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If you want to know about your admission chances for Columbia or want to know if you have what it takes to beat the odds? Then share your profile here and we'll get some experts to review it! Suggested Template Background and nationality Undergrad Information GMAT: Work experience and leadership Community and others Post MBA goals Anything else?

Hi All,

Please evaluate my profile as an international applicant for the MBA program at Booth

Nationality: Indian
Age: 27
Undergraduate Qualification: Bachelor in Commerce(3 year course with a GPA of 3.4)
Masters Qualification: Masters in Global Business (16 month program in Singapore and Dubai. Unfortunately, my GPA here is extremely low: 2.5 though I took a number of challenging courses)
GMAT: 730
Work experience: 3.5 years, all of it in market research. Of the 3.5 years, 2.5 years were in the Middle East and a year in India
Extracurriculars: Moderate: represented my state in tennis, wrote for a sports website for a year etc. Have also done community service for 3 months where I taught English and Maths to 10 year old children
References: Will be able to get some strong references from people in senior management at both my work places so far

Do you think I stand a realistic chance and it's worth applying?

Thanks in advance!

Varun

I haven't gotten into Booth yet so I am probably not the best person to comment...

But I think your GPA for your masters is a little on the low side and you are coming from an over represented region. Your work experience in market research doesn't really stand out to me but I am sure you could sell it much better

However, you have a much better GMAT score than I did (although, that is only one part of a full application) and if I can get an interview, maybe you can too!

I quite like your extracurricular activity and I think you would make for quite a meaningful classmate that I'd hope to meet

Personally, my experience with applications this year have been incredibly insightful. Regardless of whether I go or not, I have discovered a lot about my future paths, my passions and my resilience

I would encourage you to think about why you want to do an MBA and weigh the pros and cons of doing it this year vs. a couple of years down the track with more of a story with extra-curriculars and work experience that can explain your future path and why an MBA is important to you.

The process taught me a lot and I hope this comment can "pay forward" a bit of insight from the lessons i've learnt.

Thank you very much for your response. The main reason for me wanting to do an MBA is for a career change, I'm hoping that is a good enough reason for the Admissions team

Hi varunjog89! Thanks for your question. While I am not Booth adcom- I have adcom experience and I will answer like an adcom member to give you some insights into how others might see your profile.
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Hi my name is Abhishek Srivastava from India

GMAT : 760 (Q-50 V-44)
Industry : Pharmaceutical Consulting
Work Experience : 72 (months)
Under grad : Jaypee Institute of Information Technology (B.Tech - Information technology)
Under grad GPA : 2.4

I have been working for a market research startup which provides data to pharmaceutical companies so that they could help devise strategies related to new brand production, market capture etc. My post is of a regional manager and I been heading a team of 10 people now. earlier the time size was 2. No promotions because hierarchical structure is very less ( only 2 managers above and then the ceo of company). Yet I have handled major projects for company like glenmark pilot, zydus optistox etc. Glenmark was ready to roll out pan india only when they saw success in uttar pradesh and I was the given the role of leading that projects bringing in revenue of Rs 1.5 crore.

Extracurricular : Film making group in hometown, assistant director for the same. directed movies majorly on women issue and farmer labour.

I want to specialise in operations consulting.

Post mba: I want to work in healthcare consulting.

Dear nice-folk of gmatclub, Here are my stats, would really appreciate an evaluation:

Age: 26
Nationality: Indian
GMAT: 750 (Q50, V42)
Undergrad: Non-IIT, Top 25 engineering school
Undergraduate GPA: 3.6
Current work ex: 48 months - Consulting (19 months), Pharma (29 months)

I worked in a leading multinational pharma consulting firm as an associate for 19 months. International work ex was limited to working with American clients and colleagues - no travel. President of the toastmasters club and launched training programs for new hires. Not much to write about work, I'd left before getting promoted. Received an award for gamifying the toastmasters program
I then moved to one of the largest multinational pharmacos in a commercial excellence role (SFE). Managed multiple projects across functions: sales force rationalization, strategy roadmaps, capability building roadmaps, gamification, restructuring businesses, implementing innovative business models, go to market implementation - many of these have had business impact in $MM or equivalent. Have been awarded 3 times in the last 2 years for 3 different projects. Youngest member of team, colleagues are MBAs and received a fast track promotion in 2y against firm average of 3y.

Extra Curriculars:
President of Toastmasters club
Watch a lot of movies (>300 last year alone)
Travelling - have traveled to ~10 countries, and to multiple altitude regions of the Himalayas in the last 3 years
One helluva storyteller

Short term goal: Top tier consulting firm



Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using GMAT Club Forum mobile app

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Background and nationality: Indian, male
Undergrad Information: 3 year Business Administration (Private Uni - think Christ / Symbiosis / NMIMS), GPA: 3.37/4
GMAT: 760 (50/41/5/8)
Work experience and leadership: 6.5 years of Risk Consulting (Advisory) experience, with the last 2.5 in a big 4 (think EY/KPMG). 3 promotions overall, great quality of work-ex and leadership experiences. Currently in a team management role.
Community and others: Substantial, but it's on the go and domestic. As in, it has been very personal and not with an organization (genuine though!)
Post MBA goals: Top-tier consulting or bust.
Anything else?: I am just concerned whether this is application might end up being a futile effort because (i) Indian applicant pool (ii) Not so competitive UG brand / degree (iii) No McKinsey etc on the CV and (iv) No brand-name community/co-curricular work in addition to being Round 2. However, at this point I have done significant research on my goals and the school so the content in the essays is going to be on point. (N/A for Booth)

Would love to see what you all think

Asking for my friend

Undergraduate: Top 5 IIT, 7.2/10
GMAT: 720 (50Q, 35V)
Work Ex: 5 years

Strong history of leadership

3 years at large e-commerce player (corporate strategy, supply chain, biz dev)
Pitched and led the rollout of extremely important product feature in a key vertical (that gave strategic advantage over global competition)
Turned around function that drives 2nd highest costs for company, adding $18 million in bottomline, managing a team of 8

2 years at high-growth start-up

Drove 8x growth in sales, big factor in a $30m funding round (launched and scaled new categories, marketing channels, products)
Led the growth team (promoted from manager to head in 12 months) & additional responsibility for consumer products
Very well regarded in the company, as one of the early members, helped build the company culture and fabric
Managed teams of 8-15 on cross-functional projects
Strong quant & data skills

ECs: Self taught guitar player, part of National Service Scheme at university, coached students for IIT

Long term goal: Entrepreneurship in India

Schools: HBS, Wharton, Booth, Stanford, Ross, Kellogg, LBS

Nationality: Polish
Age: 25
Undergraduate Qualification: Math (GPA 3.7/4)
Masters Qualification: Math (it is unusual in my country to end higher education with undergraduate degree only)
GMAT: 740 (Q51/V39), but I also have a very low AW score - 3.5
Work experience: 1.5 years (roughly 7 months as an junior analyst in HFT and 7 months as software developer)
Extra: I'm a licensed investment advisor (a designation which hold less than 700 people in my country). I'm also studying for the CFA level 1.
References: From job and academia (I feel pretty uncomfortable with those, as I have an impression that a recommendation letter for each school should be different, so it looks like I can ask a recommenders for only one/two letters - for different schools - as to not to require too much work from them)
Post MBA goal: Transition to IB

I'm not sure why you think that regarding the references. I had the same two people write all of my recommendation letters, and they were fine with it. It really doesn't take that much extra time as most of the top schools ask the same or very similar questions, so it isn't like they have to completely write a brand new recommendation letter for each school.

Agree that you should not worry about changing your recommenders by school-- many programs are on the common letter of recommendation so it won't take them that long to submit applications to multiple schools using this platform. Many schools are on this common rec letter-- including Stanford, MIT, Columbia, Ross, Haas, Johnson, Anderson, Fuqua etc. I don't think Booth or Kellogg are however, although that could change in the future. While your 740 GMAT is strong, it is going to be tough with just the 1.5 yrs work. We offer a great package for people in your situation-- we have a 4 school guarantee-- meaning that if you work with us on 4 or more schools in a year and don't get in-- we will work with you for free in a following year. So you could shoot high for your dream schools that first year and know we can help you even the next year. It is very competitive for applicants from India and really everywhere so using a consultant can help you make sure you give it your best shot. It also takes some of the wondering and stress out of the process as you have someone to ask all the many questions that come up through the application process. If you want to reach out to us for a free consult to learn more-- here is the link to do so: https://stratusadmissionscounseling.com ... b-visitor/
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Hi all - I was hoping if I can get an honest MBA profile evaluation.

Briefly,
- I am a 26 year old Indian female
- Education qualifications - Bachlor in Commerce from a leading university in India scoring 83% (graduated in 2012)
- Completed a 3 year specialisation degree in 2013 - Chartered Accountant (similar to US CPA)
- Have been working with a Big4 accounting firm since 2010 (3 years of internship and 5 years of qualified experience)
- Work profile includes M&A consultancy from a tax and regulatory stand point
- Current position manager (received accelerated promotions and consistently a high rater in bell curve evaluation)
- I am a trained classical dancer and have also completed 4 (of 7) national level examinations for achieving the highest level of merit in classical dance in India.
- GMAT score 680 (Q50, V32). Have received a V33 in a previous GMAT attempt. [for the sake of God, while I am extremely sharp in communication and my business profile requires me to interact with several international clients, I am unable to crack the GMAT verbal]

Why am I pursuing a GMAT - after having worked by 5 years in an M&A profile, I wish to provide my career with the impetus where I can be in a position to front end deals, more specifically, I look for an Investment Banking and ultimately a private equity profile.

Can you tell me what is the likelihood of making it through Booth? Also, it is important for me to achieve financial aid for my MBA program. I understand a financial aid/ scholarship at this GMAT score may be far-fetched, which is why I am contemplating to re-take the GMAT in the next few weeks.

Your insights and feedback on way forward would be highly appreciated.

Thanks,
SSG21

Hi all,

Thank you for keeping this page active. Below is a brief on my background and profile in the required format. I would appreciate your 2 cents on the it.

Background and nationality: 28 year old Indian male.

Undergrad Information: Graduated from Delhi University in 2010 in B.A. (Hons) Business Economics (BBE). It is a 6 sem course. I majored in Corporate Finance and Economics. Aggregate percentage scored for 3 years is ~71%

GMAT: Here's where my story gets rocky - Current GMAT - 670 (q 46, v 36). I know that my score is below the Asian average or atleast what b-schools expect from Asian applicants. I have a test date scheduled in June and I going to apply with updated (and hopefully higher) score

Work experience and leadership: - My total work experience is close to 7 years and is bifurcated as below:
- 52 months (Manager, Boutique Management Consulting firm in Gurgaon, India) Due to the business model of my company, I only work with foreign companies and only on in-bound M&A and investment projects. I have been promoted twice in last 2 years. I have been a part of my current organization since last 4 years. A few of the quantifiable achievements - I have closed 4-5 inbound transaction in last 3 years for American an Brazilian listed companies all with revenue more than USD 1 Billion. The transaction size for all deals was between USD 5 - 43 Million. Apart from that, I have advised multiple European and American companies on their organic projects with investment size between USD 8 - 25 Million in India.

- 19 months (Analyst, KPMG Gurgaon) - Created company valuations for KPMG clients in US & UK
Community and others

- 11 months (Associate, AON Gurgaon) - Supported AON India consulting team with research reports

Community and others:
- was a part of a rock band at one of my past employers and raised some money for underprivileged kids
- organized various blood donation drives a part of the rotary club
- part of an NGO focused on prevention of cruelty against animals
- organized various CSR activities as a CSR team member at previous employers

Post MBA goals:
- Short Term - to work for a big bulge IB as an associate or to work in consulting role focused on M&A
- Long Term - to move to buy side with sector or geography focus or to work in a corporate development role for a big conglomerate

Anything else? - CFA Charter Holder (US)

Any feedback will be highly appreciated. Also, I want to take this opportunity as ask a query - I am 28 year old Indian Male (the only stereotype i'm missing perhaps is that I'm not an engineer), is age a make or break when it comes to schools such as Booth, Stern, Tuck, Ross, Duke ?

Thank you in advance.

Best,
VDC

Hi SSG21,

You have a good profile and a could have a shot at the top schools if you meet the following criteria:

1. Work experience that involves leadership instances (both formal and informal leadership), worthy achievements where you made some quantitative impact; career progress - we lack enough information from your profile description here, so feel free to share your resume with us.

2. impressive recommendations - some Indian recommenders do a so-so job of writing the recommendation. They don't give examples to support their answers.

3. Extra-curricular activities- Your involvement in Kathak is commendable, but have you also been involved in any volunteering activity, where other people can benefit from your work?

4. GMAT - this one is the problem area. a 680 overall score is simply not competitive enough for Booth, and even more so for an Indian applicant. You must retake with an eye for 740 and above. This is required not just for the scholarship but for your application to remain in the reckoning.

5. Your eventual application outcome would also depend upon how well you execute your essays, resume and recommendations- the written application. Booth and similar programs are very competitive, so you would have to put your best "feet" forward
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Applying in R1

Age: 24, Asian-American
Undergrad: Finance, Philosophy double major UT Austin
GPA: 3.3, plus alternative transcript from a local CC to make up for GPA
Work: Now this is the part I'm worried about; only 14 months upon application (25 months @ matriculation) @ F500 company (well regarded I guess, and a house hold name), doing finance rotation program
GMAT: 740, but will retake in August. Hoping for 750+
ECs:
Currently teach a GED class for adults trying to earn their GED, set up a tutoring program for this organization in addition to the classes
On the volunteering committee at my work place, I help plan and organize volunteering events as well as raise money for certain charities
Spent a few months working for an NGO in Europe that dealt with poverty stricken communities after graduation and before starting my job
Various other leadership roles in college organizations, taking the CFA in June as well


Are there any suggestions for anything else I can do at all to increase my chances for this year's application? Already did a campus visit and will be going to their events in my area this summer. Even the smallest boost would be worth it

Hello SSG21

Although the information is limited for a detailed review, here's my feedback for targeting Booth-

1. Acads- Average- so you will need to strengthen this with a strong GMAT score. The AdCom will be looking at your past scores+GMAT to judge whether you will be able to handle the academic pressure. Retake and target 720+ at least if you are applying at Booth.
2. Work Ex- Looks strong, but tough to make a call. This is because more the number of years, industry and role the AdCom is interested to know your Career Progression and Achievements. Not sure what stories you are going to go ahead with.
3. Diversity- Though Indians are the biggest pool of applicant your Work Ex & Extracurricular give you a definite edge.
4. Clarity of Goals- This is the most important element of your profile- Why MBA? Why Booth? Though you have given a valid reason, it will depend on how you bring it out in your written application. This is most crucial but since this is subjective it becomes the toughest to judge.

To summarize, I suggest retake the GMAT, and if you write your story well in the applications, you have a fighitng chance.
All the best.

Varun Sharma
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Hello VijayDinanathChauhan

Please see my '2 cents' in Green

All the Best.

Varun Sharma
Free Profile Review
Website
Blog
Quora
LinkedIn



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Hello Garyy

Not sure why you want to re-take the GMAT after 740. 740 to 750 will not improve your chances by a big margin.
Instead spend time on strengthening your written application.
In my opinion, your biggest weakness is number of years of work ex- spend time negating that. How? By writing stories that display a better career progress in terms of learning and maturity.
Most importantly, flesh out the reason to Why MBA now? Why do you feel ready at this stage and should not wait for another couple of years.
Everything else in your profile looks strong- so you rather spend energy on this.
Goes without saying your written application will matter the most here.

All the best.

Varun


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Hi,

This could turn out to be a disappointment but I am giving it a go anyway.

- 28 year Pakistani woman

- Got a BBA from Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology. Studied on scholarship for all four of the undergrad years. I ahve a CGPA of 3.4 and my major was Finance. Graduated in 2013

- Was a Rotaractor back in my university days and once even went for a Polio drive

- Was part of various other societies back in my university days

- Started my first job in 2013. The first six months were training and then was posted in Corporate Banking front office. Previously was a Relationship Associate. Now I am an Assistant Relationship Manager.

- For one year, headed the female wing of my community's education society

- Handled Finance for Young Women Writer's Forum for more than half a year

- Plan to sit the GMAT exam in November so that I can apply in Round 2 for B Schools. I am aiming for a 750 at least.

Anything else that I should mention here?