Harvard Profile Evaluation - Tools for B-School Profile Evaluation

Hello Marcof11,

I hope you are doing well. You have a strong foundation for applying to top MBA programs, and your plan to target the HBS 2+2 program is a great start. Your impressive academic record in your double master's program is a significant strength. A 4.0 GPA from both Bocconi University and the University of South Carolina demonstrates your intellectual capabilities and commitment to academic excellence. While a 710 is a strong score, aiming for a higher score in the 95th percentile or above, as you plan to do, is a good strategy, especially when applying to ultra-competitive programs like HBS. A higher GMAT score will strengthen your application.

Your nearly 5 years of part-time work experience in marketing and consulting, along with your leadership roles and project management responsibilities, showcase your practical skills and ability to handle significant responsibilities. Your involvement in a tech startup, even if it wasn't wildly successful, is a valuable experience that demonstrates your entrepreneurial mindset, risk-taking, and adaptability. Being trilingual is a valuable asset, particularly for a global MBA program. It demonstrates your adaptability and potential to work in diverse international settings.

Although you've begun participating in charity initiatives, it's essential to highlight any leadership roles, initiatives, or achievements in your extracurricular activities to demonstrate your well-roundedness and impact outside of work. Ensure that your post-MBA goals in management consulting and premium automotive brands are clearly articulated in your application, and explain why an MBA is the logical next step toward achieving those goals.

In summary, you have a competitive profile, but it's essential to craft a compelling application that highlights your unique experiences, skills, and potential contributions to the MBA program. Focus on addressing the areas of improvement mentioned above, and consider seeking strong letters of recommendation that can speak to your accomplishments and potential.

Good luck with your HBS 2+2 application, and feel free to explore other top MBA programs as well to diversify your options.

We offer a limited number of complimentary profile evaluations each week. We match you with the students and alums of top B-Schools according to your background and target schools. In this call, the experts will try to dig out your USP for top B-schools and provide you with honest feedback on your profile and chances to your target schools.

Book a free profile evaluation call now!

Neha Hadke
Strategy Manager
Testimonials
Meet our Panel of Consultants.
Email: neha@mbaandbeyond.com
MBA and Beyond

Hello experts,

Please help to share feedbacks on my profile to HBS. I know my profile is a bit on the lower end of HBS admission, but HBS is my dream school, so I plan to apply in R2.I want to have a realistic view to allocate time & effort efficiently between schools for this cycle.

Thank you in advance!

Demographics
- Female. 26 y/o. Vietnam
- First generation college student. My dad fought in the Vietnam war (communist side) (Is this a thing worth mentioning in my application?)

Academics
- GMAT: 720 Q50 V36 IR8. Planning a retake, but worst case, I'll go with 720
- Undergrad: Finance in a top school in VN, but not a high-ranked global uni (it has 2-3 HBS alums/current students though). UG UPA is 2.72/4 (Top 50th percentile I guess)
At the time I'm not interested in Finance so I focused on Business competition and internship instead (Won 3-4 national competition 3000+ participants, shortlisted for the National Young Lion (Advertising) competition)

WE 5 years in Marketing, 2 years as a manager for a top F&B company in VN ($1B in Revenue, 1000+ employees). Recently got promoted to lead a category and report directly to CEO cum CMO when my Director resigned. The company I worked for is just around 20 years old, so I've been through the hardest time under crisis in growth with this company. I used to work for a global F&B company for more than one year. 4 promotions during 5 years. 2 awards (employee of the quarter, 2019 & 2023)

EC
- In uni: Club president, leading my class in win the Uni Cup in 1st year. Head of Marketing of a city-scale student club. Coach for primary students
- During work: I'm currently leading a women-focus CSR innitiative in Rural Vietnam for my company

LoRs One Senior Marketing Director who knows me really well. As for the other one, I'm deciding between: 1 manager who used to work with me few years ago, knows me really well outside of work, or 1 C-suite - Chief Sale Officer, he's willing to help but maybe the narrative is not that strong.

Career Goals Impact investing focused on women-led or rural-based enterprises in SEA (It's my goal. But is it problem to the AdCom when I was bad in Finance in Uni but now want to pursue investment? Should I alter my goal?)

Could you help to give feedbacks an a few recommendations for my HBS application? And do you have any suggestions about other schools I should target? MBA is a big investment for me, so I can only afford to take a loan if I go to T15 or Top 20 Global schools. I'm also looking for an admission consultant who can help me specifically in my HBS application.

Thank you so much.

👋 Hey KynnN,

Here is a detailed profile evaluation for you!

Academics 🎓📊
➡️ GMAT Score of 720: While it's highly impressive, considering a retake for HBS and aiming for a 740+ can add an advantage to your application, especially when considering the competitive pool.
➡️ Undergrad Performance: While the GPA might not be a standout, excelling in national competitions showcases your ability to shine when you're passionate. You should focus on adding quantifiable results.

Professional Experience 🏆📈
➡️ 5 Years in Marketing: Leadership roles in a top F&B company, especially at a young age, is commendable. Promotions and recognitions, like being awarded Employee of the Quarter, twice, highlight your contributions.
➡️ Crisis Management: Experiencing the company's challenging growth phase offers a unique narrative. B-schools appreciate candidates who've weathered storms and come out stronger.

Extracurricular Activities 🤝🎖
➡️ University: Leading roles, both academically and in student organizations, provide a holistic image of your leadership potential. Coaching primary students offers a mentoring perspective.
➡️ Professional Life: Leading a CSR initiative focused on women in Rural Vietnam speaks to your community engagement and drive for positive societal impact. Try adding examples about the initiative and results.

Letters of Recommendation (LoRs) 📝
➡️ Senior Marketing Director: A robust recommendation from someone who's seen your growth, strengths, and potential is invaluable.
➡️ Choices for Second LoR: Opt for the manager who knows you well. Authenticity and depth in the narrative will hold more weight than a title alone.

Career Goals 🌱
➡️ Impact Investing: Given the increased global focus on impact investing, your goal resonates with the need of the hour. Though you had lesser interest in Finance during undergrad, your current role and future aspirations can be aligned by demonstrating the transferable skills and experiences you've garnered.

Target Schools: Based on the details and aspirations,
➡️ Dream: HBS (might be a stretch due its strong competitive pool), Wharton, Booth, Darden 🌟
➡️ Competitive: Michigan Ross, Duke Fuqua, Kellogg, Cornell 🎯
➡️ Safety: Foster, Arizona, University of Illinois⚓

To strengthen your application:
➡️ Narrative Strategy: Weave your experiences into a compelling story that accentuates growth, resilience, and leadership.
➡️ Address Academic Concerns: Use the optional essay to explain the GPA context without sounding defensive. Highlight your achievements like the business competitions as evidence of your capabilities.
➡️ Clarify Career Goals: Ensure coherence between past experiences, MBA aspirations, and future goals.

If you need more help, we'd be happy to set up a FREE call and give more pointers on how to improve your profile and the right schools you should target.

👉 Click Here to Set-Up a FREE Call 👈

Hello KynnN,

Thanks for sharing the details pertaining to your profile.

Your professional experience is dotted with promotions and leadership experiences and these will prove to be solid talking points in your essays.

Having said that, we do feel that to apply to HBS you should aim for a score in excess of 740 on the GMAT (the higher, the better); besides, you should also focus on re-calibrating your career goals in light of what you have already mentioned; a strong sync between what you have done so far (and what your strengths are) and what you wish to do is extremely crucial.

You will stand a good chance at programs ranked between US top ~14 and US top ~20 so you needn't worry about looking beyond this playground. This will be the case even with a 720 on the GMAT (provided you apply to schools that sync well with your proposed career goals).

Hope this helps.

All the best!

* 26M, African international but lived and worked in the US for a decade (Full tuition undergrad scholarship + started college at 16 years. 5 ish years of work experience)
* GPA: 3.51 ECE + Math minor (non-target)| GRE: 161Q/166V (worried about this but hope STEM degree + work experience speak to ability to handle analytical rigor)
* 5 YOE/will matriculate with 6 years.
* Hardware engineer @ F500 mfg giant -> tesla -> Meta -> another FAANG -> AI startup
* Co-founder of an Africa focused startup on the side
* R1: HBS, Columbia, Sloan
* EC: Led community org on campus for 2 years. Drove community involvement efforts for F500 company. Started an org during covid to help black/African immigrants find their community.
* Post MBA Goal: Entrepreneurship - looking to build an AI + mfg startup.

HBS is the dream, but Sloan would be great too. If I only get CBS, then it's likely GSB/Haas R2. (Ranked in order of likelihood of meeting co-founder + boost in fundraising prospects)

I'd appreciate thoughts!

nir4l hope you are doing great!

You possess strong foundational elements for your HBS candidacy. While there's room for improvement in your Quant score, your Verbal score stands out impressively. Your overall score closely aligns with the U.S. average at top schools, and your full tuition undergraduate scholarship, coupled with your quantitative background, provides robust support for your candidacy.

You feature strong feeder brands on your resume. Admissions committees (Adcoms) at top B-schools believe that an MBA should not mark your initial foray into exploring your passions. They seek indications of passion in your background. If you are genuinely enthusiastic about establishing an AI startup, your transition to an AI startup and prior experience with entrepreneurship on the side read very well on your application.

As you may know, HBS's mission statement is to “educate leaders who make a difference in the world.” Successful applicants at HBS are accomplished, having demonstrated impressive feats in a variety of areas such as entrepreneurship, social impact, arts, sports, government organizations, and so on. Therefore, your roadmap to landing at HBS should focus on highlighting your stellar growth trajectory, leadership experience, and the uniqueness that you could bring to the cohort.

I am particularly intrigued by the multiple job switches you have made in your career spanning 5 years.
The key to building your case for multiple job switches is to leverage your whole application to structure your career development toward the decision that has finally taken you to consider an MBA. Having many job switches is okay. However, if they have been aimless, it is a gap area. Regarding job hopping, you do not want to seem directionless or without a meaningful vision. It would help if you constructed a compelling story that shows that each change was a strategic move to achieve your career or personal goals.
Bring onboard strong advocates from your previous organizations as recommenders, especially for schools where you are asked to submit more than one letter of recommendation.

I am extremely optimistic about Haas. But HBS and Sloan don't seem out of reach either if you strategize effectively.

Best wishes

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

Thanks for your detailed response.

On my job switches: I've had a consistent role/title at all the places I worked. F500 mfg co + Tesla were both in automotive manufacturing after which I transitioned to the data center industry at Meta and the other FAANG. Additionally, one of the job changes (from Meta to the other FAANG was forced on me by Meta's layoff earlier in the year). My job experience has been progressive, seeking to deepen my technical expertise, and increase my impact by moving to bigger companies to work on technical infrastructure supporting billions of world wide users,

This is also the reason I couldn't prep for and retake the GRE(my above score is from 2019). I was focused on recruiting for a new role. I expressed this in the optional essay.

As with everyone else, I'm anxiously awaiting interview decisions next week to know whether my application journey will continue or whether its hit a dead end.

nir4l

Thanks for clarifying. That does seem very reasonable and well-intended, given that you transitioned from manufacturing to big data and also navigated the mass layoff crisis in the industry before taking a step toward gaining experience in a startup.

Wishing you the best of luck and success as you await your results!

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

👋 Hey nir4l,

Here is what I would suggest:

🌍 Your journey from Africa to the USA, with a passion for startups, stands out. Your transitions between Tesla, Meta, and FAANG denote adaptability and high performance.

📈 Strengths:
➡️ Work Exclusivity: Roles at Tesla and FAANG companies underline your proficiency in tech. You've likely dealt with billion-dollar projects and groundbreaking innovations.
➡️ Entrepreneurial Zeal: Your Africa-focused startup shows initiative and passion to drive change in your homeland.

🔍 Areas to Enhance:
➡️ GRE Quant: While your Verbal score is impressive, the Quant score may be viewed as a bit low, especially considering your STEM background, but overall score is an impressive one.
➡️ Clarity of Goals: With such diverse experiences, you need a crystal-clear narrative on why an MBA is the logical next step.

🌐 Recommendations:
➡️ Highlight projects where you applied quantitative skills, such as improving a product's efficiency by 15% using data analysis.
➡️ Detail the specific gaps an MBA will fill for you. Maybe it's scaling startups, and you aim to use the MBA to learn growth strategies employed by giants like Tesla or Meta.

Target Schools:
➡️ Dream - Chicago Booth, Oxford, Wharton, CBS
➡️ Competitive - Duke, Kellogg, NYU, Ross, Cornell
➡️ Safe - Vanderbilt, UNC, USC Marshall

If you need more help, we'd be happy to set up a FREE call and give more pointers on how to improve your profile and the right schools you should target.

👉 Click Here to Set-Up a FREE Call 👈

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