Harvard Profile Evaluation - Tools for B-School Profile Evaluation

Any feedback would be appreciated

27, East Asian ethnicity (overrepresented applicant group)
Top3 Canadian school bachelors in finance (UofT, UBC, McGill), ranked near the top of my class (highest honours)
Msc Finance from the LSE, distinction (back when I took the GMAT I got 740-750, score has expired and will need to retake)
Have minor work experience in Asia right out of school. Now have worked c.3 yrs in North America and UK (London) in private equity at a reasonably well known firm
Extracurriculars are alright, not super prestigious. Leader of student clubs / teams, sports programs for underprivileged children, etc. No volunteering in Africa or SE Asia or anything like that

Goal after MBA: Start own start-up. Want to get the extra skillset / connections given past background was only in finance

NeroisNemo:

Great profile! Assuming you can duplicate your expired GMAT score, you should be in the running. Unfortunately with schools like HBS, even people with your credentials are going to be subject to the randomness of the process.

It's going to come down to the remaining components of your application: the HBS essay, your recommendation letters and the interview.

If you'd like to discuss further and think an admissions consultant could give you that extra edge with this competitive process, feel free to reach out to using the link below:

https://admissionado.com/free-consultation/

Good luck!

Hi vagrawa - Congrats on the great GMAT score, but unfortunately your great score alone will not get you into HBS or other top US programs. The score is just one of many criteria the schools use to evaluate you.

Your work experience also seems strong - especially your two promotions. Can you show impact at work? And when you say your performance ratings are strong, will your recommenders say you are among the strongest they have ever seen at your level?

Your lack of EC leadership and community service will definitely work against you. Have you taken on any leadership roles at your work beyond your day to day job by any chance, such as mentoring, recruiting, or diversity, for example? Those would also help demonstrate beyond-work leadership.

Ultimately the most important thing will for you to be able to tell a compelling story about the impact you ultimately want to have in the world, and how your experience and an MBA from Harvard (or each specific school) will best help you get there.

I hope this helps - best of luck to you!

Hello! I look forward to your evaluation of my profile for the HBS FT MBA.

Basics: Indian Female, 27 y/o
Academic:
- UG : Economic (Hons), DU, India, 8.81/10, Rank holder (2nd)
- Masters : MSc Applied Economics, NTU, Singapore, 4.3/5, Oustanding academic performance holder (semester 3rd)
- FMVA, CFI Certificate holder (completing in October 2021)
- Wharton Strategic Management Capstone certificate holder (completing in October 2021)

Work Ex:
- Previous: >2 years in TMT Investment Banking with a boutique M&A firm, Singapore; lead multi mullion deals, daily client interactions, travel, direct working with MDP
- Present: >2 years in MBB Consulting, India for banking and asset management industry; mix of product management and front-end consulting

Goals:
- 2-3 years post MBA : MBB / TMT / Impact / Social investments wherein I can help source and manage high ROI firms that aim to build a more tech-infused world ; mix of technology and finance
- 3-5 years post MBA : Build a network of people and business resources to move into direct sourcing and building high tech firms for large PE / VC firms

GMAT - scheduled in Nov 2021 (aim : 720, Q 48/49 , V 40 , IR >5)

Additional:
- Language : English, Hindi, German (intermediate)
- AIESEC Team lead (volunteer) for 1 year
- English teacher for MAD (India NGO) for 1 year
- Founder of online business on Instagram
- Founding member of women's networking club at present firm
- Multiple UN / UNDP debates + Toastmasters

Hi BlackSky,

Thanks for sharing your profile and MBA aspirations.

My name is Priyanka, Client Manager at ARINGO.

You have a very interesting profile! From what I can see:

Academics – Good GPA and percentile. Additional certifications indicate your willingness to learn and grow.

GMAT – The class average of HBS is 730. For best chances, try aiming 730+.

Work Experience/Goals –Your experience is good and the career goals (both long term and short term) look fine as this is a logical extension of what you are doing presently.

Extracurricular activities/Volunteer Work – Strong ECs and volunteering work.

All in all, sounds like you have a good profile! If you send me your CV once you are done with the exam 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 BlackSky,

Thank you for sharing your profile. It sounds like you have some strong work experience and interesting extracurriculars as well.

As a consultant, however, you have your work cut out for you to distinguish yourself from your peers in your MBA applications. This is because consulting is a competitive field with many applicants.

That said, your uniqueness will be one of your greatest selling points. Discussing one or two unique skills, hobbies, extracurricular leadership roles, volunteer work or language skills will paint a clearer picture for admissions committee members of who you are and what unique value you can add to their next class. Looking at the "additional" experiences you have shared, you should have some good material to use.

Truthfully, as a consultant and Indian applicant, you will likely want to aim higher than a 720 on the GMAT. Since you are applying from an overrepresented applicant pool, differentiating yourself with a strong GMAT will be key, and you may need to score 20 to 30 points above the average to even be on the same playing field as other applicants. For reference, the HBS median GMAT for the class of 2023 was 730.

Should you secure a strong GMAT score and successfully articulate your personal story and MBA goals, you should have a solid chance at HBS. However, Personal MBA Coach suggests targeting 5 to 8 schools to maximize your chances of acceptance as competition increases and acceptance rates fall. Where else are you considering applying to?

Personal MBA Coach works with many folks from MBB consulting each year and would be happy to help set you up for success. Feel free to take a look at our comprehensive packages and send a note to scott@personalmbacoach.com to further discuss your application strategy.

Best,
Personal MBA Coach

Many thanks all for the great thread. I would love to have your opinion:

Background info : last year admitted into SIPA/Georgetown (Public Policy) but decided to apply again for HBS/HKS joint program. Refugee and currently based in the Middle East, received a partial scholarship to pursue my undergrad. Studied Computer Science but worked in international development & civil service. first generation at university.

Applying to: HKS MPP & HBS MBA, Oxford Said School

Undergrad Institution: one of the top schools in the Middle East

Years of experience: 8.5

GPA: below 3

Quant experience: studied Computer Science and am currently preparing for the GMAT: Target (realistic score): 680

Relevant Work Experience: NGOs for 5 years and a prestigious embassy for 3.5 years, managing a high profile program.

International experience: I have been on several panels/trips to speak about refugee education worldwide, mainly the US, Canada, UK, and across the Middle east.

Strength of LOR: very strong LORs. From an ambassador with whom I worked directly for 2 years , HBS grad who was my manager for 4 years, and a university professor.

SOP: fairly strong, focused on my personal story and achievements in the refugee communities, and why I decided to work in the private sector but on public projects.

Main Concerns: Academic (obviously) and lack of any experience in the private sector but this is exactly why I decided to study MBA.

Nomad488:

To be frank, HBS is going to be out of reach for you with a GPA below 3 and a target GMAT of 680.

Oxford is more attainable but your GMAT score is still slightly below the median (690) and your GPA might then become an issue again.

You do have good experience overall, but I would open yourself up to other programs as a hedge if Harvard and Oxford do not work out.

-Admissionado

Hi Nomad,

I would agree with others that you should expand your list, and HBS is very likely out with your GPA/target GMAT combo.

All this said, you are a refugee and have related NGO experience. Turning your back on that for the applications/career goals may not be wise. Of course, once you are accepted into a program you are free to pursue what you want. But your social impact work may be an asset to consider in this process as opposed to leaving it behind for "Why MBA". More and more, top public sector/NGO executives have MBAs.

Best of Luck!
Alex

Hi Nomad488,

Thank you for sharing. A couple of thoughts:

When applying to traditional full-time MBA programs, your chances of admission start to decrease slightly each year after the 6-year mark. That said, with 8.5 years of work experience, we do recommend that you apply as soon as possible. However, do not worry too much here, as Personal MBA Coach works with many more experienced professionals who gain admission to top programs by crafting a story to explain their roles to date.

As for your GPA, assuming it was on a 4.0 scale, it will be really important to secure a strong GMAT to offset this. For a school like HBS, this should be well above 680. How did your GPA compare to that of your classmates? If it was close to average, then it's easily explainable to admissions. If it's not, were there extenuating circumstances which led to the low GPA?

With the right positioning, I could still see you as a competitive candidate at a number of schools. However, getting a high GMAT will factor into this. Feel free to reach out at scott@personalmbacoach.com to talk more about your background and candidacy. We work with lots of folks who have low GPAs who get in if they ace the GMAT and have impressive experience. Take a look at our comprehensive services to learn more.

Regards,
Personal MBA Coach

Background: Mexican
Undergraduate: ITESM (Top LATAM university)/GPA: 85/100 (top 20%)
GRE: 325 (165Q/160V)
Work Experience: ~65 months of full-time work experience by matriculation.
4.5 years of experience in private equity at a US$1bn + fund in LATAM (1 year) then left to co-manage a small VC fund (spent 1.2 years there; US$5mm AUM) in Mexico. Once that fund was fully invested left to join a starting PE fund worked for 2.5 years there (4 promotions across work history). Recently joined a energy start-up in the US to gain more international experience prior to my MBA.

Post MBA Goals: Start my own ed-tech company or work at a ed-tech startup (think Coursera)

Strong LOR and Essays

Extracurriculars
co-captain of Private equity fund football team
Spend 20 hours a year cleaning rivers and planting trees (not much free time in private equity)
in college spent over 300 hours helping a small organization focused on improving the quality of life in low income rural towns in Mexico (roughly spent 20 hours a month)

patopc:

From the looks of it, you seem like a candidate for HBS! You have the scores and experience that I would imagine intrigues the AdCom.

In your personal essay/statement, make sure you are capturing all of your career transitions in a fluid and logical manner. While it all makes sense on paper, there seem to be lots of movements for such a short period of time. Don't let that get in the way of putting forward a compelling essay.

If you'd like to discuss with our team, please reach out using the link below:

https://admissionado.com/free-consultation/

If not, good luck!

Hi patopc,

Thank you for sharing your profile. Your profile looks good on the surface. To begin with, your undergrad GPA is good, and you have a good GRE score. On the work front, your work experience appears to be quantitative. You must demonstrate career progression, accomplishments, and international experience. I'm assuming you have some great stories about a responsible leader. If you can describe how these have helped develop your personality, perspective, or values, you could win it. Your ECs are good as well. Your initiative to clean rivers and plant trees, in particular, shows your personality of giving back to society. You may want to read an article on how to distinguish yourself in MBA application essay, you will get some insights.

Overall, you have an excellent chance of getting into Harvard. However, Harvard being an elite school may be a challenge for anyone. So, for your school list, I recommend having a nice balance of reach, target, and safety schools. Your post-MBA goal (Ed-tech) includes a social component that you can use to show impact, and you must express your vision for it. What is most important in your application is how you connect the dots and create a compelling narrative. If you’d like, we are happy to hop on a call with you sometime this week to discuss your profile in length and further chances to the b-school. Feel free to book a free session with us as per your convenience.

Cheers!
Neha Hadke
Profile Analyst & Community Manager, MBA and Beyond
Testimonials
Email: neha@mbaandbeyond.com

Hi guys! I'm from India and I was wondering if we need to take IELTS or TOEFL apart from GMAT to apply for the top 10 B schools in USA and UK? (My entire education has been in English medium)

Posted from my mobile device

Thank you for asking this question. I am curious about this too! For all I know- Haas and UCLA don't accept applications from my country (Bangladesh) without TOEFL/IELTS score. I want to know about the other top schools for clarification.

Hi, I'm from Bangladesh too! HBS, Booth, NYU, Georgetown, and Darden do not require English language proficiency test if your undergrad transcript mentions that the language of instruction was English. Fuqua does not require English language proficiency scores at all, for anyone. I'm sure there are many other schools.

Looking to get an opinion on what schools would be targets/reaches/safeties.

Background:

Age/Sex/Nationality:
[*]33/F/Indian

Work Ex: (6 years currently):
[*]Management Consultant in Healthcare sector 3 yrs in a Big 4 with 1 promotion(5 years)
[*]1 year as a senior business analyst at a world reputed research firm

ECs:
[*]Have been an active member of the Dramatics Club in college
[*]Helped in organising a literary fest in the city



Undergrad School/Major:
[*]Engineering in Information Technology from a top 5 public university in the state

Stats:
[*]GMAT: 710 (Q49 V38 IR 5 AWA 5)

MBA Info:
[*]Goals: Interested in gaining greater global exposure and a more strategic role in consulting
[*]Would be applying this year (Class of 2023)