Ask MBA Crystal Ball

MBA rejection analysis and feedback after getting a Ding from bschools

Dealing with rejection isn’t easy. After painstakingly selecting bschools that you felt would be the best for your career goals, after going through the nerve-wracking ordeal of responding to MBA essay topics that swing between introspection and philosophy, and after spending all that hard-earned money on the GMAT exam, bschool application fee, and many months of excitement + anxiety + nail-biting…what is it that most MBA applicants get from the bschool?...Read More
_________________

By 'sufficient', if you mean are you spreading the risk through the choice of programs, I think the answer is no. Harvard 2+2 is an extremely competitive program. And the idea anyway is to get 2 years of experience first before you start the


The second point sounds interestng. Care to elaborate on it?


Unsual academic track. And for that very reason, the best way to build upon that uniqueness is to actually get your hands dirty and pick up some real world skills in the ship design and building space.


The general trend is - lower the work-ex, the higher the GMAT score, and some nice differentiating elements (like industry + role combo)


What exactly did you do in those 2 internships?


Extra-curriculars aren't the primary concern here. It's the credibility for your career plans. Unlike mainstream post-MBA goals like consulting or Investment banking, you are embarking on a path that most Adcom members may not be familiar with.

And the best way to make that story strong is by demonstrating how the odds of success for you will be high.

Are you sure you want to rule rule out the possibility of a regular MBA 2-3 years later?
_________________

F1 Visa requirements in U.S. for Indian students

All accepted undergrad and graduate program (including MBA) students from India require an F1 visa stamping to get into the U.S. and stay there for the entire duration of the MBA course. In this post we try to address the most frequently asked questions on how to apply for a student visa, the basic documents needed, and problems / issues to tackle before you can confidently answer the F1 visa interview questions at the American consulate.

Read on to see what you need to do before you can get access to all the high-paying consulting and investment banking jobs that are coming back to the US based bschools...Read More
_________________

How to make your profile irresistible to the top schools?

“I plan to apply to the top business schools in 2-3 years. What can I do during this period to build my profile for Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, INSEAD, London Business School, ISB…?”

This is another of those frequently asked questions (FAQ) that we come across on various discussion threads that MBA Crystal Ball is active on. Typically the question comes from freshers i.e.folks who have just graduated from Engineering (B.E), BCom, BSc and many other streams. But quite a few students who haven’t even completed their basic graduation are also anxious to know how to make their profile irresistible to many of their dream schools...Read More
_________________

MBA after 30: Am I too old for a full-time bschool degree?

MBA applicants who are older than 30 years (or closer to 40) often ask these questions:

- ‘Is it too late for a full-time MBA program?’
- ‘How do bschools look at MBA applicants over 30?’
- ‘After I cross 30 years, should I even try for full-time MBA programs?’
- ‘Will my age force me to choose between an Executive MBA or Part-time MBA?’

Most of these ‘senior’ applicants are considering conventional American 2-year full-time programs. There are several 1-year programs where the average age is closer to thiry (in fact, higher than 30 for a few bschools). But when it comes to the regular 2 year full-time MBA, there’s a statistical and psychological bias that comes into play the minute you move to the wrong side of thirty...Read More
_________________

B-school rankings 2013 MBA Crystal Ball

We have published our first B-school rankings based on a popularity index. Unlike the other B-school rankings, our attempt is to find out the top 50 international business school that have the best online footprint. Or in simple terms – the most popular business schools.

The big assumption here is that the level of interest in a bschool’s ‘online properties’ (website and social media presence) is directly correlated to how popular it is among prospective students as well as other stakeholders (staff, employers, alumni).

If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the full list first before reading the rest of this post:...Read More


MBA Rankings for the best business schools

For many MBA applicants, the search for their top bschools starts with the MBA rankings list. However, there are several challenges.

1. There are too many of these MBA ranking lists floating around
2. The methodology of how bschools are ranked isn’t entirely clear
3. The definition of ‘best’ isn’t universal. Different MBA rankings show different heroes
4. Bschool ranks aren’t sancto sanct. They change frequently.

Despite these drawbacks, whenever there’s news of a new MBA rankings list being release, there’s a mad rush of applicants to check out which ones have won the battle for that year. Alumni (new graduates especially), driven by ego or curiosity (or both) also make a beeline to these sites to see if their alma mater is still on the pedestal it was one when they graduated...Read More
_________________

MIT Sloan MBA: Admissions Director Interview

The MIT Sloan MBA offered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is one of the best MBA programs on the planet. The MIT brand has a formidable reputation across the world. In MBA rankings, the MIT Sloan MBA ranks not just in the general category but also across specialty rankings for finance, entrepreneurship, Supply Chain / Logistics, Production / Operations, Information Systems. If you check out the statistics for the class profile, you’ll find high average GMAT scores (710) and classmates who have done some solid work in their pre-MBA careers. The graduating class gets an average salary of around $120,000.

Sameer Kamat (founder of MBA Crystal Ball) interviewed Jeffrey Carbone – Associate Director – Admissions, MIT Sloan School of Management.

Read on to delve deeper into what the MIT Sloan MBA has to offer, gets tips on how to tackle the Sloan MBA essays, interviews, and many other topics...Read More
_________________

One year MBA in USA

The general perception is that the best U.S business schools offer two year MBA programs. Candidates looking for a good one year MBA consider options from the U.K (Cambridge, Oxford) as well as Europe (INSEAD, IMD) and Asia / India (ISB, IIM) among others.

A one year MBA program may appeal to many as it is a financially viable option due to lower fees, living expense and opportunity cost among others. Also, those who wish to resume work early to avoid a feeling of disconnect from the professional world may opt for a one year MBA program.

In this post, we explore the lesser known one year MBA programs in USA (also known as accelerated MBA in the U.S.)...Read More
_________________

MBA education loan forgiveness programs for bschool students

Education loan forgiveness programs aim at reducing or cancelling the financial burden for MBA students. Sounds too good to be true, right?

For Indian MBA applicants, the cost of attending the best MBA programs (MBA fees, cost of living) can be crippling. But there are business schools that offer such incentives (beyond the regular MBA scholarships) to some of their MBA students.

There are however several pre-conditions that you need to keep in mind in terms of whether you are eligible in the first place, when will these decisions be taken, how much of your education loan can be forgiven and what career goals make you prime candidates for such programs...Read on to find out more.
_________________

Hi Sameer,
Have been following your posts. You have been doing a wonderful job as always.
Following is my profile. Request you to give an assessment of my profile and guide me if I need to work on improving my profile and help me on school selection.
Age:31
Education:
10th std -88% (State board)
12th std -81% (state board)
MTech Dual degree from IIT , 8.1 CGPA
Topper in a batch of 7 students in my specialization.
Scholarship:
NTSE during 10th standard
Merit scholarship in IIT
GMAT: Yet to be taken, getting 750+ in mocks
Work exp: 8.5 years in a top indian IT services company. Worked with the same company throughout
Currently working as a technical architect.
Had good career progression throughout (appx one promotion every 2-2.5 yrs). Regularly rated among top 10% in the peer group. When promoted I was the youngest architect in the business unit before completing 7 years in the industry, possibly in the company as well,( not sure about the second fact since the data is not publicly available.)
Work experience:
Have expertise in different project subtypes including product development, Quality assurance and maintenance project, while working and consulting on different projects. Developed technical expertise and moved to technical stream, work as individual contributor for complex modules of projects as well as continue managing 10 member team.
Have worked in specialized It skills including automation framework creation, cloud computing, big data, Agile methodology. Always focused on self learning to make myself conversant with all latest technology trends.
Well versed in project management skills. I have managed projects independently for a long time.
Developed technical competency within the unit by delivering and arranging trainings.
Worked in presales as well.
EC’s: Have some decent EC during college and school level including debate, plays, social event organization etc. Nothing spectacular, nothing too ordinary
In my professional life EC’s include participation in company CSR initiatives, participation in company wide initiatives and organizing company events.

Reason for MBA: Getting a rich classroom experience with highly, esteemed classmates and teachers which will enrich me professionally and personally. Hoping to get a view of the big picture in my MBA experience which will help me understand the business scenarios better and deliver more focused technical solution in future assignments. Looking for faster career growth, hoping MBA degree will be a differentiator between a very good career growth and an outstanding career growth.
Primarily targeting IT consultancy as post MBA career option.
Questions:

1. School selection: As of now, I am inclined towards IIM PGPEX programs, since I am looking for a good ROI out of my MBA degree. Also inclided to work based out of India in the long term and hoping the alumni network of the IIM’s will be of an advantage for this. Please suggest if any other schools would be good fit for me which I need to consider.
2. Profile evaluation: How good/bad/ugly looks my profile when compared with similar Indian It Male candidates? What changes can be helpful in putting my case stronger? Will exams like PMP help?
3. Any other advice?

Thanks a lot in advance

Hi Sameer sir,

I have been a long-time reader of gmatclub but only now have reached right stage to apply for MBA. Resources here have helped me a lot. I request you sincerely for evaluating my profile.

I am an Indian IT male looking for application review service.

10th: 87%
12: 86%

Engineering from NIT Warangal in 2006, passed with 72% marks.

In college, had many extra-curricular activities. Chief organizer of college fest, and head HR and Technical for college fest for 2 years. Also led hostel mess committee for ensuring proper food hygience etc. to students. Worked on good technical projects, including electronic data gatherer which also won some awards in national technical competitions like VJTI etc.

Social work: Worked for two years for NGO providing helping poor children with schooling. Also volunteered time to teach maths occasionally. Have certificates and can show.

Sports: Played cricket for college team and have participated for office events also for last three years.

Professional: Working for last six years, will be seven in July 2013, in Infosys in the investment banking domain. Worked extensively on banking and capital markets applications for last four years, and before that worked on coding for core financial accounting applications. Have worked onsite for 1 year in Cincinnati, USA. Got many awards, including team awards for my performance over last six years. Chosen to lead development for core applications of large wall street client.

GMAT: 690, AWA 5, IR 6

Otherwise I am a very sincere and hard working employee, and even my team depend on me for difficult projects. I can show good recommendations also. Any other info you need sir I can give but please tell me what should I do now.

I want to apply for colleges starting in fall 2013.

Thanking you,
Suresh

Sameer Bhai.

Want to Know , your opinion on my brief balance sheet to pursue : MBA (slowly -2 turning for me as Master in Borrowing in Advance..)

.....As most of us, start MBA journey to see/get some .........6 (and 5 figure numbers..)...Hey, I did see some 6 (and 5 figure numbers..),,,(https://www.mbacrystalball.com/mba-essays.html#1bschool)....

(Please evaluate and provide your feedback)
Brief of My Profile:

GMAT: 670 (Q 49, V 33) -84%

Experience: 9.5 years in Telecom VAS domain in presale, Business Analysis, product management & marketing

Present status: Doing election campaign for a Major Trade Union ( which has almost 1 million members and covers 7 major states of India) headed by my father. Election is in last week of this month. (Major reason for low GMAT score). I Will finish this task by 1st week of May, 2013. Thus, instead of going back to regular job, I want to do an MBA (have some good reasons and fact to justify and support this)

Last two roles: Worked as Head Presales –SAARC and Regional Manager Presales – South Asia.

International experience:
1. China (selected out of 300 people to work in Nanjing for Supporting Key international projects including Vivo Brazil – a major win for VAS division),
2. Indonesia (selected out of 300 people to work in Jakarta to support Major Bids of Telkom and telkcomsel
3. SAARC countries: Successfully spearheaded deals in following countries - Nepal, Bangladesh, Srilanka and Maldives
4. Several Business trips and trainings in UK. Did my Master’s from King’s College London, Uni. Of London

Forums & Seminars:

1. Was in Speaker panel in VAS ASIA and VAS India
2. Head of organizing Committee and Host of ZTE VAS forums held in Delhi and Mumbai in 2004 & 2005. Attend by all Senior management staff of all the Telecom operators (including CIO, VP, GM etc)
3. Conducted guest lecturers in local B- schools with a senior educationist ( Cambridge alumni)

Research paper:
Co-authored a research paper published in one of the renowned Canadian journal

Target Schools: ( I want to start my MBA in this year. )
1. LBS
2. SAID
3. Judge
4. INSEAD ( I don’t want to wait till Jan -2014. But just for backup)
5. IMD ( I don’t want to wait till Jan -2014. But just for backup)

Education:

- Masters Degree in Science (M.Sc.) – Advance Software Engineering from Kings College London, U.K. Received “Award of Merit” (Given to top 10% students in class) in Masters degree from King’s College London, University of London
_________________

Tutu sir, thanks for the kind words and also apologies for staying away from this thread for a long time.

The chota-sa MBA forum that we host on our own site has been getting a lot of post, so busy juggling those with the MBA MAP requests that seem to have started earlier than expected this year.


Except the last sentence, the rest of the para would sound too generic if you put the same in your essays.

As an alternative approach, try to take that last sentence and weave the rest of the rationale around it. It'll make the adjectives (richness, big picture, scenarios etc) more relevant, and so your story more impactful.


Even if technically you'll be an IIM alumnus, don't assume that the yarana will be consistent and uniform across the whole IIM alumni network (which includes more folks from the 2-year programs).

Ditto for any of the other universities that offer a wide variety of degrees.


Neutral for now for two reasons. The IIT thingy happened too far in the past. So your current image would be coloured more by what you've done in the last 8 years. And there'll be a whole lot of folks (from IIT and outside) who have similar profiles, aspirations and GMAT scores.

A small program like IIMA PGPX (much like the bigger ones) tries to maximise the diversity in the class. Think about what is it in the story that you shared here and the additional details that'll you'll provide in your essays that compels them to give that seat to you.
_________________

Suresh sir, first thing to do is to ask me nice nice (and specific) questions so I can give you nice nice answers.

Without that I'm a little lost and I don't want to give you general gyan just for the heck of it.

Let's make the interaction useful to you and for others reading this thread.

Pleejh to do the needful!
(angrez junta laughs at that last statement, but that's what triggers pretty much everything back home).
_________________

Dada, didn't know you were an old-timer on GC. 243 posts!


A good way to generate some appreciation for those numbers on our site is to divide them by the USD:INR exchange rate and then compare it to the numbers on other sites. Always helps put things in perspective


We've been interacting on our forum for this, so I'll skip it here.

Hope you were able to submit some dhinchak applications to Judge and Said. Good luck with the results.
_________________

What happens after the entrance exams – Achamba The Super MBA

You remember our friend Achamba – The Super MBA, don’t you? Oh c’mon, just because he’s been busy with some important MBA work that lesser mortals like you and I can’t fathom, doesn’t mean we write him off.

We bumped into him on Facebook when he shared this picture that seems to have gone viral.



What is more important to know is what happened to the animals after the entrance exam results were declared.

Some interesting revelations, just for your eyes...Read More
_________________

Hi,

Can you please evaluate my profile. I am in a fix.

My Profile:

Female/30/Indian/IT

1) Brief description of work experience.

7 Yrs of work exp in Sept 2013 in top Indian IT company. The client for the project is one of top 5 financial instituions in the world.360 degree experience in IT starting as a Software Developer to QA Tester to Business Analyst .Currently as a Project Lead handling a team of 10 resources.
I have a 360 degree experience in IT starting as a Software Developer to QA Tester to Business Analyst .Currently as a Project Lead handling a team of 10 resources. I have worked in USA for 3.5 years. For these 7 years , I have worked in Banking and Finance domain with a specialization in US Mortgage.

Also running a small startup business ,which I partner with my father . It is a new guest house and a small food joint setup in an area booming with business . I started it in Jan,2013 and investment for the startup was all done by me alone.
Also have a short term experience of working in an outbound call center after final year in college and before joining full - time work in IT.

2) GMAT.
Appeared twice :
1. 600(Q48, V25)
2. 680(Q47, V35)

3) Qualification:
B.Tech in Computer Science , West Bengal University of Technology , CGPA - 7.93
12th - 70%
10th - 92%

4) Extra-curricular activities.
- Captain of school Basket ball team.
- Won competitions related to shot put, javelin throw and long jump.
- Commander of School marching team
- Won the district painting competition for consecutive three years.
- Active involvement in our school's NGO by teaching english and maths to poor children in the area and organizing events of food sharing and gift sharing with the poor children.
- In college participated in college Fest. Played a role of event anchor and worked with core team for sponsorships in college fest.
- In the past 7 years , represented company in basket ball meets , fashion shows . Anchored formal events and corporate picnics.
- Family actively involved in community service through NGO's and I have volunteered in several such events.
- Basic knowledge of French Language
- Enrolled for an Interior Designing course.

5) Important certifications - like CFA, CPA, FSA, or CA.
Company Certified in Basics of US Mortgage and Credit Reporting

6) Target programs.
Good schools in Asia Pacific , USA , Europe , Australia. Preferential Course will be International Business, Consulting, Marketing and might be Information/Operation management

7) When to apply?
R1 2013-2014

8) Post-MBA goal.
My post-MBA goal is to grow my startup to have a chain of food joints .I also want to make a global impact to society and aspire to open my own NGO featuring Breast Cancer awareness programs .
I believe everything I want to do in life will be made easy with an MBA which will help develop the skill-set I need to grow my business ideas into scalable organizations while also making strides in global social concerns .

9) Additional Info
Language fluency in 4 languages, advanced in 3 , and developmental in French. Hobby is painting . Take interest in Car Racing , horse riding.

My questions are
1) Which all colleges should I apply. Preferential regions will be a )USA b) Europe/Australia c) Asia Pacific d)Canada. Kindly let me know the colleges that I have a shot at
2) Should I a retake of GMAT

The list of preferential colleges are below

USA colleges

Duke (Fuqua)
Virginia (Darden)
Yale
Cornell (Johnson)
Carnegie Mellon (Tepper)
UCLA (Anderson)
Michigan (Ross)
Emory (Goizueta)
Texas--Austin (McCombs)
Indiana (Kelley)
USC (Marshall)
UNC (Kenan-Flagler)
Georgetown (McDonough)
Rice (Jones)
Vanderbilt (Owen)
Wash U. (Olin)
OSU (Fisher)
Notre Dame (Mendoza)
Washington (Foster)

European Colleges
INSEAD, France
IE ,Madrid
IESE, Barcelona
IMD, Switzerland
HEC, Paris
Said ,Oxford
Judge, Cambridge
Rotterdam , Netherlands
Manchester Business school, England
ESADE, Barcelona

Asia Pacific Colleges

HKUST, Hong Kong
ISB, Hyderabad
CEIBS, China
NUS, Singapore
NTU, Singapore
AGSM, Sydney
Melbourne Business School
AIM ,Manila
XLRI, Jamshedpur
SP Jain, Mumbai

Canada
University of Toronto : Rotman
University of Western Ontario: Ivey
York University: Schulich
Mc Gill University: Desautels
University of Alberta
University of British Columbia :Sauder

Any suggestion would be of great help.

Thanks.

'Fix' kaeno? From your overall profile seems like you've got most of the things sorted?

Except two key areas - goals and schools. Which many might argue are the two most important aspects. So a little more work needed there.


Not many have such a varied background. Generally it's a vertical movement within the same silo.


This could give us some interesting ways to add the diversity element. Need to dig deeper though.


Plenty of interesting stuff.


Are you using any of these directly in your work?


This is where it gets out of hand. You've listed half of the Top 100 programs. Ki korchho, Arpita!


Another confusing area here. I see that you've got some useful inputs on the other threads. Kintu ekhane aar ektu serious introspection is needed.

Btw, it's interesting to read (on another thread) that you create your own case studies.
_________________

RSM MBA Rotterdam Interview with Admissions Director

RSM MBA RotterdamThe Rotterdam School of Management within Erasmus University enjoys a top 10 MBA ranking in Europe. It offers the RSM MBA in 3 variations – the One-year International Full-time MBA, Executive MBA and Global Executive OneMBA.

Sameer Kamat (founder of MBA Crystal Ball) had a tête-à-tête with Maryke Luijendijk-Steenkamp – Director Admissions and Marketing at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University.

Maryke relocated from South Africa to Rotterdam and spends a lot of time globe-trotting to find the best talent for the RSM MBA. When she’s not going through marathon application review sessions, she’s training hard for the Rotterdam Marathon.

If you think you can be ‘comfortable with being uncomfortable‘ (a trait that’s valued by the RSM MBA admissions team), then...read on.
_________________

Hi Sameer,

Thanks in advance for your invaluable advice.


10th CBSE board 91 %


Kindly review my profile and let me know what chances do I have with ISB?12th CBSE board 90 % DPS R k Puram
Graduation - BE from Delhi College Of ENgineering 73%
GMAT - 710
Work ex - 7.5 years in IT industry
Domain experience - Publishing, Retail and Telecom


Details of work experience:

Started career as Sofware Developer- Employer Perot Systems which is now known as Dell Services
Based on my performance, I was placed on international assignmentin UK during second year. This assignment
was important for company in terms of building relationship for future assignments.

Though in IT industry these kind of aasignments are common, but in my case it was different( at least I think)
as with just one year of experience I was placed at client location to work independently with the team over there.
Within short span of time I was able to cope with the new environment and deliver quality results.
This assigment was important for my company in terms of getting more work.Based on my performance my assignment was
extended from 3 months to about a year and more contracts were given to the company.

--Do you think I can highlight this in my essay??

Then I moved on to be a part of software division of leading IT company which specialises in mobile and fixed networks,
multimedia solutions and telecom services.Within a year I was promoted due to my excellent performance ( Though while
joining I was told that it won't be possible during my first year).My current designation is Senior Software Engineer.
But I am playing the role of subsystem architect who receives requirements from the stakeholder directly interacting
with customers. I study the feasibility of the requirements for our product and based on the study requirements
are driven down to the team.Besides I also guide the team while implementation of the requirement.


Leadership experience -
Was headgirl of the school (10th standard) - (not sure whether it is worth mentioning)
During second year of career I was given the responsibility of mentoring two - three juniors.
Till few months back I was leading team of 5 people. I was resposible for guiding the team for timely deliveries
and resolve impediments if any.


Extracurrilcular :
School days - Have participated in debate. Was member of Volleyball team.
Interested in Swimming.
Have donated in cash and kind in orphanage.
Regularly teach my maid's daughter.


My long term and short term goals :
Primarily targeting IT consultancy as post MBA career option.
-- Kindly let me know what all options do I have post MBA as I want to stay with IT industry?