Ask Personal MBA Coach

Please share your thoughts on which schools I can apply to. Targeting Wharton, Kellogg, Stern, Harvard and INSEAD
Profile:
Undergrad- one of the Top 5 private engg colleges in India, 4/4
Postgrad- one of the Top 10 Bschools in India, 3.2/4
Completed the 2 year rotational leadership program in GE across different finance functions. Currently on my 4th CAS(Corporate Audit Staff) rotation.
GMAT score: 710
Decent extra curriculars and lots of commendable co-curricular activities during postgrad and in work.

Posted from my mobile device

Posted from my mobile device

very nice topics

Hello Personal MBA coach,

Please evaluate my profile-


Bachelor's- Electrical Engineering Vellore Institute of Technology,India, 2011-7.7/10
Master's- Power and Energy Systems-Arizona State University, Tempe, 2013-3.3/4
GMAT-760 Q50, V42
Presently working as an electrical engineer for one of the biggest engineering consulting company in the energy sector in US for the last 2 years. Worked with utility clients such as AEP, Duke Energy, PG&E etc. Got promoted last year. Worked for a smaller firm which does the same thing before.
Post MBA goal- Transition into consulting, work for power or energy groups in consulting firms.
EC- Toastmasters, ran marathons in three different countries, some local community service.
Schools- Kellogg, Fuqua, Ross, McCombs, Tuck.
Do you think I am competitive in the above schools? Please let me know your suggestion regarding school selection
Thanks for your time.

Please evaluate my profile:

X-77.80%(2004)
XII-73.25%(2006)
B.Tech-65%(2006-2010)
PGDM-5.8(2013-2015)

a) Work exp.-3.3 yrs(including pre-MBA and excluding retail family business+live projects)
b) Family business-1.5 yrs(Sept. 2011-April 2013)
c) Live project+internship-6 months in ACC Limited & Schneider Electric(during PGDM)
d) Current organization & designation- Swiggy(food delivery start-up), Area Manager
e) Work exp. till march 2019 will be close to 5.1 yrs(including pre-MBA and excluding retail family business+live projects)
f) Currently working as a core team member with CRY(Child Rights & You) and as a volunteer with GiveIndia

1) Can I show my family business(not a company, but it's an enterprise where Sole proprietor is my father) as work experience while applying? If yes, then what documents could be needed and how can I show it? My business is mostly retail, consisting of a chain of stores in the city. We grew it from a single store to multiple stores and went to online platforms.
2) Considering my low GPA during PGDM, will it be wise to apply to IIMs/ISB, even if I get 700+ in GMAT?
3) I am planning to go for 2019-2020 session. I will be 32 yrs when I join in 2019. I know age will be a drawback, but will it be that big?
4) Should I go for 2020-2021 session?
5) Can I add summer internship(paid) & live project as a work experience?

My biggest headache is whether to show/not show my family business, because if added, this might increase my experience level.
Any guidance would be very helpful.

Hi, can you please have a look at my profile?

Education: Mechanical Engg. from BITS Pilani (top 5 university in India) (with a really low GPA)
GMAT: About to give in 2 weeks, but worst case scenario is 710

Work experience:
- (Current) 3 years as a Company Commander in Central Reserve Police Force, the world's largest paramilitary force, leading a team of 135 in India's fight against militants and insurgents
- 6 months as a Business Analyst at Fractal Analytics
- 1 year (with a promotion) in an NGO in Jharkhand, India working on tribal development

Essays:
I write well and have a lot of good stories and experiences to share.

Drawbacks of my profile:
- A bad undergrad GPA which might close doors to the top programs I am targeting.
- Lack of economics/business knowledge and experience.
- Indian defense background might not be liked by some colleges.
- Don't know anyone with a similar profile, so I am just taking a shot in the dark by applying at pretty much all the top global programs

Due to various reasons, I absolutely want to join an MBA program in the next academic year and cannot risk not getting admitted anywhere. Hence, I am planning to apply to around 10+ colleges. A lot, I know, but I want to reduce my chance of failure to zero.

I'll be applying to:
Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Booth in the US,
LBS, Cambridge, Oxford in UK,
INSEAD and HEC in France,
ISB in India,
NUS and NTU in Singapore,
and others like IMD, IE, IESE etc. if needed.

I want to ask if I am too ambitious and should include some "safe" schools. Maybe I am stretching myself too thin by applying to a stupid number of colleges.

Please evaluate my profile:

X-77.80%(2004)
XII-73.25%(2006)
B.Tech-65%(2006-2010)
PGDM-5.8(2013-2015)

a) Work exp.-3.3 yrs(including pre-MBA and excluding retail family business+live projects)
b) Family business-1.5 yrs(Sept. 2011-April 2013)
c) Live project+internship-6 months in ACC Limited & Schneider Electric(during PGDM)
d) Current organization & designation- Swiggy(food delivery start-up), Area Manager
e) Work exp. till march 2019 will be close to 5.1 yrs(including pre-MBA and excluding retail family business+live projects)
f) Currently working as a core team member with CRY(Child Rights & You) and as a volunteer with GiveIndia

1) Can I show my family business(not a company, but it's an enterprise where Sole proprietor is my father) as work experience while applying? If yes, then what documents could be needed and how can I show it? My business is mostly retail, consisting of a chain of stores in the city. We grew it from a single store to multiple stores and went to online platforms.
2) Considering my low GPA during PGDM, will it be wise to apply to IIMs/ISB, even if I get 700+ in GMAT?
3) I am planning to go for 2019-2020 session. I will be 32 yrs when I join in 2019. I know age will be a drawback, but will it be that big?
4) Should I go for 2020-2021 session?
5) Can I add summer internship(paid) & live project as a work experience?

My biggest headache is whether to show/not show my family business, because if added, this might increase my experience level.
Any guidance would be very helpful.

Hi Personal MBA coach,

Please evaluate my profile-

Indian Male, Age-26
Bachelor's- Mechanical Engineering from Uttar Pradesh Technical University (UPTU), India in 2012.
Got 75.86% ( Ist Div-Hons)- in the top 5% students.
GMAT- hope to get around 680-710.
Work Ex.- Working in oil & gas sector M/s Indian Oil Corporation Limited ( top Indian company in Fortune 500 list)as an Assistant Manager for the last 5 years. Got one promotion also.
Handling maintenance & automation related projects of crores in value. Managing 50+ manpower in the plant. Exposed to different culture, conditions in the beginning of my career itself ( Posted in southern India for 4 years)
One of the 5 employees across India to attend International conference during 2016-17.
Awarded for best innovative idea under Idea Conclave. ( Cash prize too)

Extra Curricular-1) Volunteered for Teach For India during college days for about 2 years.
2) Associated with NGO "Bhumi" for 2 years during my tenure in southern India.
3) After promotion & transfer to North India last year, continuously engaged in company's CSR activities.

Post MBA goal- Want to explore options in & out energy sector.
Considering my profile, which schools shall I target for R1?( Thought of Duke, McCombs, Ross)
Please let me know your suggestion regarding school selection & also please comment on my candidacy.
Thanks in advance

Hey, You might just be the right one as I am too early in the process!! Could you please evaluate my profile, I'd be grateful!


I really am jumping the gun here but I want to start early and be prepared for any contingency plans (if needed)

INDIAN/24/MALE (Disclaimer: Please don't be mad but I am still to take the GMAT. Target is MINIMUM 750+ cause that is the least survival score for someone like me I know but call it a 730 for sake)

Education: B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from a non-IIT State funded autonomous university (Number 1 in my state, above NIT). Also, if this counts 1 of my seniors (3 years) from Mechanical made it to GSB (FULL RIDE!) this year although he did a master's in Politics in India before he got GSB. Another IT guy with 6 years experience got into Wharton (Hey! Not basking in their success but just telling if its a little chance that I atleast have the pedigree factor there?)

Grades: 7.6/10 (Its tough at my uni!!) Ahemmm... but I was a great student and school and EC too was over the top lol

Work-ex:
1) Semester Intern at Thermal Power Plant.
2) 6 months job as an Engineer Trainee at Johnson Controls-Hitachi.
3) Switched to a very coveted job for any Indian Mechie: The largest automobile manufacturer of the country (Maruti Suzuki) and now working as a Territory Manager (will get to Assistant Manager by the end of year). Again, A lot of my ex-colleagues from Maruti Suzuki make it to Top 15 every year so I assume it has some name atleast even though its not a feeder (Please do correct me if am wrong here).

EC:
1) I play guitar and sing. I have performed solo gigs all over North and Central India and won awards for a good 1.5 years before I got into the Indian startup ecosystem.
2) I love to read and I can cook just about anything!
3) STARTUPS: I won a couple of National and even one International Business Model Competition beating teams from all over the continent including IITs and IIMs but the business couldn't take off. Helped an Edinburgh University professor set up a Not for profit here in India for helping startups. Althugh I didn't hold the founder Title I was the city and state manager and head of content for 2 years straight, I left it then for work commitments. (I got quoted by many national and business newspapers for my effort on integrating the Indian startup ecosystem). I also cofounded a boutique consulting firm for new startups to help them take off, made some revenue as a studentpreneur but it was failing as we were bootstrapped. So again left it cause I signed up for the job.
My entrepreneurial streak has not gone but for some familial conditions I needed this job for sometime and it pays one of the best pay packages for this profile.
I have a product idea in mind and thinking of designing and Patenting it too.

I have not done much EC in the past one year, just traveled and hitch hiked, solo tripping. I am a good speaker too so thinking of joining Toastmasters, have an invite already.

WHY MBA? I guess it is getting clear now yeah? After being a failed entrepreneur and having managerial roles at a big firm, I now want to dive in for what I had always wanted. And that is why I need it, for the network and the exposure.

Okay, the BIG CATCH? I am a die hard GSB Fan. I just do not know how to crack the Top 5. I just want to. People tell me its impossible but NO!
PS: My elder sibling made it to a top 20 this year with a 50% scholarship.

Please advise me on what to do next and how to do it. I'd be obliged
When time comes, I want to take up your professional help as a client.

Thanks for reading the long post!!

Thanks for your reply.
PFB my comments.

Where did you go to school?
International Management Institute(IMI), Kolkata. Hope you recognize IMI as a known brand in private B schools in India.

1) What does the business do? What do you do for it?
We deal in car accessories(seat covers, audio systems, etc). Have small online presence viz.-our website, google+, Linkedin, FB, etc. and three stores in different places in Kolkata. I was a part of it full time, during the timeline mentioned above. Used to look after the stores along with my father viz.- sales, staff supervision, expansion in different prospective areas for business growth, helped my father with few marketing ideas. Annual sales at that time would have been around 70 lacs/annum.

2) It may be a stretch. That is a low GPA
I was interested in Operations Management, but didn't get the opportunity to select more than 4 Operations Management subjects in my PGDM. Had to study Finance as a major. Tried my best, but just couldn't score well. Had a more practical approach towards those subjects. Hence, even after getting a placement in Yes bank, I decided to go for Swiggy and work in Operations field. My live project & internship are also in Operations. Don't know how this would sound during interview, but it's the truth.

3) Yes this will be a drawback.
Nothing much can be done. Only hope will be GMAT+work experience.

4) I would not delay further (though you want to be employed when you apply)
I didn't get this point.

5) Internships don't really count
Noted.

Showing family business is a good idea!