Ask ARINGO MBA Admissions Consulting

Hello there -

Similar to my peers before, I would like reach out for an un-biased profession review of my MBA candidacy. In full honestly, many details of my application are still being worked out on my end. Thank you for taking the time to read my post. Would love to hear thoughts about my self-assessment.

Background and nationality:
32 Indian Male (US Citizen) – At time of matriculation

Undergrad Information:
B.E. Computer Engineering + M.E. Networked Information Systems - Magna Cum Laude GPA (3.67)

GMAT:
660 (35V, 45Q) – GMAT online

Work experience and leadership:
9 years of work experience – At time of matriculation

I’ve spent the majority of my career in the insurance industry. Speaking to my responsibilities, I've operated across the business intelligence and analytics space. While the majority of my career was spent as an analyst, I have been a supervisor of a small team of analysts (3-5) for the past 3 years.

Community and others:
-Volunteering since high school (local hospitals, underprivileged children education, food rescue, operation gratitude)
-Contributing member of several employee groups (young leadership, community involvement, pride network)
-Mentor-ship of young individuals (summer interns, careervillage)

Post MBA goals:
Short term: Get my foot in the door of product management. Join a rotation product management program within high tech firm (preferably in networking).
Long term: Establish myself as a practice leader in product manager within an engineering firm (specifically in networking/telecom).

Schools of interest:
Foster - Reach
Tepper - Reach
WP Carey - Target
Jones - Target
Naveen Jindal - Target

Hi Kilango89
Thanks for sharing your profile and MBA aspirations
My name is Shimri Winters, I head the strategy here at ARINGO

You have a very interesting profile! From what I can see:

Academics – great undergraduate and Masters's GPA (very nice that you have a Masters!). where did you study? In the US or other?

GMAT - Well, 660 is ok! And as you are very realistic with your school wish list, stay with that! Definitely doable!!!

School wish list – I like your list! Very realistic with Tepper and Foster as Reach and the others are safer! you are a bit hard on yourself with the chances… with a good application you can get into a couple of the schools on your list (yes, with the 660!)

Volunteering – fantastic that you have lots of experiences – it shows you really care about the community and another factor that differentiates you from others

Extracurricular activities – I hope you have some hobbies too and you are not just about play and study?

Work Experience –This is your biggest strength. Working in one industry for a long time, progressing, and managing a team is great. I actually LOVE insurance candidates (See career goal section to discover why!)

Your career goals sound completely wrong. You work in an industry that hasn’t changed for 200 years and is suddenly changing with machine learning and big data tools. see what Lemonade.com is doing (and how much they are worth on the stock exchange)
your career goals should continue in this direction. Product management is great, but within a young and exciting start0up within the insurance industry. And long-term entrepreneurship (again, insurance.)

All in all, sounds like you have a solid profile! and with a strong application, you might just pull it off and get into your dream school!

Happy to help further with a detailed review and perhaps work together on some amazing apps if you send me your CV and any other info to Shimriw@ARINGO.com

GOOD LUCK!

Hi Shimri -

First of all, thank you for responding so quickly. This is great insight and I appreciate you taking the time.

In response to your questions:
Academics – Yes, all of my education was done in the US.

Extracurricular activities – Sports wise, I played tennis and cricket intramurally during my college time and I still continue to play those occasionally. Since moving to a more-rural environment, I've gotten more opportunity to enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking, camping and canoeing. I regularly disconnect and spend time with mother nature.

Regarding career coals - The missing link, which I didn't elaborate on earlier, is my prior work in telecommunications & networking during my studies and shortly after. My story and aspirations toward engineering were essentially driven by a desire to influence & impact that industry. This would be something I will focus on in my essays. There is a lot of background which can be provided to support my goals and why I want to 'go back' to networking & telecom.

Thanks again!

Perfect! that explains a lot...
(feel free to be in touch via shimriw@ARINGO.com)
good luck!
Shimri

Please evaluate my profile for Tier-1 and Tier-2 Canadian B-Schools

My current profile:

Age: 25
Sex: Male
Nationality: Indian
GMAT Score: not yet taken but am getting 580 on mocks
GPA: 6.62/10 [Transcript attached]
University: Institute of Technology, Nirma University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Degree/Specialization: B.Tech, Electronics & Communication
Work experience: 1 year 9 months (Full-time) 6 months (Freelancing) [Resume attached]
Designation: Content Writer
Industry: IT services and solutions
Preferred location for MBA: Canada

Current status:
I have taken a break from my full-time job to prepare for GMAT because I wasn't able to prepare alongside the job. So technically, I have been unemployed since Feb 2020.

But, on the flip side, I am currently helping my father to grow his YouTube channel, where he teaches physics in the Gujarati language to 11th and 12th-grade students. I am responsible for doing all the post-production work, from editing videos to doing SEO and CRO (which I learned from my work experience) and uploading videos.

Achievements @ Work:
My core responsibility at work was to create stories that would help the company get more business. For most of my time at work, I wrote high-quality blogs, articles, whitepapers, case studies, and web page content. I have also created business/vendor profiles on some of the most popular business listing websites (e.g., Clutch, G2Crowd, Think Mobile, Good Firms, etc.) for my company.

Leadership:
For once, despite being a content writer, I lead a team of website designers, HTML/CSS developers, and WordPress developers to create a website for a product company. Moreover, I did the on-page SEO of that website by myself, although it wasn't a part of my job profile.

Working on this project gave me an excellent opportunity to work cross-functionally with various teams who have different viewpoints and opinions. The main goal of the project was to redesign the website.

Extra-curriculars College:
I was a technical head in the Electronics and Communications Organization (a.k.a ECO). My responsibilities were to craft and judge technical events/competitions during annual fests at college.
I also brought the participation of almost 200-300 students every year for college fests by visiting various colleges across Gujarat.
I was also one of the instructors in a series of seminars conducted by the college on the topic of "Programming with Arduino."
I co-created a whole new laboratory session/subject/, which would help future students to learn Arduino and how to interface it with various sensors. As a part of it, I created a sensor board with an easy-to-use plug and play sensor modules and a technical user manual that guides students performing practicals.
I also co-founded a startup with my friend called Sivy Electronics. We sold various types of electronic sensors on Amazon and eBay. Plus, we took up projects from multiple clients to build highly-customized IoT (Internet of Things)-based automation products.

Extracurriculars (general):
I am also a singer. I love to sing karaoke songs in house parties, family parties/gatherings.
I have sung over a hundred songs on a karaoke singing platform called Starmaker.
I have also learned Indian classical music professionally for two years.

Post-MBA goals:
Go into technology consulting or consulting in general (haven't yet decided).

Reason to go into consulting - Want to explore various sectors (and find the one I love to work in), learn how the business operates in each of them, meet new people, get global exposure, develop an analytical mindset.

Long-term goals:
To set up my own business and settle in Canada/USA.

Finally, thank you very much for reading all the way through. I would highly appreciate it if you could tell me whether I am eligible for any of the top MBA programs in Canada, i.e., Rotman, Ivey, Schulich, HEC Montreal, McGill, etc. If not, then can you please suggest any other B-schools that I should target. Also, please let me know the GMAT I should target.

Nepal hi,
Thanks for sharing your profile!
Shimri from ARINGO here.

I have sent you a private message regarding your profile...

a few general things:
- ALL universities accept 3-year degrees (my degree is 3 years too ?)
- ARINGO indeed specialize in working with candidates with low GMATs, but your 580 will probably not be enough for a top MBA program

Hence, you should reconsider - either taking the GMAT or selecting other schools/programs

Happy to continue this discussion in pour private channel, good luck!
Regards,
Shimri

Hi,

I want to do PhD from fully funded doctoral programs in USA. I am open to other countries as long as it is fully funded and offers research in my areas of interest.

My profile is

Current GMAT 600 - retaking and aiming for 700 plus
Citizenship - India
Gender - Female
Visa status - H4 ( living in USA)
Qualification - BE in Electrical and Electronics, and MBA from one of the IIT's
Work Experience - Marketing Research ( Qualitative Research) , Sales and Development and Teaching/Training/Consulting
Volunteering experience - Around 5 years ( Have volunteered at American and Indian organisations in USA)
Research work - Have published one paper co-authored by one of the faculty, Currently working on a research paper
Target schools - ISEAD, Wharton, Stern and Columbia ( Good universities around washington DC New Jersey, New York, Virginia and Maryland)
Areas of Interest - Business Ethics, Organisational Behavior, and Entrepreneurship
Applying to - 2021 fall

Please let me know what should be my target score? which schools would you recommend?
Thank you.

edison2020 hi,
your profile sounds strong, but getting into a PhD program is tough. and you are mentioned some of the best universities in the world
I really don't have enough info on you right now. I would say the GMAT should be higher than 700 if possible. the rest? Please send me your CV, GPA in both degrees, school wish list, and any other info via a private message or shimriw@ARINGO.com

Regards,
Shimri

Thank You Shimri. I will do that.

Please review my profile.

I'm keen to pursue my MBA in Fall'21, planning to apply in R2 (Jan'21)
Please find my details below:

· Demographics: Indian, Male, 28 y/o

· Education: Bachelors in Technology - Nautical Technology from BITS, Pilani, CGPA - 7.5/10 (~3.3/4)

· Other coursework or post-undergraduate education: N/A

· GMAT: 660 (Q44, V35) (Planning to retake in 4th Week of Nov'20, aiming for a 700)

· Work experience: 6 years spanning across:
---> Merchant Marine (Under training, traveled to 16 countries across Europe, South America, Gulf and Far East),
---> Entrepreneurship (Own grocery delivery startup - 2 Years),
---> FMCG (2 Years), and
---> Food-tech Logistics and Operations (2 Years)

· Extracurricular activities:
1. Founded the Astronomy club at college campus and delivered informative lectures about celestial navigation along with weekly star-gazing
sessions. (Average attendance - 50)
2. Captained the Inter-house basketball team to victory in all the 3 years of college.

· Post-MBA goals:
Work in a high growth startup in either the food-tech space, the hyperlocal logistics space, or in an operations management role.

· Target schools:
Top 30 B-schools in North America/Europe/APAC region, with an intent to work in these geographies.

· Questions:
I'm keen on applying for the Fall'21 intake, and in Round 2 (by the end of 1st week of Jan'21 for most colleges).
Since Round 2 will prove to be a challenge especially since I'm from an overrepresented background,
1. What are the key schools I should be targeting with my profile and considering that I'm able to achieve a GMAT 700?
2. What are the key schools I should be targeting with my profile If I'm only able to reach a GMAT 680?
3. I don't have volunteering experience, Is there any way I can cover up for that?
4. Any other advise you may have for me?

Hi LoneWarrior

Thanks for sharing your profile and MBA aspirations
My name is Shimri Winters, I head the strategy here at ARINGO

You have a very interesting profile! From what I can see:

Academics – great undergraduate . average GPA

GMAT - Well, let’s take into account 700? This is ok for a top 30 US school, but as you come from a competitive background, 660 might not be enough

Extracurricular activities – nice hobbies. a shame you don't have volunteering?

Work Experience –so, this is your biggest advantage as it is very unique I love the fact you visited (and you can say worked with teams from) 16 countries!

Your career goals – seem fine!

All in all, sounds like you have a solid profile! And a lot depends on the GMAT, your school wish list, and your applications!
In terms of schools, you can go for top 20-30 schools in the US or nearly any 5-10 schools in Europe or Asia.

Happy to help further with a detailed review and perhaps work together on some amazing apps if you send me your CV and any other info to Shimriw@ARINGO.com

GOOD LUCK!

Hi,

I have attempted the GMAT 4 times, scoring 710 each time. In my most recent attempt, I scored Q49 V38 (Did not read the last 3 questions and randomly selected answers. Time expired on the last question so I was probably penalized for that).

My profile:

Chinese male from Singapore
GPA ~ 3.0 from National University of Singapore (Chemical Engineering)
Cumulative work experience: 4 years
Currently working as a financial analyst and contracted with Google
Prev companies include: Carlsberg, Unilever and Uber)
International Exposure: I have worked in Vietnam, Solomon Islands, Indonesia and I did my student exchange in France.

Hoping to apply to M7, plus INSEAD, LBS, Berkeley and Yale.

Also, should I give the GMAT one last shot?

Posted from my mobile device

Hi johndoe1152

Thanks for sharing your profile and MBA aspirations
My name is Shimri Winters, I head the strategy here at ARINGO

You have a very interesting profile! From what I can see:

Academics – 3.0 GPA in Chemical Engineering from NUS is great!

GMAT - Well, 710 is a good score – still on average for INSEAD and LBS and a bit below the M7 schools, so if you feel you can score higher, go for one last attempt, but up to you!

School wish list – M7 is obviously very competitive, but your profile is interesting enough to interest them. If your GMAT doesn’t go up, I would consider 1-2 safer schools as well but remember the GMAT is just one aspect of your application

International experience – WOW WOW WOW your biggest strength and differentiator!

Extracurricular activities – anything interesting here?

Work Experience –so, this is your biggest advantage - working (even as a contractor) for so many tier1 brands in so many interesting locations – AMAZING. I hope you had 1-2 promotions along the way? and some leadership experiences?

All in all, sounds like you have a solid profile for all the top schools! Remember that the GMAT is just one aspect, and the rest is down to the applications (not much time left for that…)

Happy to help further with a detailed review and perhaps work together on some amazing apps if you send me your CV and any other info to Shimriw@ARINGO.com

GOOD LUCK!

Hi,
I have taken GMAT 3 times and I seem to have stuck with a 710 and not able to improve. But still I am going for one last attempt hoping to score a 740.
My Profile is as follows.
GMAT: 710 (Q49, V36)
Age:25, Indian, Male
Bachelor's: Electrical Engineering ( Anna University)
Gpa:8.7/10(University top 51 rank)
Work experience: 4 years as Software Engineer from fortune 500 - PayPal. Promoted twice in 4 years.
Handled a team of 3 for a year.

Achievements:
* Initiated, designed, developed and delivered the idea of a new product that would automate the process at work - there by improving productivity of the team by more than 50%
* Took on a dumped product which had lost its credibility, re-designed it, re-engineered it, turned it around and delivered the new version 2.0 with enhanced capabilities. Also aggressively marketed the products to the stakeholders who had lost confidence on the product. The outcomes helped increase the credibility of the team and the product, which lead to our team being bestowed upon with some challenging and potential projects. The product saved the company a revenue of more than a million dollars USD.
* Was awarded the Org Champion award for the quarter for the above accomplishment.
Co-curricular:
* Part of an elite community of young innovators at the company who are selected( through interviews from a pool of 4.5k people) to pursue creative ideas and bring them to action at workplace in a way that would benefit the employees.

Extra curricular:
* Co-chair of the Company's Grant committee. Organised various grant drives benefitting 20+ NGOs and benefitting more than 500 people.
* Core Lead of the "Sustainability" wing of the Company's Social presence Org - Organise various webinars, sessions and talks on Sustainability in collaboration with various NGOs; Organised volunteer drives for the company with various NGO partners.
* Board Member of the "Tech for Good" wing of the Company's Social presence Org - Partnered with various NGOs in delivering technology solutions for various problems that would benefit the underprivileged students.
* Member of the Wellness Committee at the Company that runs various initiatives focused on employee wellness.
* Was the General Secretary of the Department of Electrical Engineering Student Association, and was successful in organising IEEE international conference, symposium, Project Expo etc.Also as a Secretary of the student body would collect feedback and concerns from the students and bring that to the College management's notice, thereby helping them with some potential solutions.
* Was the Student Placement Coordinator for the Department of Electrical Engineering and helped organise Campus placement drives, various placement training sessions for candidates etc.

Hobbies: Play cricket- represented the company in tournaments
Avid marathon runner. Participated in numerous charity marathons conducted around my neighbourhood.
Part-time teaching at Orphanages

Goals - To get into Product Management at a Tech giant and design innovative products that will change the way we live in this modern era of technology. Want to create an impact with Innovative technology.

Looking to apply to T15 schools in R1 2021, but not sure how my profile will standout with a sub-par GMAT. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Hi Gokul20

Thanks for sharing your profile and MBA aspirations
My name is Shimri Winters, I head the strategy here at ARINGO

You have a good and solid profile! From what I can see:

Academics – great undergraduate and GPA

GMAT - Well, 710 is not a great score for an Indian engineer, but it is a good score, which you worked hard on, so it is what it is…

School wish list – Top 15 sounds realistic, but perhaps 15-20 if the GMAT doesn’t go higher as a backup. Actually, as you will be applying next year, to R1, go for some ambitious schools in R1, so worst case, you have R3 as the backup plan…

Extracurricular activities – nice!

Work Experience –so, this is your biggest advantage. PayPal is a very well-known Tier1 company, and I am assuming you have worked with teams from all over the world. Your promotions and team management sound like great experiences!

All in all, there is not much you can do now, apart from taking the GMAT a 4th and 5th time and trying to overcome your 710. Keep up the good work at work and your extracurricular activities!
Happy to help further and perhaps work together on some amazing apps, but as it is still early, perhaps you should contact me around May? As always, I can be reached via Shimriw@ARINGO.com

GOOD LUCK with the next GMAT and hope we talk soon!

Thank you Shimri. I would look to improve my GMAT as you advised and reach back to you.

I have a question: if the school had already asked for some info in the application form, is it safe to omit those from my essay? For eg, my extracurriculars and my job responsibilities.
As I said, I could use those to highlight some leadership skills but may have to omit them to keep my SOP within the limit.