Ask MBA Crystal Ball

At the TopMBA event in Mumbai on 12th July, we plan to offer an on-the-spot Mini-Evaluation process which gives a sneak-peek into what the full-fledged report has to offer. I used your profile data - with some major assumptions on your acads, work-ex, soft-skills etc - to create a sample.

There were several sections from the MCB questionnaire that I couldn't fill in, so this may not be as accurate as I would want it to be.

For space, time and effort reasons, I'm not getting into the details of what it came up with, but here's a summary.

Overall profile rating: Good
(A whole lot of guys get 'Average' or 'Closer to average', so a 'Good' rating is, well, Good)

Category and Num of schools
Ambitious (12)
Stretch (12)
Practical (45)
Safe (20)
Backup (5)

Check out the second page of the attached file for more details on the Average Tuition, Average Compensation for your categories, so you'd know how much you can expect to shell out and how much you can hope to earn back. All ball-park figures.

The individual schools you've listed are mostly in the Stretch to Ambitious bracket. Just to keep your shortlist balanced, you might want to go a little lower in the ranking and include a few Practical schools as well.

>> Only criterion for college is great finance faculty & resources, should be in US, Good Alumni network, Scholarship would be an icing on the cake

Apart from the schools already on your list, you could look at Chicago, Columbia. The former would be a Stretch and the latter would be Ambitious.

Considering your GMAT score in the second attempt hasn't been incrementally stronger, you could focus on the subjective elements of your applications.

All the best, Abhishek.

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Hello,



I have a query regarding my profile, in ISB

With 2years experiece & one pharma MBA degree will it bepossible for me to apply to ISB?

Pls let me know

I hope it would not bother you.



A brief about me:

My name is Sagar Mahajan.

Age:24 yrs

Experience: 2yrs by end of next yr

With Sun pharmaceutical industries Ltd

Working inInternational Marketing division.Handle Central American countries business development & assist in main Latin american countries like Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, etc

Qualification:

Pharma MBA from SIES college og management , Mumbai

(MAT:98.18 percentile,ATMA 97.42 percentile)

B.pharma with 66 %

12 th 76%

10th 71%



Extra curricular activities:

Not much , Participated at university level group song competittion, soprts

Played cricket , football for college at university levels.

Hi Anagha,

You've got partial inputs to the first section on another thread. Let me try to address the others.

Social entrepreneurship, management of Non-profit institutions and variations of this have been getting a lot of attention lately. And it's not just for the feel-good nature that most associate with this. These were largely considered to be options for those who aren't fit to be in the corporate rat race, those who are more idealistic and less practical - a change-the-world attitude but minus a concrete plan for doing it.

Now it's serious business. These fields require the same skills that any for-profit organisation would look for. They need managers who understand the business and commercial aspects of running the show. Sustainability is a big challenge for those who look at it as pure charity.

So, Anagha, if you think you have what it takes (and that goes beyond just noble intentions) to do well within this field, then do pursue it.

Like the other poster mentioned, some schools have a loan forgiveness program, but don't depend completely on this. Do have a proper roadmap in place to weigh out the risks and the rewards of working in this field.

Now moving on to your profile. I took the risk of going with a low score and banking completely on my essays/recos. But that's not something I'd recommend as a standard raam-baan upaay to every applicant. If you can improve the GMAT score, go ahead and do it.

Other than that, your marketing pitch becomes very important. Right now, I have many more open questions about your profile than answers. Don't make the adcoms assume things about you and fill in the blanks. Focus on the motivations for moving into the field, linkage to your pre-MBA experience etc. Make it clear and make it impactful.

Where are you currently in the process? Still struggling with the schools or have you started working on your apps (or at least the basic essay topics)?
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I recently took my GMAT and scored a 650 (V-34, Q-45). (V-68%, Q074%). I was planning to apply to some B-Schools. I haven't got my Essay scores yet. Though this might be a common question, I thought an opinion from an experienced person like you could help me get over my dilemma whether I should take the test again or continue with my application process.

So here is my profile:

- I have a total of 6 years of experience (Oct 04- Oct 10). I worked in Infosys Technologies as a Software Developer for 3 years. I then moved to Oracle Corporation as a Quality Assurance Engineer and have been working there since 2007.

- My Academic records are - 92.33% at high school. I did my Electrical and Electronics Engineering and scored 75%. I guess CGPA conversion would be 5 for high school and 3 for undergrad.

- My current activities other than work would be free-lance software development for some of the local clients in Bangalore, India. Also I sponsor education for two kids in Bangalore through a charitable institution. I also am involved with Volunteer activities for charitable causes within Oracle through its Ora Volunteers club.

- My past extra curricular activities would be that I trained in Martial Arts and also trained in Music - Guitar and Drums. I've also been a part of various cultural events at high school - theatre.

- I currently hold a Senior Member of Technical staff position with Oracle. I am lead for an automation tool that our organization and various other internal organizations use. Elaborating on this would probably be my pitch in the application when they ask about any leadership role that I have played in my profession.

After a lot of thought, I have decided to go ahead and take a chance this year and apply to some b schools. Based on opinions from admissions consultants etc I have come up with the following:

Reach:

Texas mccombs
unc kenan flagler
emory
Indiana university kelley

Safe:

SMU Cox
Vanderbilt
Maryland Smith
Iowa tippie
washington olin
wisconsin madison

I have categorized schools into Reach and Safe. I would like to get into brand management after I finish MBA, and that is my long term goal. Given my profile and my GMAT score, can you please let me know if the list of schools above that I have come up with are good? If not can you please let me know if the school list is fine. Also please let me know if some would be too difficult and if there are alternatives, and also if I have missed some good schools that might be possible for me. The specialization would be marketing.

Thanks,
Vijay

Hi Sameer,

Request your help with my profile evaluation.

Age : 30
Nationality : Indian
Experience : 7yrs (8 by the time session starts)
GMAT : 1st Attempt - 620 (49Q, 26 V, Awaited AWA). Jul’10
Undergrad : B.Sc(Hons) Physics Delhi University.
PostGrad: MCA from Indraprastha University (80%)
Areas of Interest: Consulting, Finance

Experience details (Total Exp – 7yrs. Employer – Tech Mahindra, TCS, HCL)
1. Domain Experience: Telecom, Networking
2. Role: Designer
Also mentoring junior team members.

International Exposure:
1. Worked as Onsite Cordinator for 10 months. A good recomendation from Client on that role.
2. Worked in US and Germany.

Extracurricular:
@college:• Volleyball team member. College Champion.
@work:• Several awards from Client and my company.

Target Colleges:
- IIMA PGPX
- ISB
- Kellogg
- Columbia

This list of colleges is before I gave my GMAT. Well I am not sure if my GMAT score is worthwhile to apply in these colleges or not.
1. Should I go for another GMAT attempt?
2. Or if there is a chance with this score where I can try. 3. What can be my USP as I belong to the largest community of students applying in MBA.
4. Where I can improve on my profile other than GMAT score.

Thanks in advance for your time and effort.

Hi Sameer,

Would be great if you could please evaluate my profile:

Age: 28

GMAT: 730, AWA 5.5

Work Ex: 5 years 1 month at present
Sector: Financial Services. At present a Manager with HSBC. Leading a 7 member team to provide risk analytics solutions to HSBC's retail banking business. Prior to this worked with Citibank's risk team. Significant bottom line impact in these two organisations through devising and implementing strategic solutions.
I also possess about 1.5 years experience in management consulting with the Merger & Acquisitions Integration team at Delotte Consulting India Pvt. Limited..

Education: MS (Quantitative Economics) from Indian Statistical Institute, B. Sc. (Economics) from Presidency College (Kolkata). Among the top 2% in my undergraduate studies. Both ISI and Presidency College are top schools in Economics in India. XII: 81%, X: 83%.

Extra Curriculars: Strong. 1) Susbstantial community service over the last 4 years. Significant contribution in the expansion of an NGO in the last 4 years. 2) In the process of establishing the departmental alumni association in my undergraduate college. 3) Sole representative from the corporate sector in the Executive Committee of the Alumni Association of ISI.

Post MBA I want to switch over to a risk management role covering a wider domain than just retail banking. My present work ex entails risk management for just retail banking.

Hi Vibhore,

We've already started discussing about your profile offline. And from the additional data (including some of the surprising stories) that you've shared over email, you've had a pretty interesting career so far.

After that last phone call, you've got a whole lot of personalised inputs from me (and my international partners) that would've been difficult to provide in a discussion forum.

The best part - you have an action-plan in place now. So I'll take the liberty of skipping this post.

Of course, our offline interactions can go on.

I look forward to start working together on the essays soon.

Good luck on the GMAT.
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Hi Sagar,

I don't see a GMAT score in your post. So I'm guessing you are pretty much in the very early stages of thinking about applying.

Two primary challenges for you if you decide to apply to ISB or for that matter, any other top school in India or abroad. Low work-ex and second MBA (specially considering that your first MBA happened not many moons ago).

Your marketing background could be a differentiator. You might want to consider waiting for a couple of years to gain a considerable exposure to the business world. You'd be in a better postion to justify the need for going through the process all over again. What is it that your first management degree hasn't given you?
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Hi Sameer,

Can you please evaluate my profile?

Profile:
GMAT: 730 (Q: 50, V: 40)
30/M
I have a Masters degree in Computer Science(from a good US university) with a GPA of 3.89/4.0
I did my undergrad(Bachelors in Technology) in India and scored 81% (Top 10% of the class)
I have decent volunteer work(most of it is in the past 6-12 months) and currently I am a project coordinator at a volunteer organization.

I worked for 1 year in India before coming to the US for my Masters. I have been working for the past 4 years in a top tech firm(in the US) as a Software Engineer and was promoted recently to a Tech Lead Position. Currently I am leading a project and managing an international team(3 members). Recently I took on an added responsibility of mentoring a new team member; I am also leading the same project.

Post MBA Goal: I want to start my own company after MBA. I have the necessary technical background for starting my own firm, but I feel I need to learn the business skills before I dive into the entrepreneurial world.

What are my chances at the following schools:
1) Columbia
2) Stern
3) Tuck
4) Wharton
5) Darden
6) MIT
7) Booth
8) Kellogg
9) Fuqua
10) Cornell

Is there anything else I can do in order to strengthen my profile?

Thanks!

Hi Sameer,

Can you please evaluate my profile?

Profile:
GMAT: 730 (Q: 50, V: 40)
30/M
I have a Masters degree in Computer Science(from a good US university) with a GPA of 3.89/4.0
I did my undergrad(Bachelors in Technology) in India and scored 81% (Top 10% of the class)
I have decent volunteer work(most of it is in the past 6-12 months) and currently I am a project coordinator at a volunteer organization.

I worked for 1 year in India before coming to the US for my Masters. I have been working for the past 4 years in a top tech firm(in the US) as a Software Engineer and was promoted recently to a Tech Lead Position. Currently I am leading a project and managing an international team(3 members). Recently I took on an added responsibility of mentoring a new team member; I am also leading the same project.

Post MBA Goal: I want to start my own company after MBA. I have the necessary technical background for starting my own firm, but I feel I need to learn the business skills before I dive into the entrepreneurial world.

What are my chances at the following schools:
1) Columbia
2) Stern
3) Tuck
4) Wharton
5) Darden
6) MIT
7) Booth
8) Kellogg
9) Fuqua
10) Cornell

Is there anything else I can do in order to strengthen my profile?

Thanks!

Sameer, I just chanced upon this thread. This is a good one. Please evaluate my profile which is below. I am targeting 2011 admissions for European B-schools

Age/Background: M/32/Indian
Experience (current): 9.5 Years (5.5 years of experience in US)
Currently Manager in IT Governance Risk and Compliance in Global Fortune 100 in US (for 1 year). 2 Direct reports, ~12 indirect reports (multiple project based at any given time). Manage project/operations worth 1-1.5 Mn USD at any given time.
Previously 8.5 years of work ex in Top Indian IT firm as Lead consultant and Project Manager. Direct report 5 and managed a service line worth 3 Mn USD. Key role were Account management, project management and sales. Worked with multiple Fortune 50 clients in different capacities.

GMAT : 710 (Q50 V35)
GPA - 76% (BTECH in E&C) - 4th ranker in Univ in said course.

Multiple awards in previous company, all certifications in current field including PMP. Scholarship holder throughout most of acads.
Low on extracurriculars though. Has published few papers, written blogs at company websites and participated in few professional bodies as member and currently planning to hold a membership chair in one of them. Foundation member and active participants in some region based social bodies.

I am planning European B-schools as I think I am too old to qualify for US b-schools. I will keep them in my stretch list though.

Hi Sameer, I have been following your thread both here and on BW forums for quite some time and have heard some great things about the crystal ball report. I have been in the process of selecting and researching schools for almost 5 months now and have selected a few based on the categories normally used here. Given below is my brief profile and the school listing. I would request you to give your feedback on the school selection

Age 25

Sex Male

Nationality Indian

Work ex 4+ years by the time I join

Educational Background B Tech Electrical Engineering from IIT Roorkee with a CGPA of 8.1/10

GMAT 720

Career Highlights

1. Worked as a management consultant at one of the Big 4 (accounting ones)

2. Worked on engagements in Government sector, these engagements have been such that they affect the life of millions of people. Think RTI Act, Commonwealth Games, e governance.

3. My work on an IT procurement project resulted in a cost saving of INR 8 million

4. Have taken an initiative of internal learning and development within the firm

5. Managed a team of 2 - 3 analysts in 4 engagements

Extra Curricular

1. Publicity Cell head at NSS IIT Roorkee

2. Organized 4 blood donation camps in the campus with collection of around 300 units per camp

3. Negotiated sponsorship for NSS events at IIT Roorkee

4. Currently active member of IIT Roorkee Alumni association, organized alumni meets and designing Alumni portal

5. Currently active member of Resident Welfare Association of the community and interacting with various civic agencies


*******************School List**********************

Ambitious

1. Tuck

Stretch

1. Columbia

2. Anderson

3. MIT Sloan LGO

Practical

1. Darden

2. Ross

Strong

1. Emory

2. Tepper


I am not considering Duke and Cornell because of their less than stellar employment statistics.

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

How would you rate my school selection

Appreciate your valuable insights

Thanks so much

Dev

Vijay-saar, ever heard of the saying - 'Too many cooks...'?
If you talk to 10 consultants, you might end up getting 20.36 opinions (the 0.36 is the inflation adjustment).

So it's good that you are doing your own research to come up with that list. Now that you have your portfolio ready, the last thing you'd want to do is go back to each of those 10 consultants for a 'final' opinion. Something tells me when you are done with that final round, your list would look substantially different from the current one.



Sure. We could address all those points with the MCB report. But at this stage when you've almost finalised your list, I wouldn't recommend that coz it would mean we wipe off all the hard work you've done and begin all over again with a clean slate.

With so many consultants doling out free advice on discussion forums, it's become easy for candidates to copy and paste one query on 10 threads. But the strategy can backfire as well. Can you honestly say that you are less confused now than you were before you started out?

Have confidence in your research, (do some more of it on your own if you aren't completely there) and 'own' your decisions. my friend. You'll be making many more of those as a jet-setting businessman after graduation.

For others reading this post, here's a suggestion. Before you start posting, carry out your independent research on each consultant. Check out their threads, their responses. Put your finger on 1 or 2 you trust. Fire your queries. Get their inputs, but don't follow them blindly. Carry out your own research and use your intuition/common sense to validate the advice.
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Sir,

After getting the feedback on the other threads, what are you planning to do now? Apply with the same GMAT or go for a re-attempt?

For the former, you'd need a separate list of schools and a chhappar-phaad application strategy.

For the latter, if you are sure you can substantially improve your score, you have the luxury of hanging on to the current list of names for the time being.
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Ki khobor, Faduc-dada?

Considering our offline interactions and the fact that we've completed the MCB report for your profile, do you think you could share some feedback here?
_________________

Sameer Crystal Ball ji still waiting for your reply Sir ji

Hi Sameer,

Request you to go through this an offer a profile evaluation and comments on my choice of schools and the chances of making it to them.

If possible I am also looking for tips on how to address the application to schools where I am a reapplicant. What should i be emphasizing on on my reapplicant essays

Age : 28

GMAT Score - First Attempt -September 2007 - 690 (Q48,V36, 5.5)
Second Attempt - July,2010 - 730(Q50,V38 , 6.0)

Undergrad: Engineering Graduate in Information Technology Delhi, India.
Top 10% in my class

Work Experience:
6.5 years with TCS
I spend the first 2.5 years working as a software developer in India for an investment banking software.
Since August 2006: I have been working in US as a Business Validation/QA(functional) Analyst for one of the largest wealth management products in the world. My responsibilities have majorly included validating the business function for the software with the wealth management market in UK.
PS: I do not have a direct managerial experience, as the project structure is that of a flat organization. My team includes individual with a MBA, CFA, CPA qualification and also former traders and bankers. A major part of the responsibility is to address gaps in the software, map it to client needs and offer solutions to address the gaps. Because the job demands validation of the system as a whole I get to typically interact with over 200-250 people(out of 400 project strength) and coordinate work across a mix of 7-8 teams at one time. This provides an excellent opportunity to practice indirect management. Because of the flat structure of the project a manager typically has 12-15 years of experience. However I have been managing a team of 5 individuals for the past 7 months. Also in my team of 30 members, I am among the only 2 engineers in the team.

Since I Last Applied to business school for Fall2010 session- Following are the changes in my profile

• GMAT : Score increased from 690 to 730(Q50,V38, AWA 6.0)

• Work Profile - Managing a team of 5 individuals ( 2 peers and 3 junior associates). Assisting my Senior manager in planning for a $25 Million US version release for the software

• Executive Member for Business forum run by TCS North America, involved in finding synergies between various software implementations and chalking out the product road map. I am the youngest member in the forum.

• Toastmaster - Serving as the Vice President for the Club for the past 8 Months.



Achievements at work :
• Finalist at TAS 2008 (Tata Administrative Services - Fast track management Program for grooming individuals to take up executive positions in the $70 Billion TATA Group)

• Peer Recognition award winner in 2007 ( Given to 4 individuals every year out of the project strength of 400).

• Icon Award winner in 2009, (Only 1 given every year out of 400)
Extra Curricular/ Community service:


College - Student Body member, President Quiz club. Founder of monthly college magazine - FundaMentals
Post College - Member of Toastmasters Club - since 2009, currently serving as the Vice President - Education for the Club ( club strength is 41 members)

Big Brother Big Sister - Mentored a 11 year old boy for a year. Will begin another year when the school year starts in September.

Green Team - Events Committee - VP. - saved over $120,000 for the company through various initiatives. Extended the practices here to my hometown in India. Organized a recycling awareness drive in Delhi covering 250 households/ 3 speeches at resident communities and personal visit to over 50 families.

Charity work mostly through company engagements, includes commitments of 2-3 hours every month.

Hobbies - Rafting, running ( have run 4 5K races this year and 2 for charities)

GMAT Score - First Attempt -September 2007 - 690 (Q48,V36, 5.5)
Second Attempt - July 16,2010 - 730(Q50,V38 , AWA 6.0)

Target schools - Ross,UM(ReApp - applied last year) Dinged with No IV call
Fuqua,Duke( Reapp - applied last year) - Dinged with No IV call
Tuck,
Kellog
Hass
NYU

Short term Goal - I want to target a Strategy consulting profile, but I am open to get back to the IT industry in Sales and Business Development.

Long Term Goal - Go back to India and lead a consulting initiative there in the areas of Technology, business system consulting. A lot of this would depend on my post MBA profile, but I do want to go back to India and use my US experience to transfer best practices to India.


Request you to go through this an offer a profile evaluation and comments on my choice of schools and the chances of making it to them.

If possible I am also looking for tips on how to address the application to schools where I am a reapplicant.What should i be emphasizing on on my reapplicant essays

Thanks in Advance

Paay lagu sir ji,

R1 volumes ke wajah se finding it a little difficult to spend time on free reviews. Paying walo ki pehle puja, phir kaam duja.

Pleejh allow me some more time. I'll take the queries in the order in which they've been posted.
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Offline contact karun sir ji. Bachpan se line todeni ki aadat hai Sir ji

(info@mbacrystalball.com right ?)