Ask ARINGO MBA Admissions Consulting

Hello,

Can you please evaluate my profile?

US Citizen, Male, Asian American
Age at matriculation- 26
GMAT- 700
Undergrad School- Community College for 2 years then UC Riverside for 2 years
Undergrad GPA- 3.8 Transfer GPA & 3.15 at a 4 Year GPA- Combined GPA is roughly 3.47
Degree- Bachelors in business administration with a concentration in financial economics

Work Exp - Financial Advisor for 1.5 years at boutique financial services firm
Part of a team that specialized in working with business owners in areas such as: advanced estate planning, business tax planning, and succession planning. Took this job right out of college for one reason: I knew that my presentation skills, sales skills, and relationship building skills were lacking and I wanted to put myself in a position that would force me to improve those skills. This was not the scenario where a college grad joins a company and starts selling insurance.

After that I began working at AAA Insurance as a Product Management Analyst. I took this role because it requires the analyst to lead multiple projects while working with multiple departments to directly meet and exceed revenue, sales goal, and retention goals for the company. This role involves presenting recommendations to executives that would impact the company. I will have worked here for 2.5 years when I matriculate at an MBA school. Prospect for me to receive a promotion looks slim not because I am undeserving but because it takes a long time for people to get promoted (i.e. all the managers in my department were working for 7+ years before they got promoted)

Extra Curriculars-
I have been the Vice President of a Young Entrepreneurs Organization for 2 years. The objective of this group is to promote an environment for young entrepreneurs to network, incubate ideas, form partnerships and learn from experts (we host a monthly workshop where we bring in a speaker). My responsibility is to increase our member base and increase participation at our events. We have grown to 1,500+ members and average 25 members per event.

I take health and wellness seriously, I eat right and consistently exercise 3 days a week and play basketball 4 days a week. Not sure if I can incorporate that in any way.

I have formed a Volunteer Organization. This is simply an organization where I post volunteer events and get groups of people to come out. I typically volunteer a couple times a month and have been doing this for about a year.

Goals with MBA:
Short Term: Management Consulting
Long Term: C-Suite Executive

Target schools: Booth, Kellogg, Darden, Ross, Cornell, Duke, UNC, McCombs, NYU, Columbia and USC.

Hi and thanks for reaching out!

The new, lower GMAT score is of course a bit of an issue and may raise some eyebrows but as you have a higher one, the schools will be looking at that. Was there any particular reason this happened? Do you think there is a chance you’d do better if you retook? If so, that may be advisable.

Additionally, my main concern is the work experience. You will want to beef that up as much as you can, with as many (preferably measurable) achievements etc. as you can. Make sure you continue your work with the NGO and work on presenting all the other extracurriculars you mentioned in a detailed and positive way and I think those parts should be fine. The work experience and the GMAT score is where you would need to improve in order to improve your chances.

Good luck!

You have an interesting story and profile for sure. I think your main challenge will be to present all this in a cohesive way, especially the part about digital health and your achievements there and how an MBA will help you get closer to your post-MBA goal in your application. So I hope you are already thinking about all that!

As for the schools you mentioned, Cornell and Darden seem like a good fit for you and they are definitely realistic options. The other schools, including NYU and Yale would be reach schools in my opinion, but that will largely depend on your application as well of course.

I am sure you are already aware of this but it is often candidates with more unusual stories and experiences in their profile that can benefit the most from having a professional work with them on their application as it can be surprisingly hard to present unconventional experiences in a way that appeals to adcoms, so I would highly recommend you consider doing that, especially if you decide to go for Columbia, NYU and Yale as well.

Good luck, both with your application and the pro bono work you are doing, sounds really interesting!

Your profile is interesting and has a lot of positive aspects to it so all in all you are in good shape. The GMAT score is a bit on the low side for some of the schools you mentioned (Booth, Kellogg, NYU and Columbia) and another hurdle may be that your work experience will only be 2.5 years. Are there any impressive, measurable accomplishments you could pinpoint in your work experience even if you have not been promoted (I totally understand why, it is not that uncommon but make sure to explain that in your application somehow)? If so, that would really help.

Any chance of trying to get a higher GMAT score? That would surely help, but is not a must. Just food for thought…

Also, why did you choose the schools you mentioned? It is quite a long list and I am not sure you can convince all of them that they are the perfect fit for you so you might want to give your school selection some more thought in order to make sure you really are applying to the best schools for you. You need to be able to explain why you want to go to each specific school in detail after all.

Oh, and I would definitely mention your interest in health and sports if you can do it in a reasonable way in your application!

Good luck!

Hey! I gave my gmat again n I scored 660 this time (Q:49, V:32). Do I have a good chance if I work on the other aspects of my application and apply with this score? N I agree my work experience is on the lower side, but I need to apply this year. Also please suggest a few universities which you think might be the right choice for me.

Thanks.

Hi Aringo team

Kindly evaluate.
I have total 11 years work ex working in financial analytics - bi analytics technologies in india. working for last 5 years in an ibank.
Gmat score 700 49q 35v and toefl 109.
I lead an analytics team of 10 devs and work with accountants on tax/recovery data modelling.
Acads - bachelor in compc.
Also did an exec course in analytics from iim lucknow and ksb indiana. I have also cleared cfa level 1.
My short term goal is to work in fintech - tech innvoation team in an ibank.
If you could please help me selecting 1 year mba programs - location not a constraint but certainly looking at post mba employement prospects.
My cherry picks
Oxford
Lbs
Tepper - 2 year but special focus on analytics
IIMA pgpx

Its a short list so looking for your inputs.

Cheers

Sent from my SM-G935F using GMAT Club Forum mobile app

That’s a great improvement, congratulations on that first of all!

About moving forward: You won’t be able to do so much about your work experience, so you need to really bring out a fantastic application (feel free to fill our our free consultation form on the ARINGO website if you are considering getting professional help) to overcome that.

As for schools, out of the ones you mentioned Madison might still be a bit out of reach, as is Urbana Champaign (but only barely) University of Florida and Texas Dallas are not, on the other hand, and Texas A&M is a bit borderline.

If you are looking for new schools to add to your list I would recommend looking at 660 (GMAT) schools or below. There are so many other criteria that play a part in what schools are a good fit and some of those criteria are really a matter of taste so it’s hard for me to recommend anything more specific than that.

Hi and thanks for reaching out!

As for your profile, I will not beat around the bush too much, it is definitely competitive for the three schools you listed, but as I am sure you know, not everything is about the numbers and the facts, it is also about how you present it all in your application. So get to work on that as soon as possible and you are always welcome to fill in a free profile evaluation request on the ARINGO website if you are interested in professional help with it.

And then on to your second question: additional schools to consider. I would start by looking here: https://aringo.com/mba-1y-one-year-programs/ where a lot of great 1 year programs are listed. Career prospects will slightly vary depending on the schools you are interested in from that list of course, so feel free to post again if you have any questions once you have had a chance to take a look.

And: good luck!

Peruvian, Male, 27 years old.
GMAT 700-720 expected

Undergraduate: top Peruvian university, major: system engineering, 4.0 GPA, Scholarship, Third in the honor roll out.

Work experience: 5 Years Work Experience

3 Years in a Big 4 (Promoted Professional Intern, Associate, Analyst)
• Implemented SAP ERP basis, controlling, and solution manager modules. (SAP Business Leader of one of the modules)
• Advised multinational companies on SAP information security best practices.
• Decreased IT access evaluation risk by 40% through the creation of an automatized SAP access evaluation program.
• Audited finance oriented information technology systems and business processes.


Turnout point: Got extremely sick, things went bad, needed to stop working in such intensity.

After surgery (1.5y):
• Started teaching part time project management at top uni.
• Did some online courses in management (coursera)
• Organized charities in a small local club
• Half of my day was dedicated to treatment: Injection to the bone spine, oxygen chambers, etc etc.
• Besides all, won a full scholarship for Master of Engineering Management in Australia

Graduated in MEM with 3.75 GPA, went back to Peru.

•Started to work in 2 small business (1 year):
• Part Time: Real Estate, increased revenue by 15$, invested in new lands, dealed with thugs and land invaders (common here) (Company is valued in around 1$M and my own properties in around 300k USD
• Healthcare Provider, provide imaging services to hospital and clinics, in charge of the technical aspects of the negotiations with our clients, identified a new opportunities which is leading to a 1M$ investment, led a team of 8 service providers and reduced IT Costs (This company should be around $2-3M)


Short Term Goal: Work at M/B/B or Non Profit (like World Bank) or General Management.
Long Term Goal: Go back and apply all the knowledge, become the new CEO of both companies and expand to new opportunities, basically would like to provide a better healthcare service to people in need, this is based on my years of bad health and diversify to the business.

Would like to know what are my REAL chances for Top 10 MBAs. (Harvard, Stanford, Kellog, MIT, INSEAD, Tuck, Wharton)

Very interesting profile and backstory you have there! That is also your main strength, if you manage to get the message about how motivated you are and the reason for all this motivation across in your application, so that, along with the GMAT score, will be your main challenge. So get to work on that GMAT and make sure the score is as high as possible, because at the top 10 schools it does matter a lot. Unfortunately I cannot say much about your chances for sure without having that information.

The rest of your profile looks good, though, but keep in mind that applications are not only about tangible facts, it’s also to a large extent getting your message across. It looks like you have given your post MBA goals a lot of thought and know how an MBA will help get you there, so I believe you have all the right ideas, just make sure you can present it all in the best way possible. And don’t be shy about getting professional assistance if needed!

Good luck and feel free to update once you have your GMAT score.

Thank you so much for your input!! Can I also consider schools like NCSU(Jenkins), Georgia(Terry) and Pittsburgh(Katz)?

Hey community

I would be grateful if someone could evaluate my profile. I am a pretty down-to-earth person but I am curious what my chances for a Top MBA are.
I am going to apply in August 2017.

Here is my profile:

Nationality: Italian
Age: 23 (when the program starts I will be 25)
WE: 2 years (by the time the program starts) (insurance and consulting)
GPA: 3,6 (from a well known European university)
Toefl: 111
GMAT: 720
Leadership skills: During the age of 16 to 21 I kind of used to run my own business in the summer months. My parents own a hotel but they retired already, so I was in charge in running the business. I would say that I had a huge responsability because everything depended on me (7-8 employees). I don't know if I should mention this in my application.

Furthermore, I volonteered many years and I was on exchange on a well known American university for six months.

Dream Schools: HBS, Sloan, Yale, Booth, McCombs

I think the problem will be my WE. Anyway, thanks in advance.

You definitely can, these are all within range and realistic choices for you.

Looks interesting and promising enough, but if I understood you correctly, you are currently lacking other work experience than the one in your family’s company? (As you say that you will be attending school in 2 years and will have 2 years of experience by the time you start)

So as you suspected, the work experience is a bit of an issue and your chances will depend on what happens during those 2 years as well. You will need to have some impressive and concrete results, some leadership role or perhaps a promotion to add to your CV on top of what you already mentioned in order to have a good chance at the top schools.

That said, all the rest looks good (if you can, amp up the extra curricular activities as well during these 2 years) and you should definitely mention your role in the family business when you do apply as it is highly relevant and interesting. And the exchange with the American university as well, definitely describe that and what you learned from it in detail.

Hi Aringo Team,

Please evaluate my profile. I am planning to apply for the 2017 MBA program.

Nationality: Indian
Age: 26yrs
Graduation: BBA Graduate from NMIMS University, Mumbai

Work ex :

Worked as Business Development for Directi Solutions. -- 1 yr
Achieved sales targets for 3 continuous months.

Running my own business in the Pharmaceutical Industry -- 4 yrs. Running Successfully and profitable.
The business is manufacturing of Pharmaceutical tablet compression tools.
My work in the business involved -
Employee recruitment
Setting up accounting systems
Creating a production line
Exhibiting in major pharma exhibitions in countries - Russia, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria and India.

Academics :

GMAT - Yet to Give (Getting between 680-720 in Mocks. Taking the GMAT on 27th October)

CGPA - 3 / 4
12th - 70 %
10th - 70 %

Extracurricular :

Worked for Rotaract Club of Bombay Filmcity as a volunteers & got selected as a PR & Marketing Director in the following year. Our Rotaract club was regarded as the best club in RID 3140. My experience included arranging for sponsors and getting media visibility for the events organized by the club.

I have also volunteered as a Teacher to teach English to Underprivileged kids in Mumbai. Taught a group for 15 kids for 4 years. In the same non profit organization, Make a Difference, I was selected as the President of the Mumbai Chapter, in which I was given the responsibility to lead a team of 200 + volunteers and teach 350 underprivileged kids in Mumbai.

I have also participated & won in dance competitions of many cultural college fest.

I have also won a leadership event in a college fest.

Volunteered for my college cultural event.

Kindly suggest me with the colleges in which my profile fits perfectly & the ideal GMAT score I should aim at. I am aiming for top colleges in US.

Thanks.

This will very largely depend on your GMAT score, at the moment a lot of schools are a good fit but naturally your final GMAT score will narrow it down for you quite a lot.

That said, you need to reach for the higher end of your spectrum (720) if you are interested in the top schools alone as you are Indian. I am sure you know there is no lack of Indian applicants with high scores after all.

The rest of your profile looks good though so you definitely have material to work with besides the GMAT score you will get in the end. But I would still recommend that you get back to us once you have your final score (try for above 700 for sure, above 710 or 720 is obviously preferable). Also lacking from your description is what you want to get out of the MBA and what your post MBA goals are, so please provide some info on that along with your GMAT score once you have it.

Good luck on the test!

Hi there,

Could you please review my profile and provide your insights and opinions regarding chances of mine to be admitted to the schools listed below. Thanks in advance for your valuable insights.

Harvard Business School
Stanford Graduate School of Business
MIT Sloan School of Management
Haas School of Business

I'm 30 years old executive from Azerbaijan, Baku. I believe the name of my country might tell nothing since it used to be part of the Soviet Union and located far away from USA to which I would like to take my journey. Moreover, it is just small:) Yet I believe it might enhance my profile because there have been few applications for top MBA programmes from my motherland.

As for my work experience, currently I'm Director of Development Company and, at the same time, Chief Strategy Officer of the parent company which has activities in following spheres: real estate development, publishing house, and largest printing company in Caucasus. Previously I had been working in telecom for almost 10 years and was CEO of the biggest Pay TV in Azerbaijan in terms of footprint of its broadcasting network prior to joining Baku European Games Operations Committee (BEGOC) which was established with a sole purpose of organization of the first ever European Games. Before that, I managed the nation-wide project regarding deployment of digital terrestrial television network and simultaneously worked as Head of Business Development of the company in charge of this project, which then was the part of the biggest Telecom Group in Azerbaijan which had two mobile operators and other telecom and IT companies in the Group.
In parallel, I have had some start-up experience (I developed First Pay Radio Project in Azerbaijan (although it didn't become a full-fledged company) and consulted start-ups in the sphere of fin-tech, retail, media, and education).

On top of that, I fluently speak 4 languages: Azerbaijani (native), Russian, Turkish, and English.

Why do I want to get an MBA degree? In essence, unlike dozens MBA candidates (no offense intended to brilliant MBA candidates out there for whom I wish nothing but best), for me MBA is not as much about increase in salary or the honing of my management skills and the acquiring of knowledge, as about overall experience it provides. It is like a destination you want to travel and constant immersion in environment where you will be part of something significant whether it is people, projects, or new knowledge. As for my post-MBA plans, I want to pursue my journey in in some start-ups or venture capital firms or companies which is trying to have an impact on as much people as possible like Tesla, SpaceX, and the like.

Below are my scores:

IELTS score - 7.5
GMAT - 650/76%
Verbal - 38/85%
Quantitative 41/48%.

As for references, I can provide references from peoples ranging from the former minister (of the ministry I worked with on some projects) to current CEO of the Group I work in and Deputy CEO of one of the biggest banks in Azerbaijan.

I believe that my sub-par quantitative score (which is result, based on my CAT experience, of silly mistakes and bad time-management) may make admission committee raise eyebrows and may result in my application being rejected and, therefore, I would like to know how I can strengthen my overall profile.

Thanks once again in advance.