https://www.mbacrystalball.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/mba-crystal-ball-top-admission-consultants.png The MBA journey - from concept to execution - can be extremely frustrating if you don't have the right information and approach. If you feel we could help out in making your experience a little more structured and a little less painful, do get in touch. With a less-than-stellar profile (Indian/IT/Male, GMAT below 700, age not on my side), I knew the MBA application process was going to be an uphill battle. I could not change my past (acads, experience, average extra-currics). My application strategy and the implementation plan had to be really strong. I guess I played my cards right. I chose Cambridge, got a double-scholarship and changed careers completely from IT to Mergers & Acquisitions/Strategy. Since then, I've been sharing my strategies and techniques with others. My book Beyond The MBA Hype has been appreciated by applicants as well as admission officers of the top business schools across the world. We've shared a humongous amount of free information on our website. Check it out to build an opinion about us. Here are some interesting links for you to start with: Get a reality check | Our BIG Knowledgebase | GMAT Prep Resources | MBA Scholarship Stories | Education loan reviews | Best free online courses with certificates Unsure of whether we are the right team for you? Read these MBA admissions consulting reviews (full-fledged blog posts, actually) of aspirants who started off with similar concerns and ended their journey with very interesting results. How we can help: MBA Profile Builder : If you plan to apply after 1-3 years. MBA Mock Application Process (MBA MAP) : Simulates an application process, identifies strengths/weaknesses and helps you prepare a solid strategy for your applications. Application Reviews : Essay editing & Interview prep to help you put in the best possible application. Career counselling : When you aren't sure whether an MBA is right for you, or there are other ways to reach your goals. Mini MBA : Test the waters before taking the plunge with the cheapest (free) mini MBA in the world .

Dear aceacharya, Thanks for reaching out to us. I am sharing a few perspectives that will help you while you embark on your MBA journey: You have a pretty interesting profile, and your post MBA aspirations come across as a natural progression. The thing you will need to clearly demonstrate through essays is why consulting and why not, say senior management/general management positions in the industry. Consulting is the 'favorite' most MBA goal simply because of the fact that it does not have technical skill requirements and does accept people from all walks of life. But that does not absolve you from presenting a strong rationale for your particular choice. By the way you describe it, it almost appears that you moved from front end operations to behind the desk action. Is that correct? This may or may not be considered as a strong point in your career progression. You may find the post on GPA conversion useful and a good place to start. Though you have a seemingly strong profile and a great GMAT score, the list you have is still on the aggressive side. You may want to go with a more balanced mix. As mentioned in various other posts in this thread, at MCB we take school selection pretty seriously and hence have created a bespoke offering for this called the MBA MAP . Irrespective of how you arrive at the decision, make sure you've done enough research on this topic. Regarding your ECs, though you may not be doing rotary now, or you may have done something in college, it is important to understand if you've maintained connect with the initiatives you started in the past. That can show your ownership level in your professional pursuits as well Hope this helps, Cheers.

Dear Aditya, Thanks for reaching out to us. There are multiple questions you raise. Let me attempt to address them: It is great that you are thinking ahead and working towards your goal. What is not clear though is why do you want to do an MBA. You need to have a sense on that question first and then work your way from there. The answer to 'which schools to apply to' follows from there. On the question of MBA vs MIM, you will find this post useful here . Hopefully this will help you take an educated decision The school list you have there is a bit of mixed bag - it'll really depend on a lot of factors to assess your chances. You should however think on questions such as why only European schools? Hope this helps. Cheers,

Dear Karthik, Thanks for sharing a detailed overview of your profile. Helps put things into perspective. Coming straight to the questions you raise: There are definitely strong points in your profile, both on the professional and ECs. Have you been designated as a team leader or are you acting as one? This could be interesting to understand as in the public sector, it is usually rare to get promoted at a young age. On a related note, in terms of your post-MBA goals, one, the names you have there are the leading management/strategy consulting firms, not necessarily in the energy space. Two, their energy practices are not strong in all geographies - so the answer may be different depending on which school you are applying to. And finally, on the long term goal - rather than merely stating entrepreneurship as a goal, it is more important to show evidence around it. Consulting and Entrepreneurship are two the most commonly used goals by applicants - so if you using both, make sure your application is convincing enough & 3. The two questions are related. Though i cant give you an answer without having the privilege of having assessed your writing and oral skills, that list is indeed aggressive. And yes, your work-ex will be on the lower side for most top schools. It is not impossible, but definitely reduces the probability. There are ways of overcoming lesser years of work-ex with things like essays showcasing maturity, good GMAT etc etc. But you will always be working against a handicap. Hope this puts some perspectives for you to ponder on. Cheers,

Dear Akshay, A few reflections on your post: Though not extensive, but from the contours of your profile, there seem to be multiple areas that you'll need to be aware of during your application process. Relatively lesser years of work-ex, competitive pool and a modest GMAT score. Your essays and other parts of the application should address these areas well Getting into top schools with low GMAT score is not unheard of, but rare. Consider this story to get a bit of perspective here. The idea is not to encourage candidates with low GMAT to apply carte blanche but more to give a sense on what's needed to manage this feat. You have to think deep on how does your profile stand out despite the multiple areas that may not be the strongest out there. If you have a convincing answer to that - you may have a realistic shot. Hope this helps. Cheers,

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MBACrystalBall

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10 Jul 2013, 10:23

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pooja793

Hi Sameer,

Thanks in advance for your invaluable advice.

You've put me under pressure before I've even read the rest of the post.

pooja793

Domain experience - Publishing, Retail and Telecom

Keen to know what you did in publishing. Not too may folks who come to us have this industry under their belt.

pooja793

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

You definitely should. The rationale behind it and the results that you could get during your stint don't happen on an everyday basis in the IT industry. More power to you.

pooja793

Was headgirl of the school (10th standard) - (not sure whether it is worth mentioning)

With your experience level, this goes back too long. If there aren't any jaw-dropping accomplishments from that era, I'd drop it.

Anything more recent would work better.

pooja793

Have donated in cash and kind in orphanage.

Most wouldn't do anything in this area. So your gesture is commendable.

But from a B-school angle, devoting your time on an extended basis would carry more weight than donating.

pooja793

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?

This is the most important question and I spend hours with MBA MAP candidates to sort this out. So I'm afraid I'll fall short on your invaluable inputs expectations part.

IT consulting is a common post-MBA goal that figures in many IT applicant essays. So you are 'safe' in that zone. But 'safe' may not always mean 'relevant'. Your accomplishments, your skills, your aspirations should drive that decision.

The other popular destination for many techies is Product management. Check out this sample Product Management Job Description and the MBA in Product Management Syllabus to see if you find it interesting.

Irrespective of the goal you choose, there are bigger questions that you need to address for each.

Depending on a few sentences on a forum to decide on the direction of your career isn't a very good idea. So take this with a pinch of salt and do extensive research on your own. Consider the MBA MAP if you need to validate your overall rationale and how you are connecting the dots.

aceacharya

Joined: 04 Mar 2013

Last visit: 10 Feb 2016

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Location: India

Concentration: Strategy, Operations

Schools: Booth '17 (M)

GMAT 1: 770 Q50 V44 Verified score

GPA: 3.66

WE:Operations (Manufacturing)

Products:

Schools: Booth '17 (M)

GMAT 1: 770 Q50 V44 Verified score

Posts: 48

Kudos: 81

19 Jul 2013, 03:24

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Guys please help me review my chances

1) Brief description of experience
4 years experience in the manufacturing industry with a major Indian steel producer in positions ranging from core operations to project management to strategy formulation. I had lead a shift of 20 employees for a year and a half before moving to other positions. Currently I am in the MIS and operations analytics group, managing operations and logistics in 8 manufacturing units across India

2) GMAT : 770 Q50 V44

3) College info:
College : Veer Surendra Sai Intstitute of Technology, Burla, India
Year and Degree : 2009, Bachelors in Technology, Electrical Engineering
GPA : 8.04/10 I am not sure how to convert it into the 4.0 scale but I was in the top 15% of the class

4) Significant college and post-college extra-curricular activities
Post college :
Was the founding member of a Rotary club at Rourkela, India. Served as the secretary of the club for 8 months before I was transferred out of Rourkela in April'12. Have not been able to get back in Rotary till now
College:
Was the secretary of the Electrical Engineers Club as well as an active participant of the Robotics Club.
Initated a Social service group name Green UCE for educating children and providing vocational training to the enemployed youth in a nearby slum. UCE being the former name of my college

5) Important certifications
6 Sigma auditing

6) Target programs.
Full time MBA Programs at MIT Sloan, Booth, Haas, Tepper and Ross. Please suggest any other programs

7) Post-MBA goal.
Strategy Consulting with a focus on operations research and entrepreneurship

MBACrystalBall

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31 Jul 2013, 01:47

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I'm happy to announce that MG, principal consultant from the MBA Crystal Ball team, will be joining in to provide responses on GC.

MG is an Indian School of Business (ISB) alumnus (graduated with Dean’s list honors) and an IIT topper. He spent several years as a consultant with McKinsey.

Here's a little more about him -- MBA consultant profiles.

MG4MBACrystalBall

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31 Jul 2013, 04:05

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aceacharya

Dear aceacharya,

Thanks for reaching out to us. I am sharing a few perspectives that will help you while you embark on your MBA journey:

You have a pretty interesting profile, and your post MBA aspirations come across as a natural progression. The thing you will need to clearly demonstrate through essays is why consulting and why not, say senior management/general management positions in the industry. Consulting is the 'favorite' most MBA goal simply because of the fact that it does not have technical skill requirements and does accept people from all walks of life. But that does not absolve you from presenting a strong rationale for your particular choice.
By the way you describe it, it almost appears that you moved from front end operations to behind the desk action. Is that correct? This may or may not be considered as a strong point in your career progression.
You may find the post on GPA conversion useful and a good place to start.
Though you have a seemingly strong profile and a great GMAT score, the list you have is still on the aggressive side. You may want to go with a more balanced mix. As mentioned in various other posts in this thread, at MCB we take school selection pretty seriously and hence have created a bespoke offering for this called the MBA MAP. Irrespective of how you arrive at the decision, make sure you've done enough research on this topic.
Regarding your ECs, though you may not be doing rotary now, or you may have done something in college, it is important to understand if you've maintained connect with the initiatives you started in the past. That can show your ownership level in your professional pursuits as well

Hope this helps,

Cheers.

adityakaul11

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14 Aug 2013, 02:08

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Hi,
I am a 24 year old male currently working with Infosys Ltd as a systems engineer and plan to continue working until June 2014.My work ex currently is 18 months and by the time i quit it will be 28 months.
I also have a CCNA certificate(Cisco certified network associate) in networking.

I am aiming for a GMAT score of about 700 and wish to apply for Fall 2014.
My undergrad was from Mumbai University in Electronics Engineering and my aggregate for 4 years is 67%(anything above 60 in Mumbai or Pune University is excellent)
Apart from my academics,i was the captain of the football team and have won a few intra college tournaments.I was also a part of my company football team.I was also a member of the Sports council for my college.
I have participated in a few cultural events in college as well as Technical events.

Could you please share a list of MBA schools i can realistically get admits from?
Any tips or advice will be appreciated.

Considering the job experience of most of the applicants to the top schools is greater than 4 i wish to know where i stand with my current profile.

Is it a better option to go for an MIM from a top university in Europe instead?
If so could you let me know my chances of getting into schools like HEC Paris,ESCP Europe,IE business school,CEMS,LSE and ESSEC France.

Awaiting your quick response.

Thanks and regards,
Aditya

kartikdatwani

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Schools: ISB '15 (A) CBS '16 (D)

GMAT 1: 680 Q49 V32 Verified score

GMAT 2: 730 Q50 V40 Verified score

GPA: 4

WE:Operations (Energy)

Schools: ISB '15 (A) CBS '16 (D)

GMAT 2: 730 Q50 V40 Verified score

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19 Aug 2013, 11:00

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Hi

Please have a quick look at my (long :roll:

) profile. After my profile description I've posted pretty specific questions. Please have a look at them and help me in deciding.

GMAT Score - 730 [Q50 V40] [AWA and IR score awaited]

Undergraduate GPA - 8.51/10.00 [2nd in Class]

Undergraduate Course - B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering from Dr. B.R. Ambedkar NIT, Jalandhar, India

Work Experience - 2 years as on 01.08.2013 in NTPC Ltd. as an Operations Engineer [Designation: Assistant Manager]
Job Responsibilties: Safe and efficient operation, complete monitoring, and control of a 500 MW unit; ABT Management (Commercial Aspect of Power Trading in India) - Regulating the generation of 11 units (~4600 MW) in accordance with the DC and SG, keeping in view the grid frequency in order to optimize generation so as to maximize the profit and PLF of the entire Plant.
Leadership at Work: Head of 5S Management Committee for premises producing 1000MW; Team Lead (6 members) for the Boiler Group in the Recommissioning of a 500MW unit (Not usually given to someone as young as me); Supervisor of a team (of 16 technicians) responsible for the ground healthiness of the plant equipment in order to ensure maximum efficiency of the plant.
Accolades at Work: Letter of Appreciation from GM(O&M) for emergency handling of a fire in the plant leading to savings of approx. Rs. 50 million; Conducted Work Study on the ABT Management and implemented changes which led to increase in revenue of the plant by approx. Rs.450 million per year; Suggested improvements in operation practices and plant efficiency leading to savings of approx. Rs. 80 million per year. [I can strongly bolster these claims with calculations and technical explanations]

Extra Curricular Achievements -
International: Won 1st prize in NASA International Space Settlement Design Competition, in the entire world; Won Runner's Up position in Asian Regional Space Settlement Design Competition by AIAA at the Asian Level; Selected as a DAAD-IAESTE Scholar for a paid internship in Germany during 3rd year of engineering.
National: Played Basketball representing my university in the National Level Inter-University Basketball Championship.
University Level: Organized various cultural festivals in the university; Compere at various collegiate events in the university; Captain of the university basketball team; Secretary of Hostel Mess Committee etc.
High School Level: Science and Technology Secretary Middle School [Member of Student Council].

Social Roles - Actively involved in the CSR activities of my employer; Co-founded evening school for the children of uneducated construction workers in my university.

Publication - “Design of Habitat Structures Planned to be Built on Moon” in CTB2020, KU [2011].

Career Goal -
Short Term: Work in the energy consultancy sector for a few years in a firm that is the leader in this area for eg. McKinsey, BCG, A.T. Kearney
Long Term: Start my own company which will first provide consultancy on renewable energy sources and then venture into renewable power generation.

My specific questions are -
1. Please evaluate my profile. How Strong or Weak it is? Areas of Improvements?
2. I have not narrowed down to a list of B-Schools I intend to apply to but I do want to target schools only in the top 20 of the world. My dream school is MIT Sloan. Other preferences are NYU Stern, Kellogg, Columbia, LBS, ISB, INSEAD, HKUST. Please tell me whether I am being too ambitious keeping in mind my profile.
3. Is a work experience of 2 years less than required for the above mentioned schools keeping in mind my profile? If so, please tell me where I am lacking and areas of improvement. Also, please advise whether I should increase my work experience and then apply to my dream schools?

Thank you in advance. Anticipating a positive and encouraging reply.

akshay2108

Joined: 05 Nov 2012

Last visit: 13 Nov 2017

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Concentration: Strategy, General Management

Schools: Schulich '16

GPA: 3.45

WE:Information Technology (Consulting)

Schools: Schulich '16

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22 Aug 2013, 10:18

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I scored 640 (Q47, V31) in my 2nd GMAT attempt and managed to add just 20 points to the first attempt. I have decided to have a crack at the fall'14 intake. Please suggest schools which will be stretch/doable for me. I completely understand that my GMAT score is way below par the average score of the pool I represent. But still I will like to know my chances.

I plan to apply to the following schools in round 1:

1. Kelley School of Business.
2. Fisher College of Business - Ohio State
3. W.P. Carey Business School - Arizona State
4. Schulich Business School - York University
5. Mays Business School

Please feel free to add schools to this list and help me to explore more options.

Graduation: Btech in Computer Science and Engg from VIT University with a CGPA 8.62/10
Work Ex: Business Technology Analyst in Deloitte US India Consulting focusing on Enterprise Applications. (June 2011 - Present)

As a part of corporate social responsibility, I have worked extensively with a Bridge school.
Decent Extra-curricular activities in college

Please share your feedback.

MG4MBACrystalBall

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22 Aug 2013, 23:12

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adityakaul11

Dear Aditya,

Thanks for reaching out to us. There are multiple questions you raise. Let me attempt to address them:

It is great that you are thinking ahead and working towards your goal. What is not clear though is why do you want to do an MBA. You need to have a sense on that question first and then work your way from there. The answer to 'which schools to apply to' follows from there.
On the question of MBA vs MIM, you will find this post useful here. Hopefully this will help you take an educated decision
The school list you have there is a bit of mixed bag - it'll really depend on a lot of factors to assess your chances. You should however think on questions such as why only European schools?

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

MG4MBACrystalBall

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22 Aug 2013, 23:27

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kartikdatwani

Hi

Please have a quick look at my (long :roll:

Dear Karthik,

Thanks for sharing a detailed overview of your profile. Helps put things into perspective. Coming straight to the questions you raise:

There are definitely strong points in your profile, both on the professional and ECs. Have you been designated as a team leader or are you acting as one? This could be interesting to understand as in the public sector, it is usually rare to get promoted at a young age. On a related note, in terms of your post-MBA goals, one, the names you have there are the leading management/strategy consulting firms, not necessarily in the energy space. Two, their energy practices are not strong in all geographies - so the answer may be different depending on which school you are applying to. And finally, on the long term goal - rather than merely stating entrepreneurship as a goal, it is more important to show evidence around it. Consulting and Entrepreneurship are two the most commonly used goals by applicants - so if you using both, make sure your application is convincing enough
& 3. The two questions are related. Though i cant give you an answer without having the privilege of having assessed your writing and oral skills, that list is indeed aggressive. And yes, your work-ex will be on the lower side for most top schools. It is not impossible, but definitely reduces the probability. There are ways of overcoming lesser years of work-ex with things like essays showcasing maturity, good GMAT etc etc. But you will always be working against a handicap.

Hope this puts some perspectives for you to ponder on.

Cheers,

MG4MBACrystalBall

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22 Aug 2013, 23:38

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akshay2108

Dear Akshay,
A few reflections on your post:

Though not extensive, but from the contours of your profile, there seem to be multiple areas that you'll need to be aware of during your application process. Relatively lesser years of work-ex, competitive pool and a modest GMAT score. Your essays and other parts of the application should address these areas well
Getting into top schools with low GMAT score is not unheard of, but rare. Consider this story to get a bit of perspective here. The idea is not to encourage candidates with low GMAT to apply carte blanche but more to give a sense on what's needed to manage this feat. You have to think deep on how does your profile stand out despite the multiple areas that may not be the strongest out there. If you have a convincing answer to that - you may have a realistic shot.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

optimusbruce

Joined: 06 May 2013

Last visit: 13 Mar 2014

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Schools: HBS '16 ISB '15 NUS '16 Wharton '16 INSEAD Jan '15

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25 Aug 2013, 07:59

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Hi,

Kindly evaluate my profile and share your feedback.

Work Exp -
Completed three years in IT industry. To be more specific, I am working in one of the leading companies in telecommunication domain.
Have worked on some of the flagship smartphone models.
Was appreciated by the Project Lead in HQ for my contribution.
Have been appreciated by management for taking up tasks that did not fall in my domain.
Have been appreciated for providing novel ideas. Two of those have been logged as idea patents and are under review.

International Exp - Traveled thrice to HQ. Total duration - 6 months

Academics -
An Engineering graduate from one of the renowned colleges of India.
Hold a CGPA of 9.33 on a scale of 10. Third rank holder in the branch
Have received merit scholarship (awarded to top three students of the branch) for all the four years.
I converted call from one of the top IIMs this year but did not join because I want to explore better options.

GMAT -
Will be writing in September. Hoping for 700+

Extra curricular -

1. Have been associated with an NGO that works for Child Rights. Have led one of the Public Action Groups in the city. Organized various events
2. Associated with an NGO that works for environment. Even though I don't have any experience in the field of Media & Communications, I led the Media team for one of the biggest campaigns of the NGO.
3. One of the core committee members of CSR group of the Company.Leading a team of over 100 volunteers
4. Participated in various events like Debate and Paper Presentation during college
5. Was core committee member of the Debate Club in College
6. Organized various events during college
7. Directed a documentary
8. Presented a technical paper in an International Conference. The paper got published in the journal.
9. I play guitar, though I am just a beginner

In short, I have been involved in a lot of activities. At times, I was never asked but I took the initiative to lead various teams.

Target Schools -
ISB, India
NUS
NTU
INSEAD
Wharton

I am also looking forward for a scholarship.

MG4MBACrystalBall

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25 Aug 2013, 22:14

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optimusbruce

Dear optimusbruce,

You raise multiple queries in your post. Lets try to address each of them here:

Overall, though in a bit of teaser format, your profile does seem to have the right ingredients. Tough to take a firmer stand on this without knowing the institute and company names though. Given that u've aced the IIMs, the GMAT score too can be expected to be in a good range. So all those are good ingredients. Just make sure that they dont come across as fickle and are well grounded when you are composing your essays
Your motivation for an MBA is also important to assess your chances at these schools. That is a fairly aggressive school list and a few more details always help make a better judgement. But of the list, some schools should definitely be within reach for you. For others like Wharton, you'll have to introspect even more on the areas i have raised
The scholarship question is a bigger one. There is no cookie cutter there. Some schools have specific essays for that, others decide basis your overall application. In general, it helps to apply as soon as possible, but thats no guarantee. So the best u can do it put in a strong application and hope for the best

Cheers,

ramalo

Joined: 30 Jul 2013

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Concentration: Strategy, Sustainability

Schools: ISB '16 Insead Sept '16 Darden '17 Goizueta '17

GMAT 1: 710 Q49 V39 Verified score

Schools: ISB '16 Insead Sept '16 Darden '17 Goizueta '17

GMAT 1: 710 Q49 V39 Verified score

Posts: 124

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23 Sep 2013, 10:24

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Hi Mbacrystalball

I'm desperately looking for some guidance as I dont have too many people around me who are pursuing or planning to pursue an MBA. Let me start off with my profile.

Indian Male, Age- 26

Work Experience- 5+ Years in total.
1 year in the financial services industry as a Financial Analyst and 4+ years as a Senior Manager- Business Development & Strategy at a diversified firm with interests in Textiles, Power and Higher education (current job). Also Co-Founded an internet venture in 2006 which I later sold off to the other partners making a decent profit on my investment.

GMAT- 720

College- Cardiff University, Business School. Degree- BSc in Accounting & Finance Result- Upper 2.1 Degree. Topped year 1 and scored a first class in both year 1 and 2 but because of the passing away of my father during my final year had issues with my final year grades and hence the upper 2:1. Graduated in 2008.

Treasurer of the Indian society at the B-school. Developed the Corporate social responsibility charter for my current firm with focus on education and sanitation for the poor. Working with the biggest environmental NGO in India on part time basis.

Target Schools- LBS, INSEAD, ISB, Kellogg, Darden, Cambridge, IMD, NUS and Nanyang

Planning to apply in R2 seeing how I doubt I have enough time to prepare my essays for R1.

Now for some details:

In 2006 I co-founded an internet based company- basically the website provided higher secondary students a plethora of information on all there educational needs and also had a database of tutors who could be approached for private classes. Eventually ended up selling the venture at a decent a profit.

In the summer of 2007 interned with a leading MNC bank in india, in the corporate banking division for 3 months.

Right after graduating in 2008, I started working as a financial analyst with a small firm in India. Where I conducted market research and industry analysis of certain sectors of the economy. Utilized fundamental and financial analysis in studying current and future trends in the stock market. Also developed a report on the market entry strategy in the telecom sector for a firm.

After working there for a year I started working for my current employer. In the last 4 years I've worked on the development of a hydropower project, setting up of 2 new b-schools and the expansion of the textile division into denim fabrics. I've been most closely associated with the hydropower project. I was part of the team that developed the financial models and gave the final makeover to the business plan of the project. I was tasked with preparing detailed monthly progress report and worked directly under the person In-Charge of the execution of the project. Working on a infrastructure project this early in my career taught me a lot. I learnt about the issues and opportunities in the infra space in the country. Slowly as my work impressed my seniors I was made Manager, business development and Strategy bypassing many others who were more senior. My most recent achievement has been the management accepting my report on the expansion of the education vertical in higher secondary education. The idea was my own and when I pitched it to the management I was told to formulate a detailed report on all the aspects. The report was finally accepted by the management and the firm is currently at a very advanced stage of its implementation. I am one of the youngest people working at the firm and by far the youngest in a managerial role. There is a lot that I learnt through my different experiences especially on the leadership front, that I plan to showcase through my essays, including how I formulated the new corporate social responsibility charter.

Reason for pursuing an MBA is that I want to change careers. Post MBA goal is to move into Strategy Consulting. Plan to gain some experience in the consulting field through a job/internship before the start of my MBA. Problem solving is something I love doing. I think I have a fairly analytical mind. Its something I've been doing in my current position as well. But now I want to pursue it at a much wider scale. Want to work and learn it at a proper management consulting firm (hopefully one of the big 4). I like to stay ahead of the market. I'd love to provide consulting advice to clients that would help them achieve desired results. Moreover through consulting I'm hoping to widen my understanding of new sectors (preferably Petroleum and Minerals, both fields fascinate me).

I have the following questions for you.
1. Are my target schools realistic with my profile, especially INSEAD, LBS, Kellogg & ISB.
2. How big of a disadvantage will it be for me to apply in R2?
3. Any other school I should be targeting.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Regards

MG4MBACrystalBall

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24 Sep 2013, 20:23

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ramalo

Dear Ramalo,
A few points to ponder as you prepare for the MBA application grind:

There are diverse elements in your profile. That also means you have to put in additional efforts to explain, if not tie-in, the various career choices you've made. For instance, the move from finance to strategy warrants a good justification.
Another thing to be aware of and acknowledge in your apps would be your GPA. Avoid beating around the bush and be upfront about it. Explain what went wrong - there is usually a rational explanation for a dip in performance. Presented well, that could be a good essay in itself
I wouldnt even say that you are 'changing' your career. Some industry switch maybe, that too to a limited extent. The fact is, most people who do consulting after undergrad, try to experiment with a lot of other things. So many people, who are hired by consulting companies after an MBA, do not have prior consulting experience. From that perspective, your role looks to have a fair bit of overlap with what consultants do for a living. So by all means, go ahead
Which brings us to the final point of school selection. At the risk of passing a verdict, I feel you should have an interesting stab at many of the schools in that list. A lack of international work-ex though would be a factor to consider for some of the European schools. And well, Kellogg is one of the tougher ones for most people. The trick is to have a right mix of schools; and your list does have that. So go ahead full steam on R2

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

ramalo

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Concentration: Strategy, Sustainability

Schools: ISB '16 Insead Sept '16 Darden '17 Goizueta '17

GMAT 1: 710 Q49 V39 Verified score

Schools: ISB '16 Insead Sept '16 Darden '17 Goizueta '17

GMAT 1: 710 Q49 V39 Verified score

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24 Sep 2013, 21:00

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MG4MBACrystalBall

Dear Ramalo,
A few points to ponder as you prepare for the MBA application grind:

There are diverse elements in your profile. That also means you have to put in additional efforts to explain, if not tie-in, the various career choices you've made. For instance, the move from finance to strategy warrants a good justification.
Another thing to be aware of and acknowledge in your apps would be your GPA. Avoid beating around the bush and be upfront about it. Explain what went wrong - there is usually a rational explanation for a dip in performance. Presented well, that could be a good essay in itself
I wouldnt even say that you are 'changing' your career. Some industry switch maybe, that too to a limited extent. The fact is, most people who do consulting after undergrad, try to experiment with a lot of other things. So many people, who are hired by consulting companies after an MBA, do not have prior consulting experience. From that perspective, your role looks to have a fair bit of overlap with what consultants do for a living. So by all means, go ahead
Which brings us to the final point of school selection. At the risk of passing a verdict, I feel you should have an interesting stab at many of the schools in that list. A lack of international work-ex though would be a factor to consider for some of the European schools. And well, Kellogg is one of the tougher ones for most people. The trick is to have a right mix of schools; and your list does have that. So go ahead full steam on R2

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

Thanks for the prompt reply MBAcrystalball

I agree with whatever you've said. The thing is that seeing how expensive even mba applications are (approx $250 each) I know I wont end up applying to too many b-schools which means I don't want to waste any application by applying to somewhere extremely unrealistic. I know most B-schools, especially INSEAD & LBS look for students with work ex and I don't have it. So do you think its worthwhile to apply to both these places? Also I would be really grateful if you could tell me which schools I have a realistic chance of getting in ( I know its difficult to give that judgement just based on a short profile but I would love it if you could hazard a guess)

Really appreciate your help

Thanks & Regards

MG4MBACrystalBall

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26 Sep 2013, 23:42

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ramalo

Ramalo,
I have already hinted about my opinion on European schools in my first response, point d.

Regarding the school selection, given that we firmly believe that that is a fairly evolved process, I wouldnt like to hazard a guess and would instead point you to check out the MBA MAP that we've designed specifically for this purpose.

Cheers,

MBACrystalBall

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17 Nov 2013, 00:44

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Business Development Career after MBA

You’ll hear many MBA graduates and business schools talking about Business Development jobs or just Biz Dev if they want to sound cool.

For those who aren’t familiar with the term, it can be difficult to grasp what the role of business development manager entails.

So we take a detour from talking about GMAT preparation, MBA essay writing and MBA interviews to delve into another MBA careers post.

We hope this unravels the enigma behind another exciting post MBA goal...Read More

rahulparekh

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01 Dec 2013, 12:00

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Hi Mbacrystalball,

My name is Rahul Parekh and I m looking for some guidance as I am very confused regarding certain things. Here is a summary of my profile:-

Indian Male, Age 23

Education background:-

Chartered Accountant (recently cleared)
Cleared CFA (USA Based) Level 1
16 years of education completed (Bcom + Mcom)
I am also learning Spanish currently

Work Experience (This contains my experience during the 3year articleship as required by the CA course):-

Intern at Chaturvedi & Shah for 10months (Here, i was involved in conducting Statutory Audit)
Intern at BMR & Associates for 14 months (Here, I was involved in the Tax Dept)
Intern AT M/s Patel Engineering Ltd (In this CA course, we are allowed to do one year of industrial training)

Target GMAT score:- 720-750

Target Colleges:- Stanford, Wharton, Booth, Harvard, Stern, Sloan, Kellogg, Haas

Goal:- Career in Investment Banking, Private Equity (That is why I m also doing CFA)

Since I have pursuing CFA which is USA based, I have targeted US based schools. I plan to give my GMAT in Feb and take an admission in Jan'15 batch and since i would be free from June'14 i would get employed for the interim period. This is my profile above which doesn't seem that great, but i have mentioned a few queries below:-

1. Will this articleship experience be counted as 'Work experience' ?

2. If not, I've heard that many b-school don't generally take students without work experience but as per the online research I have done visiting websites of the universities, they seem to always indicate that they do admit students without work-ex and its not compulsory. Plus, I feel that since I have not yet started a full-fledged career, I might get an MBA now and then start a career rather than breaking it in the middle to pursue an MBA. Is thinking an MBA at a younger age than the others trying for it a big disadvantage ?

3. S.P.Jain Mumbai is the only MBA institute I've heard which admits students based on their GMAT scores, so I was thinking that even if I don't manage admission to a proper university abroad, I could use this as a contingent backup. Is this correct ?

4. Which is the best institute among the ones above in terms of me being able to secure an admission from the above ? Are there any other universities I should look into ? Which are best universities scholarship wise (I would really need all the scholarship i could get) ?

5. Are there any specific areas of improvement according to you on my profile ?

6. There was this scholarship programme 'Reliance Dhirubhai Ambani Stanford programme', I researched a lot on it, but the only thing i couldnt figure out was whether this is only available to the August batch ? Are there any other programmes which offer such significant waivers ?

7. Should I go for a Masters in Finance or Management programme now or does the fact that I have done my CA and am also doing CFA suffice for not opting for a Masters in Finance degree ?

8. Lastly, even if i decide to wait for gaining more work-ex, the question which comes to my mind is that, should i wait for work-ex and then apply internationally, or i should do and MBA here in India and then go for an executive MBA in the later years, is the second option more feasible ? Do people find much time later to actually do an executive MBA ? Are there good chances of getting selected at reputed MNCs like Goldman, Mckinsey with the Indian MBA degree and the CFA ?

Thats it, sorry for asking so many questions and I would really appreciate if you helped me out.

kapardhids

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03 Dec 2013, 04:25

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Hi MG,

I'm presently working as Asst Manager in a Pharmaceutical company (Public sector). I want to know where does my profile stand and what kind of colleges should I target with the following credentials.

Academics:
1) B.E: 67% from Visvesvaraya technological university, K'taka
2) 12th: 88.5%
3) 10th: 88.3%

Extra-curriculars:
1) Avid quizzer since school days, lots of prizes in various competitions like quiz, elocution, crossword, puzzles (till engineering)
2) National level rank in a GK exam (2002)
3) Part of Rotaract club (Youth wing of Rotary) in college and even served as its president during final year.

Professional:
Here it gets a bit tricky, I got through a software company in campus placements but left the job after six months to join my core field (non-IT), it took me almost one year to get that (my current job), in the mean time i worked with a call center and was preparing for various companies.

Why MBA now?
Though i'm in managerial line, i want to work in a bigger and more challenging roles in Pharmaceutical field as this is one of the fastest growing sector.

Target GMAT score: 650-750.

Target colleges:
1) Tepper, carneige mellon.
2) Haas
3) Fuqua
4) Schullich
5) Rutgers

All the above colleges have a specialized Healthcare management course, which i want to take up along with marketing.

My questions:
1) How my GPA is going to affect my chances?
2) Though i was very active in extra-curriculars in school and college i'm unable to involve myself in anything from past couple of years.
3) I am planning for august-september GMAT and admissions next year, how can I strengthen my profile?
4) Which other colleges would suit my requirement?

MG4MBACrystalBall

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03 Dec 2013, 07:01

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rahulparekh

Rahul,

Jumping to your questions right away:

This is a slightly subjective question and it is best to check with the schools on the treatment. In general however, articleship is treated as internship
Yes, most reputed international schools prefer candidates with work-experience. The usual average is 4-5 years. If you'd like to do it before getting into a job, CAT based courses may be a better bet. International schools may take candidates without experience, but those are really VERY rare cases
Well ISB too takes GMAT and there are a few others in India as well. Though am not sure what is your question here
That is a pretty involved question and something I cannot give a gut-based response to. More on this here.
Yes, get some good solid work experience
A few perspectives on this here, and here.
Some insights here.
Yes, global firms hire frequently from good MBA schools in India. Exec MBA is usually for those with significant years of experience - because there is demand, that is why they are there in the first place right?

Sorry if there are too many links in this response but it appears that you are just starting off here. It is only fair that you do some more research.

Hope this helps,

Cheers,