Profile evaluation for ISB, LBS, INSEAD, HEC, Wharton, Cambridge Judge, Said, GMAT Focus 665, Energy background, from India

gmatclub

Comments 3 comments

2 days ago

First of all, so sorry to learn about your Mum. I genuinely hope you are able to carry forward her public service work through the NGO you hope to establish one day. Just one suggestion here- why wait for the long term (10-15 years from now) to do this? you could work towards this cause in a small capacity even now.

A few observations on your profile:
1. You have worked in two very different industries. While its clear that you had a successful inning at the EPC company, what were your achievements at the accountancy business? It will really help if you provide context in your applications about the move to this business, your motivation for it and how you made the business better, possibly leveraging your experience in a larger organization with more defined structures and SOPs.

2. It sounds like the chemical trading business is a new venture, with no proven success as yet. It may be too early stage to pin your long term goals in this. While many applicants mention consulting>>entrepreneurship career pathway, you will need to think through the finer details such as - what is the career vision that drives your long term goal, why, what experiences have you built so far that support this goal? how will consulting be the right pathway to transition into entrepreneurship?

3. Your ECAs around Toastmasters show depth of experience. As you founded a chapter and held a leadership role at another one, its easy to say you are passionate about public speaking. If you motivated other people to join the club and helped them improve their skills, that will make for impactful stories for sharing in the applications.

To answer your specific questions-
1. your b-school list looks largely attainable. Wharton is the reach school here and I wonder why you have just one US b-school. Several choices will open up if you retake the GMAT and achieve a better score (705+)

2. Yes, A GMAT retake would be very helpful. Your score would be below the class average at both Wharton and LBS. Later if you plan on applying to more US based MBA programs, you would still want to apply with a higher test score.

3. School selection is more meaningful once you have a valid GMAt score.

4. Scholarships are usually granted to applicants on the strength of their applications. So its important you demonstrate a well rounded and strong profile through your applications and interview.

5. As I mentioned earlier, while the path is alright, its your rationale for this career and its feasibility that would matter most.

DO schedule a Zoom call with me for a more indepth profile discussion.

Namita Garg,
Founder, MBA Decoder
Email: [email protected]
Reach out to us for a Profile Evaluation

dee1pug1

1 day ago

IMHO, for an Indian male engineer profile, the GMAT would need a bump up by 30+ points. This will be even more important if you are dependent on a scholarship. Not sure if you are preparing already. R1 deadlines aren't far, and without a final score, any school selection is flawed. Your narratives will hold the key, and there is potential to build them cohesively.
- Dee
MBA admissions consultant and management consultant | E: [email protected] | https://www.linkedin.com/company/success-catalysts/

MBAandBeyond

11 hours ago

Thanks for sharing youe profile, @Aadilshaikh5. Saddened to learn about your loss and wishing you strength.

Let's start with your positives:
1. Being a gold medalist and rank 1 Chemical Engineer immediately gets attention. You have already addressed any academic concerns.
2. Energy transition story- Your experience is far more interesting than a traditional manufacturing or operations profile. Working on LNG, gas-to-gasoline, energy infrastructure and multi-billion-dollar projects, creates a strong platform for consulting. The global push toward energy security, transition, and infrastructure investment makes this experience highly relevant.
3. Zambia assignment- This may become one of the strongest parts of your application. Most applicants have volunteer experience, very few have international development exposure, USAID collaboration and on-ground work in Africa. This is essay gold if framed properly.
4. Healthcare NGO vision- Authentic motivation. Make it part of the broader leadership narrative.

Concerns:
1. Family business transition- This is the area admissions committees will scrutinize. They will ask:
Why leave engineering?
Why join a CA firm?
What exactly do you do there?
How much responsibility do you have?
Is there measurable impact?

You need strong answers. Without them, it risks looking like a career detour.

With good positioning, it can become, Engineering > Business exposure > Consulting > Entrepreneurship which can be much stronger.

GMAT retake? Yes, if you can realistically reach 695+.

Questions for you:
1. Family Firm- What specific responsibilities do you own? Revenue? Clients? Business development? Operations? Without specifics, this story remains weak.
2. Chemical trading business- Have you actually started? Revenue? Customers? Suppliers? Growth? Even small traction matters.
3. Zambia- What changed in your thinking because of this experience? This could become a defining essay.
4. Healthcare NGO- What actions have you already taken? Adcoms reward evidence, not aspirations.

The deciding factor will be whether you can present a coherent story that connects engineering, business, consulting, entrepreneurship, and social impact into one leadership journey.

The real question is, are you positioning your experiences as separate achievements, or as evidence of the leader you are becoming? That's where the game changes.

You can take a look at these blogs and success stories: Ms. Project Manager (Family Business), Reapplicant with 8 years of experience and Low GPA, got into INSEAD | Mr. Director (Family Business) got into Manchester with a 630 GMAT and scholarship | Importance of Personal Anecdotes in Your MBA Application | How to bring collinearity in your post-MBA goals?

We would love to learn more about your academic background, extracurricular activities, work experience, family business, and personal journey so that we can provide a tailored profile evaluation and an honest school assessment. Feel free to book an evaluation session.

Cheers!
Shantanu Sharma, INSEAD Alumnus
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond