of my college(2014)
Mentoring students pursuing Masters in technology with their thesis(2019)
Learning German (2019)
Worked with AIESEC, Bangalore(2014)
Did a research internship at RMIT University in Australia and published a paper.(2015)
Won 10-12 tech competitions at a national and international level(2013-2018)

Thanks in advance, Maria! Greatly appreciated.

B

urkdul

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Concentration: Technology, Finance

Schools: Sloan '22 Wharton '22 (S) Stanford '22 (S) HBS '22 (S) Booth '22 (S) CBS '22

GMAT 1: 740 Q49 V41

GPA: 3.85

Re: Ask ApplicantLab [#permalink]

Updated on: 18 Dec 2019, 12:17

removed

Originally posted by urkdul on 28 May 2019, 20:27.
Last edited by urkdul on 18 Dec 2019, 12:17, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Ask ApplicantLab [#permalink]

30 May 2019, 09:37

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Hi again! If you are planning to apply next year, my advice is still to work in the family business for that year vs. staying in your current job. Getting hands-on experience in the family business will prove to the admissions committee that you truly are poised to drive positive change in the future for them.

I have had other family business clients get rejected and when they asked for feedback they were told that in the interview it didn't seem that they actually understood the business, so the stated career plan was not convincing.

Thanks!,
Maria

GMATworm100 wrote:

ApplicantLab wrote:

Hello! Thanks for reaching out and apologies for the delay -- I was on vacation last week due to the Holy Week / Passover holiday over here! Let's dig in:

GMATworm100 wrote:

Hi Maria. I emailed you a week ago and you've led me to this thread. Would love a profile review. Will apply to Oxbridge MBAs next year (4 years WE at matriculation, age 25) so I'm wondering what my chances are right now and what I can do to strengthen my application to make me competitive for scholarships.

Background and nationality: Citizen of a South East Asian (SEA) country. Ethnicity is mixed: SEAn and East Asian.

Age and gender: 23 male (25 by matriculation)

Undergrad Information: Top 2 university in my country, does not rank well globally. Majored in a quantitative business course. GPA converts to slightly below 3.65 (no grade inflation).

GMAT: Yet to take. Practice CATs hover above 700, but I'm targeting a 730.

Work experience and leadership: 2 years (as of right now) in a middle market bank working in Equity Research as a covering associate (so 4 years by matriculation if I apply next year, with a promotion to analyst by then hopefully). Very client-facing. Also informally work (multiple non-hands on roles such as some asset management and HR recruiting) in a diversified family business that's considered medium-sized in my country. Eight digit annual revenues in USD.

I think your career is off to a strong start -- a key component of your application will be demonstrating the people skills I'm guessing you have (client facing work) -- but kicking it up a notch to demonstrate leadership skills. In other words, making sure that the different components of your application (essays, recommendations, etc.) really show that you have the ingredients for leadership. I say this because often equity research is viewed as being a "reactive" role (analyzing what other companies are doing) vs. a "proactive" role (actually driving change at a company)... so showing them that you have the raw ingredients for leadership via the application, so that you will be a more "proactive" leader later on, will be important.

Quote:

International experience: Have gone to business trips to other Asian countries. Constantly in contact with international buy-side clients across the globe.

Community and others: Had strong leadership roles in a charity-based UG org. Semi-active after as a consultant to the org. Plan to be a lot more active.

Great! Please do try to increase your contribution to that charity between now and when you apply next year. This can be a great place to go "above and beyond" especially if your work at the bank is more structured / hierarchical and doesn't give you a ton of room to,. e.g. lead projects by yourself.

Quote:

Post MBA goals: I will run the medium-sized family business one day, and an MBA would help with the network, learning, and reputation. These things are important because: 1. we have been dealing with more international clients lately, 2. reputation helps in making deals and gaining clients, and 3. reputation helps because I plan to IPO one of the companies we hold.

OH! Ok so, given your young age, my advice to you is to go work for the family business starting now, work there for a year or two, and then apply then. This will help give a ton more credibility to the career vision -- proving that you actually are committed to (and good at!) the family business. It will also help you stand out more vs. being an equity analyst.

One piece of advice though -- don't tell a school you're only interested in them for their "reputation" -- that's like telling someone you only want to date them because they're wealthy. Your "Why MBA" argument needs to be tighter. Thankfully, in the ApplicantLab I have an entire module devoted to helping you develop a strong rationale for getting the MBA.

Quote:

Anything else? Took summer courses in top unis in UK and an East-Asian country.

Cheers!

The summer courses are not really all that impactful -- they neither help nor really hurt you.

Just out of curiosity, why are you interested in only the UK schools? Several of the US programs have the ability to study topics specifically related to family businesses, e.g. Cornell, Columbia, etc. Also, European programs tend to skew just a smidge older in their applicant pool compared to US programs.

Thanks!,
Maria

Thanks for the review Maria.

I do plan on working in the family business the moment I get an acceptance to a program, which should be around a year before matriculation. Parents made it clear that I have to take an mba before I dive into the family business full time because once I do so, the opportunity cost would be too high to leave for 1-2 years. Especially in the context that we're currently jumpstarting a diversification into new industries. So there definitely is a time aspect to why I'm applying relatively young. Furthermore, I don't think I can get strong LoRs if I work in the family business compared to in my current role. Would it be enough that I tell adcom my plans to work in the fam business righr after an accept?

I do like to point out however that in the last 3 years, I had been involved in the fam business, just not in a hands on manner. I've dabled into wealth management, HR recruiting, and institutional sales (of course not full time) with strong results.

I like UK schools because 1. They are one year programs (less opportunity cost vs a 2 year one in the US), 2. the class profiles are much more international on average vs US schools, and 3. it seems easier to get into top UK programs vs T10 US schools (correct me if I'm wrong).

I'll make sure to get more involved in the charity organization, and find ways to show leadership. But as it is, does it look like I'd be competitive for Oxbridge/LBS?

Cheers!

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Re: Ask ApplicantLab [#permalink]

30 May 2019, 09:49

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anshkool4u wrote:

Hi Maria,

Plz evaluate my profile for CMU Tepper,Haas,NYU Stern and Yale

My profile is as follows:
Indian Male, 32 years old
Engineering graduate in Computer Science.

10th- 78%
12th - 77.6%
B.Tech- 68% From State Technical University.

Just as a head's up, your pre-college grades aren't part of the MBA application

Quote:

Total of 8.5 years of work experience :
3 years with Infosys Limited as Senior System Developer.

5.5 years in retail banking with the largest bank in India, State Bank of India (Joined as Probationary Officer). Branch Manager since last 3 years.Dealing with retail finance as well as general management.

The good news is, it looks like you've had some really solid career progression!

The trickier thing is, with 8.5 years of total experience, you'll need to be sure to explain why you're applying for an MBA at this phase in your career, vs. the more typical profile of having about 5 years of experience.

Quote:

GMAT : 710 Q 50 V 36 IR 5 AWA 5

This seems a little on the low side for the programs you are targeting. Indian candidates need to try to get 20+ points above a school's stated average, given the intense competition in the Indian applicant pool.

Since the verbal is the section that tripped you up, have you looked into e-gmat? I've heard that they are especially good with teaching verbal.

Quote:

Extra Curricular:
1. Have been a part of an NGO which works in education sector for rural students, for 6 months
2.During my stint as Software Engineer, was a member of employee club and conducted a fundraising program for wedding of poor girls.
3.Have conducted a number of financial literacy camps in rural areas,outside of my work area.
4.Appeared for UPSC Civil Services Interview twice,probably the toughest exam in India.

The first activity sounds too recent for you to have had a leadership position in it (only 6 months?). The example from your software engineering days is too out-dated. Sounds like the financial literacy camps might be your strongest story. They will not care about the Civil Services interview -- don't mention it in your application.

Quote:

Achievements: In both my organisations,got promoted to a higher position in the minimum possible time.
.In recognition of my work,was selected to open and head a new bank branch catering to Defence Officers.
.Numerous internal awards for achievements catering to different areas of work.

This is great! You don't necessarily need to list every award you've gotten; the fact that your company considers you successful is obvious given your promotions and the request for you to open a new branch.

Quote:

Have a unique exposure of working with the farmers and the rural population of the country,as well as with High Profile Defence Officers.

I'm not entirely sure what that means, but if it's given you an additional setting in which to demonstrate leadership qualities, then wonderful!

Quote:

Want to change my career field,and an MBA would be a right step in that direction.Post MBA industry preferred is Consulting or Finance.

I do not recommend applying with that career vision. Most consulting or banking firms are looking for younger candidates who have the stamina (and possibly don't have families yet) to put up with the punishing work hours. Go through the free "Career Vision" module in the free trial of ApplicantLab to try to generate some additional ideas.

I think you can try to apply to the schools you mentioned, but I am not sure that they would be good fits. Haas, especially, is rumored to not be Indian-friendly (I heard a rumor that last year, they only accepted 3 people from India? I am not sure if this is true, but that is an incredibly small number!) and its small class size makes it very difficult to get in.

Tepper and NYU might work out (if you can get the GMAT up) -- otherwise, I'd urge you to look into the European programs or Canadian programs which tend to be more open to more seasoned candidates.

All the best!,
Maria

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Re: Ask ApplicantLab [#permalink]

30 May 2019, 10:09

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Dreamer111 wrote:

Hi Maria,

I came across your interview with that client who got into Emory and I'm pretty set on getting ApplicantLab in time for my applications this fall. I wonder if you could have a look at my profile and tell me what sort of schools I should be looking to apply to.

Gender: Male
Nationality: Pakistan
Age: 25

Education and Background:
- Born in Pakistan but grew up in Bahrain (till High School)
- Received full scholarship to go to boarding school in Canada
- Went to Uni in the UK (Top 20 in the World)
- Electrical and Electronics Engineering (2nd Class Honours (Lower)) - GPA converts to 3.01 on the WES calculator. Basically I was completely immature and decided to pursue an engineering degree cuz that's what everyone in my family had done before. Started off strongly but then floundered in the middle when I realised this just wasn't for me. Got my head down and worked super hard in the final year (final year GPA is 3.24).

Your diverse international experience growing up helps you stand out from the other Indian/Pakistani males applying. You may want to consider QUICKLY explaining the Bahrain - Canada - UK path in your optional essay, just so they are aware that you experienced different cultures growing up. Something like "It may not be clear from the rest of the application, but my pre-college background was also highly international -- we moved to Bahrain soon after I was born, and I won a scholarship to attend high school in Canada. I hope that these diverse cultural experiences can help me provide additional perspectives during class discussions."

I'd start the optional essay though with a brief explanation for your undergraduate grades. You can explain that you had trouble at first adapting to the rigors of college, but then (as your rising GPA proves) you got the hang of it, and in fact the GPA from your last year of college was in fact a much higher 3.24, up from 2.X in year 1. \

3.24 is still on the low side, but at least you're showing an upward trend!

Quote:

Work Experience:
- Global Project Coordinator for large Industrial Automation company in Tokyo. Essentially technical sales to customers (Big Oil and renowned EPC contractors).
- Currently 26 months. Will be 40 months by matriculation.
- Studying Japanese. Will have official intermediate proficiency certification at time of application (hopefully).

GMAT: 690 (Q44; V:40)

Oh man -- I LOVE the Japan angle to your story! Is there any way that I can convince you to wait a year before applying so that:
1) Your work experience will be closer to the 5-ish years your target schools have and
2) Give you an opportunity to re-take the GMAT? 690 is a little low and I'd feel much better about your chances if you could improve it!

Of course, you can always apply this year and the worst thing that happens is rejections, so then you'd re-apply in a later year (or two). MBA programs are for the most part friendly to re-applicants, so the only thing you have to lose is the time/money around applying.

Quote:

Target Industry: This is where it gets interesting. I'm not averse to moving into operations consulting (as this is what my current role most strongly relates to) and I think this is what I will position as my main goal for North American programs. My dream career is within the sports industry which is why IESE Spain is my highest priority in the coming application cycle. They have dedicated sports treks out to London and NIKE happens to be one of the biggest employers for their graduates. Am I dumb for having two vastly different career paths in mind?

IMHO, apply with the strongest career vision you can, and keep your dream of working the sport industry a secret until you get accepted somewhere and enroll. I worry that putting this as a career vision in your application might make them worry about your post-MBA employability.

Quote:

I'm hoping I can leverage my international experience and GMAT to make up for that GPA.

I agree that the international angle does help! But I don't think your GMAT "makes up" for the GPA necessarily -- if the GPA is below average, then your best bet is to have a GMAT that is above average. to balance it out.

Quote:

Target Schools: IESE, Rotman, McGill, Emory, Notre Dame, Fisher

I'm heartened to see that you are targeting schools with lower average GMATs! Since the chances are better at those. You know, IESE might be worth applying to this year -- your 690 is indeed above average for them, and they will dig the international angle. For some of the others, you can throw your hat in the ring, though I'm not sure of the reasoning behind some of them (e.g. Fisher is a very tech-focused school).

How about instead if you look into USC? They have a sports business institute and their average GMAT is 690, so you're right at the average there: https://www.marshall.usc.edu/faculty-re ... -institute

You'd apply to the program with a strong career vision, and then you can get involved with the sports business institute once you're there. https://www.marshall.usc.edu/faculty-re ... -institute

Quote:

Target schools above are the ones I plan on applying to this year but I may swap out one here and there.

I'd love to hear what you think!

Thanks!

Hope this helps!

gmatclubot

Re: Ask ApplicantLab [#permalink]

30 May 2019, 10:09