MBA Decision Tracker: Monitor Application Status in Real Time

gmatclub

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2 years ago

👍 VC is an elusive industry with just a handful of positions in each firm each year requiring networking rather than on campus recruiting. There are also swings and changes and trends. I would recommend reaching out to Booth current students who are on a VC track to check in with them about realities and latest trends, at least at Booth.

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TheMBAEdge

Hey IshanaSharma,

You have a pretty solid profile with a competitive GMAT score and good academics. Additionally, your background in healthcare consulting is unique and will make you stand out of the application pool since we typically dont see a lot of candidates with a healthcare background. Lastly, you seem to have delivered a lot of impact through ECs which will make your profile quite likeable and indeed very desirable for an incoming cohort at business schools.
Coming to your areas of improvement, your long term goal is totally out of sync with your short term goal and your plans for your MBA due to which it can be a red flag for an admission committee officer. Do think really hard why you want to do an MBA and what you intend to achieve from the same, if you have the desire to be a civil servant, we would candidly advise you to drop your MBA plans and pursue that career path with all your interest and efforts, an MBA doesnt lead to a career in Civil Service. Further, your list of colleges it too extensive and shows the lack of research which can be detrimental to your application strategy and result in unfavorable outcomes. Do spend some more time researching your colleges and why they would be a good fit for you. The more fit assessment you undertake at the initial stage, the more refined your applications will turn out and thus the chances of an admit will be incrementally more. A typical thumb rule is to target 3-4 applications in round 1 depending on the deadline and another 3 in round 2.

Hope the recommendations help?

IshanaSharma

Hello, yes this is incredibly helpful. I wanted to ask two more questions if you're able to answer (would be incredibly appreciative): (i) Do schools care how many GMAT exams we've taken? If I gave another exam, that would be my 4th. (ii) How important is it to have a job on hand during the interview process? I recently had to quit to look after my father's business due to his health issues. It's just temporary and I plan to get another job by November beginning.

Schools arent really bothered about the number of attempts that you take, they usually only factor in the highest score from application standpoint.
Well there is no hard and fast answer, you will need to explain your situation and I am sure they will look at it empathetically, although it would have been ideal to continue in the same job. Additionally, there are multiple candidates who come from family business backgrounds and use that experience to talk about how they can add value to class, in a lot of cases they often see good success since schools also realize that running a family enterprise can be challenging and will provide you a unique perspective that a conventional job may not be able to. So there is no right or wrong answer to your question, you just need to have a solid rationale behind the decision.

Thank you, this is very insightful.

Businessconquerer

I think this might be worth your time- www.mbaconquerors.com .

We have applicants especially from Overrepresented pool with a higher chance of getting admitted. Also, we have a top 10 or refund challenge you could try.

Universe777777

Hi, Can we connect? or email as I have the same profile -- [email protected]

Hi Sure, dm'ing you on GMAT Club.

Awesome job on getting the invites! Good luck on the interviews and fingers crossed for an admit in Dec!

Yes, thanks so much BB. Fingers crossed indeed

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Wow, insane GMAT Score! Awesome job and must have taken a lot of focus to get there! Also, a strong and very unique profile. I am impressed with restraint to drop GSB and HBS from your list. That's commendable... or did you apply there in R1? 😂 I see almost everyone rolling the dice on HBS.

Try to show as much growth in career as possible and especially recently to demonstrate that you have not been stuck in a job for the last 4 years and that you are not a passive spectator but an active driver of your career and done a lot. That's what AdCom love to see and that's who MBB's want to hire. Speaking and presentation skills will also come into play for recruiting (much less for admissions) but I assume you should not be a stranger to those with your experience and achievements.

Good luck on the applications!

arshaik

Thank you bb. Gmatclub helped a lot during my journey with GMAT. I wrote the exam on 30th Sept, so I couldn't apply in R1.The reason for neglecting HBS and GSB is that these schools have very high competition and the acceptance rate is pretty less. I am still unable to make a decision whether to choose Consulting or Operations/Strategy/Supply chain domain at this point of time. Your advise would help me to choose better while finalizing the schools

I would probably suggest that you start already networking and put your recruiting strategy into gear. I will reach out to some of the current students in whichever program, whichever you can connect with and ask for their advice based on what they are seeing in their program in terms of where you would have a better chance and the path of least resistance. You’re welcome to change this after application But you want to find the most logical and straightforward transition that would make you a very desirable candidate by consulting companies. Maybe you do infrastructure consulting or big project or perhaps you do some kind of a supply chain management recruiting. It would be ideal if you could talk about companies And people who have already done some of these transitions in your applications or in your interview and would be really valuable to get those stories from current students or alums. Keep in mind that they are super busy so you want to intrigue them with your questions and show that you’ve done your research and reach out to people with profiles similar to yours.

These connections and conversations with current students will not only help you with admissions but they will also help you with recruiting when these graduates get jobs and they will become your network down the road so the more meaningful relationships you can establish, the better in the long run. And then once you get in you can also help others down the road and so it continues 👍

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Congratulations on your Wharton interview invite 👍👍👍

Are you applying with the GMAT or GRE?

Sachitmehrotra

Gmat

Thank you! Good luck on the TBD! Thanks for filling out the decision tracker - really appreciate it 👍

Hi can we connect (if you can dm me as I don't have been restricted by saying my account is not older than 7 days) I have some questions

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Great brand on your resume. Good luck with the application!
P.S. You are still young and while I think you have a good chance, you can also afford to wait a bit more. You will get more value from your MBA by waiting as well, so it is not like you are wasting a year, just FYI.

Congrats on your career progression and 99th percentile on Gate. That's something bschools hopefully familiar with. If you are thinking about VC, Stanford and Haas can be added as well as Wharton. However, one aspect (if you are planning to apply as a VC target), is to explain and paint a clear picture why that transition will work and why you would be successful. Having a Kellogg or HBS or Sloan degree is not enough by itself. How does your background, what you are doing today or planning to do will make you more successful than an average person - that's the bar to pass.

Sorry about the Jim score. Long work experience with GMAT score is not a good recipe for a full-time program and it’s better suited for executive.

Tertiary

Thanks for the review bb.
Is an executive program very different from the regular ones in terms of curriculum and placement in India?
Do executive programs have any advantage over the regular 1 year programs?

I’m really not a good person to advise about business schools in India. My experience is mostly in the United States with some related to Europe but I’m pretty clueless when it comes to India admissions nuances.

In general, executive classes and programs are better and get a higher caliber of professors but these programs are also more expensive and usually not as focused on getting your job as much as making you a better leader. I don’t know if it’s different in India but in the US there’s not much on campus recruiting And it’s all about networking .

Thanks a lot bb. This gives me some hope to keep up the battle.

Having managerial experience is a positive. The GMAT and GPA are a bit on the lower side. Have you given your all to the GMAT?

IGEM_Ninja

Thanks for the feedback. I have given 2 GMAT attempts with difference of 28 days (650 in 1st, 660 in 2nd with Q49 and V31). Will by trying for another attempt in November end probably. I understand the GPA is bit on the lower side, but as per our college marking system it was 6.92/10 (was in the top 25% of the class). After that i have a distance post graduate diploma in management (with 74.4%) and another upskilling program sponsored by my employee (with overall B+ grade). Worked with a lot of international suppliers but not onsite.

That’s helpful to qualify the GPA! I was not converted to the 4.0 scale. You can now write it and the original.

Alternatively, since your Gmail came in so close to each other, you may consider taking the GRE… there seems to be quite a bit more tolerance towards average GRE scores than average GMAT scores…

Thanks a lot!

Aliner

Oi, tudo bem? Eu me chamo Aline. Vi que você foi aprovado em Santaford e Chicago. Você fez algum cursinho ou contratou professor para lhe ajudar? Estou perdida e precisando de ajuda/opiniao/dicas de quem já chegou na pontuação para entrar em Stanford. Você pode me ajudar ?

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MBADecoder

You are lucky to have your recruiter sponsor your education. If that means they want you to join back after MBA, that would be an attractive proposition for b-schools as you will be one student less in the recruitment effort

Regarding your other question - your modelling skills and the engineering degree show a quant focus/ analytical abilities that will be useful at b-school and adcoms will appreciate it. That said, so many engineers change career tracks after their education- so there's only a limited way you can milk this info by stating it explicitly- perhaps via one or two lines in the reco or in an essay.

beynn

Thank you so much for your comments. I really appreciate it!

Welcome to GMAT Club and thanks for posting it here!

A few thoughts:
1. You want to have a clear need/goal for an MBA. MBA is a tool for something. It is a great transformation experience but it is not useful without a goal after your MBA. Having a goal makes it easier to see the best path and the best tools. What is the purpose of getting an MBA and going through this experience?

2. In terms of chances, 322 is a bit on the lower side. We have been seeing Average GRE's around 329 for Top 10. Potentially you can dip a bit for certain groups and demographics where things are not as competitive but a combination of 10+ years of work experience and lower score is not helpful.

3. It is good you have a higher GPA in your masters. that's what will get evaluated. You want to explain to the AdCom why you want an MBA by the way and indirectly answer why you want one after the Masters.

4. In terms of you doing high end financial work, I think it counts but it can't be you saying - there has to be some proof and indicators - e.g. awards, promotions, pay increases, etc.

5. It will be harder for you to find a job than for most due to international background and greater experience where you will be "too experienced" for some of the jobs. It seems you are planning to remain in your industry, which is good. Are you planning to go back to your country?

6. Top 10 or nothing is hard to judge without knowing your goals or reasons. I would say any MBA program is valuable but you may not want to pay $200K for some of them. I think you have chances in the lower-ranked schools. You can check the decision tracker filters for GRE. I tried this one https://gmatclub.com/forum/decision-tra ... 4&score=36 and it seems there not that many data points. I tried Fuqua

Thank you very much for your time and detailed comments. It will be very helpful in my decision making process.
I have to go back to my country after the mba. I understand that adcom will appreciate it. Also, my recommendations may confirm my modelling skills. Will it be helpful?
I am grateful for your advice!

furkanicus

Hey beynn!
Congrats on your applications. bb and MBADecoder already gave some great answers, so here's my condensed take since I'm also going through the admissions process. A good GRE/GMAT score can help compensate for your GPA for some of the top programs though that's still no guarantee for admission as they look at the applications holistically (career, resume, essays, LoRs). My suggestion would be to have a list of reach, match and safety school based on your profile and your goals (i.e. programs stronger in finance) as opposed to only applying top 10. You never know which school will admit you and which school will reject, so it's good to diversify your admissions portfolio.

Wow! I received a lot of valuable comments. Thank you so much Furkanicus. I will definitely take your advice into consideration.

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rakman123

Hey man,

Any reason in particular they declined you? have they mentioned anyhting?

jmsn

Nope they didn’t.

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So, crazy idea. As you probably know part of the evaluation are your goals. The more elaborate goals you have the greater risk you are and therefore more scrutiny it brings. I know you’re trying to pivot from healthcare but in case healthcare is a backup plan, one way to ease into business schools would be to say you’re planning to stay within healthcare…. a number of people have used that strategy and got into Fuqua only to pivot to management consulting and never see healthcare again. However, healthcare was a backup plan for them in case things didn’t work out to help pay the loans…

something to consider as you evaluate your chances. But I wouldn’t lie on the application if you never want to see healthcare again.

PS. Education and nonprofit consulting are very competitive. These fields don’t pay well and they are very few spots available. There’s a highly desirable projects that some people even do pro bono. So I would probably recommend, if you consider it feasible applying with healthcare as your main industry for recruiting and you can totally follow your dreams recruiting will be challenging for these industries without prior work experience.

menos74

Thank you for reading my profile! I’m not totally excluding healthcare or any specific industry. The “problem” is that my primary extracurricular is a volunteer + board member of an education non profit. I enjoy the work and that’s why I want to focus on education, but I do get your point - my entire professional experience has been entirely healthcare.

Got it! Makes sense. That's the piece of info I missed about non profit. It is awesome you are doing it already - that's very helpful that you are doing this work already. AdCom will like it and feel it is safe but they will also likely wonder how you are planning to pay off your $200K in student loans so if you have some $$ saved that will not have them choosing between Admit with $$ or ding as you wont' attend without a scholarship, that can help.

At the same time, do you really need a top tier MBA program to have a non-profit career in Education? I don't know actually the answer to this question but if you don't, there are many options of getting a significant scholarship by going to a Top 20-30 program. Not sure if that is of interest or not. I know some areas are very sensitive to brands and rank.

-BB

How much does adcom weigh the applicant’s ability to pay for the program? I have some savings but I’m relying on student loans outside of scholarships. I’m comfortable with taking out student loans - I believe those schools are worth the investment.

And you’re right, I don’t need a top tier MBA program to pivot to education. I could go for Teach for America or start working in education, but I want to understand the entire sector first. I think joining a consulting firm such as Tyton Partners or Parthenon will help with breadth, which will help me to discover an area that I want to focus on and eventually transition to an industry company/organization that focuses specifically in that area. It’s tough to enter a top tier consulting firm without the name brand.

Usually it’s not the biggest consideration in admissions whether an applicant can pay the tuition bill, but schools like to admit people who go and would choose them if admitted and if they feel that you will only attend if they offer you a big scholarship and they’re not able to offer you a big scholarship, then why admit… You don’t need to be paranoid about it or anything like that, you just need to show your commitment and interest and that while you would love to get some scholarship dollars, you’re totally fine paying with loans and savings.

I think you approach to consulting and education career makes sense. 👍

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