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chances - top general management schools 03 Apr 2009, 03:34
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Dear Alex,

could you please evaluate my profile for (HBS, Kellog, Haas, INSEAD). INSEAD is my top choice due to the financial constraints and location. Would prefer to end uo in Europe or Middle East

Profile:
Kazakhstan / M / 29 y.o.
Education: Bachelors in International Relations from Institute in Kazakhstan, GPA - don't know how to translate into 4.00 grading scale, graduated with highest honors
Work experience:
1.5 years- Military services, promoted from private to sergeant in 7 months to manage a crew of 10 soldiers
3 years - Small joint venture company, manufacturing industry, promoted 3 times in 2 years. First out of 200+ employees ever promoted to a supply chains director position within 24 months - 26 people under direct supervision.
Intr-l experience: worked in China and Russia for the total of 1 year.
GMAT - 700 (Q50, V35), AWA 4
Not very impressive extra curriculars due to the extremely busy schedule.

Want to try my luck in MC, or manufacturing industry.

I look forward to hearing from you,
Kind regards,
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AlexMBAApply
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chances - top general management schools 03 Apr 2009, 11:02
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Given your background and career goals, are you interested in Kellogg's MMM program?

You have enough of a shot that it's worth applying to all on your list (you should get into at least one of them assuming you put together strong applications, although HBS is going to be a stretch but if you really want to go by all means give it a shot).

Another program you may want to look into is MIT Sloan's LFM program as well.

As for extracurriculars, I don't think it's crucial in your case if you have experiences/achievements from your work or military that showcase your leadership/team skills. In your case, it really comes down to how well you execute the applications, and a bit of luck as well.
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chances - top general management schools 03 Apr 2009, 20:32
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AlexMBAApply
Given your background and career goals, are you interested in Kellogg's MMM program?

You have enough of a shot that it's worth applying to all on your list (you should get into at least one of them assuming you put together strong applications, although HBS is going to be a stretch but if you really want to go by all means give it a shot).

Another program you may want to look into is MIT Sloan's LFM program as well.

As for extracurriculars, I don't think it's crucial in your case if you have experiences/achievements from your work or military that showcase your leadership/team skills. In your case, it really comes down to how well you execute the applications, and a bit of luck as well.
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Thanks Alex for encouragement. Great info. Appreciate that. Regarding Sloan's LFM - I don't have any engineering background, and to be honest don't think I'll be a good fit there. It is too techie for me.

Last question: Does military experience count as a FT experience (I am a complete novice in b-school applications)?

Thank you,
Sincerely,
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chances - top general management schools 05 Apr 2009, 10:54
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If it's mandatory military service, it's treated as "experience", meaning what you accomplished is potential essay material. In other words, you will need a few years of civilian full-time experience to complement your mandatory service. Adcoms will treat it as full-time experience if your military service was a career (countries with an all-volunteer armed forces, or those whose countries have mandatory service but who chose to make it their career such as an Israeli intelligence officer or something like that).
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chances - top general management schools 05 Apr 2009, 21:07
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AlexMBAApply
If it's mandatory military service, it's treated as "experience", meaning what you accomplished is potential essay material. In other words, you will need a few years of civilian full-time experience to complement your mandatory service. Adcoms will treat it as full-time experience if your military service was a career (countries with an all-volunteer armed forces, or those whose countries have mandatory service but who chose to make it their career such as an Israeli intelligence officer or something like that).
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wow, never thought about using my military experience in my essays. Thanks for your reply,

I greatly appreciate your help.
Thank you
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