Ask ApplicantLab

Hi there! Let me jump in below.

Ok so for starters, your high school scores will probably not be of interest to US business schools. I am not sure if a 69% for undergrad is good or not (would need to know something more like "class rank" or "top 10% of class" or something like that to have a better sense.

The good news is, the GMAT is solid -- I'm especially hoping it involved a strong Quant score, since it sounds like your undergrad wasn't all that quant-heavy.

Oh.... yeah, this part is not quite as strong. First of all, with only three years of experience right now, you're probably a smidge on the younger side for the typical MBA program.

Usually, when "younger" applicants get accepted, it's because they have been elevated to a higher level of impact / contribution that puts their *accomplishments* on par with people with, say, 5 years of experience.

One thing I do like is the client experience angle -- when I first started reading "market research" my heart initially sank as I pictured you sort of alone in a cubicle analyzing data / writing reports, and such solitary work often doesn't allow candidates to demonstrate the team-work / EQ / relationship skills MBA programs look for. However, it sounds like you've been able to manage clients and also convince them to spend more money with you -- never a bad thing!

It seems to me like your career path is on to a good start; I'm just debating with myself whether or not you should wait a year or two before applying -- could you potentially move up even more / have more impact if you waited another year?

Side note: the qualitative research angle might be a good thing to mention as a potential contribution to, e.g. the Marketing Club at a future school.

Well, the bad news is, you didn't win a lot of debates... but the good news is, something like this doesn't matter a whole lot. What is far more interesting to me is the "organizing tournaments" -- if you were e.g. project-managing, fundraising, etc. then THAT shows more leadership skill than merely being a skilled debater.

Ok, not bad -- not amazing, but certainly better than nothing. Perhaps if you do end up waiting until later to apply, you could expand your volunteer role with the non-profit to try to do, e.g. a book drive, a fundraiser, a new teaching program, etc.?

I think that your reason to get an MBA makes a lot of sense? (I mean, at least you didn't say something like "I want to work for a hedge fund!" which would be a bit insane) -- it flows pretty naturally from your current role.

re: "tech or cpg" -- it's great that you have experience with both. I think if you point out: "I have experience with both" then you can mention pursuing both paths.

Musing: could you potentially try to get a marketing job directly for one of your clients now?

Also -- I'm sure you know this, but don't point out "Well I don't make a lot of money" as a reason to want to switch

Have any of your market insights ever influenced a key decision a client has made? That could be a cool thing to mention in the resume

So, for the Canadian programs, give it a shot! I feel like Rotman might like the more creative aspects of your profile. I also think that the Canadian visa situation is the most friendly of all. (too bad it's so cold there, or I'd move there in a minute, ha ha)

For the UK schools, I'm a little less optimistic about Cambridge / Oxford (in part since I don't know how strong their marketing / career pipelines are -- you may want to check it out before shelling out a lot of money for a program that may or may not have strong marketing outcomes?

For the US -- you are RIGHT to be worried about visa issues. As of last week, I heard that Trump was considering eliminating the OPT work visa program, which would be devastating not only for all international students here, but for my country as a whole. We were a country built on immigrant effort and talent, and eliminating OPT would be a big old shot in our own foot. Nothing official has been announced yet, but... if Trump wins re-election, he will be even more of an unfettered anti-immigrant and so.... I agree with your caution.

re: top 20 / 25... I think you could potentially have a shot at them. BTW, some of the programs that are best for marketing / CPG aren't "famous" schools -- but check out Illinois and also Wisconsin. Ohio might be good too, if they have close ties with Proctor and Gamble (headquarters in Ohio). Again -- it will be really beneficial to dig beneath the surface to the career outcomes reports -- it can be surprising sometimes how much the different schools vary in terms of career outcomes (function, industry, etc. ). For tech, a school to look at could be Foster in Seattle (HQ of both Microsoft and Amazon) .

For the Spanish / French schools, yes, knowledge of a European language is a huge part of getting a job in one of the EU countries. This is why the schools all have language lessons for MBA students, and recently an admissions officer at HEC (I think?) said that ideally you will arrive to campus with a least a basic grasp of the language. That having been said -- I'd love for you to reach out to Indian students at schools like IE and ask -- I wonder if they don't end up in the EU afterwards, but perhaps get jobs in EU-based companies, in India?


I don't think marketing would be a full-on "pivot" -- it would be an expansion upon your current experience. Re: the 1 year vs. 2 year -- usually, the 2 year is "better" in many peoples' eyes since it allows for the summer internship... but now... internships are getting cancelled??? (not sure if Covid will still be around next year?) And also, 2 year programs are usually more expensive (for obvious reasons). Can you reach out to other people from India who have done the 1-year MBAs in the UK and ask how things go for them re: recruiting? I do think that the UK work visa is not a particularly generous one, but my knowledge is probably outdated (due to Brexit, etc.)

So for me, Canada is your best bet re: visa / work authorization uncertainty.

In terms of strengthening your profile, I don't think you need to take any coursework (the 760 GMAT is solid enough) -- what I'd say is try to take more of a leadership role at work, and if that's not possible, then perhaps via a non-profit. A lot of people mistakenly think that adcoms like community service just for its own sake, but it goes deeper than that: 1) they like to get a genuine passion of ANY sort, and for many people that HAPPENS to be volunteering, but does not HAVE to be and 2) In the past, candidates I've worked with whose jobs did not allow them for much leadership were able to take on a leadership role in a non-profit in their spare time, and demonstrate those skills *there*.

Hope this helps! Keep me posted!

Hi there! Let's jump in...:


Fingers crossed for your GMAT score! Start practicing with that stupid virutal whiteboard if you haven't already (and if the test will be online vs. in person)

Ok, so how many people are you managing? It sounds like (I hope?) you've had an opportunity to demonstrate some creativity / innovation in how you sold those travel cards (?? ie, some sort of creative marketing campaign?).

I am also equally fuzzy on what skills are necessary to "increase the forex turnover". The descriptions of your job right now aren't *entirely* letting me picture your leadership strengths -- that is, I'm not sure what strengths someone needs to be good at managing an FX department. People skills, I"m guessing? Client management skills?

A lot of this will depend upon which people skills, innovation, intitiative, etc. you've been able to demonstrate in your job!

This is nice but won't really "move the needle". Mention it in one line on the resume, not more. MBA programs don't really care about things like tech competitions (since they are not robotics graduate schools!)

I like this -- if you're helping bring in under-resourced / under-banked people into the system, and thus enhancing their lives, then this could be a great little story -- THIS one should probably take up 2 -3 lines in the resume -- it's far more relevant / interesting than a robotics competition (sorry).

Re: the schools you selected, you are probably in the range for the schools above... but it's hard for me to go much deeper since I don't know what your post-MBA career goal is. Do you want to stay in banking? If so, UNC might be great since Bank of America (one of our largest banks) has its HQ in NC).

Thank You Maria!

Posted from my mobile device

Hey @ApplicantLab/Maria!

Thanks a LOT for taking the time out to go through my profile.
I really appreciate the straight advice that you give.



my undergrad and post grad grades are honestly not very good - I am not sure of rankings as my Uni didnt publish marks publicly, but they are not strong, nonetheless. I am hoping that my GMAT will make up for that.



So I am certain of a promotion to Research Manager, and 1 direct reportee, by April of next year. I do understand I would get a lot more time to work on my profile as well, especially on impact as well. Unfortunately, due to some personal reasons, I really want to apply this year itself. But yes, I am aware that I am 1-2 years younger than the average at most schools.

One thing I wanted to check - is there any way for my work ex and Psych background to be seen as slightly unique, against the majority of consultants/finance/engineers?

Thanks for the tip on the Marketing Club!



On the social work, I wanted to understand how important this is. I know it is currently weak, but I dont plan to make it a large part of my application. So I was just wondering if this is something where I should really focus my efforts? IF I do wait a year, I would much rather put in that effort into having an impact at my job.



Glad to know that the goal makes sense.
A side question: as I have been researching career outcomes, I have also been toying with the idea of going into strategy consulting...any idea if my work ex would play a positive/negative role there?

So from what my experience is, I could potentially make the jump from my company to marketing for a client, but a LOT of the people I have seen shift to the client side remain stuck in a consumer insights role within the company, and fail to make the shift into marketing. Hence I want to go the MBA route.

As a nature of the job, most of the work directly influences client decisions - for eg. the example I provided, my study helped a large tobacco manufacturer in India finalise the products and price points with which to enter a new market.would this be the sort of thing that would be relevant?

Yes, I do know not to mention the money angle here. Wouldn't want to convey that I am doing an MBA for the money haha.



Thanks a lot for the encouragement! Rotman is actually the current top of my list coz they have *some* placements into marketing, and the fact that its Canada.
Now, and I know I am starting to reach, but is there any hope of me getting a scholarship to Rotman's? It is honestly an expensive course, especially for the outcomes which they provide (Canadian MBAs just aren't as lucrative as American ones).



Other than their weak pipeline into marketing, do you think my profile currently is 'good enough' to get into one of these?

SO this is one of the biggest things which I am struggling with. Most top B Schools in UK, Canada barely have a pipeline into marketing. Cambridge send 4% of their class into Marketing, Rotman sends 12%. Oxford, Ovey, NUS dont even mention Marketing as a function in their placement reports. The best schools for marketing are in the US, or Spain. which are both not very viable for me. Any suggestions on what I can do here haha?



I really dont want to stray outside the T25 because of the uncertainties regarding employment (from what I understand, things are tenuous for internationals even within T25). I will look into Foster for sure. Do you think McCombs would be a viable option for me?

And just because I HAVE to check (because I am a huge fan of one of the professors there), do you think I have ANY shot at Duke Fuqua? I have also been reading about the overall culture there, and it seems really like the type of place I would want to be.



Thanks! I will certainly reach out to Indians at ESADE and IE (they both have great marketing pipelines.). That being said, as was recently pointed out to me, trying to make a career in marketing in a country where I don't speak the language might be a recipe for disaster haha

Once again, cant thank you enough for taking out the time to read this and answer my questions!

Hi Maria
Could you weigh in on my profile?

Background and nationality - Indian (male), age at application - 26, Business and management education (Undergrad and post-grad from top tier institutes in India)
GMAT: 720 -740 (Realistic target)
Undergrad Gpa- 7.48/10 (equivalent to 4.0 acc to gmac)- top 30% of my class

Post grad Gpa - 2.93/4.33 from IIM (top 30% of class)
Common Admission Test 2015 (GMAT equivalent for Indian bschools, 200,000 test takers in a year) - 98.5 percentile


Work experience and leadership - 3.5 years (during application) CPG firm in India, led a team of 10+ graduates for all these 3.5 yrs, youngest and fastest to get promoted, youngest state head, highest growth and achievement nos. in first 2 years

Recommendations from Pan India or regional Heads

Community and others -

Volunteering at a school for special needs children - mostly kids who don't have resources for correct diagnosis - tried to teach them nuances of human interaction and to make them independent in their daily tasks

Hosted a tedx event and achieved a blackbelt in martial arts, opportunity to represent country and state in international and national competitions

Post MBA goals - transition to consulting in CPG/manufacturing and then start an entrepreneurial venture (i have decent reasons for them)



zero international experience, but experienced many cultures in India - worked in the most international location in India - negotiated deals with Russians, Ukrainians, English, Americans, Israelis etc.

Ideal GMAT score considering my background?
Which schools shall I target - Stretch, Realistic, Safety?


P.S. I really appreciate your effort in developing ApplicantLab and providing quality consulting at a budget rate. I am planning to enroll right after I take my GMAT.

OK -- whew. This profile has some ups and downs... top 30% of your undergrad class wouldn't normally be seen as a huge deal, but if it was truly from a "top tier" college, then that is a positive.

That post-grad GPA is odd -- looked at on its own, a 2.9 /4.3 would be seen as being a pretty bad result -- and yet you were still in the top 30% of the class?

I think it might be a concern that, to the extent that the classwork in undergrad and at IIM are along similar lines as MBA coursework, they may worry: "Will this person excel in the MBA classes, if they weren't super (?) successful in previous, similar coursework?" In your resume, be sure to leave OUT the GPA and, if anything, you could put "top 30% of the class"... or maybe just don't mention that part at all, and just focus on the other facets of your application / accomplishments in the resume.

Similarly, 3.5 years of experience -- would mean enrolling at 4.5 years of experience, which is good, ESPECIALLY if you've gotten an early promotion and are doing super-well at work. BE SURE YOUR RECOMMENDER talks about how you're the youngest / fastest to get promoted -- they can play that aspect of your candidacy up.

Ok -- their title / seniority is less important than if they have directly managed you.

These are fine -- extra-currics are an odd thing in MBA admissions; they can sometimes really help a marginal candidate, but they aren't entirely necessary for someone with a strong profile. Keep up with them!

Ok, so CPG makes sense... is your role right now also involving the manufacturing of these products? I don't think I'm sure what your job role is -- is it on the business side? More finance, or marketing, or.... ?

Make sure (you'll see this in the Career Vision module in the Lab) that your long-term career vision is something specific -- that is, simply saying "Well, one day I want to start my own CPG firm" is a little too vague.

Ok so be sure to mention these experiences and specific countries in the resume and perhaps also hit that point again in the essays (if / when it naturally "fits"). The next-best thing to international experience is working with global teams, since that at least demonstrates SOME cultural flexibility. The "many cultures in India" thing is not quite as valuable.

Whew, it's hard to tell / give more specific advice without some more info -- ideally, I'd love to see the GMAT at 750+ *only* because the grades from your previous academic work seem "ok, but not amazing", so in that case, the GMAT may weigh more heavily than it would otherwise.

I'm also not 100% sure what your impact has been on the business -- presumably, you're having SOME sort of positive impact, otherwise there wouldn't be any promotions... but for the tippy-top schools, a LOT of it comes down to the size and scope of impact -- that is, someone who (to pick a random example) proposes a new product, convinces senior management to launch it, and it becomes the fastest-growing product in its category in year 1..... is in a stronger position than, say, someone who works in a (to pick another random example) accounting / controller function, who is very good at their job but who really only "crosses the t's and dots the i's" and is off to the side in terms of influencing the company's direction.

If you're interested in CPG, Kellogg is probably one of the best schools for that. For other schools -- I think it would rest upon what sorts of skills you most want to learn: if the main goal is "consulting, no matter what", then schools like Tuck, UVa Darden, and of course any other of the top 10 schools would be good. If your main concern however is long-term entrepreneurial skills, then really pay close attention to the offerings different schools have -- e.g. do they only have a few courses on how to start a company, or do they have a fully-fledged innovation program? Not all schools are created equal in terms of their offerings, so do your research!

Interestingly enough, in case anyone reading this is interested in "brand management" in CPG, there is something to be said for being located in the midwest, which is where a lot of CPG firms are located -- e.g. P&G is in Ohio, Pepsi / Frito-Lay is in Texas (I think), on the retailer side, Target and Best Buy are in Minneapolis. I mention this because the smaller, less-famous MBA programs in those cities often have strong ties with top-tier employers (I think people in other countries tend to either overlook this or not be aware of it). Some of the best schools for CPG are Indiana Kelley and Wisconsin!

I think in terms of "is this a top-10 profile or not?" a lot will come down to the impact you've made, as well as whether or not you're in a "Feeder" firm or can find "resume twins" that have gone to top schools before you (I have advice on "Resume Twins" in the free school research step in the "To Do List" in ApplicantLab). -- the GMAT will also really help convince me that the fast-paced academics at some programs wouldn't be a struggle. Have others from your company, and/or your IIM program, gone on to top US MBA programs? Start reaching out to them (or looking them up on LinkedIn) to get a sense of where they ended up.

If the grades in previous schooling weren't super-strong, esp in quant subjects, maybe hold off on the more quanty schools like Booth and MIT.

Sorry this isn't a clear "black or white" answer -- I don't have quite enough info to make an educated guess, and also, a lot of school admissions can at times be random (tomorrow I'll be doing a video on the GMATClub YouTube channel that will demonstrate that!) so it's always best to identify schools that have the sorts of elective offerings you want, schools that you're competitive in (since Indian test-takers tend to score about 30 points higher on the GMAT than avg., the ROUGH AND UNSCIENTIFIC rule of thumb is to deduct 30 points from your score to get a sense of where you'd be "competitive" from a test perspective), and then do student outreach to try to narrow it down more from there!

Assuming the profile is the strongest version of what was written above, the top school that most jumps out at me for you would be Kellogg -- it's a strong consulting school, and I know it's trying hard (and succeeding!!!!) to develop its non-marketing courses, but its marketing program is still one of the best -- a key skill most folks in CPG eventually need.

Thanks!

Wow
Thanks Maria
This just might be the most comprehensive evaluation I have received (though the most pessimistic :p)
This instantly makes me want to sign up to applicantlab because this eval was most human if not anything else.
There were some persisting questions which I can ask you soon as an ApplicantLab user
Thank you

Posted from my mobile device

Thank you so much Maria for such a detailed analysis and insightful feedback on my profile. I look forward to many more such discussions in the coming weeks as I have decided to use ApplicantLab as my MBA application planner. I am confident that your product coupled with your valuable knowledge will be an excellent partner for me during this process.

I am currently awaiting Tepper and Kellogg's results for Fall 2020 R3 while simultaneously preparing for GMAT for next year's admission cycle. Hope to speak to you soon!

Thanks
Prayush![/quote]


Hi Maria

What are your thoughts on Online/Distance Learning MBA from an international B-School (from US/UK; likes of Warwick, UNC, ASU Carey) for an International applicant?

Hi Maria
Please evaluate my profile and suggest points of improvement and my chances at the below-listed schools

Male
Age : 27
Nationality : Indian
GMAT : 750

Secondary : 88.4%
Senior Secondary : 80.2
Undergrad : 65, BTech , ECE


Work Ex : ~4 Years primarily in consulting and analytics (India)

Axtria (Associate ,March 2019- Present)

Responsible for offshore business consulting &analytics projects in the Decision Science team at Axtria.
 _Working as an offshore business consultant for brand managers of a Japan and US based pharma clients understanding business problems, gathering business requirements and identifying data sets and solving problems using analytics
 _Optimized DTC Channels spend for a brand across different channels by creating non-linear Marketing Mix Models and optimising the spend with its split into Prime and Non-Prime Television slots.(SQL , Python ,Excel)
 _Carried out marketing mix modelling on an 3 different brands to measure ROI and optimize spending on promotional channels (linear and non-linear). Measuring interaction effect and pathways for each marketing channel further improved optimization by 10% in implementing budget and sales scenarios for short-term and long-term sales. (SQL ,R ,Python, Excel)
 _Built a excel based Persistency and Compliance tool of patient analytics for 10 different areas of oncology which involved handling huge amount of data and processing with each having its business rules and utilizing different data sets. (Hive, Impala, SAS, Excel).
 _Mentoring/Managing junior analysts throughout the projects.. Effective onshore/offshore communication over emails and daily calls.

Senior Associate,WNS Global Services (Feb 2018-March 2019)


Responsible for secondary data analytics projects in the pharma space for a large UK based pharma company (£30.821 billion ) as part of the Commercial analytics team at WNS Global Services, Gurgaon.
• _Experience with working Real world Data sources such as medical claims and electronic health records understanding real world use cases like treatment patterns, cost of medications, prevalence, impact of various risk factors in the immune inflammation area.
• _Statistical data analysis for large patient level datasets with understanding the disease landscape across the geography and presenting the analysis deriving insights in data visualization
live environment and patient segmentation using clustering techniques and implementing in QV tool.
• _Supporting the forecasting team on client’s proprietary drugs across various disease areas by building light touch valuations and integrated forecasting model based on KC’s uptake and decline curves with consultation from different therapy areas.



Research Associate, SmartAnalyst, Apr 2016-Feb 2018

Responsible for projects in Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR) department of Financial Analytics team with projects for US based Pharma client
• _Part of a team of 4 resources - to conduct a SAP (statistical plan analysis) to evaluate and compare healthcare resource utilization in melanoma patients initiating in three different treatment arms.
• _Carried out cost comparison analyses by integrating evidence from clinical trials database and real world claims in three indications: multiple myeloma, advanced melanoma and metastatic renal cell carcinoma for different geographies and result stratified by different parameters.
• _Part of a team for developing a tool automating the analysis of resource utilization data from clinical trial and real world claims database

Extra Curricular- Won two major Astronomy quizzes in school and got to visit two different National Astrophysics Labs in India. Also delivered presentations and talked to a lot of different scientists . To-date ,still I have a good passion for astronomy.
Took part in lot of badminton and tennis tournaments at college level.
Volunteered for an Anti-Drugs and Anti-Ragging Campaign in college run by the group “Leaders for Tomorrow” across Delhi/NCR.
Participated and completed Airtel Delhi 5k marathon (2019)
Currently an active member of my current company's internal club and we regularly host/organize different events for our employees with a headcount of 1200+ folks.




Post MBA goals : Management Consulting in Big 4/MBB


Target Schools:
ISB
LBS
HEC
INSEAD
Stanford (being very dreamy)


And other consulting schools that you deem fit. Please make suggestions .

Please let me know if I deem fit to apply for the above said schools for R1 this year.

Thanks in advance.

Hi Maria
Please evaluate my profile and suggest points of improvement and my chances at the below-listed schools

Male
Age : 27
Nationality : Indian
GMAT : 750

Xth : 88.4%
XIIth : 80.2
Undergrad : 65, BTech , ECE


Work Ex : ~4 Years primarily in consulting and analytics (India)

Axtria (Associate ,March 2019- Present)

Responsible for offshore business consulting &analytics projects in the Decision Science team at Axtria.
 _Working as an offshore business consultant for brand managers of a Japan and US based pharma clients understanding business problems, gathering business requirements and identifying data sets and solving problems using analytics
 _Optimized DTC Channels spend for a brand across different channels by creating non-linear Marketing Mix Models and optimising the spend with its split into Prime and Non-Prime Television slots.(SQL , Python ,Excel)
 _Carried out marketing mix modelling on an 3 different brands to measure ROI and optimize spending on promotional channels (linear and non-linear). Measuring interaction effect and pathways for each marketing channel further improved optimization by 10% in implementing budget and sales scenarios for short-term and long-term sales. (SQL ,R ,Python, Excel)
 _Built a excel based Persistency and Compliance tool of patient analytics for 10 different areas of oncology which involved handling huge amount of data and processing with each having its business rules and utilizing different data sets. (Hive, Impala, SAS, Excel).
 _Mentoring/Managing junior analysts throughout the projects.. Effective onshore/offshore communication over emails and daily calls.

Senior Associate,WNS Global Services (Feb 2018-March 2019)


Responsible for secondary data analytics projects in the pharma space for a large UK based pharma company (£30.821 billion ) as part of the Commercial analytics team at WNS Global Services, Gurgaon.
• _Experience with working Real world Data sources such as medical claims and electronic health records understanding real world use cases like treatment patterns, cost of medications, prevalence, impact of various risk factors in the immune inflammation area.
• _Statistical data analysis for large patient level datasets with understanding the disease landscape across the geography and presenting the analysis deriving insights in data visualization
live environment and patient segmentation using clustering techniques and implementing in QV tool.
• _Supporting the forecasting team on client’s proprietary drugs across various disease areas by building light touch valuations and integrated forecasting model based on KC’s uptake and decline curves with consultation from different therapy areas.



Research Associate, SmartAnalyst, Apr 2016-Feb 2018

Responsible for projects in Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR) department of Financial Analytics team with projects for US based Pharma client
• _Part of a team of 4 resources - to conduct a SAP (statistical plan analysis) to evaluate and compare healthcare resource utilization in melanoma patients initiating in three different treatment arms.
• _Carried out cost comparison analyses by integrating evidence from clinical trials database and real world claims in three indications: multiple myeloma, advanced melanoma and metastatic renal cell carcinoma for different geographies and result stratified by different parameters.
• _Part of a team for developing a tool automating the analysis of resource utilization data from clinical trial and real world claims database

Extra Curricular- Won two major Astronomy quizzes in school and got to visit two different National Astrophysics Labs in India. Also delivered presentations and talked to a lot of different scientists . To-date ,still I have a good passion for astronomy.
Took part in lot of badminton and tennis tournaments at college level.
Volunteered for an Anti-Drugs and Anti-Ragging Campaign in college run by the group “Leaders for Tomorrow” across Delhi/NCR.
Participated and completed Airtel Delhi 5k marathon (2019)
Currently an active member of my current company's internal club and we regularly host/organize different events for our employees with a headcount of 1200+ folks.




Post MBA goals : Management Consulting in Big 4/MBB


Target Schools:
ISB
LBS
HEC
INSEAD


And other consulting schools that you deem fit. Please make suggestions .

Please let me know if I deem fit to apply for the above said schools for R1 this year.

Hi there! Whew -- ok, let me try to pull out the specific follow-up questions below..


Given your experience now, AND the fact that you'll get a promotion next year.. it sounds like you'll have a better chance to get in in a year or two? In other words, this is just one more data point indicating that perhaps this year won't be the best year to apply?


Community service is not as important as professional / business accomplishments.

As you can see in the free trial Career Vision module of ApplicantLab, I am not a huge fan of everyone simply saying "Well I want to do management consulting" -- I guess you could try to find a marketing consulting firm, but for some other type, such as strategy consulting, it really needs to make a lot of sense -- both what you bring to the firm, and what you'd get out of that experience that will help you reach the long-term goal.


Scholarships are often given to people who help enhance the school's profile, eg. having a GMAT score significantly above the average. Also, people having very strong professional profiles may also get a scholarship if the school thinks that person will add a lot to the class, e.g. in terms of helping other students. You should apply to a large # of schools in order to maximize your chances of getting a scholarship.

Honestly, you won't know until you try. I've already expressed that I think you should wait a year or two, so know that if you apply this year, it may be tougher?

Also, the lower-ranked schools might have more scholarship money available for someone who can, e.g. bring up their average GMAT score, etc.

Go for it -- as said before, I'm not sure the profile is quite there yet in terms of work experience.. but there's no harm in applying and then being a re-applicant later on.

Oh yeah -- you'd have to say that you plan to... (ask the Indian students what *THEY* do -- where do THEY go after graduating from a French / Spanish school. If most of them end up going back to India, then that's what you'd write about. I agree that getting a job in Spain or France without the language would be a challenge!

I am less familiar with the online programs, since -- to be blunt -- it's much easier to get in to those programs, and so I haven't *had* to develop an expertise on them, since I simply don't have client demand for them.

I think that online programs can be a wonderful way to learn the key academic lessons of an MBA program.

What I don't think they do is help you to get a job in the US / UK. I would be really surprised if graduates of online programs are able to get jobs in those countries -- but what I'd do is, prior to applying, try to find other people from your country who did these programs, and find them (maybe via LinkedIn, or your college / udergrad alumni group?) and ask them.

You can also email the career services group at the programs. Use a fake email address though so that you don't damage your application chances by asking a difficult question

Hi there! Let's jump in...:


High school grades do not really matter for MBA applications; I'm not sure if your undergrad grades are strong (is a 65 a little on the low side? What is "ECE", is that the college you attended?), but the 750 GMAT helps balance that out.

A challenge for your background will be showing the inter-personal leadership / EQ skills schools look for. Don't focus too much on the "well I built a cool model that did X and Y". Sure, that is interesting, but it's far more interesting if you led a team to make it happen or had other opportunities to demonstrate leadership skills.

Not ideal to have been in a job for only about one year, but your tenure at other jobs balances that out. Again, with the description above, it feels like you're focusing too much on the complexity of the data analysis stuff, which would be perfect if you're applying for a masters in data analytics, but for an MBA, I don't really care too much about "clustering techniques" and "data visualization" as much as I care about the ability to motivate, inspire, lead others, etc.

Same comments as above. Are you sure you want an MBA and not a Masters in Analytics? I'm being serious -- look into the M in data sciences programs to get a sense of expense, job opportunities afterwards, etc. Also I can't help but wonder if a data science program might have a more favorable visa outcome vs. a standard MBA?

Nice, a fun hobby, but not important. This is a master's degree application -- things you did in your school days are not very relevant.

Ok, so right now this is not a particuarly strong extra-curricular profile -- the good new is, work experience counts much more than extra-curricular experience. The trickier news is, frequently people who are in jobs that don't allow them to show much leadership at work try to make up for it by taking on a significant leadership role outside of work.

Have you taken the lead on any of the "internal club" activities? E.g. been in charge of organizing an event for 1,200 people? That could help!

Hmm. As you may have seen from the Free Trial at ApplicantLab.com, I'm not a huge fan of saying "Consulting via MBB / Big 4". First of all : WHY? What skills and experiences does that job give you that will be beneficial en route to the long-term career vision?

I am guessing your long-term goal is something in pharma, given your work experience. Try to come up with a career vision that meets the criteria I explain in ApplicantLab (those lessons are currently *free*, so this isn't a push for you to purchase it, but rather to go through that module without spending any money and see what does make for a strong career vision.

As of right now, I'm guessing your quant / problem-solving skills are interesting to a consulting firm, but to do strategy consulting, you'd need to demonstrate (either via your work or via the case interviews) an ability to think about the strategic big picture. Also, people management / client management / selling clients on expensive projects are other skills consulting firms like to see.



Interesting -- why the focus on the European programs? INSEAD in particular will want to see evidence of international / multi-cultural management -- if you have not had a chance to work / live overseas, then play up any global experience you may have (working with global clients -- I do recall the UK client, etc. so that is a good start --- but were you *interfacing* with that client, or were you simply doing the analyses that were emailed back and forth?) (the other thing you can play up is if you're working with colleagues in other countries too.

Your employer is, off the top of my head, a sort of "mid-sized" name... and by that I don't mean in terms of revenue, but in that it likely that adcoms have heard of it, but it may not be *quite* as famous as the MBB firms, or even ZS in the pharma space (? I'm not sure?)

When other people from your company and role go to MBA programs, where do they get in?

I like the GMAT score, and I like the overall career picture, but what will make this application sink or swim is ability to prove interpersonal skills (are you leading projects? managing others? negotiating with clients?) vs. simply being a smart but solitary number-cruncher.

Also, you'll need to have a good excuse for "Why Europe?" for the European programs. Can you mention that some of the world's top pharma companies are based there? For a place like HEC, have you reached out to Indian students there to see if they recommend that you start learning French ASAP?

In terms of US schools, the ones with healthcare programs would be most open to your background -- the top ones (hardest to get in to) would be Wharton HCM, and Duke. Other US schools with strong HC programs are Vanderbilt, Emory, and UNC.

Thanks!

Hi Maria

Will be great for you to do my profile evaluation !!
Below are the details :

Indian Female, Currrent Age - 30yrs, planning to apply in R1 this year of various B-schools.
GMAT Info : Q50, V48, IR4 (as it was online test so no AWA score).

Education : Bachelors of Technology degree in Electrical Engg. from NIT Rourkela - 8.48 CGPA (not sure of US conversion scale - in the top 10-15%ile of the class). Graduated in 2012
Masters of Technology in Control and Instrumentation Engg. from Delhi Technical University - 8.5 CGPA (class gold medalist) : Graduated in 2015

Snapshot of the professional experience :
1. 2012 - 2013 : Graduate Trainee at one of the power generating companies. Learnt about the various processes and had the training stint in 4 different power plan locations.

2. 2015 - 2016 : Philips Lighting India (Application Specialist) -
i. Built Project pipeline with Specifications for the Key End-User accounts in Retail and Hospitality Segment in North & East India. (2 out of 4 gegraphical zones in India).
ii. Created Customised Contents / Solutions (Luminaires + Controls) based on Global System Architectures suitable for local context.
iii. Prepared Design Proposals & Technical Tender Specifications and Supported Key Accounts Sales in Technical Bidding & Negotiations.
iv. Worked with the Marketing Team to provide periodic analytics and insights to drive distribution metrics in the R&H Professional sales channel.
v. Major contributor in retaining a client which contributed to more than 50 percent of the segment national revenue.

3. 2017 - 2018 : (got pre-promoted to next grade with higher responsibility) Philips Lighting India (Account Manager)
i. Engaged and managed the 20+ Leading clients of the company in Northern India (one of the gepgraphical zones in India)
ii. Generated and worked to achieve sales of 1.7mln dollars.
iii. Provided regular Products and System Solutions updates by organising Seminars and Workshops to drive Specifications Sales.
iv. Pre-sales Consultation to evaluate project requirements and proposed appropriate Products or Systems based Solution.
v. Participated and Supported Sales Team on Technical aspects of Tender Bids and Negotiations for Winning Orders.
vi. Made budgetary proposals as per the project requirement.

4. 2018 - 2019 : (got offer from Philips Lighting Malaysia from an internal recommendation) Philips Lighting Malaysia (Key Account Manager)
i. Generated and managed topline sales of around 1mln USD : 50% yoy growth in the portfolio..
ii. Engaged with existing partners and worked closely to understand the current business model and helped to expand the business in Malaysia.
iii. Generated a project pipeline of 6mln USD : 120% of the assigned target.
iv. Onboarded and Managed Large Accounts.
v. Organized training for the existing partners for continuous product release update sessions – technical and commercial.
vi. Appointed new partners and defined structured paths for them for onboarding to Value Added Partners - working closely with the global team.
vii. Participated in the tenders and Managed different partners by their market reach and market share.
viii. Managed the end to end project cycle including tender bidding, price alignment with marketing, sales closing, supply chain delivery and post order services of products.

Had to move back to India at the end of 2019 due to personal reasons. I had a job offer (in the similar industry) which I delayed to join in April 2020. But, due to COVID this offer is still on hold.
To utilise my time on hand, I have joined a Not-profit organisation (since April 2020) which is helping the frontline people to fight the COVID-19 in the country. I am leading a team of 3 volunteers.
The overall organisation is working to connect the solution providers to the people/organisation who needs them.
My team is working to connect to the people in general and understand the problems / issues / challenges that are present in different areas.

Also, I was part many club activities, core team of the tech and cultural fests, secretary of hostel back in college days. Does these also help ?

PS - Does it help help to get a recommendation from an alumni of the school to which I am applying (specific to Stanford) ?

Target Schools - Stanford (aiming high), Columbia, Insead and the likes.... I am still reseraching on the B-Schools, so this list will populate in a few weeks.

Thanks !!

Hi Maria/ApplicantLab,

Please provide your thoughts on my application strategy (mainly goals).

Quick background –
Indian Female (24)
GPA – 2.7/4.0 (Bachelors in Math) ; GMAT – 710 (Q49 V39)
Work ex – 3 years at a big 4, working in Risk Management on statistical models (quite niche). Will join the family business in the auto industry in August. Role would be to manage clients and mainly business development. (4 years work ex at matriculation)
Target schools – Duke/Ross/Tuck/McCombs/USC Marshall

Since I will have only over a month’s experience at my family business when I apply in September, I have decided to frame my goals as –

Post MBA goals - I joined consultancy to learn X. While there, I did Y, but after my family business was hit hard from COVID, I knew my skills could be put to better use. In the next year, I'll use my Z expertise learned at (Big 4) to optimize A at the family business and get them through this rough patch. However, I need a holistic business perspective to really understand all the levers you can pull to make a business successful in challenging times. My ST goal will be to return to the family business and grow it to a certain level; in the mid-term, I will join a consultancy such as Accenture/Kearny that will lead me to start my own consultancy (in the long-term) where I can help save other struggling businesses.

Does this seem realistic and logical given my background? Are there any red flags that the Adcom might think that I’m missing? My main concern is how the Adcom would view me wanting to start my own company despite working for the family business.

Also, as an Applicant Lab user, should I consider my GMAT to be a weakness in the Strengths and Weakness section? (I know my GMAT is below average for Tuck and Ross, but not sure if that’s what constitutes a low GMAT).

Thank you so much!

Hi there! My thoughts below:


Ok, so the academic part overall seems strong.... admissions officers might wonder a little how someone who got a Q50 (a very high score) only managed an IR4 (which is not a high score).

There may be a slight concern of: "Ok, this person can clearly do a lot of mathematical computations, but when it comes to critical thinking / reasoning, is there a deficit there? Does this candidate struggle with seeing 'the big picture'?" Of course, the IR score is not nearly as important as the Q score, but... well, it exists for a reason. I don't think you need to do a re-take or anything dramatic like that, but if you're in a very niche area of engineering or data analytics professionally, you may need to think about trying to include at least one example of garnering big picture insight from data, vs. simply being very good at calculations only. An easy place to do this would be in the resume, where you could highlight a place where you did something creative / insightful with data (vs. simply executing a rote analysis or doing a design in a standard way)

Ok, so at first, for the engineering job, I was like: "Huh? What do all of these things mean?" and was about to beg you to try to re-write your job in a less-techy and more "bottom line impact to the business" way -- for example, the last bullet for the first job does this nicely (helping retain a client).

The good news is, after that, you moved away from the tech side and more to the sales /client side, which is good, since it's allowed you to develop people skills and also generating such a large % of revenue above target in Malyasia is great (as is the move to Malaysia in general)

Ok, so, while being unemployed while applying is sub-optimal, the good news is that 1) you've been using that time to do SOMETHING (vs. just watching Netflix all day) and 2) COVID is messing up a TON of peoples' jobs, so there will be more leniency provided for lay-offs, etc. this year.

You'll just need to explain the situation in an "optional" essay (or some schools have a specific "if you've been unemployed for three months or more, explain it here" question.

Eh, it helps a little but usually only when people led / huge improvements vs. simply participating... and even then, work accomplishments are far more relevant to admissions. But it doesn't hurt!
[/quote]

PS - Does it help help to get a recommendation from an alumni of the school to which I am applying (specific to Stanford) ?

Target Schools - Stanford (aiming high), Columbia, Insead and the likes.... I am still reseraching on the B-Schools, so this list will populate in a few weeks.

Thanks !![/quote]

So, re: the recommender -- if that person KNOWS YOU WELL, then go for it. However, (person who knows you well) is far better than (alum from school who doesn't know you as well). It will NOT confer some sort of magical special weight. It's just a "eh, that's nice" and not a "Wow, we must accept this person now!"

For schools, since I don't know your career goals, it's a little tougher to have solid guidance here, but...

... for Stanford, be sure to apply to their MSx program and not just the MBA program. You can use one application to apply to both. I say this due to your age. I do think that it will be a stretch, but you miss 100 % of the shots you don't take", so I say go for it! Just be sure to highlight your leadership impact on people, your company, etc. (given their motto: "Change lives, change organizations, change the world")

Columbia -- sure? But I don't know that they would necessarily have the sorts of classes you need? Are you interested in staying in tech in the long-term (I know "lighting" may not immediately sound like "tech" but I'm guessing there's a lot to it! As a very happy Phillips "Hue" user, there's probably a lot of IoT, etc. going into lighting these days.

I think INSEAD will like the Malaysia aspect of the story. They also tend to be more open to slightly older candidates, so that works in your favor too.

In the free trial of ApplicantLab.com , in the "To Do List" module, you will be able to access (for free!!!!) advice I have on researching and selecting schools.

I think since you already have a masters degree, you could also look in to the one-year MBA programs at Kellogg and Cornell.

I always advocate applying to a broad swath of schools -- ESPECIALLY THIS ROUND 1, which is looking like it may be the most competitive in YEARS due to Covid. Depending upon your career goals, I could try to think of other schools that might be a good fit ?

Thanks!

Good morning! (well, at least, it's morning over here in foggy Los Angeles!) -- let's jump in...


Ok, so the GPA is college isn't quite what would be considered competitive -- of course, the Indian university grading system is different than here in the US, but if a "2.7" means that you were near the bottom of your class (e.g. bottom half, bottom 25th percent), then it's not strong. The one silver lining is that it was in Math, which is more difficult and thus more "forgiveable" than, say, a 2.7 in interpretive dance.

Usually, folks needing to compensate for their university performance need to do extra-well on the GMAT -- that is, an above-average GMAT can compensate for a below-average GPA.

Your Quant score is solid, but the lower Verbal score brought the overall score down a bit. Did you take the test multiple times, or was this just the first time? If it was the first time, do you think you could do considerably better if you were to try a re-take in the next month or two?

You know, this is a teeny smidge on the young side. If you were my kid sister, I'd tell you to:

1) Wait a year -- get some solid accomplishments at the family business under your belt first
2) Use that time to re-take the GMAT or switch to the GRE

I say this because the statistical modeling work, while certainly intellecutally challenging, I'm sure -- probably did not really give you much of an opportunity to lead others (?) or to demonstrate general managerial / business leadership skills?

I am a little concerned then, that applying with an "IQ" heavy, but "EQ" light, work experience may not be the strongest thing.... vs. if you work like crazy for the next year, help the family business grow / expand / survive Covid, etc. then a year from now, your resume might have more "ooomph" to it?

note: if, honestly, your family business is NOT one that you think you could help dramatically improve, then nevermind

I'm a litttttttle worried about the GMAT / GPA combo for these schools. Yes, your score is roughly at their averages, but like I said above, if the undergraduate record was not strong, then you'd need an above-average GMAT to be more competitive.

I like the story about moving to the family business....

... but, to go back to the family business, and THEN go into consulting from there, does not sound realistic. While yes, large consulting firms do at times hire people "From industry", it's FAR more common to get into those firms directly from business school. I'm not sure that a few years at a family business post-MBA would then lead to a job at Accenture, etc.

If anything, put that as your post-MBA goal, and switch it, so that the long term is to take over the family business in 10+ years.


As mentioned above, I think the family business IS the long-term story. If its revenues / profits are enough to help you pay back the student loans you may need to take (US$150 - $200k), then make that the main career story so they will not worry about your ability to get employment that will help you cover the cost of the loans. I do not recommend going with the "I want to start my own consulting firm" in the long run story, and I absolutely do not recommend saying "I'll go back to the family business post-MBA and THEN try to miraculously get a job at AT Karney".

I think you could go ahead and apply this year, but perhaps cast a wider net, just to be safe. I do think that your GMAT would be considered, not "low" in absolute terms but "relatively" low, especially if it needs to compensate for college GPA concerns. Maybe in R1 you focus on the schools above, and then after you submit, you can start prepping some applications to schools with more generous acceptance rates, just in case you end up needing to submit them in R2?


Thanks!