@vatsagrawal

Interesting goals. Make sure you are able to show a strong connect with your passion for sports and how a particular MBA program will actually help you steer your career in that direction. Schools look for connect with the goals and your ability to fulfil them in your past stories. With unconventional goals, there is little room for vagueness. Show deep research into your career prospects to win over the adcoms.


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Aanchal Sahni (INSEAD alum, ex MBA admissions interviewer)
MBAGuideConsulting
LinkedIn |WEBSITE: https://mbaguideconsulting.com/ | Message: +91 9971200927| email- [email protected]

Hey Vatsal,

Opportunities in Sports Merchandising within the US are fairly limited and the ones that do hire MBAs may not be able to sponsor your visa given the demand supply mismatch. Unfortunately, Nike sponsors on a case by case basis and that too marketing analytics functions. If you are really passionate about Sports merchandising, think about the EU where you have options like Decathlon, Manchester United, Adidas and many other larger sports retailer offering some good roles for business graduates. Plus given their focus on the Indian market, you may make a good fit for their hiring plans as most are aggressively looking at expanding their India presence.
Within the US it would make sense to stick to plain vanilla e-comm/retail opportunities with the likes of Amazon, Walmart, Target etc. since they have been working with international students day in and day out.

Reach out at info@thembaedge,com | +918368000961 if you have any other queries. All the best for your applications!

Hi folks, sorry just saw these inputs. Thanks a ton! Sharing some more nuances around my Plan A and Plan B, looking forward to discussing this further.

My immediate post MBA goal is to re-enter the Strategy domain in e-commerce domain, and, I would love for this to be with a sporting goods firm as I can see myself being excited to work in a role of the sort. I feel my experience in BD, merchandizing and platform growth has given me the basic wireframe, which an MBA can really polish up to enable me to succeed here. This is my plan A, however, I am aware real life is often not ideal, and my plan B will be to look out for established e-commerce firms like Amazon where my existing work experience combined with my MBA learnings can help me excel.

One reason for me to look into US B-Schools was because I wanted a comprehensive MBA experience given my work experience will still be just average (5 years) for most programs. Another reason for going with US was because they have the best ranked schools for my overall profile, and I feel I will be able to find a peer group there that will really push me to fuel my own growth.

I understand the visa concerns, but I'd rather have a plan B to deal with that rather than not show case my motivation on the application. Having a mainstream goal in a competitive candidate pool like mine (Indian male with an engineering background) could also negatively impact my application, so that was another headwind I felt incoming with that approach.

Eager to hear your views on this!

Hi, considering your impressive background and undergrad prestige, it might have been advantageous to invest more time in enhancing your GMAT score and aiming for admission to a school in this league with the possibility of securing substantial scholarships. Applicants often undervalue the pivotal role that a strong GMAT score plays in obtaining full scholarship.

Get candid advice tailored to your specific situation. We do not cap discussion hours with our applicants. Feel free to connect

Aanchal Sahni (INSEAD alum, former INSEAD MBA admissions interviewer)
MBAGuideConsulting
LinkedIn |WEBSITE: https://mbaguideconsulting.com/ | Message: +91 9971200927| email- [email protected]

Good luck! 🤞

Congrats for the interview and all the best! Do diversify your risk by applying to Oxbridge since they are also feeder programs for the likes of IFC, WB, ADB etc.

Congrats!!

Wow! Amazing job! No need to worry about Oxford/Cambridge anymore 😇👍

Welcome and nice profile.

Another school to recommend that used to be quintessential CPG program is Kellogg. This used to be their bread and butter many many moons ago.

Not sure if you’re considering accounting any financial aid or scholarships but they come less abundantly with executive assessment scores. I am sure you had your reasons to take the EA. Potentially, GMAT focus is very very similar but my guess is you probably not interested in another encounter with the GMAT. Nobody is.

CPG has been somewhat lagging and losing the battle to tack and consulting in business schools, in part due to lower compensation and more traditional roles and slow growth frankly. However having that background, makes you strong contender and schools like people who are not switches.

I am considering taking the GRE. I took it once and didn’t do great, so I am still studying to it. However, if the GMAT focus is an option, I may consider it!

GRE is a bit like EA in the eyes of the admissions. Unless you get a really high score, it’s not going to get you in with any fancy scholarship money but if you get none of your stellar score, you can sneak in with a lower than average much easier than with the GMAT. GRE is also more common and doesn’t get admissions wondering why did you take EA instead of GMAT or GRE … type of thing.

By the way, have you applied for the forte foundation or considered their program or is this too late already? Have some amazing offers for application fee waivers if you sign up for their program.

I am hoping my essays/WE show my passion for why I want to go back to school and balance out my EA score

There is a rumor which is probably not helpful to spread but what else do we have to do, with ChatGPT making everyone an amazing writer, there’s a good chance résumé and your professional achievements will take the first and the most decisive role in the application and I feel you Should have the lease concerns in that regard and feel a little bit less paranoid.

Another theory I’ve heard is that applying to more schools and increases your chances and I think I could agree with that, the more shots you have the most likely one of them will be lucky one. 🤷‍♂️

Good luck!

Opportunities from McCombs tend be focused in Oil & Gas Banking in Houston, although there are a tonne of them and I personally feel it will be less competitive than NY Banking. If you dont have an O&G inclination would suggest looking at Johnson, Stern which tend to be feeders in top tier IBs on Wall Street. From a profile standpoint it should be fairly easy to transition from Corp Banking to IB.
PE / HF tend to be focused in NY so maybe keep that in consideration and quite a few of them tend to sector agnostic.

Nice username! I learned something new! Been to Austin many times but have not heard of Spamtown until I googled it now.
I would probably recommend Darden as a more proven IB/Finance career school. It is on par with McCombs and can rival it even if you are getting the in-state tuition in TX.

P.S. Have you considered perhaps working for a few more years? Perhaps 4 or 5 and getting a few promotions and then heading to a place such as Booth, Wharton, etc if your career track is steep enough? I wonder if having a bit more experience under your belt will make your attractive as a hire for IB/PE?

Since you will have 2 years of experience would suggest exploring the deferred MBA route of maybe a Masters in Management. Most MBA programs globally look for around 4 years of experience since that much is required for you to add value in the program and share your experiences, the curriculum requires participation and sharing of your views.
With a 720 CBS maybe a stretch. Would suggest you have a relook at your profile and your program selection.

Reach out at [email protected] | +918368000961 if you have any other queries.

Thanks a lot for your review!
I have edited the profile a bit more. Could you please suggest which programs might be open with this amount of work experience? Also, should I consider retaking the GMAT or should I be focusing more on program selection?

For MBA would suggest you wait for 1 or 2 years (preferable), build your professional career and get some interesting projects / leadership experience under your belt. You already have a good international mindset which will be a positive and the profile broadly looks okay. If you feel you can improve the GMAT definitely give it another shot and see how high you can reach. Do explore the deferred option and see if that works as per your expectations.
For MIM would suggest targeting the LBS, HEC, INSEAD MIM programs which are really good for early career candidates and will enable you to transition into Management Consulting. You can subsequently do a top MBA after getting some work post your MIM (have been seeing a lot of candidates take this route as well).

Hey Kaustubh,

730 maybe a borderline score for LBS given the volume of Indian applications, plus from a fit perspective havent seen a lot of Manufacturing guys being represented in LBS given their focus towards Finance and Consulting. Check out some other programs like HEC, IMD and even some US ones which will be solid bets for a career transition from Manufacturing to Consulting.

Reach out at [email protected] | +918368000961 if you have any other queries.

HEC is probably the most solid MIM with a strong track record. The French Ecole have a solid structure where you can take a year to do an internship which will aid your job search, so do have a look at the Ecole MIM as well.

Welcome! We have quite a vibrant group from Vietnam here. Just search for some of the profiles in the last couple of weeks and you’ll see quite diverse group group. You’re definitely in good company!

PS. I don’t know a whole lot about NUS but I think it’s definitely one of the top programs in Asia. I guess NTU could be another option. Are you applying to any other programs? Are you planning to work in Singapore in the ideal state?

Check this link: https://gmatclub.com/forum/decision-tra ... ake_year=0

Yes, I will apply to NTU. The reason I choose Singapore because I intend to return to Vietnam to work post-MBA (may be not immediately, but definite after graduation about 2 years). Actually, I want to go deep into digital transformation and innovation; given Singapore is the Asian innovation hub and the school's tie to the APAC market (also low cost as well), I want to go to NUS or NTU MBA.

Hi, we do have a group of Vietnam applicants for next year intake. PM me if you would like to join. We share info/lesson/exp to apply.

SMU is another solid option in Singapore although would rate it par with NTU and slightly below NUS. Consulting positions are there in SG although I have seen most of these filled by US B-schools / likes of INSEAD etc. Dont see a lot of presence of NUS MBAs there and my sense is most of them try for Fin focused roles.

Welcome to GMAT Club. Happy to share some thoughts on your profile.

1. What's attracting you to the European programs?

2. If you want to move to Canada or North America after school (not eventually but rather immediately), usually I would recommend picking a school there. It will be easiest and best to recruit in the country you are attending. Yes, LBS or Oxford brand may be cooler than Rotman but it is always easier to be on the ground in the city (or at least country) where you want to recruit. Curious what's the driver for EU.

3. I think Tech is a great transition. It will be a fairly minor adjustment with a major bump in pay. Or at least that's how it was until the Tech crash last year. Either way, you should have a leg up in your recruiting compared to some of the folks without tech or digital experience.

Thanks for posting. The top three are very hard and competitive so it’s hard to tell anyone that they have great chances
. Not only these programs are competitive but everyone applies.

Your profile looks great and looks attractive. I think the difference will come from how far beyond the Norm and how diversified you were in your focus. For example, were you amazing at your job and then dabbling with something else or were you just purely focused on your job and nothing else. I’ve noticed some of these patterns with programs, they like people who are driven and entrepreneurial but it’s not a cookie cutter either. They have a big class of 900 people at Harvard and another 450 at Stanford so hopefully that’s decent chances. 🤞

The fact that you have other extracurriculars is awesome. It will probably depend on their strengths. For example did you win some competitions or perhaps achieve the particular goal or simply helped people. They show different sides of your personality. Both are helpful but some are more impactful than others.
PS. Splitting hairs here 😂

Welcome another member from Vietnam! it feels soon this may be an overrepresented group on the decision tracker 😇 We have a number of your countrymen here in case you wanted to connect or network.

Harvard is hard for anyone. The best applicant supply there. As the result, I would say to most people to not count on it but definitely try.

Last year we had one person from Vietnam admitted to Harvard that I can remember, you can look her up on the decision tracker. it takes being the best, engaged and impacting across your entire career and university. It’s hard to tell from a brief comment so maybe is the best answer I have.

PS. IELTS score does not really matter. It’s a pest fail but try to get a nice gmat score.

I think you have some good components of the application. It would be good to see some salary and promotional progression.

Also the fact that you have worked in a consulting company is a positive so you’re not technically switching industries and the fact that you have a strong brand name that’s recognizable is also really helpful. You just need a decent test score and some confidence to come through in your applications and interview.

PS. In terms of consulting recruiting in the US, most of the top 15 schools half Good facilities and chances for consulting. Soon in case you were looking for some scholarship money and you happen to have a really high GMAT score, you could go slightly lower in the ranking chain without Really changing your career outcome. Just thinking out loud 😇

Hey bb
Thanks for the reply. I forgot to mention in the description that I have scored a GMAT of 760 - Q51, V40.

Got it. Thanks for the insights.

Welcome to GMAT Club!

You have a solid stats profile for any school really. In terms of chances and opportunities, it won't help for the top 10 to get a higher score or anything like that. The higher score only kicks in if you ware looking for scholarships and that's more predictable in the 10-20 band of schools.

Your work experience sounds super unique and exciting and I think that may be a more likely candidate of making you an attractive applicant and having a school offer a scholarship. One idea could be applying to a variety of schools, meaning not just the M7 but across T15 and then leveraging offers. I have heard people having to leverage multiple school offers to improve their scholarship situation. E.g. first a school would offer 25%. They would have to get a 50% offer from a peer school and up it to 40% for example and then use that 40% offer to go a third school. You have to work for your money and the situation is the same with scholarships. Sometimes it works out but in reality, we usually all have to work for it.

The good news is that most T15 programs have strong feeder programs into consulting and MBB. Obviously there is a small mid-life crisis happening there right now with MBB recruiting but that's expected to be largely gone by the time you are looking for an internship or a job. People can be yoga instructors only for so long (I hope you know the reference as otherwise, it will be super weird). So I would consider applying to some of the strong consulting placement programs such as Kellogg and Booth, Sloan obviously (there are some interesting other possibilities there too), in mid-tier perhaps Tuck and Fuqua as well as Darden on the end of the spectrum. Darden has been very generous with scholarships last few years but this is assuming you have the energy to make so many applications. (There are ways to waive the app fees by the way https://gmatclub.com/forum/list-of-all- ... 67465.html) but don't underestimate the pressure on your recommenders if you are going to apply to 7 or 10 schools. It is hard work for everyone and while there are reusable parts, some are not reusable and the stupid grids in the LOR's can be daunting and the last few LOR's won't be really high quality as they click and breeze through them). Again, it is hard work but applying to a spectrum of schools and larger quantity has benefits - both as data feedback and also as a probabilities game.

-BB

Congrats on the ISB interview invite👍👍👍

I don't know if you're interested but UOT Dallas Jindal has a 1-year Master in Energy Management and the average GMAT there is around 600. It pretty much fits with what you're looking for (energy sector, Texas area, etc.)

Maybe think about SMU Cox as well?

Said is probably not the best option for IB related roles, please remember that Investment Banking Associate roles are typically filled from the internship pool and the challenge with 1 year programs is that there are no internships. So in the best case you are looking at a situation where you complete the program and subsequently land an internship. Also, remember that UK/EU markets have banks filing Associate position through internal promotions and thus MBA recruiting is fairly limited.
A US based MBA program would be a solid bet for a career in IB particularly in you case since you are transitioning from Software to IB, so an internship would be critical.
Would suggest having a relook at your plans and schools shortlist.

Reach out at [email protected] | +918368000961 if you have any further queries.