Ask MBA Crystal Ball

Name of the organisation : Tata Consultancy Services.
UG college - Anna University, Chennai
Regarding EC :
India - Volunteer and participant
South Africa - represented and led a team

If I retake the gmat in September, would I be able to apply in R1 ?

~Suhas

suhasancd wrote:

Name of the organisation : Tata Consultancy Services.
UG college - Anna University, Chennai
Regarding EC :
India - Volunteer and participant
South Africa - represented and led a team

If I retake the gmat in September, would I be able to apply in R1 ?

~Suhas

Suhas,

R1 has a definite edge but never at the cost of a sub-optimal application. Though our work has good international and leadership flavor, the GMAT can be a real handicap. I would recommend giving it all even if that means targeting the R2 deadlines. If you are done with it by early September, you should still be able to target a couple of schools at least in R1. Though don't rush the GMAT for that.

Cheers,

Hello Sir,

Please evaluate my profile and provide your views on the queries mentioned below.

Indian/M/25

Educational background:

Xth (CBSE) - 89.4%
XIIth (CBSE) - 92.0%

Merit list holder in IIT-JEE 2007
Strong AIR in other engineering competitive examinatons

Undergrads
83% aggregate in Undergrads (First class distinction)


Professional Background/Work Experience - 4.5years


Why MBA
For career shift.Looking to make a move to operational management.

GMAT
Gave my first attempt yesterday.Scored 710(Q50,V36,IR7).

Queries
1.Please provide your inputs whether I stand a chance in following Bschools. I am looking to apply in schools outside india.

Tepper
HEC Paris
NUS
McCombs
Moreover I wanted to apply to INSEAD but with this score I feel there is not much of hope.


2.I am not trying here to get names/suggestion of any Bschool but want to know which course(1yr MBA or a 2yr MBA) is preferable for people from non-conventional background looking to make a career shift.

Thanks.

Escalate wrote:

Hello Sir,

Please evaluate my profile and provide your views on the queries mentioned below.

Indian/M/25

<<snip>>

2.I am not trying here to get names/suggestion of any Bschool but want to know which course(1yr MBA or a 2yr MBA) is preferable for people from non-conventional background looking to make a career shift.

Escalate,

Consider the following points:

1. Your non-common background, if presented well, can be a real differentiator. So don't think of it as a 'constraint' rather look at it as a bright spot in your profile. We've worked with folks from similar background and know the profile you get to build at sea.
2. Did you have a 3 year undergrad? The article here may be of relevance if yes.
3. Finally, if you think you can do a 20-30 point jump on the GMAT, definitely think of a re-take. Can really bolster your chances overall. Ideally, you should target a 2 year course though unless you are going for big brands such as INSEAD.

Hope this helps some.

Hi,
I am looking to apply to business schools outside India, for a second MBA . It would be great if you could evaluate my profile and help me with some of my queries.
Indian/Female/30/Married

Educational background:

Xth (CBSE) - 90.6%
XIIth (CBSE) - 84.0%

Recipient of National Talent Scholarship,awarded by Government of India to 700 students in the country (2001-07)
Recipient of Junior Science Talent Scholarship , awarded by Government of Delhi to 100 students in the city (2000)
Awarded a certificate by the French Embassy, for scoring 95% in French in CBSE Examination

Undergrads (B.Engg) : Electrical Engineering - 2007 passout from Thapar University- one of India’s top 5 private engineering colleges/deemed universities.
GPA – 6.4/10

MBA (Services) from FMS Delhi
Major in Marketing with 66% marks.

Extra-curriculars
Joint Secretary : Vista(Media Relations) , FMS, New Delhi
General Secretary: Literary Society, Thapar University ,Patiala
Member, Editorial Board: “Avant Garde”, Thapar University magazine
Convenor: Choreography Team at Saturnalia ,Thapar University, Patiala

Professional Background/Work Experience – 5 .5 years
I have worked in brand management & product marketing roles with some of India's most trusted brands ( Brand Equity would agree ) in household care ( All Out), Banking ( Axis Bank) & Insurance( Max Life Insurance). I've worked extensively on communication & creative development, product launches, email & digital campaigns, brand strategy & consumer research.
I am currently working with my father-in-law’s business, which is a small outdoor advertising agency that I want to take to the next level.

Why MBA
I have built on my marketing skills through my work experience, but I want to add strategic capability & leadership skills, so that I can grow my family business significantly, in scope & magnitude.

GMAT
Looking at a 700+ given the mocks.

Questions

1. Do you think I have a shot at a top 15 program in the US/Europe?

2. I am looking at a marketing/consulting specialisation in the following schools, please let me know if I can add/remove anything from the list.

LBS
HEC Paris
NUS
INSEAD
Kellogg
Ross
NYU Stern
HKU/LSE


This would be a great starting point.

tanukaushik wrote:

Hi,
I am looking to apply to business schools outside India, for a second MBA . It would be great if you could evaluate my profile and help me with some of my queries.
Indian/Female/30/Married

Educational background:

<<snip>>

2. I am looking at a marketing/consulting specialisation in the following schools, please let me know if I can add/remove anything from the list.

LBS
HEC Paris
NUS
INSEAD
Kellogg
Ross
NYU Stern
HKU/LSE


This would be a great starting point.

Answering your questions and then some more Tanu:

1. You have a very interesting career arc indeed. I take it that you went for your MBA immediately after undergrad without any gap? Was 66% good on a relative scale there? This is important to know since your undergrad seems to be on the lower side. Try to go as high as possible on the GMAT to ensure you do not raise concerns on your academic potential. With the kind of goal you have, and the fact that you already seem to be running a successful business, the top schools should definitely be within reach with well articulated essays.
2. In your list, I am not sure if HKU/NUS really make sense given you want to achieve. I don't think you should dilute the brand you are seeking to add to your profile. LBS/INSEAD might be a bit tough in general since you don't seem to have international experience (?). US schools should be the preferred options; maybe something like an Oxford may be good to consider too.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Hello,

I would like to thank you in advance for doing this. I am not completely convinced that an MBA would be right choice for me. But anyway I would like to gauge where my candidacy stands against my peers for business schools.

My profile:
Indian Male; Age: 29
GMAT: 690
Undergrad: IU Kelley ; GPA: 3.25; Major: Finance
Grad School: WUSTL Olin, Master's in Finance: GPA: 3.6

I worked in the family business for about 6 months. The business has annual revenues approx. $15-$20MM and is a real estate development and constructions business.

After grad school, I got this unique opportunity to work for this small VC firm in Singapore as an Investment Analyst. And that's what I have been doing for the last 3.5 years.
The firm that I work for has a unique business model, we basically are a sales accelerator for high-tech european/american mid-sized companies in Asia through an equity aligned model. It is kinda hard to describe but basically we invest in western mid-sized high-tech firms and bring them to Asia. Help them rigorously to expand throughout Asia and exit in about 3-5 years. We as a firm are involved heavily in the whole life cycle of all the companies in our portfolio.

My role entails almost everything, I do research and due diligence to pick new companies, I have been involved in the negotiations of these deals, and then I am usually involved in overseeing their day to day operations for the first 4-8 months till we can set everything together and after that I usually oversee the firms in a financial capacity quarterly. For the past year or so I have been supervising two analysts. Before that as an analyst I supervised a couple of interns.

Through my role, I have gone on roadshows all across Asia to find new clients for these firms, helped/pitched for these firms to get more financing from Asian VCs, interviewed and recruited people to work in these firms, made great contacts throughout Asia and learnt a huge amount about new technologies mostly.

No extra-curricular after college really.

I don't want to waste two years getting an MBA which isn't not H/S/W. I currently don't think my profile would provide me with strong chance of getting in those schools. So, I primarily focused on 1 yr MBAs.

My school choices are Kellogg, INSEAD, Cornell, Oxford, Cambridge. I would love to get any school recommendations.

My career choice post-MBA is the same as now which is 1) Larger VC firm; 2) Investment fund focused on Consumer/tech/retail; 3) Tech strategy F500. I would like to stay in Asia for work.

Thanks for your evaluation and comments.

Hello Sameer!

Would be grateful if you could take a few mins to help me out.

Below is my brief profile

Indian female
GMAT - 760 Q-49 V-46 IR-8 AWA 5

Work Ex - 4 years in Analytics

B.Tech. Information Technology 78% 

12th CBSE 90%

10th CBSE 94%

Extra curriculars - Played chess at an international level

Post MBA - interested to work in Consulting

Would like to understand my chances of getting into ISB, INSEAD, LBS. And what colleges in the USA can i target to get with some financial aid?

How should i go about with my admission prep if I am planning for R1? What according to you would be my strengths/weaknesses and tips to work on them?

Thanks in advance!

I'm planning to apply in round 2 as that'll give me more room to develop my profile.
-25-year-old male
- Grew up in India
- GPA : 3.7
- GMAT : 650 (Q49, V28, IR 5 , AWA: 4) gave in 2012, recently I appeared again for GMAT but scored only 640(Q50, V25, IR 7)
- Undergraduate degree in Engineering(Polymer Science & Chemical Technology) from "Delhi University" (Delhi College of Engineering)
- 2.5 years(till date) of Business Development Profiles (first Business Development Executive than promoted to Biz Dev Manager & Center Manager)in educational consulting firm (Gateway Abroad Ltd.) and in a local 25 year old Educational group, mentoring and training students for various competitive examinations(catering 7000 students annually ). I've started a new training Institute as well under the educational group I've mentioned earlier for training law and management Aspirants.
- Active volunteering in an NGO since past 2 years (impacting 7000 households and 36000 residents)
- Ran a chapter of SIFE (now ENACTUS) successfully mentoring National award winning team in college
- Technical skills involving R programming, Statistical Inferences, Corel Draw, etc

Which colleges should I apply for in US, Canada and Europe where I stand a fighting chance ?

mbaindian wrote:

Hello Sameer!

Would be grateful if you could take a few mins to help me out.

Below is my brief profile

Indian female

<<snip>>

How should i go about with my admission prep if I am planning for R1? What according to you would be my strengths/weaknesses and tips to work on them?

Thanks in advance!

Dear mbaindian,

A few questions and insights for you:

1. You have a nice GMAT score. It will be good to understand the pedigree of your undergrad school. Will help get a fuller picture of your academic prowess.
2. It will be important to know what you do in Analytics? What kind of company? Your role/achievements? Without that, its really premature to even think of strengths/weaknesses frankly. The goal may make sense, but will need to understand the profile better.
3. Finally, for reasons mentioned here, difficult to say whether the list if fair or suggest names. In general though, the lower you target, better the prospects of financial aid. For R1, there is not much time left. You should begin ASAP - maybe you will be able to squeeze in 2-3 schools at the best. So get started right away

Cheers,

Kubrick13 wrote:

I'm planning to apply in round 2 as that'll give me more room to develop my profile.
-25-year-old male

<<snip>>

- Technical skills involving R programming, Statistical Inferences, Corel Draw, etc

Which colleges should I apply for in US, Canada and Europe where I stand a fighting chance ?

Dear Kubrick13,
A few reflections and questions for you:

1. Your GPA from a pedigree college looks great. The GMAT will be an obviously big hurdle. Since you are looking at R2, I am assuming you are going for a re-take. Important to try and breach the 700 barrier at the least
2. Your non-common experience will grab instant eyeballs. Even so, that makes the story difficult too. You have not mentioned any post-MBA plans. It is usually tough to connect education/coaching with a reasonable post-MBA role. So that's the area you need to really put your brain around.
3. Your ECs/NGO works will fetch you good brownie points.
4. Finally, for reasons mentioned here, and there being too many unkowns, I will refrain from dishing out school names. But you are doing the right thing of applying later. Focus on GMAT first and everything later.

Cheers,

Thanks for the reply. Picked up a copy. Thanks.

I am not sure because I do think I can jump into a larger VC (1st choice) without an MBA. I haven't started fully to look for that job yet. I am currently just evaluating my options, and MBA is one of them. I take your comment on diluting brand very seriously and that's probably only reason I am looking into the MBA: The brand and network. Unfortunately, I don't think retaking the GMAT and scoring higher is gonna be possible. The 690 is the score I got when I went to Master's program and do hate standardized tests. I am pretty sure I gonna be score a lot worse if I take it now haha.

Yes, I was talking about the 1 yr programs at Kellogg and Cornell. I looked into current student profiles of schools like IMD, Oxford, Cambridge, HEC Paris and truthfully wasn't particularly impressed. I picked Oxford and Cambridge because of the brand value those carry especially in Asia. Here is the reason: Although, I went to decent schools in undergrad and grad schools these schools are practically unknown in most circles in Asia unless you are taking to an American. So, really as you can probably see I am only interested in an MBA on a purely branding perspective. So do you think schools like Cambridge, Oxford and Cornell assuming I get in would dilute my brand? Thanks.

Ophelia wrote:

Thanks for the reply. Picked up a copy. Thanks.

I am not sure because I do think I can jump into a larger VC (1st choice) without an MBA. I haven't started fully to look for that job yet. I am currently just evaluating my

<<snip>>

interested in an MBA on a purely branding perspective. So do you think schools like Cambridge, Oxford and Cornell assuming I get in would dilute my brand? Thanks.

In Europe, I'd rather look at LBS/INSEAD than those - again purely from a brand perspective. Cornell is definitely a good brand globally.

I know it can be painful, but trust me, it is worth it - the re-take I meant. Think about it. If this was your one and only attempt, maybe you can take it 30 or so points higher? If you think you can, do it. Else, focus on the applications.

Cheers,

Thanks for the help. I will think about the MBA issues and GMAT issues.

Hi Admin

Kindly evaluate my profile and chances of getting a call for PI to get into IIM Indore EPGP. I have bad GMAT score.

GMAT Score: 340 (6%), Quant 21 (8%), Verbal 16(12%), IR 4(38%), AWA 4.5 (44%)

Education :

SSC - 2000 Pass out - 79%

10+2 - 2002 Pass out - 66%

B.Tech (Electrical & Electronics) - 2006 Pass out - JNTU Hyd - 65%

- Won 1st at 7 National Level Paper Presentations on Topics ranging from Electrical, Electronics and Computer Science

- Published 2 Papers at International Conferences on Topics related to Rural Development using Technology and Solar Grid's

MBA (HR) - 2008 Pass out - ICFAI Business School - 6.75 CGPA on Scale of 10

- Published various papers and articles in management magazines

- Editor of college magazine

Work Experience: (Total Exp - 86 Months Till Date ( 7 Years 2 Months))

Hitachi Consulting (Aug 2008 - July 2011)

- Worked on Manufacturing, Life Sciences, Electronics Domains in Oracle Consulting

Infosys (Aug 2011 - Feb 2014)

- Worked on Retail Domain Oracle Consulting

- Travelled UK and European Countries (Netherlands, Spain & Sweden) for 1 Year as part of Oracle Consulting

Accenture (Feb 2014 - Till Date)

- Handling offshore Consulting Oracle Team in Banking & Financial Domain

- Initiated Diversity Magazine and heading the Editorial Team which is an Internal Org Magazine

- Analyzing Business Requirement and mapping requirements

- Resource Management and Resource Engagement

- Functional level analysis and testing

- Leading a team of 10 members.

- Organizing and scheduling Internal & Client level Training's managing Customer Success

- Handling Unit level Interviews for laterals

- Handling Employee Engagement activities

- Moderating Performance

Entrepreneurship :

Knowledge Avenues ( May 2009 - June 2012)

- Founder and CEO which focuses on Knowledge Networking and Educational ERP

- Won best idea awards from BITS & NMIMS

- Received Invitation from XIV WORLD CONGRESS - WORLD COUNCIL OF COMPARATIVE EDUCATION SOCIETIES (WCCES) to present our Concept

- Travelled entire India as part of research with TATA JAGRITI (Dec 2010 - Jan 2011)

- Re-branded as Resultica Education Pvt Ltd and bought product categorization to K-12, Higher Education and Skill development

- Had 24+ Clients with monthly turnover of $30,000 per month

CloudicaLabs ( Mar 2015 - Till Date)

- Founder of Cloud & Mobility Product based startup

- Working on Mobile App based Recruitment application which reduces spamming via mails and calls.

Free-Lance Consulting

- Helping and supporting start-ups as Advisor (Dazin, Localwire, Pangeo)

- Attended various conferences and sessions of successful Business models which transformed India

Non-Profit :

- During my stint as Entrepreneur, we got associated with multiple NGO's in Hyderabad and used to focus on Education improvement at Slums

- Part of BOSF (Birds of Same Feathers) - Supporting and counselling Divorce women

- Actively involved with CSR activities of Hitachi, Infosys and Accenture

- Initiated Green Connect at Infosys, which brings various engineering college fraternity on single platform to work on Green Initiatives

Please suggest me further.

lalithvlk wrote:

Hi Admin

Kindly evaluate my profile and chances of getting a call for PI to get into IIM Indore EPGP. I have bad GMAT score.

GMAT Score: 340 (6%), Quant 21 (8%), Verbal 16(12%), IR 4(38%), AWA 4.5 (44%)

Education :

<<snip>>

- Initiated Green Connect at Infosys, which brings various engineering college fraternity on single platform to work on Green Initiatives

Please suggest me further.

Lalit,

Consider the following points:

1. Before getting the profile, that GMAT score will be a HUGE non-starter, likely to put you out of contention right up. So leave everything and do a re-take. There is time. No use wasting an attempt. With an improved score (>650?), you can also look at the other IIMs! Dont undersell yourself and do such injustice to your profile.
2. Your profile is interesting and the arc is good. It is not clear however if you've really used your previous MBA as the work seems more on the technical side. Be prepared to explain the reason for a second MBA. You have not mentioned anything about your goals - that will be critical given your eclectic experiences.
3. Finally, the entrepreneurial gigs will be pretty good - provided you can connect the dots well and explain how they help or will help you in future.

Go for a re-take and then crack it up.

Cheers,