Ask Marvel Admissions

With a GPA of <3.0, it will be an uphill battle regardless of when you apply. Applying earlier will obviously give you a better shot as fewer spots will have been taken. However, if adcoms admitted 0 people in R3, they wouldn't have R3s to begin with.

You've already submitted some R2 apps so that puts you in a relatively good position. Hopefully you at least get some interview invites there. Regardless of R2 results, if you think you *need* to go to bschool this year and if you think you can put together strong applications for R3, then go for it. Otherwise, wait until next year if your R2 apps don't work out, and apply early or R1 -- you'll have as good of a shot of admittance as anyone else here. Best of luck!

Thanks aerien and ak2012. That does make sense. and to add to the above, i also have read/heard people saying that if you get rejected in R3, then it kind of decreases your acceptance chances in R1 next year, since there are hardly 6-7 months in between. and that period is hardly enough to improve your profile significantly. hence the re-applicant essay might not be as impactful as it should be.
But anyway for now, I hope to get a few calls, and i shall not apply for R3.
Thanks again.

Hi,

I had requested a profile evaluation a coupla weeks back and was lucky enough to get one.
https://gmatclub.com/forum/profile-evaluation-request-gmat-145130.html#p1163573

I need some more advice, kind of a mix of admissions and career advice actually ....
I'd appreciate if ppl replying would look at the earlier post, but to save the effort of going thru it, here's a snapshot of my profile:

GMAT 760 (Q50, V42)
10th: 89.86%
12th: 80.00%
Diploma in Electronics: 90.00% and a Gold medal
B.E.: 63.72%, Mumbai University
46 months with TCS [Star of the Quarter award, New recruits Top Performer award, On The Spot award, Cert. of Cust Appreciation, good appraisals etc.]
Decent to good extra-curriculars.

Scholarships form a key criterion for me.

Currently a 1st year MBA student at a top 10 / top 12 B-school in India.

I am interested in Finance. Need advice along the following lines:

A. What are my chances at Booth and Columbia. Have applied in R2 at both schools.

B. What are my chances at NUS, Singapore and Nanyang, Singapore. Will apply ASAP, by the end of Jan.

C. Because I took the GMAT very late, couldn't apply to Duke, Ross, Tepper, Simon. What are my chances of getting in with a good-to-high scholarship in R3 at these schools? Should I even bother applying in the 3rd window?

D. If I apply to ISB for the 2014 intake, what are my chances of getting in?

E. This is a tricky one. N I understand that finally it comes down to my decision. As I said, I am in the 1st year at a B-school in India. The reason opted for an MBA was that I want to work in Fin...start out in equity research and work my way up towards portfolio management. Here, I have landed a prime summer internship wid a top MNC e-commerce firm, but the profile might be Operations, IT, or with a low probability, project finance. Modesty aside, I think I have a decent chance of landing a high-paying job with them as well, based on how I'd do during the internship. BUT, it won't be aligned to my career goals.
So:
a. Is it too stupid / impudent of me to look at US/Singapore MBA options now, i.e. the 2013 intake.
b. Should I complete my MBA here and then apply for the 2014 intake, including to ISB, Hyderabad.
c. Should I take whatever job I get after this MBA, work for a few years, most probably in Operations Mgmt., and then apply to US / Singapore B-schools and try to switch to Finance then?

Can I hijack this thread and ask if anyone who already has an admit under their belt is thinking about throwing up a complete hail mary in round 3? Just curious because I have an admit, and was thinking maybe I just take a stab at HBS in round 3 and see if I can be their missing puzzle piece. Even if the odds are .001%, nothing to lose right?

I am a Pakistani National and want to do mba from a top usa university. Kindly provide me with realistic evaluation of my profile and the ways to improve it.

Born December 1991
O Levels 2007
A Levels 2009
ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) Affiliate 2012
Bsc(Hons.) Applied Accounting Oxford Brookes University 2013 : Upper Second Class Honours
Work Experience : None

Education:
-B. Tech. (Mechanical Engg) from NIT Hamirpur, Class of 2007. GPA=2.83
Work Ex:
-1.5 yrs as Engineer in Essar Steel Ltd., Surat.
-4 yrs in Futures First, currently as Associate.
Current Job Details: Trading in carbon emissions and crude oil futures markets.
Extra-Curricular:
-Participated in Cricket, Football in college and in company, but have no certificates.
-No real role of responsibility in college.
-Managed 3-4 technicians in my last job.
-In current job, managing none.

More Info:
-Good analytical skills, got 99.56 on CAT 3 years back but didn't chose to go for an MBA.
-Good programming skills.
-Weakness might be low experience in leadership roles.

GMAT:
-First attempt on 25 mar.
-Attempted Veritas Free Mock, scored, Q51, V35 = 690.
-Working on verbal and striving for V40=around 720-730.

My first query is: for me, which is better, MBA or M. Fin.
Next is: How is my profile, can I target, say top 25 colleges.

Thanks,
Manoj Dureja

Greetings,

I’m looking to start an MBA in 2014. Any ideas which programs I have a shot at?

Target Schools:
- HBS, Stanford, Booth, Wharton, Columbia

Here are the key details of my profile:

Canadian/Caucasian Male, 25
Education: Undergraduate from a top business school in Canada
GPA 3.6
GMAT 720 (94%), Q45 (68%) V44 (97%), AWA 6 (90%), IR 8 (92%)
Work Experience:
- 2 years at a no-name asset management firm in buy-side equity research
- 1 year at PricewaterhouseCoopers in audit (co-op term)
Extracurricular:
- Good at University (club presidency, other charity work)
- Great after University (board of directors of a charity helping kids with learning disabilities, scout leader, other stuff)
Other Stuff:
- Diagnosed with the learning disability, Dyslexia
- Legacy Status at HBS (brother went there)

Career Goals: Hedge Funds or Venture Capital with high-tech industry focus

Thank you very much for your advice.

Cheers,

Hi ! I was hoping you could provide some valuable inputs to my profile !

Indian Male Engineer (Non IT)

GMAT : 680 (Q49 V34) IR-8 AWA-6.0 REALLY don't have the time/patience/energy to retake.

Work Experience : Here comes the big problem. I only have close to an year's Full Time Work experience. I have been working in my family owned engineering design and constructions firm. However, during my undergrad, I worked in the firm part time for all 4 years. My responsibilities all throughout have included technical design, site management and project bid management. Recently I established a new sector in our firm in the field of constructions. It's a new field and I have already succeeded in establishing our market dominance. Have also acquired a few massive projects in our traditional services.

I also have 4 summer/winter internships at some of the best recognized names all over the world in engineering design. Had major roles in International Airport/Rail/Metro projects.

Goals : Short - Get back to India. Work with my company and expand to a few more sectors such as military engineering services for 3-5 years.
long - Help relieve my father off his responsibilities and take charge at the helm of the company.

Extra Curricular - President of IEEE. Head of Energy Club. Won several debating competitions such as Model United Nations.
Content writer for 2 national magazines, Editor for a college club magazine and Student Editor for America Online.

Community - Worked for an year in a children's education fundraiser. Currently managing a team of 19 volunteers for government assistance work in a community of 200 people.

Other Involvements - Team member of of a hydrogen fueled aircraft design project. On completion, we plan to forge ahead commercially.
- India Head for a recently initiated global entertainment company based on employee stock ownership plan. Already several VC's have
expressed interest to fund when we're ready. Company in final structuring stages.

Choice of Universities : I know my GMAT is not 700 but it's not all that bad. Also, My work experience is on the low side so I have highlighted my involvements
in the company during undergrad. Also valuable experience at 2 start ups mentioned above.

I have already applied to Texas A&M Mays, SMU Cox, Washington Olin, Purdue Krannert, Johns Hopkins Carey, Notre Dame Mendoza.

I also plan to apply to Toronto Rotman, CMU Tepper, Vanderbilt, UC Irvine and UC San Diego Rady( New Program but I'm very impressed).

What's your opinion about my choices ? Could you list safe/competitive ? Any other programs I should look at ?

CMU Tepper and Cornell Johnson are my absolute dream schools but I'm not sure if I'd be competitive enough, especially at Cornell with it's
jump in rankings and applications. Still plan to take a shot at Tepper.

Really look forward to your inputs

Dears,

would you please evaluate my profile and share your thoughts?

I am 28, brazilian. My Bachelor degree is in Mechanical Engineering and I am specialist in Petroleum Engineering. I´ve been working for Petrobras since september/2008. In may/2009 I started working on offshore drilling operations (drilling supervisor / superintendent), managing teams of up to 40 engineers on oil rigs. Prior to Petrobras, I was intern at AmBev (AB-InBev) and participated in a Work and Travel program during college vacation (cottage contruction in Knosville, TN from december 2006 until february 2007)

My school of choice is HBS, followed by MIT and Stanford. To make the story short, I want to make a career shift. I will apply in 2013 first round (admission August 2014 - first GMAT attempt: 700 Q47 / V39 Nov/2012).

I have two issues so far:

1) I know I need to improve my English a little and I believe I this will lift my GMAT score. Should I take a second test (my actual score is a little below the median)?.
2) I have the opportunity to open a small business (media on paper bags, no employees in first 6 motnhs) and I see it as an exciting challenge. This will certainly contribute to broad the experience I will share during the MBA. Since I will have to quit my job to do so (taking this risk is not a problem for me), I am quite concern over how this enterpreunership will impact my "history". Will B-Schools agree with my shot or will they think that I am lost in my track (quiting a job, opening a business and applying for and MBA at the same year)?

Thank you for your attention.

Regards,

Oswaldo Garcia

Hi,

I wrote my GMAT last month and i was wondering if there are still some good B-schools which are accepting applications?
I got a score of 650 and have around 7 years of experience in the IT field.
Can anyone please help?
If not in India any european universities? I am in belgium right now.

Regards,
Kiran

Hi,

I wrote my GMAT last month and i was wondering if there are still some good B-schools which are accepting applications?
I got a score of 650 and have around 7 years of experience in the IT field.
Can anyone please help?
If not in India any european universities? I am in belgium right now.

Regards,
Kiran

Here's the situation...

I've applied to Ross, McCombs, Anderson, Marshall, and Kellogg. After receiving a waitlist w/out interview from Ross, waitlist w/interview from McCombs, and a ding from Anderson, I'm becoming increasingly nervous about my chances of getting into one of the programs to which I have applied. This has lead me to do research about some other programs. After doing some further research, I'm very interested in Johnson, and am considering applying in round 3 (of 4 rounds total.) I wish I would have done more research about the program earlier, bc I feel it is a great fit.

My background is in hospitality management, and I'm looking to transition into hospitality marketing. Here are my stats...

Undergrad: BFA - Musical Theatre
GPA - 3.1
GMAT - 700 (46Q 40V)
Experience - 3.5 years restaurant/bar management

My question is, do you think applying to Johnson this late in the game is a good idea? Should I just wait to see what happens with my original options?

Thanks for your help!

Hi,

So I am just trying to evaluate my chances at a top American business school when I apply for Fall of 2014. Below is a quick recap of my profile:

Graduated in 2010 with a low GPA 3.11 (majored in finance & accounting) from a state school in Texas. My grades in my first two years were horrific but the last two years were much better. Luckily I was able to secure a spot in a new college-hire program at one of the supermajor oil companies (a Fortune 5 company) due to submitting only the last 2 years worth of transcripts on my application (even then I was very lucky to get the job as they had a hard cutoff at 3.5 and my gpa was lower than that, I guess I interviewed well or they REALLY needed a diversity candidate). I am of south asian decent.

I had always been a good student but I had a medical issue in college and I really struggled with it. I'm not sure if I am even willing to share it with the adcoms so that is why I am looking for other ways to mitigate the low GPA portion of my application.

I was able to move up at the company relatively fast (moved jobs twice in less than 2 years) and now am a financial performance analyst within a commodity trade group on the trade floor. I am also sitting for my CFA level 2 exam this June (hoping to pass it!). In addition to the CFA, I am hoping to mitigate the poor undergrad gpa concern by creating an alternative transcript, I have taken one finance class at UCLA Extension thus far and got an A in it, I'll be taking another class soon, probably either statistics or calculus.

I'll be taking the GMAT in June and will be shooting for a score of around 700.

Extracurriculars:
- Mentor at a youth refugee organization in Houston (volunteer once or twice a week)
- Finance volunteer at a free business counseling non-profit (currently working to help a local small business secure a $230k loan to expand business)
- WILL be volunteering in Rio de Janeiro this spring break helping build a home for a family living in a favela in the city.

What are some realistic possibilities as far as schools are concerned? Columbia is my dream school but I know it will be very tough....

The following is a list of schools I want to get into:

Columbia/NYUStern/DukeFuqua/UCLAAnderson/Rice/UTAustin

Out of these schools which do I have best chance at?

Hey Christine,

Thanks for the quick response.

My long term goal is to work at an Hedge Fund but I am not sure how possible that is right out of MBA.

Drawing from your experience, how much value do adcoms place on an applicant pursuing a CFA and would you agree that clearing the first 2 exams would compensate a bit for the low GPA? The CFA body of work is much harder than most of my undergrad studies...

My biggest concern is the low GPA, I am just hoping that somehow I'll be able to get over this hump and get into the school I want.

Thanks for the encouraging advice by the way...

Hello Christine and team,

Thanks in advance for the profile evaluation. Below is my info:

• I'm a 29 year old Taiwanese-American male located in the San Francisco Bay Area
• I've been working at a financial services software company for 7 years. We develop web-based software for the mortgage and general lending industries. Our primary focus has been on lending compliance, and our clients include many top banks, mortgage lenders, and, interestingly enough, state and federal regulators
  I am an associate product manager and, due to the small size of the company, have participated in many different roles here. My core responsibility is managing the creation of new features and products (project planning, prioritization of features, managing expectations, and leading an "agile" team of engineers, testers, and occasionally legal researchers). However, I've also drafted marketing materials, trained internal sales, support, and management teams, drafted and maintain user-facing documentation, helped our quality assurance teams test software, and acted as one of three company points of contact for an ongoing project we are working on with a large consulting company
• My GMAT was 760, Q49, V44, AWA 6.0, IR 8
• Undergraduate BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from UC Berkeley in 2005. Undergrad GPA 2.78. No excuses, I just didn't make good decisions in college. I've been taking some UCLA Extension Online courses to try to mitigate this a little, and I've received A's in principles of accounting 1A and management economics. I'm currently taking principles of accounting 1B and mathematics for managers.
• In college I was vice president of a social fraternity (among other various positions). Currently, I volunteer with a product management association and the local Lions Club (community service club).
• I'm also working towards getting a PMI Agile Certified Practitioner certification (it's the "agile" version of a Project Management Professional certification)
• My target schools are (in order of preference):
  MIT Sloan
  Tuck
  Johnson
  Yale SOM
  Kellogg
  Fuqua
  Darden
• My post-MBA goal is joining a strategy consulting firm to get more practical experience with a long-term goal of leading a startup

Hello,

First of all, thank you very much for taking the time to look over this, I really really appreciate it. I'll try to be brief and to the point:

Personal Data: 25 year-old Romanian.

Undergraduate Studies: Graduated summa cum laude from liberal arts college (Dickinson College, PA) in May 2010, GPA: 3.84, Phi Beta Kappa, double major in Intl Business & French Culture and Civilization, studied abroad in Toulouse junior year (coursework exclusively in French), where I gained Certificate of Political Studies from the Political Studies Institute of Toulouse.

GMAT Score: 770 (Q50, V44)

Work Experience: 2& 1/2 years of work experience [Summer EU Internship during college (Brussels, Belgium), Internship Conflict Resolution NGO - work with UN entities (NY, US), E-learning Company Consultant and Sales (Bucharest, Romania), Top private-jet manufacturer internship, sales and marketing (Chester, UK)]

Current job: Industry Analyst (UK based company, series of 3-4 month long projects in foreign countries; industry specific reports on Mining, Oil & Gas, and Power industries that are featured in industry specific magazines with targeted readership 100,000+ readers) - I will be starting the job in a few days - meetings and interviews with gov officials and corporate execs in order to gain industry knowledge and produce final report.

Languages spoken: Romanian (native), English, French (very advanced)

Extracurricular: Classical guitar (used to compete), not that intense anymore; Theater (in high-school and college); Tennis, soccer (did not play however at college level)

Schools and Application: I will apply this year (Fall 2013) in order to start MBA full-time in Autumn 2014 (@ age 27) - at this point, I'm thinking Harvard, MIT, Columbia, NYU and INSEAD.

That's about it - I am very curious to see if I have any realistic chances of getting into these schools.

Thank you again very very much