Hi
whoisvek,
I just have evaluated your profile for Kellogg and would love to do it for Booth. I think I already answered all your queries and have highlighted every material information. Kellogg and Booth somewhat are very similar while looking for the potential of the candidates. For Booth, try to highlight the following:
Academics: It looks for a great mix of academics, intellect, and communication for which you need great stats, an interest in current affairs, willingness to engage in debates and have a curious mind.
Collaborative Leadership: Booth puts great stress on contribution to a strong community through a history of robust social services and personal time to an organization
(Be very careful and persuasive while you put out your stories for community service, especially for Booth).
Career: You need to have a successful career and by successful Booth implies a professional experience exhibiting a sense of personal direction, time management skills and professional recognition through LORs, essays, interviews, professional certificates etc. (So, choose recommenders after a great thought and keep in mind what I told you at the Kellogg thread).
Additionally, make sure you list down the gaps that you have identified in your profile that you think an MBA from each of these schools will help you fill in order to achieve your post-MBA goals and how you are a great fit for their community (you may look at student's profile of these schools to know better about your 'fit'). Feel free to
book a free session with us as per your convenience.
Cheers!
Kashish Garg
Community Manager,
MBA and BeyondOn behalf of
Shantanu Sharma,
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and BeyondSchedule a free sessionwhoisvek wrote:
Hi, I would really appreciate it if someone can evaluate my profile for Booth.
Background:
27 year old Indian IT engineer from a non-target school (kind of – I am an Electrical and Telecommunications engineer but don't think adcoms are going to care about that trifling distinction, so for all practical purposes I guess I am an ORM).
Education:
Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical and Telecommunications from a non-target school in India. (GPA: 3.4-3.7 contingent on the conversion tool used)
Masters of Science in Management Information Systems straight after undergrad from a 50+ ranked business school in Chicago. (GPA: 3.4)
Work Experience:
I have been working for a mid-sized (~10,000 employees) Credit Risk Solutions Company (think Experian, Equifax, TransUnion) in Chicago for 4 years. I started out as a Business Intelligence analyst in the Regulatory & Operations space [Intern (9 months), Analyst (1 year), Sr Analyst (1 year)]. In this role, I had the opportunity to work with senators, congressmen, regulators, and federal law enforcement along with working with the C-suite of my company for his testimony before the US House of Representatives. One of my most notable projects was to get metrics, insights, and talking points for I also worked with the Operations teams of some large retail banks. I also led an international project on outsourcing a fraud operations team to LATAM and Asia.
Last year, I switched roles internally (with a promotion) to the Credit Risk Strategy & Solutions Consulting team. I primarily work with retail financial institutions (national and regional banks, fintechs, credit unions, etc) on a diverse set of projects helping my clients with growth strategies, credit risk management and expansion, portfolio benchmarking and acquisitions, post-merger risk assessment, etc. I also work with asset management firms on portfolio evaluation, target identification, long-short positions, credit market research, debt asset securitization etc. I have some international exposure in this role for some research studies (Asia). I have had significant exposure to working with CEOs, CFOs, etc of large financial institutions and experience in leading workstreams and engagements. I have also been instrumental in the practice, business, and solution development components for my practice. I have personally been responsible for generating ~$1M in revenues for my practice. In the past 6 months, we have had significant attrition on the team leading me to do all the work of a Director. As a result, I have an upcoming promotion to Senior Consultant/Manager promised for this year-end (which I can probably kiss good-bye thanks to the covid cutbacks).
GMAT:
760 (Q51, V41, IR 6, AWA 6)
Extracurriculars:
Significant leadership experiences throughout undergrad and grad school. I was the President of the Student Body in undergrad and the President on the Non-profit consulting club in grad school. Post-graduation I have been a part (non-leadership position) of a non-profit focused around financial literacy for marginalized students (2 years) and been on the Board of Directors of the non-profit consulting club of a large state school in the Midwest (3 years).
From a personal interest/hobbies perspective, I am really into sports. I was in the varsity basketball, ping pong, and cricket teams in undergrad. Currently, I still participate in local leagues for all of the above. I also follow soccer and football. I am also really into culinary experiences, and even though I don’t really cook myself but am considered as one of the most knowledgeable people about Chicago’s restaurant scene. I am also an amateur mixologist as I picked it up as a hobby during lockdown. Would any of this be worth mentioning in my essays for Booth?
Post MBA goal:
Management consulting in the financial services domain. Ideally at one of MBB. I would love to be a part of either the Banking/ Financial Services Risk Dynamics practice at McKinsey or the Deals practice at Bain. Backup would be the Deals practice at PWC or financial services consulting at Oliver Wyman.
From my conversations with some Partners at MBB, it seems like I need to tighten my post MBA goals and to be more ambitious. Don’t know how to deliberate on this to be honest, without it coming across as a pie in the sky. I honestly do wish to be a Partner at one of these consulting firms one day but I think that writing that as my long term goal might come across as cookie-cutter since it’s not sexy enough. How should I frame this for impact?
Additional questions:
1. What are my realistic chances for Booth? I think I have a pretty mediocre background up until the last 1-2 years, when I really started being deliberate and impactful in my life. Is that enough though?
2. Are there particular areas of my profile I should be highlighting to improve my odds?
3. Does the Chicago connection count for anything in the essays? I could mention having an intimate knowledge of Chicago, and that I would be the ideal person to plan things in the city, show people around, etc but not sure if the adcoms give any weight to that?
4. Would it make sense to put in my application in Round1 or hold out for another promotion and apply at year end in Round2?
5. Would it be better to get a recommendation from a direct line manager (been working for only 4 months under him) or a previous indirect manager who is a Booth alum (worked with her for 9 months)? My other recommendation is from my previous direct line manager who I worked for 1 year.
6. As a Consultant in the financial services consulting wing of a tech/risk company, what should I pick as my industry while writing my applications? Am I at a disadvantage as I am not in a Big 4 consulting firm, FAANG, or part of a big bank? Or can I put a positive spin on this somehow?
Thank you in advance for taking the time to review this and for answering my questions, I really appreciate it!
close
06 Aug 2020, 07:10
