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Hi there! Yes, even though demand for advice for NUS is not (relatively) high - in part since fewer people apply to it; in part because their essays are pretty straightforward, I still do cover it in the Lab. How ApplicantLab works for the schools with less demand: I will sometimes cover advice for the essay anyway, if I get multiple requests for a school in a year. Note that I am just one person creating the advice and so even though I check every school once per year, sometimes changes are made at different times (e.g. in October instead of June) -- so if you see a question that has changed, just reach out to us and I will update it! MANY if not MOST of the other MBA programs have very standard essay questions - that is, they will often ask a question along the lines of " Please describe your career goals and why our program is a good fit for you " or " Describe a time you've been a leader / a leader you admire /a team-work experience ", etc. In ApplicantLab, there is a "General MBA questions" section that provides advice for the most common questions like that I'd estimate that 85% of schools' questions are covered in that list Should a school NOT be covered and should a question NOT be covered in the Lab , simply reach out to us with what the question is and we will guide you on what to do . This might look something like (as a made-up example): "Hmm; that question seems really similar to Columbia's essay 3, about your favorite movie / book / song. Most of the advice there would apply; in this case though, instead what you'd do is ___________ " Hope this helps explain! Given that the Lab is for "DIY" types (i.e., people who take initiative), most of the sorts of people attracted to the Lab are also the sorts of people who can run with guidance as described above. Also, don't forget that the essays are just one part of the admissions process -- and in fact, the essays are technically less important than the resume and the interview is the single most important qualitative element of the application -- check out my blog post about this here: https://www.applicantlab.com/blog/most-important-elements-mba-application/ So, please remember that ApplicantLab covers ALL of the qualitative elements of the application -- the resume, the application form, how to ask for the best possible recommendation, interviews, etc.! I know that folks obsess the most over the essays, but the resume + interview are more important! Thanks!, Maria

Dear Applicant Lab Thank you for taking the time to review our profiles! I am still debating the feasibility of doing a MiM. Right now, I'm testing the waters to see if I should go down this route. I will be back once I have completed the GMAT! TLDR: B4 to MBB via MiM. Rock-bottom GPA, above-average everything else. Demographic • 25-26 upon matriculation (will graduate from Bachelors at 24) • SE Asian male Post-Undergrad Work Experience • Incoming Business Analyst/Associate Consultant at a Big 4 (general management consulting, not strategy arm), aiming to start the Masters with 1-2 years of experience. Undergrad Work Experience • Promoted to a full-time leadership position on one of the biggest-budget projects in my industry and outperformed experienced professionals previously in the same role • Worked with clients/partners (including a FAANG) from 4 different countries as a Project Coordinator; also traveled abroad to pitch projects • Internship at the first unicorn in my country Extracurriculars • 20+ nonschool leadership roles for my ECs, most notable is that I was promoted to the VP of the university's student council before matriculation • 2 short exchanges in Germany and Japan, one paid and the other awarded • Freshman project outperformed all senior year theses at the top national competition, plus a few other national awards in my field Stats • 660 GMAT on the official mock with no prep; fairly confident in 700+ (V86% Q40% - gotta brush up my math) • 2.3/4 GPA from the top national university - I was majoring in an arts degree where the focus was entirely on portfolio building (100% of recruiting is literally "send links"), and I was struggling with depression and a family financial crisis, but yes, it was irresponsible of me to ignore my grades Goals • Transition to an entry-level role at MBB/T2 in my home country or Dubai • Fix my low undergrad GPA so I could have a better shot at a top MBA Circumstances • Willing to start over at the Analyst level, as the pay discrepancy between MBB and B4 in my country is almost 4X • I don't want to wait 5-6 years for an MBA, so I'm considering a master now • As my goal is to target MBB/T2, and due to my financial limitations, it's top schools or nothing at all for me • I'm already 24 this year, so I won't consider a two-year program Target Schools • INSEAD MiM • HEC Paris MSc Strategic Management • IESE MiM • St. Gallen SIM • ESSEC SMIB LBS instantly rejected my profile evaluation due to my low GPA, but IESE was very encouraging. I have yet to talk with the rest on the list. Questions 1. What are my chances at these programs? 2. How high of a GMAT should I aim for? IESE said 700+ to even think about scholarships 3. Is the whole B4 to MiM to MBB/T2 plan rational? 4. What other programs might suit me? Please give me some reality check. Many thanks in advance!

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ApplicantLab

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12 Nov 2021, 10:22

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amitsingla

Hi Maria ApplicantLab
Thank you for taking out time to review my profile.

It was a lot to digest, so it took me a bit longer than usual to respond.
You have highlighted all the relevant points regarding my profile.

1. Clarification regarding GPA: I just checked in Wikipedia and WES website, grading system is different for India and USA. We are given scores in terms of percentage. I scored 62.3% in undergrad and 67.7% in post-grad each of which translates to grade 'A'. However I could not find a reliable method to convert into GPA.

Ok; it will help then if on your resume you put things like "top 5% of class" or "top 10 out of 180" or something like that, especially if you didn't go to a college they will recognize (e.g. IIT)

Quote:

2. You have rightly pointed out my weaknesses other than score and age- long term goals and school selection. I am seeking information regarding consulting and have crystallized post-MBA goals to healthcare consulting sector only as that has been my career throughout (as you rightly pointed out). Second I have changed my preferred school selection to Stanford, Wharton, Berkley, Duke, Anderson, and Ross as they have healthcare concentration.

I'd also add Emory, UNC Chapel Hill, and definitely look into Vanderbilt Owen, which usually has over 20% of its class going into healthcare -- the highest % of any MBA program that I'm aware of.

If your job so far has consisted of being a good doctor, but not showing much leadership beyond that (not transforming your employer; not establishing / growing a non-profit or your own medical start-up; not working with government ministers to change healthcare policy), then I am concerned that Stanford in particular, but also Wharton and Haas may be out of reach (not because Haas has as high of a bar as S and W, but just because it's a small program that has a reputation for not being super-open to candidates from India, perhaps due to its size). If you have the time and money available to apply, then by all means do so, but based on the (very limited!!!) information I have here, it's not clear that the leadership impact so far has been enough to be considered competitive at a Stanford.

On the one hand, I don't ever want to tell someone to NOT apply (in part since I obviously don't know The Whole Story; however, if time / money is a concern, I suspect you will have better luck at the other programs I mentioned. The healthcare industry people I know who get into GSB are usually, e.g. leading large multi-national teams, and/or consulting to their country's health ministers, etc. Just my own experience!!

Quote:

3. I am getting acquainted with the process of recommendation and working towards getting a great LOR.

Sounds great! ApplicantLab has an entire section devoted to every part of the application process, including how to get a good LOR!

Quote:

I hope your son is doing great. I too have fond feelings towards UCLA and california as such. It is such a beautiful place to live. I eagerly wish to join MBA this year.

Should you end up at Anderson (or any other school in LA), drop me a line!

nj97

Joined: 19 Sep 2020

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Location: India

Schools: Desautels (D) Sauder (D) Simon '24 (D)

GMAT 1: 650 Q45 V34 Verified score

GPA: 4

Schools: Desautels (D) Sauder (D) Simon '24 (D)

GMAT 1: 650 Q45 V34 Verified score

Posts: 46

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23 Nov 2021, 08:17

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Indian, Male, 24.
Commerce graduate,
gpa>3.6
gmat-- 650
Professional Experience-- 2 years, as an assistant accountant in an Indian FMCG firm, with 2 promotions,
Interned as a research associate for 4 months,
Volunteering as a teaching faculty in an NGO.(>1 year).

Target schools-- Tepper, Kelley, Desautels, Sauder, Schulich, kenan-flagler.
Applying in round2.

amitsingla

Joined: 13 Sep 2020

Last visit: 08 Apr 2022

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Given Kudos: 119

Location: India

Schools: HBS '25 Booth '24 Fuqua '24 Haas '24 ISB '23 Kellogg '24 Stanford '24 Tepper '24 Wharton '24

GMAT 1: 710 Q50 V36 Verified score

Schools: HBS '25 Booth '24 Fuqua '24 Haas '24 ISB '23 Kellogg '24 Stanford '24 Tepper '24 Wharton '24

GMAT 1: 710 Q50 V36 Verified score

Posts: 15

Kudos: 4

24 Nov 2021, 06:45

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ApplicantLab

Thank you so much Maria.
Again could not reply sooner due to clinical work. I apologize deeply.
I totally got your point regarding Stanford and it makes complete sense.
Really appreciate your feedback.
I will surely ping you on reaching California.
ApplicantLab is a great thing that you are doing. Its democratizing consulting. Its just awesome.
Thanks a lot.

AM1996

Joined: 30 Mar 2021

Last visit: 12 Dec 2023

Posts: 100

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Location: India

Concentration: Technology, International Business

Schools: NTU (I) Tepper '25 (I) Foster '25 (II) Marshall '25 (S)

GMAT 1: 720 Q49 V40 Verified score

Schools: NTU (I) Tepper '25 (I) Foster '25 (II) Marshall '25 (S)

GMAT 1: 720 Q49 V40 Verified score

Posts: 100

Kudos: 15

04 Dec 2021, 22:41

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Not sure if this is the right forum for this?
How is ApplicantLab for colleges like NUS?
I looked at the reviews and couldn't find any mentions of NUS (may have missed though). They do not even have the logo of NUS on their colleges page in the trial version, which really scared me.

I really wanted to buy ApplicantLab; the way it is offering the same services at a fraction of the price is really cool. But on the fence because of NUS.

ApplicantLab

Applicant Lab Admissions Consultant

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Posts: 178

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05 Dec 2021, 19:40

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Hi there!

Yes, even though demand for advice for NUS is not (relatively) high - in part since fewer people apply to it; in part because their essays are pretty straightforward, I still do cover it in the Lab.

How ApplicantLab works for the schools with less demand:

I will sometimes cover advice for the essay anyway, if I get multiple requests for a school in a year. Note that I am just one person creating the advice and so even though I check every school once per year, sometimes changes are made at different times (e.g. in October instead of June) -- so if you see a question that has changed, just reach out to us and I will update it!
MANY if not MOST of the other MBA programs have very standard essay questions - that is, they will often ask a question along the lines of "Please describe your career goals and why our program is a good fit for you" or "Describe a time you've been a leader / a leader you admire /a team-work experience", etc.
- In ApplicantLab, there is a "General MBA questions" section that provides advice for the most common questions like that
- I'd estimate that 85% of schools' questions are covered in that list
Should a school NOT be covered and should a question NOT be covered in the Lab, simply reach out to us with what the question is and we will guide you on what to do. This might look something like (as a made-up example): "Hmm; that question seems really similar to Columbia's essay 3, about your favorite movie / book / song. Most of the advice there would apply; in this case though, instead what you'd do is ___________"

Hope this helps explain! Given that the Lab is for "DIY" types (i.e., people who take initiative), most of the sorts of people attracted to the Lab are also the sorts of people who can run with guidance as described above.

Also, don't forget that the essays are just one part of the admissions process -- and in fact, the essays are technically less important than the resume and the interview is the single most important qualitative element of the application -- check out my blog post about this here: https://www.applicantlab.com/blog/most-important-elements-mba-application/

So, please remember that ApplicantLab covers ALL of the qualitative elements of the application -- the resume, the application form, how to ask for the best possible recommendation, interviews, etc.! I know that folks obsess the most over the essays, but the resume + interview are more important!

Thanks!,
Maria

AM1996

SHRUJAL

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Schools: Tepper '24 (D) Fuqua '24 (D) Kenan-Flagler '24 (A) Johnson '24 (WL) NUS (D)

GMAT 1: 640 Q46 V30 Verified score

GMAT 2: 730 Q49 V41 Verified score

GRE 1: Q167 V150 Verified score

GPA: 3.97

Products:

Schools: Tepper '24 (D) Fuqua '24 (D) Kenan-Flagler '24 (A) Johnson '24 (WL) NUS (D)

GMAT 2: 730 Q49 V41 Verified score

GRE 1: Q167 V150 Verified score

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07 Dec 2021, 02:57

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Hi Maria ApplicantLab,

Appreciate your help !
Could you evaluate my profile for the Fall 2022/ Jan 2023 intake intake ?

Nationality :Indian
Gender : Female
GMAT : 730 (V41,Q49)
Undergraduate details : I have completed Btech. in Computer Science and Engineering in 2019 from a top 20 institute in India
GPA :9.27/10 I was ranked 3rd in a class of 100
Extra curriculars at college:
1) Led the dramatics club at my college , performed award winning streetplays during this time
2) Organized a nation-wide event as a part of my college fest
3) I was involved in sports in college
4) I was also a part of the social justice club at college which basically focused on reducing inequalities among our community

Work Experience : 27 months at Fidelity Investments . I had one promotion till now. I work with United States counterparts. I was the only one responsible for an entire segment of my project from India. I am also involved in many cost cutting projects at this company.

Extracurriculars apart from work :
1) Apart from Work , I have started a small business from scratch for one of the poor family in India.
2) I also volunteered at an organization where we coached underprivileged youth for job interviews
3) I was also selected as one of the top 100 Youth Delegates at a global youth organization. As a Youth Delegate , I also helped organize and was a speaker at the 3 day Youth SDG summit during the United Nations Global goals week.
4) I am currently a Youth Delegate mentor at this organization mentoring 2-3 delegates of the current cohort of delegates.
5) I am also in the process of starting my own non-profit youth organization .We currently have 5 members on board.

My post MBA goals :
Short term goal : To gain enough knowledge and work as a product / project manager at A Tech Company
Long term goal : Start my own sustainable business focusing on social impact / Consulting startups focusing on social impact

Schools which I was looking at :
1) Michigan Ross
2) UCLA
3) UC Berkeley
4) HEC Paris
5) Chicago Booth
6) Columbia Business School (I think this is too much of a stretch)
7) NUS
8) Northwestern Kellog (I think this is too much of a stretch too)

Can you please evaluate my profile ?
Also I am not sure If I stand a chance at the schools I mentioned. I am not able to gauge my candidacy with respect to these schools. It would be very helpful if you could mention good schools in which I might have a chance given my profile.

Thanks in advance !

Regards,
Shrujal Raut

AS1997

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Schools: Judge '24 (D) Yale '25 (S) ISB '24 (A) Cornell '25 (S) Darden '25 (WA)

GMAT 1: 730 Q48 V42 Verified score

GPA: 3.7

Products:

Schools: Judge '24 (D) Yale '25 (S) ISB '24 (A) Cornell '25 (S) Darden '25 (WA)

GMAT 1: 730 Q48 V42 Verified score

Posts: 15

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30 Dec 2021, 05:09

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24 Indian Male

I plan to apply in round 1 in September 2022

GMAT -730
UG- B.COM (Hons.) from University of Delhi
CGPA- 7.8/10

Work experience

2 years at Teach for India. Taught 200 underprivileged students in an under-resourced school.
1 year at an early childhood learning start-up. Have expanded to US and EU in the past 6 months.

Extracurricular and leadership positions

Played cricket at national level for 3 years
Captained my college cricket team for 2 years and my club team for 7 years
Sports President of my college for 2 years
Volunteered at Feeding India for 18 months during college in the capacity of a Manager

What are my chances at the Top 20 US programs and could you please suggest some programs if I wish to pursue education consulting after MBA at organisations such as Dalberg and Bridgespan Group.

Alexanderdims

Joined: 04 Apr 2020

Last visit: 09 Jun 2024

Posts: 11

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GMAT 1: 750 Q54 V42 Verified score

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06 Feb 2022, 06:31

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Hi Maria,

I wonder what do you think of my chances based on the profile below?

29 years old - 1st Generation of student in my family

Nationality:
Indonesia

Education:
- B.Eng from Top 3 Indonesian Universities
- Numerous online course completions from Coursera, Edx, and free course from Harvard Online.

Grade:
3.36 GPA

GMAT:
750 (Q51 V40)

Work Experience
- Future leadership Program - Indonesia own state company (1-year in Indonesia)
- Sales Manager - General Electric (1-year cover Indonesia and 1-year cover Australia & NZ)
- Senior Sales Manager - Decacorn Startup (GRAB) (0.5 year lead new projects for SEA market)
- Regional Business Leader - Honeywell (1-year cover SEA and 1 year++ cover APAC region).

Extracurriculars:
- Ex semi-professional athlete (Capoeira Martial Art)
- Ex semi-professional musician (Drummer).
- Head of Event for Eart Hour
- National Young & Tourism Ambassador for Ministry of Youth & Sport
- Volunteer for Greenpeace
- Volunteer for Unilever Brightfuture Program
- Regional President for World Merit Indonesia (Ex-Founder)
- Organizer of GE Volunteer Program
- Head of Honeywell Employee Program
- Head of Honeywell Running Club

Languages:
- English
- Indonesia
- Malayu

Post-MBA Goal:
- Want to build a startup (fintech) company that will bring micro-investment access to SMEs from retail investors who want to start becoming entrepreneurs and owning SME business assets.

Schools which I was looking at only HBS even though I got rejected without Interview this R2 2021.

Lennor

Joined: 17 Nov 2021

Last visit: 30 Sep 2022

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Location: Thailand

GPA: 2.29

WE:Other (Other)

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11 Mar 2022, 12:59

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Dear Applicant Lab

Thank you for taking the time to review our profiles! I am still debating the feasibility of doing a MiM. Right now, I'm testing the waters to see if I should go down this route. I will be back once I have completed the GMAT!

TLDR: B4 to MBB via MiM. Rock-bottom GPA, above-average everything else.

Demographic

Post-Undergrad Work Experience

• Incoming Business Analyst/Associate Consultant at a Big 4 (general management consulting, not strategy arm), aiming to start the Masters with 1-2 years of experience.
Undergrad Work Experience

Extracurriculars

Stats

Goals

Circumstances

Target Schools

LBS instantly rejected my profile evaluation due to my low GPA, but IESE was very encouraging. I have yet to talk with the rest on the list.

Questions

Please give me some reality check. Many thanks in advance!

anuj777

Joined: 10 Jan 2013

Last visit: 25 Sep 2022

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Posts: 5

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14 Jun 2022, 11:58

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My name is Anuj Singhal and I am planning to give GMAT by Oct end. I am planning to do an MBA from ISB and some other good colleges in UK and USA. Request to please review the profile and help in suggesting some good colleges which would suit my profile
10th : 88.60%
12th: 84%
Graduation: B.TECH Computer Science, IP University (4yrs)
Post Graduation: SDA Bocconi Asia Centre (2 years)
Work Experience: 7 years , Sales, Marketing & Operations (Vodafone, Samsung and realme Mobile)

Thanks & Regards,
Anuj Singhal

carlton17

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Last visit: 31 May 2023

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GPA: 3

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03 Jul 2022, 10:29

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Dear Maria,

1. I am a serving Officer with the Indian Navy. I was commissioned in June 2013 and will be retiring in June 2023 after 10 years of service. I am a Submariner and have carried out the role of Deputy Electrical Officer and Electrical Officer onboard Indian Naval Submarines and Submarine Rescue Units.

2. I am an Electrical and Electronics Engineer. I joined the forces straight out of college. I completed my MSc in Electronics and Communication while I was serving. I intend on moving on to corporate life after I retire, and pursuing an MBA. Towards this, I have been preparing for the GMAT exam. I gave the exam on 21 June 22 and got a 640 (Q48, V30). I intend on applying to the best business schools around the globe, for which I am working towards a 700+ score.

3. While my work entails Tech, Operations, as well as HR, Tech is what excites me. A Tech Ops portfolio would be homefront for me, but would that be too niche a line? Also, I would prefer to leverage my work ex in the sea-faring industry to the max, if possible. This brings me to my first question. Is this too much of a shot in the dark? I will obviously keep my options open. And, TBF, I've not done sufficient research to zero in on the exact kind of companies I'd like to work for post-MBA. But some market knowledge would definitely help. I have been doing the ground work on my 'Resume Twin(s)'. I have reached out to a few of them and I keep taking feedback about their career paths. Where I get stuck is the fact that most of them are leaning towards or have already started a career in Consultancy. While Strategy Consultancy does entice me, I side with Tech more. Hence the dilemma.

4. I wish to apply for the Aug/Sep intake of '23. I'm planning on giving the GMAT again in Sep/Oct this year in order to make the R2 deadlines. Question 2: In the meantime, is there anything else I can do to add to my profile? My present job requires me to interact with a lot of foreign Navies, and in depth with M/s James Fisher Defence Ltd., UK, which is the proprietary manufacturer for Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicles.

The following may tell you more about me:
(a) School Captain
(b) School Football Team Captain
(c) President of College Technical Club
(d) Ranked #2 in Electrical Competency Board - Indian Navy
(e) Robin Hood Army Volunteer
(f) Participated in multiple Multi-Nation Submarine Rescue Operations
(g) Business - Started "Crib To Whiz" Play School in Durgapur, West Bengal, India in 2018. The Play School is presently one of the best in the town

raju1212

Joined: 02 Jun 2021

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GMAT 1: 620 Q40 V34 Verified score

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28 Aug 2022, 10:37

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Hey im applying to MiM program in Europe and needed a review on my cv content. Being a recent graduate i dint had many impact-full or leadership roles. but i tried to highlight the impact create by projects i worked on, and the little job i did. So wanted a review whether this cv looks OK or may be some one who is just showing off what he was part of and not telling what he actually did, as getting into detail will take space, and most people tell to just summarise stuff.

EXPERIENCE

Teach for India (Oct 2021 – Mar 2022)
Intern, Program Data and Research
•Assisting the team & other stakeholders in donor stewardship and developing a market analysis of CSR in the country. Identifying and researching creative new avenues of fundraising & in-depth research on potential donors.
•Identified 20 untapped HNI leads from CSR & Family Foundations bucket for the team to pursue, generating funds of up to ₹55 lakhs
•Collaborated with Teachers and Program managers to gather data and made reports for communicating impact and progress to the city leadership team and Donors.
•Maintain and aggregated student data for 55 Delhi schools and monitored classroom performance and growth on Excel for Teachers as well as managed Donor funds pipeline in Salesforce Dashboard (CRM)

Rohit Impex (Apr 2021 – Sept 2021)
Founders Office Intern
•Providing support to Founder and the Senior management team to achieve the goals of the team
•Primarily responsible for managing and monitoring the tracking software of the shipments for the purpose of providing any assistance by interpreting the data received, and carried out weekly freight audits by inspecting invoices, inventories and loads.
•Saved 95 hours by analysis and monitoring route data, which enabled us to reduce costs across 30+ deliveries.

Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (Sept 2020 – Dec 2020)
Research Intern
•Developed a VR simulator of UAVs and projectiles with the PARIMAL labs team at IIT-R for the Indian Armed Forces, sanctioned by Defence Research and Development Organisation India (DRDO)
•Responsible for developing the prototype for the project, assisting in the testing of the prototype and mapping further changes by gathering data and conducting research to better understand use cases and increase the usability of the software.
•Created 3D terrains and environments, implemented logic codes for various flight parameters (Drag, Thrust, Weight), and developed libraries for projectile projection

AIESEC Mumbai (Dec 2017 – Dec 2018)
Corporate Relations Associate (Intern)
•Team leader in Business Development Unit of AIESEC, leading a team of over 10 individuals in Mumbai.
•Facilitating incoming global talent to start-ups & MSMEs by interacting with key stakeholders of the client company.
•End responsible for partnerships and other collaborations to boost corporate and social sector international exchanges by AIESEC.

CO-CURRICULAR

Guru Nanak Khalsa College, Mumbai
Team leader
•Participated in organizing the E-Spark tech festival, co leading a team of 8 students, for overseeing all the essential requirements for the event and managing the social media content
•Compared with last year's event, the engagement was increased by 30% and we raised ₹1 lakh INR in sponsorship money for the fest, through engagement with local business
•Member of the photography club, helped in designing the college digital magazine articles.

Sant Nirankari Charitable foundation, Mumbai
Volunteer
•Served on the team responsible for the development of a watershed project (Link🔗), in a rural district in Maharashtra (Talasari). Assisted in the development of guidelines and requirements for the project by conducting on-the-ground research.
•Achieved all-year water supply for 12,000 tribal people, over 55 habitations, and increased agriculture yield by around 45% with the completion of 3 dams.
•Raised vaccination awareness in rural areas, resulting in 90% participation in the vaccination drive and providing care packages to 100+ families during the covid19 pandemic.

ApplicantLab

Applicant Lab Admissions Consultant

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Schools: HBS - Class of 2005

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29 Aug 2022, 13:56

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Hey there carlton17 -- let me know when you've re-taken the GMAT, and what your score is. Also, it looks like you've started trying to find "Resume Twins" -- are these more aligned with your post-MBA goals, or more with your pre-MBA background? It would be interesting to know where folks from the Indian Navy with 10 years of experience end up! For U.S. military backgrounds, for example, I think candidates are compared against each other in terms of things like, e.g. how many people they lead / how big of a budget they manage... and in some cases, whether or not they are involved in some sort of internal consulting program to help develop next-generation technologies.

I do think that perhaps programs in EU/ Canada might be a bit more open to folks with over ten years of experience. Of course the US schools are as well!! Just in my experience, programs in those other geographies are looking for more seasoned candidates? What about ISB? Surely if any school would understand / appreciate your leadership in the Indian Navy, it would be that one!

Re: your goals, "a techops portfolio" -- just be sure that is something you need an MBA for? If it's more e.g. managing operations of a technical nature, then you might not even need an MBA to make that switch?

I suspect your resume twins are focused on consulting because that's honestly probably the best post-MBA job someone from the military could have (that an investment banking, though I think the skillset from consulting is far more useful / leads to more exit opportunities...) -- two years in consulting is essentially a continuation of business school (or so I hear!). That having been said, there are lots of tech companies that are recruiting folks from all sorts of backgrounds -- as long as you do well in the , e.g., product manager interviews, then it should be OK?

Anyway, LMK when that new GMAT score becomes available! Thanks!

carlton17

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29 Aug 2022, 14:03

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Hi there raju1212 -- As I'm sure you can imagine, a full "Resume Review" is a service that can take quite a bit of time, and so admissions consultants like those on my team do usually need to be compensated for providing that service. That having been said, I took a *VERY QUICK* glance, and a few things that stuck out at me:

- Many parts of the resume don't answer the question "So what?" -- by that I mean, ok, so you did an analysis of CSR, new fundraising research and... so what? What happened with that research? Were your suggestions implemented, and if so, what was the outcome? If the outcome hasn't happened yet, then what is the *predicted* outcome at this point (e.g. "projected to increase donations by 25% by 2024")

- There are areas where jargon is being used that I'm not familiar with? e.g. "HNI"?

- Similarly, TfI is famous, but I've never heard of "Rohit Index" (apologies if it's a huge company!) -- this is where what Applicant Lab calls "a background blurb" would be very useful!

- Focus on SPECIFIC ACTIONS you took -- "assisted" or "provided support" are far too vague!

If you'd like more tips, the free trial at ApplicantLab has lots of content available (for free!) that will help provide some more tips.

raju1212

kuldeepkrlhd

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25 Nov 2022, 00:36

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Hi Experts..

This is Kuldeep Kumar, 33 years old.

I appeared for GMAT on 14 Nov 2022 and scored 650 (Q 47, V34, IR 1 and AWA 4.0) I know GMAT is on lower side hence I will retake GMAT in Jan 2023 end to target 3rd round of applications. (Target Score for 3rd round 730-750+)

But, I thought let me ask experts to evaluate my profile at this stage so that I may plan to improve my GMAT score in the time available.

I have not prepared any resume for MBA purpose but my profile is as follows:

I am a Mechanical Engineering undergraduate 2008-2012 from Cochin University of Science and Technology, India currently working as Assistant Director/Assistant Works Manager at one of the Defence Public Sector Undertaking under Ministry of Defence. I am a Class I Gazetted Officer of the Government of India selected twice through UPSC ESE to cater Technical Services for Government of India. I have worked as a Senior Section Engineer for Indian Railways (Ministry of Railways) for 1 year, Assistant Naval Store Officer for Indian Navy (Ministry of Defence) for 1 year and now have been working as Assistant Director/ Assistant Works Manager for Ordnance Factories (Ministry of Defence) since last 5 years. I know it sounds confusing hence in short, I would say that I have been mostly a Government Officer.
Currently, I am looking after Research and Development (R&D), Marketing and Export (M&E) and Standardization at Ordnance Factories and I have been mandated with the task for development and marketing of Troop Comfort Equipment to equip Armed Forces with the latest Equipment. I have, with the help of my Team, developed some 10-12 Troop Comfort Equipment for Armed Forces and there are some 5-7 Design Patents under my name. These developments and marketing efforts can be translated into potential figures. (Future Business) Some order for newly developed equipment has already been secured as well. Some are under Military Trial.

B.TECH Aggregate Percentage: 74.42% (4th Topper of my Class) I think my GPA would be 3.5+ as per WES.
Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi, INDIA

I was District Topper in 10th Class (92.8%) CBSE

Second Topper of 12th Class (83.4%) CBSE

GRE SCORE 30th July 2012 during 3rd Year of Undergraduate: 1350/1600 OR 322/340
QUANTATIVE – 800 / 800 VERBAL – 550 / 800 ANALYTICAL WRITING - 3.0 / 6.0

Didn't pursue for MS because of financial issues

SAT Score 23rd Jan 2010: 1750/2400
Quantitative – 650 / 800 CRITICAL READING – 500 / 800 WRITING – 600 / 800

Didn't pursue for undergraduate again because of financial issues

I am a First Generation College Student as my father and mother didn't attend college.

I've Qualified written exam for various jobs such as ISRO SCIENTIST/ENGINEER SC BE-0002, BARC OCES/DGFS-2013, SAIL MANAGEMENT TRAINEE 2013, HAL MANAGEMENT TRAINEE-2013, RRB 2014, UPSC ESE 2014, UPSC ESE 2016, AFCAT 2012, SSB for INDIAN NAVY etc.

Extra-curriculars: mostly robotic events, paper presentations, lectures on some classes, guiding students who cannot afford coaching as I never took coaching classes earlier.

My career Goal is mostly to pursue entrepreneurship in future.

Now,

Q. No 1 Minimum Target Score (GMAT) to secure an admit with scholarship considering my profile, age factor etc. I've been financially stressed hence scholarship/loan is only option for me to pursue MBA

Q. No 2 List of Safe schools to apply in second round (if possible) as of now with GMAT 650 only. Otherwise I will totally focus on GMAT and then 3rd round.

I can get LORs from Senior Officers of my Organization who have directly supervised me during my working.

Deadlines for top Indian Business School are almost over now. I don't think I will be able to prepare a solid essay work and resume for top business school with such low GMAT Score and such short time.

Post MBA Goal is to work in Consulting/Tech for some years considering my experience in R&D and then go for entrepreneurs in the long term. I want international exposure and if I am targeting for 3rd round, I can improve upon my GMAT.

How about targeting top 20-30 business school of USA like Emory Goizueta, Kelly, Vanderbilt Owen, Rotman, Mannheim etc.

I wanted to know whether targeting 3rd round would be worth?

Expecting honest opinion.

Thanks & Regards

Kuldeep Kumar

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GPA: 3.2

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Schools: HBS '25 (S) Booth '25 (II) Kellogg '25 (S) LBS '25 (S) CBS '25 (S) Stern '25 (S)

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25 Nov 2022, 02:20

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Hi everyone!

Please share your thoughts on my profile.

Demography:
29-year-old Indian Male

Education:
Undergrad
- Bachelor in Engineering: Computer Science. Visveshwaraya Technological University, India (2011-2015)
- Grade: 69% Aggregate. 1st Class
- Got a full-ride merit scholarship for 4 years of engineering as I come from a low-income background and scored more than 90% in 12th standard (Physics: 89, Chemistry: 93, Maths: 91)
Graduation
- Masters of Science: Computer Science. University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland (2017-2018)
- Grade: 2.1 . First Class
- Got a scholarship of 4000 euros for educational excellence in engineering

GMAT:
760 (Q50-V42-IR:8-AWA:4)

Current Role:
Senior Software Engineer
-Design, develop and maintain enterprise-level software applications

Work Experience:
Dublin, Ireland (4 years)
-Worked for an Investment Management firm as the lead software developer to build in-house technology products
-Contributed to the design-development-testing and production phases of an enterprise-level Trade-Order Management System with a team of 4 international software developers
-The system effectively manages more than $600 million per month in transactions and handles more than $200 million on a single day during portfolio rebalancing

Bangalore, India (2 years)
-Worked for a Management Consulting firm as a Decision Scientist
-Worked with multiple fortune 500 clients to provide data-driven insights and actionable recommendations

Extracurriculars:
Captain of the University Volleyball Team (2012- 2015)
-Led the team to win our first state-level tournament in 9 years
-Won various regional tournaments across Karnataka, India
Trekked the Himalayas (2017)
-After 3 months of intense training, trekked to Roopkund, Himalayas
-This expedition was with a team of 20 people, ascending from 7000 feet on day 0 to reaching 16,000 feet on day 9
Active Tennis player
-Won the club championship for doubles and the most improved player of the year award in 2019

Languages:
-English
-Hindi
-Kannada

Post-MBA Goal:
-short-term: Switch from tech to consulting, get into MBB. Ideally continue to stay in the finance and tech space
-long-term: Work in strategy roles/ leadership positions in mid-sized fin-tech firms

LOR:
- Strong letter from my current CEO

Target Schools:
Havard, Booth, Kellog, Tuck, Columbia, LBS, INSEAD

Strengths:
- 4 years of international experience. Living in Dublin, worked mostly with the Irish and the germans
- Worked on niche investment tech products. Quant and tech-heavy.
- Wore multiple hats in terms of working with Traders, Brokers, external lawyers, international software developers, and data vendors
- Implemented multiple softwares from whiteboard to live environments

Weakness:
- Mostly worked in small teams. Haven't led teams of size 10 or more professionally.
- Relatively less exposure in terms of presenting to / convincing stakeholders.

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07 Dec 2022, 17:53

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Hi kuldeepkrlhd -- thanks for reaching out! I think that you've got a lot of challenges with this profile -- even if you DO get a 730 - 750 on the GMAT, usually "Round 3" for the U.S. schools is considered to be too late, due to concerns about, e.g. securing a student visa and/or funding in time.

For example, you mention repeatedly experiencing financial difficulties recently -- I have compassion for that, and also though I wonder how you were planning on paying for an MBA in the U.S., if money is currently a concern? While the student loan side of things is far from my area of expertise, I do think that many student loan providers want to see either strong levels of assets to use as collateral, and/or acceptance to a relatively highly-ranked program, in order to issue the loan?

In the ApplicantLab To Do List, one of the first things I advise people to do is to consider their financial situation -- I would really, really hate for you to re-take the GMAT, and ALSO apply next Round 1 (so, spending several hundred dollars for application fees?), etc.... to go through all of this, and then if you're accepted... be stuck

I'd advise you to reach out to the admissions offices of the U.S. schools you are thinking about, and ask them if they usually accept students with a profile like yours (regarding the profile itself, many admissions officers will avoid the question or be overly-optimistic prior to receiving the application, in an effort to get as many applicants as possible and thus lower their acceptance rates...).... but they might be candid about the student visa issues. In fact I think some MBA programs even say that international students are discouraged from applying as late as Round 3, due to these very issues!

So -- where I personally think you should spend your time right now is:
1) Researching the student loans -- who offers them, what are the conditions they ask for, etc. and think about if you'd be comfortable taking on that level of financial risk
2) Researching your target schools' Round 3 policies regarding admissions for international students.

If both of these issues end up being a "Green light", then go ahead and apply in R3, but at least if you do so, you'll have done so knowing that you've done your homework on the feasibility of attendance!

Obviously, admissions is a "holistic" process, and it's very hard to tell someone's chances on a brief message board posting, but I suspect that you will have more success targeting schools in India. Not only due to logistical / financial reasons, but also because they may be more open to someone of your age and background working in the public sector / ministry of defense.

If you really want to target a US program, given your age, your best bet is probably the 1-year "Sloan Fellows" program at MIT (also known as the MSx program at Stanford), since those are for more seasoned students.

You also might want to try to find what I call a "Resume Twin" -- who else with a background similar to yours has gone on to MBA programs? That would be a very useful data point to discover!

kuldeepkrlhd

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07 Dec 2022, 18:10

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Hi ne

When it comes to admissions for the elite MBA programs, the devil is in the (leadership) details.

You might want to check out this blog post: https://www.applicantlab.com/blog/mba-admissions-committees-needs-meet-needs/

You certainly seem to meet the "academic" criteria (The first level in the pyramid)... but for the top MBA programs, HBS in particular, details around *EXACTLY* what your role was regarding: "...as the lead software developer to build in-house technology products... Contributed to the design-development-testing and production phases of an enterprise-level Trade-Order Management System..."

...it's good that you're the leader of the software development team! (a formal leadership role is always a good thing!)

One thing you'd want to get much, much more granular on in your resume and essays (ApplicantLab.com can help you here, if you're not sure how to do it) is what, exactly, was your role in "CONTRIBUTED"? (and btw, you may want to have a more satisfying story for career goal, vs. "continue to stay in finance and tech space"

)

"Contributed" as in: "Someone more senior to me told me what to build, and I dutifully executed upon their plans"?

or "Contributed" as in: "Their original ideas for the trade-order management system came to the CEO in a dream, and as a result they refused to listen to any feedback on it; however, I was able to persuade them that their concept for the system would cause the universe to implode in on itself and I was able to convince them to completely overhaul the idea, saving X dollars (And also material existence as we know it)"?

Obviously, the closer you are to the (admittedly, exaggerated) 2nd version, the higher your chances of getting in to the more competitive MBA programs, since -- if we assume that a tonnnnnnnn of candidates have top grades, 760+, and leadership roles at work... the devil in the leadership details will come down to *IMPACT* made!

In sum -- academically, you've got a solid profile. It's a teeny bit of a bummer that you didn't apply in R1 , which is peak "Indian engineering applicant" season, but it's also been a crazy year with fears of a recession, etc. so I think a lot of admissions offices leaned heavily on the waitlist for R1 , which might mean that this year's R2 might have more opportunities than usual (???) (this is complete speculation on my side!)

Kellogg might be a tough one -- they are currently actively courting laid-off tech workers so I wonder if there will be a lot more competition in that group than usual? I'm also not sure that they have a ton of offerings re: fintechy types of things (though I may be mistaken!!!)

One school I'd add to your list is NYU -- they are one of the only schools to have a "fintech" major, and so your background building that trading platform thingee might be particularly interesting to their students? I think LBS could be a good one too -- you've clearly got the "international" experience that they like to see!

re: Tuck... you seem to be living a relatively "cosmopolitan" city life... are you SURE you wanna go hang out in the woods for two years, ha ha

NextGenNerd

kuldeepkrlhd

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GMAT 1: 650 Q47 V34 (Online) Verified score

GMAT 2: 660 Q47 V34 Verified score

Schools: ISB '25 (A) IIMC (A) IIMA '25 (D)

GMAT 2: 660 Q47 V34 Verified score

Posts: 130

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08 Dec 2022, 00:48

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kuldeepkrlhd

Hi ApplicantLab

Thanks for the reply and insights..

I will surely work on your advice and get back to you...

Thanks and Regards

Posted from my mobile device

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GRE 1: Q165 V163 Verified score

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08 Dec 2022, 01:56

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kuldeepkrlhd

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kuldeepkrlhd

Hi ApplicantLab

Thanks for the reply and insights..

I will surely work on your advice and get back to you...

Thanks and Regards

Posted from my mobile device

Hi kuldeepkrlhd ApplicantLab
Just a quick insight into Maria's detailed and super helpful feedback. kuldeepkrlhd, I'm not sure if you missed it, but the Indian School Of Business (ISB) has its R3 deadline in Jan 29. You might want to factor that date in as you plant your GMAT retake. Not sure if this is helpful, but I thought it best to mention this here.

All the best!