Hi Brian,
Thanks a lot for your insightful feedback! It's the most detailed and best one I've received so far, so I really appreciate it.
Let's go over each of the points 1 by 1:
1.
GMAT Score: Okay, so clearly any score below 700 would make both Stanford & Kellogg a stretch for me. Though 800 is the upper limit, could you give me a realistic target-score that I should try and achieve, to make the GMAT score fit in well with the rest of my profile? (710..720?...more?
)
2.
Undergrad GPA: Not sure now it works in my college, but I do have a Honors degree in Engg. and have graduated in the top 15% of my class (11/70 in my class) and my GPA was actually out of 10, wherein I got an 8.3 GPA. If this is indeed a -ive point, I guess there's nothing much I can do to counter it than balance it with a higher GMAT score.
Note note note: Just googled this up and looks like an 8.3/10 is not really = a 3.3/4. Various sources are providing diff ways of calculating a GPA and many even suggest contacting each college to find out about their conversion method. Brian, what's your take on the GPA of 8.3/10? 3.
Final Year In-Campus Interviews: Yes, I did attend many of the in-campus Hiring sessions held at my college (had to go through several rounds of them for each company infact) and received multiple job offers, with relatively attractive salary packages for a fresh-grad in Dubai. However, by the time I had to take a decision on which direction to follow (give a confirmation on either of these job offers), I chose the path I have taken up now, despite being severely forced from all directions (family, friends, relatives..) to take the traditional job-route; I had made up my mind to not get into the rat-race like everyone else (I was also heavily influenced by the book 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' which I so coincidentally read while in this dilemma).
4.
Recommendations: You're spot on about this! I'm totally handicapped when it comes to Recommendations. After rocking my brains out, I was able to come up with the following options:
(1). My supervisor while I worked with Dubai Film Fest (worked under her for first 2yrs while Volunteering, and then again after I was hired too).
(2). My supervisor/Manager, at the company where I first interned during college (though it was only for 2 months, I had the opportunity to extensively work with and learn from him during this Internship. However, this was over 5 years ago and I would like to know whether Stanford/Kellogg/NYU would consider such an LOR as a valuable insight to effectively evaluate my profile?
(3). Should I consider requesting a Reference Letter from my undergrad college professor instead (have been taught by this professor for 2 years, and have worked with her on organizing several events at college as a part of the Events Organizing Committee) or are Academic LOR's generally frowned upon?
If not, what other alternative approaches would you suggest? Please share your thoughts on this aspect.
5.
My 3 companies: The Dubai branch is the HQ and the other 2 are just branches doing the same work, spread across the Globe for efficiency and ease. I'm in no situation to manage 3 diff companies doing 3 completely diff things at present (hopefully after an MBA, that shouldn't be an issue if the need arises
). And yes, I directly supervise all the current employees and its a part of my job as the COO.
6.
Big name clients/partners: Thanks for this tip! However, where should I possibly consider listing our company's partners, clients, etc without appearing to boast about it? (Could only possibly think of listing them in the CV perhaps?..anywhere else? I'm unable to place such information anywhere in my Stanford Essays for example..)
Once again, thanks a lot for taking so much time to help me assess my profile and fit into these top colleges!
Prabhakar
BrianW wrote:
Quote:
Hello Brian,
Could you evaluate my profile and let me know my chances for Admission at Stanford, Kellogg and NYU if I apply during R1 this year (for Fall 2012)?
--------------------
Overall Profile
1. GMAT Score: Yet to give, but have scheduled a test-date. (expected 680-700 based on current GMAT Prep scores)
2. Graduated in Dubai – BE (Hons) in Electronics & Instrumentation (GPA: 3.28/4)
3. I have 3 years of Entrepreneurship Experience running an IT company (4 yrs by Fall 2012).
4. Nationality: Indian; Age: 24 yrs old (25yrs by Fall 2012)
5. Currently held position: COO
6. Started first company right out of college in 2008 with 2 partners; grown successfully to 3 companies across Dubai, Hong Kong and India, managing a total of 12 employees.
7. Biggest success is an Online network currently ranked among the top 150 websites in the world.
7. Languages known - English (Expert), Hindi (Expert), Telugu (Expert), French (Basic Proficiency), Arabic (Basic Proficiency)
Work Ex Highlights
• Interned at 2 very large Oil & Gas companies in the Gulf during college (for a total of 8 months (2+6)).
• Worked for 2 years (lasts for only 2 months each - so a total of 4 months spread across 2007 and 2008) with Dubai International Film Festival, directly managing about 500 or so Volunteers each year. Gained significant leadership experience here, due to the various groups of people I had to manage at once (people from various parts of the globe, varying from 15yrs to even 60yrs in age).
• Started my first company with right out of college, turned it into a successful venture and am now managing 3 companies across Dubai, Hong Kong and India, with a total of 12 employees.
• Company's annual turnover is currently over 1 MM$ - would say it's a pretty successful venture, having started off without any external funding from family or VC's.
Extra-Curricular Activities
- Volunteered at Dubai International Film Festival for 2 years.
- Was promoted to Captain at Dubai Film Fest, wherein I trained and managed about 500-700 volunteers through the event.
- Was an integral part of the Events Organizing Committee at college.
- Helped in organizing several Inter-College Competitions and Events during college.
- Was a Professor's TA (Teaching-Assistant) at various Engineering Lab's during final 2 years of College.
- Won 3'rd place in a Software Development Trade Show held at University of Wollongong, sponsored by Microsoft Gulf.
Hobbies:
Karting, Archery (taking professional classes), Football, Volleyball
Target Schools:
2 Year Full Time MBA at Stanford (Entrepreneurship), Kellogg (Marketing/Entrep), NYU: Stern or McCombs.
Safety Schools: Babson, UCLA, ESADE & IESE (Spain)
Why MBA?
To network with people from my Industry, to network with VC's for my projects currently in development, to learn how to efficiently form & execute business plans on a much larger scale and to hone my leadership skills.
--------------------
From my perspective, my strong points are: Entrepreneurship, EC's, Perfect age-group for Stanford.
Potential weak points could be: GMAT Score (not yet given, but with my profile would 680-700 be low?), Undergrad-GPA (is 3.28 low?), Nationality (Indian male, from Engg background in IT).
Please let me know your thoughts on this. Thanks a lot for your help!
Prabhakar,
Thank you for your profile submission. On the basis of the information above, and under the assumption of strong essays and recommendations and a GMAT score of 690, our experience shows that you will be a stretch candidate at Stanford and Kellogg, between competitive and stretch (closer to stretch) at NYU Stern and UCLA Anderson, between competitive and stretch (closer to competitive) at IESE, and competitive at Texas McCombs, Babson, and ESADE.
In terms of your assumptions regarding your profile strengths and opportunities, I agree with the opportunities you will face. Although a below-average GMAT or GPA is not impossible to overcome, in our experience having both of them together mades it an additional challenge. You show that you received honors in your undergraduate institution, but most programs I'm familiar with would not give honors to graduates with 3.3 on the 4.0 scale. If your percentile rank in your class is stronger than a 3.3 would otherwise imply, definitely mention this in your CV.
I would agree with you that your extracurriculars are impressive (shows leadership, which is key) and that your age/work experience is appropriate for top programs. At the same time, while I give you tremendous credit for your career success thus far within the entrepreneurship realm, keep in mind that entrepreneurship has a unique double-edged sword status with business schools. On the one hand, they love to have alumni go into entrepreneurship post-MBA, as those alums who are successful can be promoted by the schools to help its brand ("We have the founder and CEO of Firm X as an alum.") Additionally, these alums are coveted by schools to give back to their programs with financial gifts. On the other hand, from our experience, in evaluating entrepreneurs (especially people who have only worked as entrepreneurs), MBA programs face a challenge: it's harder for them to gauge the candidate's potential and relative 'rank.' Why? A person's first several jobs out of undergrad and one's ascension (or lack thereof) through the ranks in a bigger firm is indicative of relative merit. If you were accepted into a "big name" firm, MBA admission committees know you made it through a challenging and competitive recruiting process. A related challenge for entrepreneur candidates applying to business school is that you may have challenges finding appropriate recommenders. If you are the founder or co-founder of your company, it's hard to find a senior person who has supervised your work to speak to your strengths and weaknesses. This is not to say that these issues are impossible to work through - it's just the situation you will deal with and need to think about.
One potential idea for you to consider with regard to my comments above is to discuss (if true, naturally) in your essays that you received full-time offers from big-name firm(s) which you eventually declined due to your interest in starting up your firm(s). Unfortunately, in our experience, internships are really not considered much in the MBA application process, unless you are someone applying to the HBS 2+2 program and haven't had any full-time work experience yet. Although a full-time offer does not equate fully to several years of work experience and a promotion, it is indicative that you made it through a competitive interview process. Another item to talk about in your application, if relevant, is if you have big name customers who use your service.
Additionally, specific to your profile, I would say you should explain the nature / difference between the 3 firms. Are they in the same industry? Are they the same company but just operating in different geographies? To some extent, the further "apart" the companies are (in scope), the less focused you potentially appear to the admission committees. Why? Ad coms believe 50 year old serial entrepreneurs can get away with running three firms of different scope, but less experienced professionals would have a harder time doing this. You mention there are 12 employees and that you're COO - you will need to be clear on whether you have direct supervision of these employees or not (if you do, it's better). Finally, always provide context and quantify your firm's results, which you've done in your profile well.
Your 'why MBA' reasons are logical and reasonable given your career path. When you write your essays, research each MBA programs' unique entrepreneurial ventures that tie in with your goals and name them.
Best of luck,
Brian
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