Hi everyone,

Planning to apply R1 for Sep 2022 start

Demographics: 24 years old, Female, Asian Canadian (immigrated to Canada, but now a citizen)

Education:
• Undergrad: bachelor in Business from a decent Canadian university. GPA 86% which is an A at Canadian universities but not sure how it will convert to US GPA. Major Entrance scholarship, Top Student Leader scholarship, top 5% of faculty by GPA

GMAT: 740 (Q51, V39) – a little bit concerned about my verbal score, but hoping it helps that I grew up and work in Canada so English is my first language

Work Experience
• 3 years in brand management at a Tier 1 CPG (ie. P&G, Johnson & Johnson, Nestle); early experience managing direct reports as well
• all my work experience is in Canada, no international work experience

Leadership and Extracurricular Activities:
• Involved with my university's brand management alumni program where we mentor current students and help them secure jobs in the industry
• In undergrad, I chaired a large marketing conference - large team & budget (which was why I received the Top Student Leader scholarship at my school)

Other:
• I'm looking into getting involved with pro bono charity projects to grow EC but no guarantees
• I know I can get a strong reference from my manager who I worked with for 1.5+ years and he's senior within the company

Post MBA goal: upon graduation – product management at tech firm or continue brand management but at an international market outside of North America.
long-term – executive in CPG/tech or exit to not-for-profit for impact driven work

Essay: I haven't figured this part out yet to be honest...

Schools: Interested in HBS, Stanford, Wharton, INSEAD, LBS. INSEAD really appeals to me, but I'm debating if I should also apply to top US schools unless I don't have a chance.

Points of concern:
• Undergrad GPA - My GPA was strong in undergrad but how does an 86%/A in a Canadian school convert to a US school GPA where 90+% seems to be a 4.0 GPA?
• Do I stand a chance at schools like HBS, Stanford, Wharton or should I focus on international MBAs?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Hi everyone,

Planning to apply R1 for Sep 2022 start

Demographics: 24 years old, Female, Asian Canadian (immigrated to Canada, but now a citizen)

Education:
• Undergrad: bachelor in Business from a decent Canadian university. GPA 86% which is an A at Canadian universities but not sure how it will convert to US GPA. Major Entrance scholarship, Top Student Leader scholarship, top 5% of faculty by GPA

GMAT: 740 (Q51, V39, IR8, AWA5) – a little bit concerned about my verbal score, but hoping it helps that I grew up and work in Canada so English is my first language

Work Experience
• 3 years in brand management at a Tier 1 CPG (ie. P&G, Johnson & Johnson, Nestle); early experience managing direct reports as well
• all my work experience is in Canada, no international work experience

Leadership and Extracurricular Activities:
• For the past 3 years, I've been involved with my university's brand management alumni program where we mentor current students and help them secure jobs in the industry. I was in this program as a student but now contributing as an alumnus.
• In undergrad, I chaired a large marketing conference - large team & budget (which was why I received the Top Student Leader scholarship at my school)

Other:
• I'm looking into getting involved with pro bono charity projects to grow EC but no guarantees
• I know I can get a strong reference from my manager who I worked with for 1.5+ years and he's senior within the company

Post MBA goal: upon graduation – product management at tech firm or continue brand management but at an international market outside of North America.
long-term – executive in CPG/tech or exit to not-for-profit for impact driven work

Essay: I haven't figured this part out yet to be honest...

Schools: Interested in HBS, Stanford, Wharton, INSEAD, LBS. INSEAD really appeals to me, but I'm debating if I should also apply to top US schools unless I don't have a chance.

Points of concern:
• Undergrad GPA - My GPA was strong in undergrad but how does an 86%/A in a Canadian school convert to a US school GPA where 90+% seems to be a 4.0 GPA?
• Do I stand a chance at schools like HBS, Stanford, Wharton or should I focus on international MBAs?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Hi everyone,

Planning to apply R1 for Sep 2022 start

Demographics: 24 years old, Female, Asian Canadian (immigrated to Canada, but now a citizen)

Education:
• Undergrad: bachelor in Business from a decent Canadian university. GPA 86% which is an A at Canadian universities but not sure how it will convert to US GPA. Major Entrance scholarship, Top Student Leader scholarship, top 5% of faculty by GPA

GMAT: 740 (Q51, V39, IR8, AWA5) – a little bit concerned about my verbal score, but hoping it helps that I grew up and work in Canada so English is my first language

Work Experience
• 3 years in brand management (as of now) at a Tier 1 CPG (ie. P&G, Johnson & Johnson, Nestle); early experience managing direct reports as well. It will be 4 years of experience if I start school in Sep 2022.
• All my work experience is in Canada, no international work experience but I'm leading a lot of the diversity initiatives on the brand and on diversity marketing team.

Leadership and Extracurricular Activities:
• For the past 3 years, I've been involved with my university's brand management alumni program where we mentor current students and help them secure jobs in the industry. I was in this program as a student but now contributing as an alumnus.
• In undergrad, I chaired a large marketing conference - large team & budget (which was why I received the Top Student Leader scholarship at my school)
• Extracurricular at work - Onboarding team for training and supporting interns & new hires for 1.5 years. When COVID hit suddenly, I led the change in our onboarding program from in-person to virtual, have some good stories and results here.

Other:
• I'm looking into getting involved with pro bono charity projects to grow EC but no guarantees
• I know I can get a strong reference from my manager who I worked with for 1.5+ years and he's senior within the company

Post MBA goal: upon graduation – product management at tech firm or continue brand management but at an international market outside of North America.
long-term – executive in CPG/tech or exit to not-for-profit for impact driven work

Essay: I haven't figured this part out yet to be honest...

Schools: Interested in HBS, Stanford, Wharton, INSEAD, LBS. INSEAD really appeals to me, but I'm debating if I should also apply to top US schools unless I don't have a chance.

Points of concern:
• Undergrad GPA - My GPA was strong in undergrad but how does an 86%/A in a Canadian school convert to a US school GPA where 90+% seems to be a 4.0 GPA?
• Do I stand a chance at schools like HBS, Stanford, Wharton or should I focus on international MBAs? If yes, would it be better for me to apply to R2 vs. R1 so I have few more months of work experience?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Hi guys,

I am a 29 year old Egyptian with a technical background and I am considering applying for Harvard MBA. Can you give me some feedback?

Education:
I have a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering with a 77% degree from one Egypt's top schools. In Egypt it is a 5 year degree and 77% is a very good degree compared to excellent which starts at 85%. After that, I was selected for a scholarship with an acceptance rate of 1% to continue my diploma in Mechatronics, and used this diploma to pursue a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering in Germany with a 1.3 degree "100%= 1 in Germany, and 5= failing".

Work experience:
I have worked as an international freelance inspector before graduation and have travelled to China, Italy, Finland and many other European countries. During my Master's degree in Germany, I had a couple of student jobs as an engineer and started a full-time engineering position right after, also in Germany, focusing on customer support for 1.5 years. After that, however, I moved into product management for more than two years. The product manager role is truly international in the sense that I coordinate work with other groups in Japan, USA, France, China and of course Germany. It also involved strategy definition and business development.

Extracurricular activities:
This was really during my undergrad-studies in Egypt, as I participated in a number of NGO initiatives with a cultural background and was a project manager for an arts and culture program, leading 100 volunteers. In Germany I only did 3 months of volunteering, which I think is too small to mention.

Languages:
German, English, Arabic, and basic Spanish.

GMAT score:
Not yet available. I scored 540 on the test exam without preparation, I have 7 weeks left to prepare with about 10-15 hours per week.

studybuddy:

Regarding your concerns:

1) I'm not sure how my background in merchandising stacks up against other applicants. On the plus side, I think it provides a point of differentiation, but on the other hand I worry my WE won't be viewed as as prestigious as IB, consulting, etc

A: That's exactly the tradeoff. You are better off with the non-traditional industry. Success in differentiating yourself is way harder to achieve than demonstrating credibility compared to IB, consulting, etc. Without knowing all the specifics, you have an impressive background and will be a credible candidate for may of the top MBA programs in the U.S. You will be competing with people from the retail industry and those coming from other elite undergraduate institutions.

2) Applying to MBA programs is not typical within my workplace. I'm concerned I won't be able to get the best support from my current manager in writing a compelling letter of recommendation as she has no familiarity with the MBA application process.

A: You need to guide her either by coaching her on what is expected in a letter of recommendation or by hiring an MBA admissions consultant who can take over that role. This is a common issue with people coming from industries that aren't natural MBA feeders. You can't change her experience, but you can change her execution of an important component of the MBA application.

3) I'm aware that I am lacking involvement in ECs outside of work/alumni ties, but to get involved with something now seems too late? I don't want to force something that seems disingenuous with only a few months of involvement before applying...

A: No, it is not too late. You do need to beef up your ECs if you want to get into HSW. You have a compelling profile but that was the first thing that stuck out as far as weaknesses are concerned. You should look to get involved in an event or an ad-hoc opportunity so you can get involved with the planning and an execution that you can speak to in a clear way. Membership in an organization at this point would probably come off as resume padding, hence the focus on a singular moment.

Please reach out to us at Admissionado if you would like help with your letters of recommendation or your application in general.

https://admissionado.com/free-consultation/