Hi RenB,
I absolutely love your profile and I am upbeat about your chances at the top 3 programs you have mentioned - just please get a good GMAT score. I'd pin my hopes on a 740+. Try pushing your prep to get to this.
Let me get into details of what I like:
1. work experience- you seem to have held a lot of leadership responsibilities, taken initiatives, done things for the first time ever (taken risks maybe?), and led them to their fruition. Being able to quantify the impact is an icing on the cake and I am glad you have been able to present some numbers here ( a lot of applicants struggle with this during the initial stages of their MBA preparation). Going by the nature of your work and the kind of people you work with, I can imagine it takes effort in pushing your vision among different stakeholders and getting the actual work done on the projects - this is what leadership is all about. Your target programs pay utmost importance to leadership (yeah, the habit of leadership!) and I believe from the description above that you would have some solid leadership stories to tell.
2. B-school selection - The second thing is, being able to tie your motive of doing business and doing good with the mission statements of most b-schools. From this perspective- there are some more programs you could look into - Yale, Columbia, MIT, Booth (has a big focus on social impact). As you have a flair for languages and you are seeking a very international MBA and work setting- consider the Lauder MBA. It will give you a lot more opportunities through global immersions and projects. If Hindi is your first language, you could take a qualifying test in Hindi ( I have worked with applicants with basic Hindi knowledge who passed the test). Outside the US, you could apply to LBS, Oxford and INSEAD (the last 2 are short duration - if that doesn't suit you)
3. Your Extra curricular activities are bang on- apply for Forte scholarship where you can, that will help you get some scholl $$ and also present several opportunities to contribute on campus. again, I see a lot of leadership work done.
4. Goals- this is a weak area right now. IMO you should do more research on the employers you have mentioned. My understanding is that while these recruiters
offer internships, they don't offer full time jobs to recent MBAs (I'd be happy to be corrected if i am wrong). Before responding to your message, I did look up on LinkedIn and did not find graduates straight out of HSW. Do note that some of these jobs go to PhDs and people with public policy degrees.
Impact investing is ok given your CA background, but those jobs are very limited, so it may be a challenge again. A possible career path could be to start with management consulting and eventually transition to your target companies.
I'd be happy to have further discussions with you should you be looking to work with a consultant. We have helped several applicants from the social sector.
RenB wrote:
Hi All,
I am 24 y/o Indian Female (25y/o at the time of application) seeking to apply in M7 colleges in R1 in 2023- HBS, GSB and Wharton are my target colleges.
I work as a State Program Officer with the UNICEF supported/run thinktank for the Department of Women and Child Development - Government of the state of Maharashtra (population over 112 million)
The mission reports to the senior-most bureaucrat (Principal Secretary) of the state Women and Child Development deptt and the UNICEF state nutrition head.
- I am a finance turned social impact professional:
Education-
1. Professional course- Chartered Accountancy (similar to US CPA, one of the most difficult exams of the country)
2. Master's in Business Management - CGPA 4.0
Gold medalist from one of the top 10 commerce colleges in India
3. Bachelor's in Commerce -
CGPA 3.74
Top 2% of class of 800+ in one of the top 10 commerce colleges in India
4. Diploma in French-
Level 4/6 from the official international French language accreditation institution (also assisted as a French interpreter for an Indian film short shoot)
5. Diploma in Spanish-
Level 4/6 from the official international Spanish language accreditation institution
(I love languages and engaging with people from different cultures- one reason why I wish to get an international MBA which has a diverse class)
- Work experience- 4 years 10 months (currently)
1. Government of Maharashtra/ UNICEF- Program officer- 8 months
2. Deloitte Consulting - Strategy and Buisness design - Social impact vertical- 1 year 2 months
3. Deloitte Risk Advisory -
Senior Associate- 1 year (Post graduation)
Associate - 2 years (Pre graduation)
Work hours- 7hours+, not an internship
Highlights-
1. Program officer:
a. 2nd National state Chief Secretaries' conference held with the Hon. Prime Minister - (the Chief secretary is the senior-most bureaucrat of the state)
- Worked in a team of 5 for the Principal Secretary of the Dept. and Chief Secretary of the State for the national strategy discussion conference for Economic empowerment of Women chaired by the Hon Prime minister
- Policy suggestions drafted by me taken up by the central government and orders issued
- Collaborated with the Central Ministry, 17 state ministries, senior bureaucrats, state officials from Maharashtra and 17 other states and non-profits to prepare the national theme strategy note
b. Asset monetization for vacant state land-
- Led negotiations for a project that would generate benefits (nutritious food and employment) valuing to ~$10mn annually for vulnerable women and children under state protection along with the first City-level intervention for severely acute malnourished children in Mumbai
- Leading development and pitching project proposals to CSR partners for funding strategic mission projects while coordinating with the department and UNICEF officials. No personnel had strategically reached out to corporates for project funding previously. Reached out to over 15 partners for projects valuing over $2.5 mn
- Introduced in-person quarterly organization meeting considering the traction in the organisation (It is a decentralised team working across the state- Divisional officers reported that they get less-face time, involvement with the seniors and sense of belonging to the organisation)
2. Consultant, Deloitte Consulting
- Early confirmation of fixed term contractor to payroll employee conversion within 5 months for exceptional performance before the completion of the contract period 12 months
- Responsible for programmatic and financial reviews for over 50 implementing partner (IP)/ NGO grants valuing over $10 million, in the fields of health, food distribution, Covid aid, education and skilling, etc. as a part of Corporate social advisory for global banks
• Introduced and co-authored a thought leadership POV on Adverse Childhood Experiences with Deloitte Monitor
• Initiated and led development of tools to help standardize periodic MIS reporting process for IPs by applying learnings from various reviews
• Responsible for financial evaluation of budget proposals of 15 IPs for Deloitte WorldClass’ $2mn grant- Deloitte Global’ s Corporate responsibility initiative in India. Drove budget standardization, negotiation and assisted final IPs’ selection
Extra Curriculars-
Chief Operating Officer- Deloitte SAMA (Strategy, Analytics and M&A) Women’s Network- 120-woman practitioners across the country
• Hosted leadership connect with the Executive Director, Deloitte Consulting as a motivational session to encourage women for leadership roles
• Hosted conversation with Partner/ Climate and Sustainability leader, Deloitte Consulting for Earth Day connect
Volunteering-
- Introduced and developed course content module for an NGO
- Mentor for a 14 y/o girl from a municipal school - program aimed to increase the self-esteem of economically challenged children from municipal schools for better transition into high schools and jobs
College Extra Curriculars-
1. Miss Mumbai University 2018-19-
Awarded for leadership, personality and management skills among total 9 judging parameters for the University Youth festival- 700+ colleges affiliated with the Uni
2. College Contingent leader for Youth festival- Led and managed a team of 50+ and won the prestigious festival
3. Founding chairperson of the 1st TEDx event in the college-
team of over 50, event reach 5000+
The event now takes place every year
4. Founder- French Forum
Efforts led to the first 10-day student immersion in Paris
Post MBA goals-
a. Overall strategy/ lead role in leading global funding agencies (eg- the BMGF) or international agencies like World Bank and UNICEF
Why- While working with the government, I observed the importance of voicing one's ideas at the decision table and having a good network to get a seat at the table. I could leverage the intersection of finance and social impact skills and this is why I wish to get an MBA at this point of my life to polish my skills better and get involved in important global strategies for social impact, especially for women and nutrition through an extended network
b. VC - impact investing and blended finance
Impact financing, especially blended finance is a means to collaborative, impactful and long term social impact. Through my interaction with professionals from the sector across India and Africa, I could understand that an MBA can open the gates to non-entry level roles in the impact investing space. An MBA will help me get a bumped up career beginning in the impact investing space.
GMAT score-
Targeting 730-750
Currently at 710 level
Would need financial aid
Target schools
HBS, GSB, Wharton
(September 2023 application cycle)
Requesting your comments and guidance regarding the following -
1. Overall profile
2. Areas in which I can work on
3. Target GMAT score to get a scholarship
close
11 Apr 2023, 17:39
