Ask Marvel Admissions

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,

You have really interesting background. I like your international work experience and social entrepreneurship.

INSEAD's Global EMBA program would be amazing for you.

Average GMAT for INSEAD's EMBA program is around 638, so you're not too far off. I hope your undergrad grades were good.

INSEAD EMBA application asks for 7 essays, which is a lot, but can be used to your advantage. You seem to have some great work/life experiences. Make sure you put forth really strong essays, carefully selecting the content of your answers to represent yourself in the best possible way.

What are your career goals? Make sure you can show transferrable skills that help you succeed in those roles.

I got my MBA from London Business School, I know the European business schools well. Please feel free to reach out if you're interested in getting help w the application. https://marveladmissions.com/contact-us/

Good luck!

Christine Lin
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With a 710 GMAT and the international experience you laid out, I would take another look at other business schools in the top 30 (even if not in California). Typically top MBA programs get the best recruiters across all industries and at that point location becomes less relevant. The quality of the MBA program will impact your career long term ... if no other restrictions apply, have that as the main criteria.

Thank you!

Hi Christine,
I think I decided I will retake the GMAT more seriously this time. I know one is never sure if one can get into INSEAD but at least a high score looks good on the application. I have been working on my essays and my undergrad acads are pretty decent. So I think i can wait another term and retake the GMAT .
Thanks for your help and suggestions.
Sid

Hi,

You have an amazing profile. You didn't mention your post MBA career goal and long-term career goal. Getting clarity on your career goals will be really important, as well as showing the admissions committee why you are passionate about your career goals. Other applicants may have similar goals that you have, but the reasons you choose such career goals are uniquely yours. https://marveladmissions.com/the-power-i ... eer-goals/

The two schools really try to get to know you through the essays. For Harvard, it will be important to show a habit of leadership and achievement. HBS is not asking for a career goals essay, but it will be covered during the interview. For Stanford, it will be important to show who you are, your values, motivation, and major influences in your life that shaped you.

You can differentiate yourself by being more of yourself. The better you know yourself and the more self-aware you are, the better you will be to make choices that are consistent with your values, passions, and skills. If you're not already doing it, keeping a journal is a great way to enhance self-awareness, which is a critical component of great leadership.

For your essays, instead of describing the work that you do, focus on the results achieved, and more importantly, the lessons you learned. Make sure you're telling stories only you can tell, and not stories any other McKinsey consultant can tell. The lessons are the most important aspect of your story, you want to demonstrate maturity, humility, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, etc.

You should also reach out to current students to understand how the schools can support your career goals, and how you can contribute. It will help you answer the "why our school" questions.

Good luck!

Christine Lin
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Hi Sid,

Good luck to you. Hope you get an awesome score to match your experience.

I'm a little curious about the death threats

Best,
Christine Lin

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

Well I thought it'd be good to drop a line to put an ending to the story...

I delayed my GMAT slightly to yesteday, 21st Jan. Despite an interrupting in studying over the Christmas break I managed to get some good work done during January, so I was surprised to only score 670 on my second GMATPrep test (considering I dropped from my 710 in early December I was pretty disappointed) on Saturday. I felt I hadn't gone backwards, but had suffered from a lack of concentration towards the end in the Verbal section - I spent the rest of the weekend eating well, sleeping better and trying to get my energy levels up as well as some last minute cramming!

I went into the exam with some trepidation, but I'm delighted to say I finished with a 720!!! I had to rub my eyes in disbelief to check it didn't say 620...! Obviously I'm really pleased, I can now focus on my plan for applications in Round 1 later this year.

Thanks to all of you who offered advice, I really appreciate it.

Hi Christine ,

Thanks.
About the death threats , I will PM you if you are interested .

Cheers
Sid

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,

There are always chances of being selected in b-schools, if you have skillfully framed your application essays. There is no harm in applying to b-schools in R-3 & R-4. You can also target Tepper, McDonogh, Wisconsin-Madison, BYU-Marriott, Boston University and Boston-Carroll. These are just few good ones in US. You can try your chances in b-schools by clicking https://www.general-ed.com/chances-of-bschool

Feel free to post any other concerns you might have. You can PM your number to discuss on selection of b-schools.

Best,
AK

Hi


Kindly Review my Profile. I am hoping to crack top 15-20 (need more clarity on the schools as well) and looking for a role in the Development Sector post MBA. If not purely a development sector profile, I would prefer a consulting role with an organization working in a similar set-up (for instance an organization working with the Govt.)

Work Experience:

Current:

(Since Oct 2012 - 3.5 months) Non-profit - Working with GIZ in the Indo-German Environment
Program. E-waste Management Project across 4 cities in India. Policy, Stake-holder engagement,
facilitation, training and capacity development. Youngest in the team.

(Since Feb 2012 - 1 year) Joint Secretary at CSSAR - an NGO involved in imparting primary and
secondary education to underprivileged children. Helped start the Secondary program exclusively
for girls. Project short-listed in Mahindra Spark the Rise.

Past:
(Sep 2011 - Sep 2008 - 3 years) : Worked in India's biggest IT-Service provider (Tata Consultancy Services) in IT-retail and
pharmacy domain. Involved in design and development and process improvement.

(Sep 2012 - Nov 2011 - 10 Months) Worked as a module leader in Snap-on Business Solutions in the IT-Automobile domain for General Motors. Received
appreciation from the Director for project on E-Catalog

Academic Background :

B.Tech in Electrical and Electronics (CGPA 8.36/10 - top 10% of the branch) from VIT University, Vellore, India

Extra Curricular :

• Director, Indian Society for Technical Education Students Chapter VITU. Winner of the
best students chapter award.
• Member, Quiz Society. Organized, participated and won many intra-college quizzes.
• Coordinator for National Level Fest 'Akshaya' and 'Confluence'. Organizer of the highly
successful online gaming event.

XII - 87.2
X- 85.4

• Prefect of Junior House
• Class Representative for 3 consecutive years
• Member of Quiz Society
• Awarded Gold-Medal for excellence in academics for 6 consecutive years

Other Activities:
Photography,
Film Enthusiast - taken a 62 hour course on film Appreciation by Prof. Richard Allen from Tisch, NYU. Member of a film club which views and discusses movies.
Placed third in Delhi Region in Tata Crucible Corporate Quiz in 2010,
pub-quizzing,
writing


***************** GMAT **************************** (written in Sep 2011)
(720 - QA 49, VA 39 Analytical Writing 6)

*************************************************

Hi,

I got a 710 in GMAT (92 percentile).

Here are a few details about my profile.

I competed my engineering in 2003
I've already done an MBA (good school from India),
My undergrad gpa was 5.6/10 and mba was 2.4/4 ( the school was very competitive and the highest was 3/4)

I have 3 years of work ex. I've worked as a Product Manager, Regional Sales Manager and i'm currently working as an Associate at a financial services firm in the investment banking and consulting team.
However, I want to work at an investment bank/private equity firm to build my career further.
Which is why I want to do an Ms in Finance and also because it's a one year course.

I don't know anybody whose currently pursuing this degree, most are doing MBAs. So, I'm uncertain about the job prospects.
I've narrowed my universities to:

Columbia - MS in Financial Economics(2 year)
UCLA - MS in Financial Engineering(1 year)
UT Austin - MS in Finance(1 year)
Boston University - MS in Mathematical Finance(1 year)
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign - MS in Finance(1 year)
UC Berkely (Hass School of business, MS in financial engineering) (1 year)

These are the ones that are remaining right now for 2013.
Would you say I stand a chance at these? Considering my profile.
Can you please suggest anything else? What are their job prospects like? Anybody whose actually attended any of these programs?

I'd really appreciate any answers or resources that might help me come to a decision.
Hoping for a quick reply!

Hi,

Your profile looks competitive. Strong academics, solid work experience, good extracurricular activities. You'll just have to put forth strong essays that demonstrate leadership capabilities and reason for getting the MBA now.

It would be helpful to get some clarity for your short-term goal, and show that you have the transferrable skills to succeed in that role. And show passion and motivation for your long-term goal.

The goals will also help guide you in school selection. I recommend reaching out to current students to learn about how each school can support you in achieving your goals and interests.

Please feel free to reach out if you have any other questions! https://marveladmissions.com/contact-us/

Good luck!

Christine Lin

Hi,

If you have enough finance related experience and understanding of financial transactions, you can consider applying to London Business School's Masters in Finance program.

You can email them your CV to get feedback on whether you are eligible to apply. https://www.london.edu/programmes/mif/applying.html

The MiF students at London Business School benefit from the same career center support as the MBA students and access to campus recruiting.

Good luck!

Christine
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Hi all,
I plan to apply for Fall 2014 Round 1 to Cornell, Tepper, Darden, UCLA Anderson and/or Berkeley HAAS.
I am a female/Indian/7years of experience of which 4 years were as a developer/team lead; 1.5 years spent in a start-up as a web designer, 1.3 years as a Senior Technical Writer. I plan to take the GRE and TOEFL in April '13. I want to get into IT Operations post-mba to leverage my industry experiences. Can I get some feedback on my chances at these schools? I would be glad if you can suggest other schools which might be safe application zones for me.

Thank you all for the help,
Monica