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The straightforward answer to this question is that your undergraduate transcripts are very important to an MBA admissions committee. They will look at your college grades to assure themselves that you have the intelligence, discipline, and study habits to thrive in their program. MBA programs count on the interaction of engaged, intellectually curious students; if your undergraduate grades raise questions about your ability to contribute to the academic vitality of the program, then you have your work cut out for you.

Regarding your university transcripts, MBA Prep School’s first piece of advice is to obtain a copy of your grade reports and review them carefully long before the admissions officers do. Don’t rely on your memory because you might discover too late that the 3.1 GPA you remember earning was actually a 2.9 – or that you repressed the memory of that “D” in freshman psychology.

We say “too late” because, given sufficient lead-time before applying for an MBA, you may be able to take steps to counterbalance poor performance with additional coursework. If you have red flags in your academic history, the sooner you know about them the better. There are a number of ways to mitigate weaknesses in your academic transcripts. For example, if you performed poorly in quantitative courses in college, you could take a college level calculus or business statistics class to convince admissions officers that you now have the quantitative skills needed to excel in an MBA program.

Another strategy that we’ve seen work is to volunteer for professional or community service projects that require the skills in question. For example, if your grades in quantitative courses are lackluster but you’ve demonstrated that you have mastered those skills on the job, then the admissions committee might be convinced that your weaknesses in that area are a thing of the past.

Looking for skeletons in your academic closet isn’t the only advantage of reviewing your transcripts carefully. Look at your academic history to identify ways to differentiate your candidacy from other applicants. For example, if you excelled in a foreign language or studied abroad in college this might be something to emphasize in your application.

Finally, we think it’s best to address academic shortcomings directly in one of the optional essays. Ignoring weak spots in your undergraduate grades and hoping the admissions committee does too is not a good approach. If you do write an optional essay, then be sure to accept responsibility and avoid making excuses. You’ll want to supply the admissions committee with convincing reasons that you now have the maturity, discipline, and aptitude to excel in an MBA classroom.

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As part of our complete program of video tutorials, application building tools, and eBooks, MBA Prep School provides a suite of powerful resources that will help you to craft your absolute best business school applications. You can learn more and sign-up for a free trial by visiting https://mbaprepschool.com.

Hi,

I am Manikanth from Hyderabad. I want a profile evaluation and some valuable suggestions to apply for MBA fall-2012.

I gave my GMAT yesterday and got 730(M 51, V 38). I have 3.5 years of IT exp with Oracle India (would be around 4 yrs months by the time of matriculation). I did my MCA from NITK, Surathkal and BSc(Electronics) from Pune University.

My academics:
X - 73%
Inter - 75%
BSc - 81%
MCA - 8.4 (CGPA)

I have a very different background and it was never a cake walk for me. I started my first job in a STD booth in my 7th class and have worked in many petty jobs since then to support my education. As part of my jobs, I have developed interest in various fields that is how I joined BSc(electronics) and then did an MCA (again because of interest developed by my part time jobs in BSc). In the last 3.5 yrs in Oracle i've had exposure to various ERP modules and now am more interested in strategy or Product management roles, either of which needs an MBA. I am targeting ISB and few other US B-schools (only those which offer good fundings as I can't afford anything above 25 lakhs, since I can get loan for only that amount ). Can you please tell my chances for top US B-schools?

I am not sure if I can afford the costs of US B-schools, though some schools provide tution and funding, I should entirely depend on loans if I leave my current job. My savings over the past 3.5 years were also less as I did many donations for poor students who were in need of tuition fees. I don't have any proof for this, since they were all brothers of some distant friends or some recommendations by my family members. I also practice yoga and teach it to 6 people at home everyday, again I do this for free and they were all neighbors. I don't know if I can show all these in my application.

I am also planning to apply for Harvard and Stanford, which one do you suggest? Also, any suggestions on other US B-schools which is good for indian students with IT background that provides good funding and have a good placement record in IT related fields post MBA. I am also planning to apply for NUS, singapore, but again confused here between Nanyang and NUS, which one is good for MBA in IT related fields like Operations, Strategy or General Management.

Thanks in advance,
Manikanth.

Hello Manikanth,

Thanks for writing to us. I worked for one year in Corporate Strategy for PeopleSoft prior to the company's acquisition by Oracle.

Academically, you appear to be quite accomplished which will be valued by the top-20 business schools. For the top-ranked schools they will expect to see that you graduated in the top 10% of your class from a university with a strong academic reputation. It is rare for someone to be accepted to a top-5 school unless they have a sensational academic record, especially in the highly competitive pool of Indian applicants with IT backgrounds.

Professionally, Oracle is a name brand that the top-tier schools will recognize and respect. It will be important for you to demonstrate your management and leadership potential in the work you've done. Project management skills are prized; technical prowess is less important for the admissions committee. If you have experience working with other cultures and other countries that should definitely be highlighted.

Your leadership portfolio -- the collection of skills and experiences you have leading others -- is of utmost important to schools like Harvard and Stanford. It is difficult to tell from your brief profile how strong your leadership portfolio might be. Keep in mind that applicants who make it into Harvard and Stanford are able to point to substantive leadership experience in university, at work, and in community service.

Many schools, Harvard for instance, have specific loan programs for international students. You can learn about these programs via the school's website. Any way you look at it, however, attending an MBA program is a substantial investment with tuition and fees averaging approximately US$75,000 to attend a top-10 program. That does not include your living expenses nor the lost wages of two years on the job.

The best programs for placement in IT related fields would be those located near the high-tech industry hubs -- Stanford, Haas, MIT, and to a certain extent the University of Texas at Austin, given Austin's high tech community.

Best of luck to you!

Hi

Thanks a lot for all the work you are doing here.

It would be great if you can evaluate my profile:

Indian, Male Age-27

GMAT
710 (49 QA, 35 VA) AWA 5.0

Academics
B. Tech, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad (6.93/10) – 2003 -2007
CFA Level 3 Candidate
Technical certifications from IBM & Sun Microsystems

Professional Experience
Full Time from July, 2007. Will be around 5 years in August 2012.
December 2008 – Present – Business Analyst
December 2008 – July 2007 Software Engineer

Business Analyst at Royal Bank of Scotland (December 2008 – Present)
Functional Areas – Corporate Markets

Highlights
• Managed business software requirements for 3 projects, totaling to £ 25 million.
• One of the youngest B.A at RBS. Skip level promotion from Software Associate to BA.
• Assessed & Reformed organizational processes through a Work-Out initiative, leading to savings of £ 200,000.
• Estimated & formulated business cases for various corporate transformation programmes. These transformation programmes were introduced as an aftermath of global financial crisis in 2008.
• Led a team of software developers to deliver a critical solution for automation of account opening process targeted at Business & Commercial customers.
• Established and fostered relationships with various business and technology stakeholders. First to be selected out of my team in India to work on-site with business stakeholders in London & Wimbledon.
• Imparted domain based trainings to software developers and project managers.

Software developer at Sapient Corporation (July 2007 – December 2008)
Functional Areas – Retail Banking & Telecom Billing

Highlights
• Led a work stream during the training project.
• Designed and developed software components for an online broadband provisioning system for a large telecom client.
• Raised Rs. 200,000 for young students as part of charity drive at Sapient Corp.

Personal Life
Born and brought up in a small town, not a lot was expected of me. I come from a traditional family with business background where the usual expectation is to enter the family business. By breaking the mould, I have set an example for children of my family to follow their instincts and interests.

Short-term & Long-term Goals

Short-term
Want to move to the front office (customer facing) job in portfolio management. Having done my share of software coding and business requirement analysis, I feel a front office or customer facing job will provide me the needed knowledge required to produce new software for the portfolio management domain.

Long-term
I want to set-up my own company which will focus on development of new and innovative software’s for portfolio management. I want to start with products targeted at corporate customers and then extend these to retail customers. I wish to provide low-cost portfolio management services to mass consumers for e.g. the growing middle-class in India.

Target Schools
R1 - Booth , Columbia , Duke, Darden & Kenan Flager
R2 - Wharton , Kellogg ,Ross , NYU Stern & McCombs
R3 - None

I havent decided on the non-US schools but I am primarily considering ISB , NUS and INSEAD.

Will be very beneficial if you can respond to my following queries:

1. How do you evaluate my profile? ( My goal is to get in any of the top 15 colleges. Primary focus is on school which is good in finance)

2. My GPA is pretty low ( 6.93/10). How is this compared to applicants from a similar background. Is my GPA insufficient or a negative point?

3. Is my GMAT score weak? How much is the benefit of retaking the GMAT given that I may increase my score from 20-30 points only.

4. Is my selection of schools too ambitious? Which schools would you suggest as the top priority?

5. What areas should I concentrate in my profile to make it strong? What are the corresponding weaknesses that you see in my profile?

Thanks a lot for your time and help.

Regards
Sameer

Hello Sameer,

I would be happy to evaluate your profile. I hope you'll also sign-up for a free trial of MBA Prep School because the first free video in our trial program will help you to further evaluate the strengths and weaknesses in your candidacy and we prescribe steps you can take to increase your chances of being admitted to a top-tier school.

The standard risk factors for your applicant profile are in effect -- you are in an over-represented pool as an Indian IT graduate. That said, you went to IIT, a highly respected university, and your progress from software engineer to business analyst is a signal to the admissions committee that you have the interest and aptitude for general management. Along the same lines, your CFA candidacy and employment by an international bank are both positives of your profile that I think the admissions committees will view favorably.

Your GMAT score is at the median for many of the top 20 programs, slightly below the median for some of the most selective schools. Your low GPA relative to your competition makes the top 10 programs a reach for you. They expect to see exceptional academic performance and your grades are not at that level. Another 30 points on the GMAT would counterbalance this soft-spot in your profile somewhat.

Wharton/Kellogg are ambitious targets for you. Booth is also a reach but with its large class size they might have room for you given your CFA credentials and if you execute perfectly in your written application and interview. Duke/Darden/McCombs/INSEAD are in range but will still require excellent execution to counterbalance your academic performance and the fact that you are in a very competitive pool. ISB and NUS are in reach too but not assured without equally compelling execution.

I could write/talk for hours on what I mean by exceptional execution. In fact, I have and it's all been captured in a video series on our website. On the https://mbaprepschool.com website we have 35 on-demand videos, case studies, essay samples, and "power tools" for building a winning MBA application. I encourage you to give us a test drive by signing up for a free trial. Sign-up is quick and easy. Just go to https://mbaprepschool.com/free-trial. See you there!

Best of luck!
Tyler

Hello Tyler,

I am planning to apply for the Fall-2012 admissions and kindly request you to evaluate my profile mentioned below:

Indian, Male, 27Y

Academics

B.Tech, Electrical Engineering, IIT Kanpur, 2007
GPA- 6.5/10

GMAT- 760 (V41, Q51) AWA-5.5

Professional Experience
Jul 2007-Nov 2008, Software Consultant for a MNC, quit since wanted to pursue career in Data Analytics
Mar 2009- Oct 2010, Joined a startup in Analytics Consulting and Training, Bangalore
Oct 2010- till date- Business Analyst at Microsoft India

Highlights

-Setup entire analytics consulting and training practice for the startup, in New Delhi
-Led entire delivery unit (10 people) for the startup. Responsible for business development, client management, resource hiring/allocation
-Trained individuals and big MNCs on my topics of expertise
-Currently into execution of entire data mining conducted at Microsoft India

I want to join a school in which focus is on Entrepreneurship as I see significant gaps w.r.t usage of data and data management in the Indian Market which I would like to fill.

I am still working on choosing the schools that fit my profile and yet to shortlist though I am keen on applying to Haas and Anderson. Kindly help me answer the below questions:

1) How much does my low GPA affect my candidature?
2) Any particular school you would like to suggest that should be on my list
3) Overall evaluation of my profile

I really appreciate the great work you are doing. Thanks for your help.

Best Regards,
SG

Hi monts2784,

Thanks for writing to us. Here are my answers to your questions:

1. A low GPA is an issue for a top 10 school. Lower grades will hurt you because you are in a very competitive pool and the top 10% of grads are your competition for a top-ranked US school. Your low GPA is mitigated somewhat by the 760 GMAT score; so all is not lost.
2. Top performance and excellent recommendations from Microsoft just might push you into the top 15 school range. I presume that earning the job at Microsoft was extremely competitive; furthermore, it appears you are being granted a high-degree of responsibility. Anderson seems like an okay fit with your profile but might not fit with your career goals. Check out University of Michigan (Ross) for a top-ranked school that might give you some serious consideration. USC Marshall has been in and out of the Top 20 ranking but well-known for a strong entrepreneurial program and could be worth a look. University of Texas (McCombs) has the advantage of being in the technology hub that exists in Austin, Texas. Haas certainly aligns with your career goals but the 7% acceptance rates may put that school out of reach.
3. Your university grades will be the biggest stumbling block. Second, you don't mention leadership outside of work which is another selection factor for a top US b-school. Third, as others may have advised you, international work experience is fairly critical for Indian IT grads/professionals. If you wait to apply then steering your Microsoft career to a location abroad (in the US) would be a huge plus to your candidacy. I'd be concerned about 3 job changes in 3 years, but I assume you can explain that to the ad comm. Safer (not safety) schools for you are in the 15-20 range in the rankings. Reach schools in 10 -15 and big reach for the top 10s given the factors I mention.

Best of luck!
Tyler

Hello Tyler,

Please evaluate my profile and provide me guidance on which B-schools should I select.

My MBA interest: FT, General Management or finance
GMAT (on July 30, 2011) - 770 (Q50, V44, AWA 6.0)

Was selected for the first batch of Indian School of Business(ISB) Young Leaders Programme, class of 2015.

Total Work Exp: FT 0 PT 2.5 years

I worked part-time alongside college for 2.5 years in a software company. I started as an intern and then eventually moved on to taking commercial projects for the company on contract basis. I helped them start the mobile software department, hiring and training people. I also was the team leader for the department and was heavily involved in dealing with the clients.

I currently hold a job offer from Citrix Systems.

Sex – Male
Age – 23 yrs
Nationality - Indian



Education:
B. E. (IT) from Jadavpur Univ, passing out in 2012.
GPA 8.52 out of 10
XII – 78.8%, CBSE board
X – 83.6%, Maharashtra board

ECs:
1. Nominated for the National Youth Award, 2012 for social service by the Government of India for my work for an NGO working for rural healthcare
2. Selected by the Government of India as a delegate to China for the India China Youth Exchange Program, 2011
3. Came 3rd in interschool debate in 10th standard in Mumbai in a city level debate competition
4. Came 2nd in under-15 throwball competition in Mumbai District
5. Best all-rounder in school in 10th standard
6. Held the post of monitor all through school life. Was prefect and assistant prefect of my house as well.


Aim: I want to join a venture capital working in the area of technology. After working there for 5-6 years I want to start up my own technology firm.

I would like to know:

1. How my profile looks for an MBA from the top 10-20 B-schools?
2. What, in your opinion, is my strengths and weakness reflected in my profile?
3. Please mention what should I do to make my case stronger for final call.
4. I am applying to HBS 2+2 and Stanford round 2. What do you think my chances are?

Thanks!
Rishabh Jain

Hello rish2jain,

I think you have a good chance for HBS 2+2, but it's unlikely (thought not impossible) for your to receive an acceptance letter to Stanford because you lack full-time work experience. It is curious to me that you are 23 and still finishing your undergraduate work.

GMAT: Excellent
Academics: Excellent - though academic background is over-represented in applicant pools and the reputation of your school will matter
Career: Promising -- Difficult to assess w/o FT work, though the part-time work experience/achievements while in school appear solid
Honors/Award: Very Good -- The ISB Young Leaders award is notable as is the Youth Exchange Program
Student Leadership: I like the asst prefect/prefect aspect of your background
Community Service: Excellent (based on NGO awards though your role and achievements would matter)
Career Goals: VC is a good fit w/ HBS and Stanford but somewhat undifferentiated. Also, depending on your role, working for Citrix might not position you for VC in the way banking would. Pure speculation, but I wonder if the healthcare aspect of your background/NGO work points to a passion you could emphasize in your essays to differentiate yourself from other VC-focused candidates?
Other attributes: Your background as an effective debater will be viewed positively

My overall sense is that you need a couple of years of work experience to be an exceptional candidate for a top 10 school. It seems like you have excellent potential; so be sure to position yourself for team leadership/management experience in your professional life so that you will have more than technical achievements to feature in future applications. Gaining some international experience and continuing to accomplish something significant outside of work will further enhance your profile.

Best of luck!
Tyler

Thanks a lot for your response. I appreciate the help.
I thought I would just clarify the details.

I am planning to apply to Stanford for deferred admission. The reason that I am a little older and yet not working is that in some parts of India, the age limit for entering kindergarten is higher than normal.

Academics: I am studying in Jadavpur University which according to some rankings is a top 10 university for engineering in India and according to some rankings is top 15.

Community Service: I am leader of the youth brigade at the NGO. I am also responsible for the digital communications of the NGO. I am maintaining their website as well as their social media presence. I also help them with their camps and donation events.

Thank you for your help!

My profile is as follows

Education

Top 75 US School (USNews Overall ranking) : Masters in Computer Science GPA 3.9
Bachelors in India : First class with Distinction (non-IIT) (73%)

GMAT : 720

Work Experience : 4+ years as of this post at a start up in USA, partnering with big companies. I have grown along with the company in responsibility and position/role. I work on the data analytics side of the business, providing data for profitability/pricing/accounting and big partner companies. Solely responsible for the accuracy and consistency of the data i.e. data manager.

Second job at same company--I voluntarily took the responsibility. After my 40 hours , I work on special projects where I take the lead in finding ways of increasing revenue in the smaller areas of the business. I have done 2 projects and was successful in improving the gross income. A McCombs alumni guides me in this process, who is part of management team.

Wish List of Schools
1) Booth
2) Wharton
3) Kellogg
4) Stern
5) Duke
6) Columbia
7) Mc Combs (Part-time as well)



Could you tell me if I am aiming too high and which fall within my reach ?

Thanks for your time, I appreciate your help.

Hello Syalaman,

I definitely like what I'm hearing so far. You academic profile is solid and studying in the the US for your master's and working for a US start-up will help significantly. I especially like the fact that you've taken the initiative to volunteer for extra business-oriented assignments to impact the revenue of your company. Well done!

Of course, It is very hard to say whether you are reaching too far with your school selection list because admissions to the top tier schools depend on the strength of your leadership portfolio -- the professional and extra-curricular achievements that convince admissions officers that you have exceptional management/leadership potential. What your resume and essays have to say about this will matter and what your references have to say about your potential will matter even more. So all I can say at this point is that the data points you've given me look promising.

Now, I suppose I have to offer all necessary caveats that you are in the most competitive applicant pool on the planet and targeting some of the most selective schools on the planet. To succeed, you'll need to present the "spikes" in your profile -- the ways that you've distinguished yourself from others with similar profiles. Many *many* candidates will have top notch academics, GMAT scores at the median, and strong resumes. These are the minimum qualifications for admission. What you do to set yourself apart as a high-potential manager/leader with purpose, passion, and focus will make the difference. I hope you'll take a look at the resources on our website, which offers tons of great advice on how to create an application that will stand out from the competition. For example, here's a link to an article I wrote about how to build an application that proves to the admissions committee that you have exceptional potential: https://mbaprepschool.com/the-1-thing-ha ... -look-for/

Best of luck!
Tyler

Hi Tyler, would you mind reviewing my profile and answering my question regarding my GPA? Thanks!

GMAT: 750
Undergrad GPA: 3.15 in electrical engineering from Top 10 school
Master's GPA: 4.0 in electrical engineering from UCLA
Current Occupation: military officer (including a deployment to Afghanistan). Leads large scale teams (100+, formal leadership role) in the development of space systems. Consistently ranked #1 or #2 officer throughout my career.
Applying to: Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Northwestern, Haas, and UCLA

Extracurriculars:
Post Grad:
1) Fundraising and Community Service Chair for a 600 member junior officer organization.
2) Garnered a community service award and title of Top Junior Officer Council in the Western U.S. for my organization.
3) Also, over the last four years, I've directly raised $25,000 to support military members, families, retirees, and charities in financial aid.
4) I volunteered for two weeks at an orphanage and an HIV/AIDS outreach center in India.
5) I'm also been an alumni interviewer for undergrad admissions for my school for several years.

During College: Heavily involved in ROTC (10-15 hours per week). Ultimately, served as Cadet Commander of my ROTC detachment. Responsible for training junior cadets to become military officers. Also, very involved (~10 hour per week) with a student-run company. Served on the executive board as the Assistant CFO and then the CFO. Company had annual sales of around $1M.

Career Goal: Couple my experience managing defense/aerospace programs and my engineering background to pursue a PM role in high technology at a company such as Google, Apple, etc in the Bay Area.

Primary Concerns:
Low GPA- My undergrad GPA isn't that great. Since then, I have gotten my master's in engineering with a 4.0 GPA. Also, I've built an alternate transcript of 2 accounting classes and an econ class (All A's). Do I need to explain my low GPA in the optional essay?

Hi swbluedevil,

The schools you listed will like your profile. The GPA is somewhat of a concern, though not a deal breaker given that your major was EE so that will add a few points in your favor. Your 4.0 record in grad school helps as does the solid GMAT score. I definitely like it when candidates take courses to counterbalance a low GPA; so good for you for taking that step. Indeed, I would suggest you use the optional essay to acknowledge the lower GPA in school and to highlight the alternative transcript and Master's GPA.

Other than that, I really like your leadership portfolio in school and after graduation. The experiences you've listed indicate a habit of leadership, which is what the top 10 schools look for.

Please let MBA Prep School know if we can be of further assistance.

Kind regards,
Tyler

Awesome, thanks Tyler!

Hi Tyler,

I was applying to four schools for Fall 2012, Johnson, Kelley, Kenan-Flagler, Marshall. I am being dinged for Kelley and Kenan-Flagler so far while Johnson placed me on waitlist without the interview and nothing from Marshall yet.

All of them were applied in R2 and now I am panic whether I should prepare for re-apply next year.
My latest GMAT score was 640 (Q47, V 30, AWA 5.5) and that was the third time I took it. The previous GMAT was 620 (Q49, V25, AWA 4.5).

Working experience is: 2 years as a licensed banker with one of the largest retail bank in the US, 1 year as a stock broker with a mid-size local firm. Also, a comprehensive accounting contract experience for 1 year in San Francisco. Total years of experience are 4 years. In addition, received a promotion to become a registered client associate within the investment department back in Nov, majority assisting financial advisors on analysis report generation and client inquiry, not sure if this would help.

Academic: I was graduated from University of Arizona in the US as finance major in 2007, not an ivy school with a major GPA of 3.23/4.00.

Activities post-graduate: Being volunteer with different projects organized by the company, e.g., adopt-a-family, helping Salvation Army assist foster children, homeless family,etc.

Background: Chinese American, was born and raised in Hong Kong. Planning to re-take CFA level 1 in December this year. Short-term goal post-graduate plans to work in I-Bank as securities analyst for emerging market in the East Coast. Long-term goal plans to become entrepreneur for an advisory/consulting firm in HK. (Very typical and common goal)

I have updated with Johnson (Cornell) that additional recommendation will be provided no later than the first week of April and an updated resume will be sent with my promotion. Plan to re-take the GMAT, but no really ready to exceed 640 yet.

My question is:
1. Should I re-take the GMAT anyways?
2. Should I withdraw my rest of applications for this year? (seems like Johnson and Marshall are harder to get in compare to Kelley and KF)
3. If I do re-apply next year for the same schools, would they favor in re-applicants?
4. Should I consider consulting advice for schools? (Those are very EXPENSIVE)
5. If re-applying, what other programs should I consider?