Profile evaluation for IIM, ISB, INSEAD, HEC, Duke Fuqua, Tuck, IESE, GMAT Classic 700, Consulting background, from India

gmatclub

Comments 6 comments

2 years ago

Hi. I can’t comment a whole lot in the ISB and IIM but I would recommend spending the next month or two deciding as to which country would like to be for the next three years after graduation. And there’s quite a bit of difference in the application process send my guess recruiting depending on which country or line of schools you go. Keep in mind that for the US programs you need to have at least 740 to be competitive or higher GMAT. Otherwise, I feel your profile fits well with your goals. Good luck!

scrantonstrangler

Thanks for the review @bb. I am quite confused between Europe and the US. Might have to put in more time on researching. Just wanted to know if 3.8 years of WE is good to apply to US/Europe? (3.8 is calculated as on January 2024)

Sure! Good question and good point. I missed the WE aspect 😇 Anything over 2 years is the min for most MBA programs. 3.5 years is in the lower side but if you have some promotions, good projects or experience, that will work. However if you don’t have good projects under your belt or a promotion, it may be better timing to wait when you have 4.5 years… that tends to be around average WE in top 10.

I think my WE with EY takes care of both aspects

I started as a Senior Analyst, got promoted to Associate Consultant in 6 months and then to a Consultant in the next 10 months. Also, my current project involves managing stakeholders in Europe/SE Asia/Canada and India. In any case, I am yet to give my GMAT (booked for May 20th, 2023). I have worked with AIESEC in my undergraduate days and there is some volunteering in my current job too. Please let me know your thoughts! And Thanks again!

MBAGuide

Hi, INSEAD alum here. Your list of schools is broad, which is good. However, having only one school from the US on your list will make the odds too narrow, if you really are open to the idea of moving to the States. Also, if you want to improve the odds I would suggest applying to the early rounds at Duke (and Tuck maybe). Both schools are consulting powerhouses.
HEC Paris and INSEAD can be good options in the EU. If you are serious about these schools, I would advise that you start networking early, get some facetime with the school reps, attend webinars and show some genuine interest. Honestly, there will be plenty of applicants with international job stints and consulting backgrounds, so your competition is going to be fierce from within this cohort. You need to unpack your experiences and reconstruct your stories in a way that shows working on strategy projects at E&Y has given you much more hands-on experience, more experiential maturity, and more capability to contextualize business problems (specific to your area of work) than most other consultants (somehow!). The applications are lengthy as well with 5-6 essays, so if you want to stand a decent chance, you will have to burn some midnight oil.
I think you will be a good fit for ISB, but you will barely meet the threshold for IIM A eligibility as far as your 3.8 years of work experience goes. If you want to get into top-tier consulting companies or strategy roles, I would recommend picking IIM A over ISB in case you get both admits. IIM A is a much smaller cohort (but also highly selective). Needless to say, target a high GMAT.
Feel free to DM or write to us at mbaguideconsulting@gmail.com to request a candid feedback session on your profile.

Thanks for the revert!
I will be in touch as soon as I have a decent score