Awesome profile and great goals! It is great you have been able to bounce back after setbacks with COVID, etc. This is a big welcome sign for the AdCom as they can see resilience and perseverance. These are very important at school where they are many setbacks, failed interviews, and opportunities.

I think the IMPACT investing is an awesome goal. At the same time, Impact PE and IB are very competitive fields. There are not many funds and the people who want to work there are often retired and very wealthy and so there is no lack of candidates and the number of MBA positions is scarce. I think this is a great long-term goal (and potentially even a goal right after bschool) but I would do your research among the Impact investment firms to make sure they are actually hiring, have positions, and they are feasible for someone graduating from Columbia, HEC, ISB, etc. You want to do that research in a few ways (e.g. just search for impact firms but better connect with a few students to see what they recommend. You can find an ambassador on their website and ping them). P.S. We did a Columbia application walkthrough session last week with a consultant and new student - highly recommend it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZHhfMEVZcc

-BB

Hi MPD_22,

Thanks for sharing your profile and MBA aspirations. My name is Priyanka, Client Manager at ARINGO.

You have a lot going on in your profile which makes it unique and interesting. Both your GPA and GMAT are strong- Good job!

Your career goals look fine as this is a logical extension of what you are doing presently. I think your current role and work experience are very relevant for an MBA. I would like to know more about your managerial experience, did you have any promotions and if you have any international exposure, but all in all your professional experience is good and relevant 😊.

I would like to know more about other factors like hobbies, community work experience, etc. I really feel that with your current profile and some kick-ass applications (we can help with that), you will get into one of the schools!

If you send me your CV and other info on PRIYANKAK@ARINGO.com, I would love to connect you with our CEO who will be happy to help further with a detailed review and perhaps work together on some amazing apps.

All the best

Hi MPD_22

you show signs of a true hustler. Very impressive indeed.

Impact investing can require significant effort to transition and may not be possible to attain immediately post-MBA, especially in a new geographic context since I see some American schools on your target list. It is important to be realistic about your goals and strategically communicate them to the admissions committee. You will have to tailor your goals depending on the school and geography, and how soon can you achieve them.

To further underscore your interest in impact consulting, you can demonstrate your motivation to grow by, for example, interning during 2 year MBA, participating in projects, or shadowing industry leaders in entry-level positions (having some prior experience adds a lot of value). Even if you don't have much experience in this area, showcasing your willingness to go the extra mile significantly bolsters the credibility of your aspirations.

At the same time, practicality is important. For example, it's imperative that you demonstrate your intimate knowledge of the current state of the impact investment industry in the geographic region you're targeting and, if applicable, present your network in this area. As a result, business schools expect a realistic assessment of how your background can strategically position you in the impact industry, specifically for a particular sector or region.

To be honest, given the current rigor in the impact investment space in India, I think it can be a very viable goal for applying to ISB or IIM A. However, for US schools you must research further.

Overall, I see much potential in your profile, but you must connect the dots to present a strong case to the top B Schools.

You are also a strong candidate for Top European/EU schools such as INSEAD , HEC and LBS.

Best wishes

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

Hey MPD_22,

Hard luck with your entrepreneurial and consulting stint, rejection can be heart breaking but also an avenue to showcase your ability to bounce back and come out stronger. B schools love candidates who have gone through rejections / failures and have shown grit and determination to come out as better persons from these challenges. You have some great stories to talk about in your applications.

Coming to your profile, you have good academics and a decent GMAT score which will be a positive on the academic aptitude front. Your work ex also falls in the underrepresented industries so that will be a positive since you will be avoiding the overrepresented pools of the MBA applications. Your short term goals maybe your biggest challenge since in the US market there are handful of opportunities on the Investing side for international students leave alone Impact Investing will be a further niche within that broader bucket. Also, most of the firms that do Impact Investing will be on the smaller size and hence wont have the resources to sponsor international students and liase with US immigration to keep you in the country in the short term. Having said that you can think about Sustainability Consulting which is a new focus area for a lot of big and small consulting firm and they will definitely see your value add in their teams. We have worked with multiple clients who have gone down the route since its an expanding space within the broader consulting industry.

Outside the US, the EU will be a great fit from a career standpoint given their aggressive stance towards net Zero and furthering the ESG mandate within the EU countries. IMD, will probably be a really good bet from that standpoint along with LBS and INSEAD. But please remember that opportunities within EU will be fairly limited since its smaller market and that constrained by language issues, but you can definitely target some opportunities in UK, Middle East and more English speaking EU countries. Since the visa constrains are no that big of a hurdle in EU, you can even end up with some boutique and niche firms who are looking very seriously at Sustainability theme.

Hope that helps? In case you have any further questions, drop us a mail at info@thembaedge.com.

All the best for the upcoming application cycle.