Hey GMATScorer21,

Congrats on the amazing GMAT score! 770 is no mean feat so kudos to you!

Coming to the broader profile - you have solid test score which is a big positive, since you aren't from the overrepresented Indian Engineer pool that too will work in your favor and your consulting / accounting experience will be pretty solid. In terms of your experience, with 3 years of total work ex by the time you start the program, you will be slightly below the median of around 5 years for most top tier programs, however that shouldn't be a major deal breaker since we have seen consistent success with candidates who have lower work ex but put in a solid application with clarity on the program fit and their career alignment. Would encourage you to go ahead and apply this fall.

Coming to your specific questions:
I'd like to figure out exactly how many, and which programs should I consider based on the probability of admit offer basis my current state of profile.
There is no right or wrong answer here, it purely depends on your profile and risk taking abilities. We have seen candidates apply to 1 school and get through after putting in a solid application and we have also seen candidates apply to multiple programs without determining a fit and struggle to make the cut. Honestly, applying beyond 5 wont do justice to your work and personal commitments given the effort that goes into each application. Rather than focusing on the number, try to research on the schools and determine a fit with your profile and then apply to the respective program.

I'd like to know how to network the the target B Schools to make sure I'm at the back of mind of Admissions Members when discussing candidature vs other candidates
Networking is critical for the application process, try to utilize all the resources / events offered by schools to make a connect. Attend the online / in person webinars to understand the process and gain insight into what the schools are looking for and maybe try to schedule a 1x1 conversation with the adcom member during these events so that get to know you as person and can put a face on your application once they do get to see it, also a lot of schools offer application fee waivers to candidates that attend these event. Second, most schools have Admission Ambassadors who volunteer to guide prospective candidates with school specific information, so do reach out to them as well. Lastly, Linkedin can be a great source, so drop a mail to recent graduates and second year students to schedule a quick coffee chats, based on their response you can also get an insight into the school's culture.

I'd like to understand if I should prefer to apply in dream programs in R1 to which there is not a lot of time left or R2 should be where I may begin.
No major difference between R1 and R2, but a lot of financial aid is available in Round 1 which can be a key consideration for some coming from a weak financial background. The short answer would be apply when you are absolutely ready, no point in rushing with a half baked application.

Can I build a basic essay format draft that I can edit basis all schools own preferences and requirements to strengthen my application? or will I have to create new essay each time?
A cardinal mistake most applicants committ. Please remember each school is unique and they expect you to research in to the same and establish a fit with their culture. Adcoms read 5000-10000 applications each season and it is very easy for them to make a cut and paste effort from one where a solid effort has been put in. Strongly urge you to look at each application in a unique way.

Hope that answers all your queries, do reach out at [email protected] || +918368000961 if you have any further queries.
All the best for your applications!!

@GMATScorer21

Congrats on the stellar GMAT. I see potential for free ride scholarship at some T20 schools provided you take good and well-informed shot at the B School applications. I have had an instance in the past where an applicant with a 770 got rejected at all the schools he applied to due to his myopic view on what admissions comittees look for in applicants. After he took my guidance, he got more than 200K in scholarships and is currently studying at no cost in the US. I would suggest taking professional help so you can best portray your less than average work experience of 2.5 years and maximize your return through maximum scholarships.

I'd like to figure out exacly how many, and which programs should I consider based on the probability of admit offer basis my current state of profile.
A- I advise applicants with less than 3 years of work experience to pick their 3-4 best colleges for two reasons. First, to focus on the fewer schools and build high quality applications. With this you would not have to worry about refurbishing your essays to too many schools. The more schools you have on your list, the more diluted your efforts on each. Second, as a young applicant you should not exhaust all your top targets in the first attempt, especially since it is clear you me you do not know in depth about cracking the admits. I see better odds with schools in 15-25 range.

I'd like to know how to network the target B Schools to make sure I'm at the back of mind of Admissions Members when discussing candidature vs other candidates
A- That cannot be told in a single sentence here. Would entail a longer discussion to understand your profile and your hook factor.

I'd like to understand if I should prefer to apply in dream programs in R1 to which there is not a lot of time left or R2 should be where I may begin.
A- Never apply with halfhearted efforts. Apply when you are most ready. Stay confident in your candidacy. Shoddy applications lead to no good.

Can I build a basic essay format draft that I can edit basis all schools own preferences and requirements to strengthen my application? or will I have to create new essay each time?
A- No you should not. That would lead to you trying to fit in the same stories into every school's application. Every school requires a different approach and builds in subtle requirements into the essay questions that must be specifically addressed. Although you must surely prepare for a repository of stories and experiences, preparing a basic essay is not an approach I would recommend.

Feel free to set up a call to get 1 to 1 candid feedback on your profile and the right strategy to crack the admit.


Personalized advice tailored to your specific situation is just a phone call or message away. Do not hesitate to reach out to us if you need help navigating your unique circumstances in the B School admissions process. We do not cap discussion hours for our applicants

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

Add Ross to the mix - very solid option for Consulting and maybe Kellogg in Round 2. UNC, Emory can be backup options in case the above set of schools don't work out. Tuck also has some solid Consulting recruitment so you can think about that as well.

Hope that answers all your queries, do reach out at [email protected] || +918368000961 if you have any further queries.

Hi. 710 is a good score even for your demographic.

My main comment would be to make sure you start working on the skills necessary for consulting - presenting, pitching, interviewing because recruiting starts in October in INSEAD! You would have learned nothing by that time so don’t expect classes or something substantial by the time interviews roll in. Don’t get caught unprepared.

In terms of other schools - there are quite a few obviously. In the US oil and gas don’t hire international unfortunately. But a number of consulting schools such as UNC or perhaps Tepper. Your score should be competitive.

Welcome to GMAT Club! Awesome to have you. By the way, we just started a topic specifically for military applicants to connect: https://gmatclub.com/forum/calling-all- ... 18139.html

Fantastic GRE Score by the way! Really amazing!

By the way, Schools don't count military experience as full time employment in their applications (which is a good thing) so they would say you have 2 years (but it is not a problem per se if you put in 13 in your applications). Traditionally they would not want to bring someone with 13 years under their belt but they love SOF applicants.

Looks like you got all your apps in already and likely in touch with the veterans clubs. I assume you also know about the Veterans visit days. I would recommend visiting at least one for one school to meet some of the other applicants and connect with some folks and start building a network. My cousin did Westpoint and a few deployments and talking to people and reintegrating was hard for him. It took a big toll on him, so it is hard. Thank you for your sacrifice and your time. Anything you need help with, please don't hesitate to DM.

BB,
Founder of GMAT Club.

Thanks for the support and encouragement BB. I will checkout the military specific forum. GMAT club is a great forum, appreciate all the time and effort placed by the contributors to help with application process.

Where did your cousin end up going to B School? i have received tons of support from every veterans club so far, and hope to pay it forward in the future.

With a low GPA, low GMAT (although your EA is solid, so use that where it is accepted), above avg work ex and ambitious target industries, it may make sense to hedge your bets with a couple of solid finance safe schools. Would strong endorse staying in and around NY so Cornell, Simon maybe additional good bets. Btw HKUST is a pretty solid schools for careers in the HK market, places quite well in the PE/HF domain and maybe less competitive that most of the US schools.

Cheers and reach out at [email protected] in case you have any further queries.

In terms of chances, hard to tell, looks like you have a great profile and can add quite a bit of value to the program and the class. Since your undergrad was years ago and since I assume this is Non-US GPA, and AdCom are less concerned with that and more forgiving.

I am not sure how powerful Booth or Kellogg will be in HK or Asia. I know there are networks but you would mostly be recruiting on your own via LinkedIn type of thing. Have you considered the MIT Sloan Fellows program? Does it make sense to look at HKUST as well? or NUS as "local" programs? HKUST has pretty good pull in HK and you will be there for recruiting as well.

Otherwise, good luck! Fingers crossed.
-BB

Thank you both for your comments, very helpful! I haven't checked HKUST, I'll take a look at it for R2.

Wow. Fantastic GMAT Score - this is very high for an evening program; the average and requirements there are usually meaningfully lower than in the FT.

I may be preaching to the choir. Forgive me if you know all of this... One aspect to keep in mind is the career pivot. It is harder to do from a PT/Weekend program. That's in part because you will be tied up at school and at work. You most likely won't be able to do an internship. The program takes 2.5-4 years to complete for most and it is tiring, so many end up delaying recruiting and not having the time or energy (esp if you have a family) to put into it. So it is important to think ahead about how you want to transition into the desired field and evaluate the opportunities vs. other avenues, be that FT program or perhaps no MBA at all (not sure how real that is).

P.S. What I have seen is that the PT program growth and impact is less pronounced than FT because it is less stressful. You are not pushed to the limit. You still have a job, you have other opportunities, etc. With FT, you quit the job, there is no way back, and you are really focused on recruiting.

Thanks bb! I do have some obligations due to which leaving job won't be that easy, so as you mentioned I will have to work on creating a good transition story.

Got it. It was not so much for the AdCom only but also for you and your career down the road. It is easy to get complacent and too tired and have to prioritize between work, school, personal life, and then networking and recruiting on top of it. However, I would say that most people don't have this quite worked out and it is OK to kick the can down the road a bit. There will be recruiting events, alums to network with, etc. For now, perhaps the best strategy is to connect with current students and get in touch so you have a small network.

Thank you for your guidance! I will be doing a few class visits and try to meet as many current students as possible. I started attending events back in the summer but had to stop in order to focus on the GMAT. I did notice a sizeable crowd at all these events, suggesting that there is a strong demand for PT programs.
On the career front, you are absolutely right in pointing out about getting complacent and not prioritizing the MBA vs. the other stuff in life. But, at my job, I have seen at least a couple of grads of the PT programs who have done really well (leapfrog in promotions, recognition etc.). Also, talking with AdComs and current students, I got the impression that if I really wanted an internship, it could be done (I would have to leave my current job, but still..) And the same faculty and career resources are available to PTs as are to FTs. So, I am hopeful.

On the application side, any essay/interview tips, or other information that you might want to highlight?

Hi. Your profile looks attractive and great for both schools and recruiters. I think Fuqua will love what they see.

You can also consider UNC as another healthcare focused program which would probably have a strong chance of giving you significant financial aid so worth considering is an option if you can see yourself there.

I think you have a good chance at both European programs, IESE as well as Insead, your score is above their average and your background and work experience are quite strong. The only part that always makes me uncertain about European schools is finding a job, as both France and Spain require language skills, your option will really be London or Singapore or going back home. Well the cost in the US is higher, you do get three-year OPT and higher salary after graduation…

Hey Himanshu,

Got some solid experience and pretty decent GMAT score. Given your healthcare focus UNC and Duke would be great options given their healthcare concentrations and strong recruitment in these domains. NJ has a lot of pharma companies so you can consider NYU and Cornell as well but the GMAT maybe a constraining factor since its a borderline score for these programs.

Outside the US, IMD can be a pretty solid program since a lot of pharma companies based in Swiss and they tend to place quite well in the region. Not heard too much of pharma / healthcare recruitment from the Spanish school but again I maybe mistaken. HEC is a solid option for pan EU recruitment, so it can open doors to pharma companies in the larger EU region.

Hope that helps? Do reach out to us at [email protected] if you have any further queries. All the best!

Hm… UNC it would be a good school for someone looking at consulting. Scholarship chance is also good.

Kelley can also be included as well as Tepper and Jones.

Maybe Darden.

Hello, here are some U.S. business schools where you may have a chance of receiving substantial scholarships:

1. Emory University - Goizueta Business School: Since you mentioned an interest in consulting, Goizueta's strong consulting connections and smaller class size could work in your favor. They do offer merit-based scholarships, and your GMAT score and work experience could make you a competitive candidate.

2. University of North Carolina - Kenan-Flagler Business School: UNC Kenan-Flagler is known for its strong consulting and finance programs. With a GMAT score of 730 and your background in commercial banking, you could be a competitive applicant for scholarships.

3. Indiana University - Kelley School of Business: Kelley is known for its strong alumni network and career services. Your GMAT score and post-MBA goal of consulting align well with what Kelley offers. They also have various scholarships available for qualified candidates.

4. Georgetown University - McDonough School of Business: Georgetown's location in Washington, D.C., can be advantageous if you're interested in consulting, especially in areas like public sector consulting. They offer scholarships based on merit, so your GMAT score and work experience could help your case.

5. Vanderbilt University - Owen Graduate School of Management: Owen offers merit-based scholarships, and your GMAT score and career progression could make you a strong contender. They also have a Career Management Center that helps students transition into consulting roles.

6. Michigan State University - Eli Broad College of Business: Broad College offers scholarships for students with strong academic and professional backgrounds. Your GMAT score and career path align with their strengths in supply chain and consulting.

7. Ohio State University - Fisher College of Business: Fisher offers scholarships for competitive candidates, and your GMAT score and work experience could make you eligible. They also have a strong career management office to help you achieve your consulting goals.

When applying for scholarships, make sure to highlight your achievements, leadership experiences, and how your background aligns with each school's values and strengths in your application essays and interviews.

Good luck with your MBA applications!
MBA and Beyond

Hi, I recommend you choose your top 6 schools with a balance of reach and safety. High-reach schools are those where admission with scholarship could be difficult even with an exceptional application. But given your switch from IT to banking, I would take that bet. I would suggest considering Tepper, Cornell, Darden, and Columbia. You have already received several recommendations for safety schools. Surely consider Marshall as I see high chance of substantial scholarship and the school has gone up the rankings. Also, speaking from experience, I have seen finance profiles with full rides at Marshall.


Get personalized advice tailored to your specific situation. Do not hesitate to reach out to us if you need help navigating your unique circumstances in the B School admissions process. We do not cap discussion hours with our applicants

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

Thank you. Will be reaching out personally.

SDA, ESADE and HEC will place you quite well in the local market but the challenge will be the language restrictions and banks are known to prefer locals who can interact with clients. If IB is your career plan, think of schools in UK like LSE, Warwick, Oxbridge as they will open doors to London Banking which is well established globally and doesnt have language restrictions.

Are you thinking consumer goods or software products?

Your profile seems solid, skillsets and transferable and ISB places quite well for PM roles. The career transition should be feasible and I would encourage you to build a solid application that can enhance your chances for the admission process.

Wow! Fantastic profile. Can I recommend you look into Sloan Fellows or Stanford MSx? These may be more fitting FT programs that attract more experienced candidates.

P.S. Are you OK taking a 2-year break or 18 month break from your Businesses?

I think many MBA programs would love to have you, but I think many of them would also love to see you in their EMBA class - you have a great and strong profile. Have you considered EMBA potentially? That would allow you running your business and fly in for classes once a month while networking with other more experienced candidates looking for Exec promotions. The admission path would be significantly easier and you could count on programs such as Booth, Kellogg, and Wharton EMBA's for example, but they would not give you F1 visa or OPT after graduation on the flip side.

Will try to give me 2 cents based on your situation, guessing your business is located in the UK? In that case why not think of some solid programs in the UK like LBS, Oxbridge, IMD etc. They will give you access to local alumni that can play an important role in helping you expand your business, plus you will be closer and can take a passive role in running it from campus (maybe appoint someone else in the transition period)
For mid career professionals i.e. 10years+ work ex, the options are fairly limited to Stanford MSx and MITSF, Emory 1 year and USC IBEAR are other programs open to folks with significant exp. Your experience in the FT class may not meet your expectations as those typically tend to attract folks from 3-8 years of work ex. EMBA tends to be over the weekend / weekday so no point doing cross continent travel.

I like your list. Maybe add Darden? And for safety you can also add Emory?

Thank you for help. I will look at this.

Missing out some great options for Ops focused career. Would recommend giving Kelley a serious thought. Mccombs can be a decent fit, but the GMAT will be on the borderline for the school, so you can consider Rice. In the Bay Area you can think about Marshall to leverage your background in Energy and pivot to Cleantech focused consulting roles.
Darden and Fuqua maybe ambitious given the lower GMAT score and background in Energy. Johnson may not align well with your profile. Ross will be a good fit from a profile and career standpoint, but the GMAT will be a hurdle.

All the best luck!!!

Interesting. I see a lot of people thinking of pursuing consumer products. Is this physical goods or products like apps for consumers?

The choice of school would be heavily dependent on your location. Having worked with various folks on the Flex MBA formats, the main criteria to keep in mind is the location and flexibility of the program since you will continue to be employed. Tepper, NYU, Ross, Anderson, Haas all have some solid flex options where you can tailor the program to your needs while leveraging their community and its offering. Do a little bit more deep dive into the formats to determine a fit.

All the best and do reach out at [email protected] for any further queries.

Hey Jeff, it's always good to see another folk from Vietnam. I'm happy to give my two cents.

1. It seems that your WE is on the lower side as most B-schools have a median WE of 5 years. Although there are definitely outliers, who have less than two years of WE, these outliers tend to compensate for their low WE by excelling at other factors of the application (elite GMAT score; elite undergrad; strong brand and quality of the work, i.e. having big names (Big4 & MBB) on resume; strong leadership in extracurricular). I saw you list 1.3 years in your WE, which means you'll have 3.3 years by the 2025 intake, which is still on the lower side.

2. What's your role at IFC? Merely mentioning "working" is vague. You should highlight your strengths, either leadership, collaboration, innovation, etc. Furthermore, to what extent do you "helping a startup fundraising and some other projects in the past"? Are you in charge of hosting events, inviting sponsors, budgeting after securing the funds, etc.? The more specific, the better.

3. You also mentioned, "Previously worked for an international PE firm but not really well known". Again, what did you do?

4. Your extracurricular sounds solid, as you mentioned you've shown leadership.

5. Goals: You are correct in that an MBA will help you do two things - either help you pivot your career fast, or help you check the box, i.e. some senior positions require an MBA. I know you have a year to think about the whole process, but here are some questions about the goal: You don't necessarily need an MBA to "hone your personal skills". Other than the reason that an MBA will help you climb the ladder, you can specify how an MBA can help you make a greater impact when you combine an MBA and your WE at IFC. Also, considering you will stay on the same path, you may want to consider a 1 year MBA instead of a traditional 2 years.

6. To address your concerns/questions: Sure, having a big brand will help you, but only to a certain extent. To quote another fellow gmatcluber "So, what matters the most is the quality of work, leadership skills, how you present it to the school, GMAT scores, LORs, interviews, and other factors. Everything plays a very important role in the B School selection process. "Brand" Names play a negligible role in the overall process. If you can prove that working with diverse clients makes you a better leader or helps you towards your goals, go with the 2nd option." In other words, you are correct with the "substance over form".

7. Unfortunately, I don't think I've gained enough experience to speak to your choice of schools. But the best way to find out whether your schools are suitable for you is to speak to current students or alumni. It's super easy to reach them via the school's website, or even via the gmatclub. It's best if you can look for someone who shares your profile background and goal, or as they call it, a "twin resume".

8. On a personal note, I wouldn't worry too much about all of the aforementioned, except for the GMAT, as you still have the GMAT is a gateway to get your MBA. When you're done with the GMAT, then worry about the rest, because I know things might not go as you plan. I once thought it'd take me only 3 months to cross that 700 score (as I'd seen so many success stories like that). But it took me way longer than that.

Anyway, sorry if this is such a long post. But hope you find some of my suggestions helpful. Slay the GMAT and best of luck on your journey!

Hi, thanks so much for sharing your two scents. It is super insightful for me!
Regarding my role at IFC, the nature of work is impact investing and my team has managed to close a really impactful transaction recently. As a supranational org, IFC is pretty hierarchical and given my entry level I do not have much room to showcase leadership or create strong impacts (things are pretty much standardized and specialized in IFC). I do have some innovation and even attempts to take on responsibilities that are beyond my scope (e.g. deal sourcing which is my boss' responsibility but not really successful so far)
That's why I'm trying hard to pull off my freelance jobs to hopefully showcase entrepreneurship/leadership/networking skills and some uniqueness in my profile (I sourced the deal and now work independently with my client in this deal). I'm basically involved in all steps of fundraising from financial strategy, building pitch deck to engaging potential investors and supporting DD process.

Quite a few folks from VN this year! - here is a nice discussion in the HBS's admit's profile: https://gmatclub.com/forum/decision-tra ... 52925.html

Hi my fellow countrymen @Jeffrey_VN, @PeachSnapple1, I am applying for 2024 intake as well so it would be great to connect to help one another out. @Clover159 also from VN and is planning to take the GMAT in the coming months in case you guys need a study group or something.
@PeachSnapple1 Watched your story to 740 GMAT, really impressive and I think it'd make a hell of a story for your essay.
All, I have connected to some wonderful VN folks at HBS and would like to share their advice/ connections if you like.

Kudos on starting early and connecting. Good luck everyone 👍

Hi. Sorry about maxing out the GMAT attempts. I feel your score is good but not likely to receive any scholarship dollars.

You could try the GRE. Schools are not as generous with GRE scholarship dollars but if you get a great score, you could benefit from it. I probably would not waste a ton of time on converting to GRE. Perhaps spend the max of one month and then if you don’t get a great score, just focus on your applications.

In terms of the school choice, and if you’re looking for tech I would perhaps swap out McCombs for Foster. The level of jobs you get access to in Seattle is really hard to beat anywhere else. Obviously you have to perform but the abundance of alumni and the concentration of the alum base in Seattle really helps to grease the skids.

On the upside, I can see adding Kellogg. We had a memorable applicant last year from Taiwan and she went to Insead with 700 GMAT. She was going after consulting however.

In terms of your profile strengthening, the best thing you can do is get recognized in your job and get promoted or make more money. Basically the more successful you can be in your day job the better it is. It’s more important than extracurricular activities or pretty much anything else. The more brands you can get on your résumé the better as well, even if you have to jump around and change jobs. You want to create an image of a high-performing rising star, always out performing peers candidate.

Welcome to GMAT Club. As always good to see how mature experienced candidate. Keep in mind that unfortunately your experience sometimes can play against you. Admissions like to see progression and regular promotions and growth and seeing someone in the same role for an extended period of time can sometimes lower that career growth trajectory.

In your applications, you want to show growth and you want to demonstrate that you have outperformed your peers. Potentially it may not be visible in your promotions or résumé but it should be visible in some other ways. Maybe you have done things on the side or maybe you have Spend time doing some thing else. You just want to show that you basically are engaged in not sitting around or being complacent.

PS. Consulting is pretty competitive. And it will help you in recruiting and admissions if you have done public speaking or good with presentations and other client facing skills does consulting companies love to have for their MBA recruits.

Your GMAT is solid. The information you've shared is quite limited, making it challenging to provide specific feedback. But I would like to emphasize that MBA admissions committees primarily assess candidates based on the impact they've made in their professional sphere. Given your substantial experience across IT and PSU, showcasing a consistent pattern of career growth with tangible evidence of increased responsibilities is a critical aspect to highlight in your application. Given you have a public sector background, here are some ideas to get you thinking about your story. To begin with, put forth a strong narrative about your motivation to work in the public sector or IT. You may have interesting insights from working on the execution of projects that concern specific TGs. What problems did you identify and tried to solve? Demonstrate compassionate leadership through stories and iron will to mobilize such sectors post-MBA leveraging your prior experience in public sector and your increased business acumen after MBA. Be conscientious about your goals. This calls for more discussion and research but I think you can leverage your experience to get into a wide array of roles in advisory, consulting, startups, etc.

If you're seeking guidance for your B-school applications, I'd be more than willing to offer directional advice during an exploratory call to help you formulate the right strategy.

Get personalized advice tailored to your specific situation. We do not cap discussion hours with our applicants[b]

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