Columbia Profile Evaluation - Tools for B-School Profile Evaluation

Hi there, you have a well-rounded profile. However, given the competitiveness of your demographic, I think the US Top 10 schools will be quite a reach - to maximize your chances, I suggest 1. retaking gmat 2. working on your story of WHY you want to switch to corporate finance and 3. make a strong case for why CBS (or any target program) is a strong fit for you.

Hi mbaMissionNishaT

Thanks a lot for taking the time to evaluate my profile for free and also for the inputs.

WE: 7 years at enrollment
GMAT: 740
Undergrad: First class degree in Economics
Nationality: Indian Female
Work Ex:
1.5 years at large family office investing in early stage startups

1.5 years in growth at portfolio company

2.5 years leading digital marketing function at a high growth, well funded startup

Extra curriculars: played soccer, headed fundraising for large NGO focused on sport for development, chosen by UN Office on Sport for Development as one of Asia's too young leaders in the field.

Long goal: Growth equity investing in India. Started my career in early stage investing and worked at high growth startups to gain hands on operating in the growth function and really understand businesses better. Keen on Columbia in particular because of strong network in investing and the opportunity for school year internships.

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Hello sushruthi

The outline of your profile is decent (AKA stats or quantitative side).
If you can portray the 'qualitative' angle strongly in the written application, you have a fighting chance. (You can read here on what factors to focus on in your essays/LOR)
More than these bullet points, you should talk about career progression, achievements at work, impact in extracurricular.
The direction for career goals looks okay, but if you wish to work in India, 'why Columbia' is a question you should address. Needless to say, will also need to show what transferable skills you already have and what skill gaps your want Columbia to fill.
To conclude, you have the goods, now you need to deliver them.

Best
Varun Sharma
+919137133507
MBAkarma.com
GMAT Score Predictor
info@mbakarma.com

WE: 7 years at enrollment (Looking at Columbia's J term but open to regular term as well)
GMAT: 700
Undergrad: IIT (CGPA 6.5/10)
Nationality: Indian Male
Age: 32 (for January J-term, 33 for regular term)
Work Ex:

2 years at India's top 3 prop trading organisations - Fixed income trader and derivatives analyst

2.25 years founded, conceptualised, launched and scaled my company to more than 100,000 users globally and grew the team to 16 people.

1.5 years as product manager at India's 2nd largest e-commerce firms in the kids category, with more than a million users. Worked in India and China.

0.5 years as Senior product lead at India's largest retail firm (Reliance)

Extra curriculars: Captain of hostel soccer team at IIT Delhi, established an NGO focused on rehabilitating encephalitis affected families in UP and raised funds, passively manage family investment fund of corpus > INR 50 lakhs

Long term goal: Equity investing in startups (VC).

Hello Pillarsofcreation

Yours is a mixed bag. Work ex, IIT degree, career goals work for you.
Past academic record and GMAT don't. Especially when you are competing with other Indians and IIT-ians who are expected to score high on the GMAT. All the more so to compensate for an average past CGPA. You may read here on all the factors critical in your application.
Also, showcase how your career goals fit with Columbia and what skill gaps you want it to fill.

Best
Varun Sharma
+919137133507
MBAkarma.com
GMAT Score Predictor
info@mbakarma.com

Thank you for your swift response Varun.

What exactly do you mean by saying that my app is a 'mixed bag'. Do I stand a chance? Do you think I should be retaking the GMAT?

Hello Pillarsofcreation

As mentioned in my earlier post- Mixed Bag- A mix of Positive & Negative.
Positive is your work ex and IIT degree.
Negative is your GMAT and Acads.
To compensate for past acads and to stand out in the Indian applicant pool your GMAT is low. Whether you should retake is entirely your decision. I'd recommend it and target a 730+.

Best
Varun Sharma
+919137133507
MBAkarma.com
GMAT Score Predictor
info@mbakarma.com

Edit edit edit

-Profile: female, turkish, unmarried, 24
-Gmat: 730 (Q:48, V:41)
-Gpa: 3.93
-Bachelors: Business Administration & Economics double major in one of top 3 universities of TR
-Fulbright principle candidate for 2019
-Ielts: 8.0
-Work experience: 3 years in matriculation in brand management at Reckitt Benckiser and Pepsico, been promoted twice.
-Extracurricular: Student mentoring and teaching assistant at college and participation to student business clubs. Volunteer at AFS/YES (Youth Exchange Study) program.
-Others - Volleyball referee, part time assistant at a children’s art studio
-I plan to specialize in Marketing with a focus on corporate social responsibility
-Post-MBA goals: continue to work in FMCG sector in key marketing roles aiming to bring a social responsibility agenda for the brands I am to work for.
Your guidance is highly appreciated.

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WE: 5.5 years at enrollment
GMAT: 730 (Q50, IR8)
Education background: GPA 3.0 - Finance BA (from Hungarian university), Psychology BA and MA (from Hungarian universities) (GPA is low because simultaneously finished Finance and Psychology MA), CFA level 2
Nationality: Hungarian Male
Age: 31 (for regular term)
Work Ex:

2.5 years at a small Hungarian PE fund, that is europe-wise top10 (that is around top1%), boss is MIT Sloan graduate (recommendor)

3.0 years at an M&A boutique (that is owned by the PE fund), largest independent M&A firm in Hungary and market leader, boss is INSEAD graduate (recommendor)

Extra curriculars: BCG strategy cup winner, debate society founder and convenor of first major international debate championship, scholarships for debate championships (totaling USD 5k) vice president of local consulting club, mentoree of a local leadership program for graduates, co-founder and lead tutor at local university's financial laboratory, failed start up attempt (related to applying debate for organizations as organization developmet), just started an NGO to teach debate for high school students

Mid-term goal (3-15 years): work in american PE industry to gain wealth and knowledge
Long term goal (15-30 years): go back to Hungary, enter politics and develop education

Hi all,

would be thankful for your evaluation!

Background and nationality: BIG3 Consulting, Eastern Europe
Undergrad Information: top uni in an Easter European country (but not top in outside of the country), economics, stellar GPA
GMAT: 700 (Q45, V40)
Work experience and leadership: 2 yrs corporate finance, 2 years consulting
Community and others: lots of EC in undergrad, some good EC during work
Post MBA goals: short-term - consulting; long-term - not sure

Thanks

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Hi Experts,

It would be great if you could evaluate my profile for admission to Columbia

Nationality: Indian
Gender: Male
GMAT: 740

Education:
Undergrad: Electronics engineering from a well-known but Non IIT College. CGPA(3.82/4)
Post Grad: PGDM in Marketing and Communications with Digital Marketing Specialization from MICA, Ahmedabad (one of the Premium Marketing Schools in India) CGPA (3.7/4)

Work Experience: Around 5+ years

Pre-Masters Work Ex:
6 Months with India's top Automotive company Tata Motors Limited as Assistant Manager (Maintenance):Lead a team of 4 technicians in Tata Nano Retro-fitment drive to upgrade 2000 cars in record time.

14 months with a Fortune 500 MNC Bombardier Transportation as Application Engineer. Worked on product Firmware Application development, automation and testing for Delhi metro and Manhiem based German train projects. Interacted and dealt with cross-country and cross-functional stake holders with a lot of International exposure.

1 year in Business development for an Educational Start-up: Lead end to end customer acquisition initiatives for the company - right from events, liaison to institutional tie-ups and brand marketing.

Post Masters Work-ex:

1 year as Marketing Manager for an FMCG Start-up belonging to Dishman group of companies: Post my PGDM, I was inclined to a start-up role which would provide me with cross-functional role exposure with steep learning curve. As a Marketing Manager with the FMCG Start up, I led a team of 4 people and coordinated cross-functional team within the organization. Played a pivotal role in on-boarding the brand with major e-commerce portals and putting in place the digital marketing strategy for the start-up. Guided the brand’s e-commerce sales from scratch to Rs 0.6 million in year 1. Was promoted from Assistant Manager to Manager in 10 months.

2.5 years with Amazon India as Marketing Manager: Currently leading Category Marketing for 4 categories with business of Rs 40 crore per annum. Driving key projects pertaining to new customer acquisition and repeat purchases.
My experience has been good mix of technical aspects of digital analytics as well as strategic aspects of online and offline marketing projects relating to customer acquisition and cost optimization.

International Exposure: No International work travel per se but have worked with Germany based and US based teams to deliver on multiple projects while working at Bombardier and Amazon. At a personal level have traveled to Europe.

Extra-Curricular:
1. Half marathon Runner and fitness blogger.
2. I've won many school level and University level Debate competitions.
3. I have been part of multiple student organizations at both undergrad and Post grad level including Entrepreneurship cell.
4. I've won university and District level science/GK quiz competitions.

Community Service:
1. Co-founder of an NGO working for rural and tribal employment.
2. Have been a regular part of company based CSR initiatives including community teaching, cleanliness drives and hygiene awareness campaigns

Post MBA Goals:
I want to leverage my Marketing and Digital Analytics to work in a Strategy consulting role or a Product Management role of a big company to get exposure and eventually start my own venture.

Thanks:)

Hi there,

Basic info: 25 y/0, cis, white, hetero male, immigrant mom, attorney dad, born and raised in the Bay Area.

Education: Bachelors, University of California, Berkeley, 2015

GPA: 3.1 in Molecular and Cell Biology, researching Alzheimer's Disease for 3+ years in lab, hospital volunteering, premed, average GPA for major 2.7, took coursework in economics and finance but no degree. Coursework in finance and economics, specifically personal finance, sparked my interest in wealth management and led me to switch careers after graduation.

GMAT: 700 40V and 46Q. I'm registered to retake on November 10th. I did not do any official practice GMATs before so I'm hoping a few practice GMATS and some serious studying over the next 6 weeks will translate to a 740+ score.

Work Experience: 4+ years in Private Wealth Management (PWM) as an associate to a Financial Advisor (FA) at Morgan Stanley. I started my career at Stifel Nicholas and have good relationships with my managers and FAs with whom I worked who would write me letters of recommendation. There is no path to promotion at Stifel Nicholas in PWM and thus I was never promoted which is why I switched firms to Morgan Stanley. I now work with a Forbes Top 100 FA at Morgan Stanley as his associate running financial plans, performance reports and other administrative tasks. I'm expecting a promotion in December 2018 at the 1.5 year mark pending my continued strong performance in my current role to a more quantitative role in PWM.

Coursework: CFA Level 1 Pass (2016) first time, Series 7/66 licenses (2015) pass first time. Quickly learned after first year at Stifel that I had a lot to learn about finance if I had any hopes and dreams of making a successful career in the industry so pursued CFA Charter to strengthen my knowledge and fundamental understanding of finance. Series exams were specific to my role and space, provided me with an appreciation and fundamental understanding of securities.

Volunteering: I've been working for the Berkeley Chess School for 3+ years since I was a senior in undegrad. I teach chess to elementary school kids in afterschool programs around the Bay Area. I was in an afterschool chess program in elementary school and think that chess education from a young age does amazing things for young minds. I believe it instilled in me the importance of studying, thinking strategically and planning, which is what I try to instill in my students.

Interests: I do triathalons and love endurance racing. In reality, I'm an enthusiast and weekend warrior, not a competitive or professional athlete. I've done the Santa Cruz 70.3 and Santa Rosa 70.3 Ironman races. I'm training for the full Ironman Vancouver in 2019 and a 50k run in 2019.

I used to be a competitive club chess player 1700 ELO rating before I started studying for the GMAT and lost my life to the application process, work and studying. I hope to one day play competitively at the club level and achieve an expert rating.

I played classical piano and studied theory for 10 years when I was younger but have not had time to pick it back up again with work and life taking up all my time.

I played soccer at UC Berkeley on the Club Soccer Team but never considered it to be a big part of my identity or who I am - it was more an outlet for me to release energy and I simply enjoyed competitive sports for the spirit of competition.

Goals: I'm interested in breaking in Investment Banking at a BB or Boutique firm post MBA with the 5+ year goal of breaking into VC/PE/Strategy at a start-up. 10+ years I want to work for an interesting start-up or F500 company in a strategic finance role in the financial technology space.

Schools:

Reach: Columbia (#1 school), Haas, Stanford, Harvard, Booth, Kellogg, Tuck, Sloan

Target: Stern, Fuqua, Johnson, Ross, Oxford

Back-Up: Marshall

I'd appreciate feedback on my profile, story, goals and target.

I'm acutely aware that I have a low GPA and it gives me tons of anxiety - eep.

I'm hoping my CFA level 1 pass, background in finance at MS, 46Q and Series 7/66 can persuade AdComs that I'm smart and will succeed in a rigorous finance program. If I score a 740+ and/or do better on the GMAT at all in Novemeber do you think it is better to wait and apply early decision next cycle to increase my chances of getting in or should I go ahead an apply round 2 for most schools with the potentially higher score.

Can I get into any of my reach schools? Target schools? Back-up?

Hi - thanks for writing! This is a lot of detail, so I think it'll be easier to discuss over the phone. You can sign up here for a 30-min. free consultation: https://www.mbamission.com/consult/?dis ... admissions

Hi, thanks for your time!
Please evaluate my profile:

Background and nationality : Russian male, 29.

Undergrad Information : started Math and IT degree in home city, after 3 years decided to change my life and moved abroad to study Industrial management ( bachelor of engineering )

GMAT: 740 q49 v41

Work experience and leadership: PE and consulting. Current position: Senior associate .
Managed up to 10 (as a part of projects).

Community and others: unfortunately not much. When I studied in Finland I made a trip to hometown to visit 6 high schools to inform pupils about opportunities to study for free abroad ( made presentation and video with interviews of current students )

Post MBA goals :
Tech or consulting (maybe entrepreneurship )


Once again thank you very much for your time.
Also if somebody has an offer to help me with admission consulting please send me PM

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Hi, and thanks for writing! Your GMAT is quite good. As for your GPA, while it is low the program will take into consideration that you worked while studying, so do mention that in your optional essay.

It sounds like you have some solid and progressive work experience - the key will be to highlight your progression and impact on your resume and have your recommenders attest to your performance and potential.

As for extracurricular involvement, the example is good but ideally you'd have more for such a competitive program. Any chance you can continue being involved in mentorship programs?

Happy to chat with you about mbaMission's services as well as your profile - I recommend signing up for a free 30-min consultation with me here as a first step: https://www.mbamission.com/consult/?dis ... admissions

Look forward to connecting!