Harvard Profile Evaluation - Tools for B-School Profile Evaluation

Background and nationality: 26, Vietnamese looking for 2023/2024 August matriculation
Previous education: Bachelor in Marketing, MS in Marketing Analytics (3.9 GPA and graduated summa cum laude at both schools)
GMAT: 730
Work experience and leadership:
1. 2.5 years in digital marketing/ecommerce roles in luxury retail
2. 0.5 year in finance department of luxury retail
3. 0.5 year in digital marketing agency
All roles heavily involve data analytics
Community and others:
1. Participated and led a few regional events for youth organizations (recruiting competition, MUN)
2. Volunteered at American Marketing Association NYC for almost 2 years
Target School: HBS
Post MBA goals:
1. Corporate strategy/operations, preferably in retail or management consulting
Personal brand:
1. Utilize cross-functional experience to craft corporate strategies using all-rounded views (data, consumer insights, operations, finance), influencing innovations in luxury retail industry


Thanks much in advance for your feedback. Would appreciate it much if you can provide any suggestions to improve my candidacy.

Hey everyone, HBS has been my dream school since the longest time, and I had pretty good vibes with the Harvard community by large as well. Been reading a lot of admission stories from here and so I wanted to post my profile here for a honest evaluation.

Background, nationality and undergrad information:
- 30, Male, Southeast Asian (think Singapore/Malaysia region)
- 3.4 UGPA from a recognised university in the region (top university for a lot of ASEAN scholars)

GRE: 320 (Q162, V158)

Work experience and leadership:
- 4.5 Years by the time of matriculation at a regional Fashion Retailer leading retail operations in an Asia market, for my current stint (yes: I am based overseas now). Retail footprint of over 300 stores globally.
- Direct supervisor of 10 employees across 4 key company functions. Provides leadership, strategic direction and tactical advice on overall P&L success.
- Involved in other assignments before current stint, given increased responsibilities just 1 year into the company to lead merchandise and assortment planning for other regional markets: think leading experienced, and overseas professionals with more than 10 years of experience individually. Promoted towards end of 2nd year to current position to turn around a failing market.

Community and others:
- President of university's business society, which served 3,000 students during my presidency. Led a team of 16 individuals to create impact in professional, academic, social and welfare interests of our students. Had several stellar accomplishments as a result of the team's efforts.
- Mentoring juniors from my alma mater on a yearly basis, providing advice on the retail industry and how to navigate career options.
- Military reserves Platoon Sergeant for a Combat Support battalion. Recipient of exemplary award during active service time.
- Started a startup with university mates focusing on providing authentic local experiences for overseas students. Led product development.

Post MBA goals:
- Short term to pivot into Management Consulting specifically for the retail practice. Not too hung up on MBB - even T2 or boutique firms that can value add in this manner would be a possible option for me.
- Long term to pivot into starting my own Boutique Consulting firm specialised on merchandise distribution for retail companies, from an opportunity I witnessed with my current company. Having access to the Harvard alumni network is key to making this work as well - both in terms of finding future co-founders and also clients pipeline/network.

Anything else?
- I know my GRE is a tad too low, but would my WE and other aspects of my profile make me a strong applicant still? I think I was fortunate enough to have a strong habit of leadership throughout my life. I have also attended numerous online events, and even an in person MBA event where I connected with a few alumnis.

rachelist:

You have a great profile. Your GMAT, GPA and overall experience level will make you a candidate for HBS. Your extracurricular activities are a one point of weakness.

While I think you can apply for 2023 matriculation, I would hold off until 2024 for two reasons:

(1) You can improve your extracurricular/community leadership during that time.
(2) An additional year of work experience, given how many changes you've made, would really help your standing. You would still be in the sweet spot of 3-5 years of work experience, so you might even be helping yourself.

Is that in line with your thinking? Please let us know so we can be of additional help.

Best,
Admissionado

Velvetlines:

Yes, GRE is a bit low, but it shouldn't be an absolute deal breaker. Even with the short-time left before R1 (assuming you're targeting the first deadline), would you you consider retaking it? You have nothing to lose.

Your age is also likely fine. 30 is a tad bit older but with military experience, that should end up working in your favor.

FYI, online courses won't matter. It's great that you took the initiative, but it won't have any real impact so don't zero in on that during your application.

I would pick a boutique, non-MBB consulting firm (with a known, interesting retail practice) for your short-term goal. That will be much more interesting if you want to stick with consulting.

Your long-term goal is interesting, just make sure it is very developed. People talk about starting consulting/advisory firms all the time and often that can feel like a cop-out, so make sure you are very specific in what that firm is to achieve beyond what you have noted in your post.

We specialize in the top programs - obviously HBS included - so please reach out to us for a FREE consultation if you think we can be of further assistance to you in achieving this long-held dream.

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

Hi, rachelist,

Thank you for your post!

First, I would like to congratulate you on backing a stellar 730 in your GMAT. Coming to your overall GPA, again, Kudos on scoring a stellar GPA! Additionally, I would suggest adding brief information about any additional courses, certifications, and academic accolades, and it's sorted for you on the academic front.

Now about your Work experience, you belong to an over-represented industry; hence it's critical for you to work on "Branding your Profile" by highlighting your roles and responsibilities, critical projects, and international experience and back them up with stellar leadership examples and excellence in the field. In addition, for top B-schools like Harvard, the adcom is interested in how well you fared as a Leader working above and beyond your role to make things happen! So, I would suggest prioritizing stellar leadership examples and quantizing your successful projects!

Coming to your ECAs, you need to add some relevant Community service; even some hobbies will do. Bring uniqueness to your ECAs by adding potential ECAs to add diversity and showcase your sense of social justice and social service. For your reference, I suggest you go through our article on Significance of ECAs for MBA Application, you will get some beneficial insights!

Overall, your profile is decent, with relevant post-MBA goals. All you need to do is work on making them Collinear in your MBA essays. Moreover, schools like Harvard can be a stretch for anyone. Hence, I suggest adding some safety schools like CBS, Kellogg, and MIT. Finally, your essays can be your biggest asset; all you need to do is prioritize connecting the dots between school values and your profile. Check out the Harvard MBA essays to write essays that inspire! 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 HBS and other target MBA programs; feel free to book a free session with us at your convenience.

Essay Writing tips for top 25 B-schools: Write Essays that Inspires!

Cheers!
Neha Hadke
Strategy Manager, MBA and Beyond
Testimonials
Email: [email protected]

Hi, Velvetlines,

Thank you for your post!

First, I would like to say it's so rare to see such a beautifully detailed profile; I guess you are quite good at this! Coming to your GRE, again, a decent score, and I believe the difference of 10-15 points can be easily made up by quoting stellar leadership examples along with adding brief information about any certifications, academic and professional accolades throughout your career!

Now about your Work experience, I would like to say it's great how well you have mentioned your current and past roles & responsibilities. However, it's also important for you to work on "Branding your Profile" by adding stellar leadership examples. Therefore, I would like you to bank upon your experience by elaborating more about your crucial projects assigned, examples of leadership, skill-set developed, and the impact generated during your diverse tenure at schools like Harvard; the adcom is interested in how well you fared as a Leader working above and beyond your role to make things happen! Moreover, since you belong to a military background, I suggest you go through our article on MBA for Defense Veterans, you will get some valuable insights about interlinking crucial experiences in your essays.

Coming to your ECAs, very well done! From serving in the military to founding a startup, your ECAs add diversity to your profile. Additionally, I would suggest elaborating on the challenges faced, the skill-set developed, leadership roles played, and a bit about the overall experience; that should start an interesting conversation between you and AdComs.

Overall, your profile is decent, with relevant short and long-term post-MBA goals. Now, all you need to do is work on drafting stellar examples in your MBA essays. For your reference, I suggest you go through our article on Significance of ECAs for MBA Application, you will get some beneficial insights! Finally, I suggest you prioritize connecting the dots between school values and your profile. Check out the Harvard MBA essays to write essays that inspire! 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 HBS: free to book a free session with us at your convenience.

Essay Writing tips for top 25 B-schools: Write Essays that Inspires!

Cheers!
Neha Hadke
Strategy Manager, MBA and Beyond
Testimonials
Email: [email protected]

Background and nationality : Indian Male IT (Innovation with ML/AI)
Undergrad Information :Tier 1 Top 10 Indian college, GPA - 3
GMAT: 750 (Q50,V41) AWA6 IR7
Work experience and leadership : Innovation department of a Big IT firm. 3 years, couple of promotions, mentored over 100 students with 40+ innovative projects. Delivered products for healthcare and retail clients. Lead teams of 10+ people. Worked directly with CTOs and Directors.
Community and others : Involved with a few NGOs which work towards eradication of Poverty and illiteracy. Cycling club. Cricket and volleyball teams in college.
Post MBA goals : Tech Management

Posted from my mobile device

Hi everyone, could you please critically review my profile for my dream program at HBS?

Background, nationality, and educational background:
- 27 years old, Female, Indian national, currently working in Europe
- BSc. in Environmental Sciences, 3.78/4.0 CGPA from a recognized Liberal Arts University in South Asia (received a full-ride scholarship for 4 years of the UG program)
- MS in Environmental Sciences and Policy, 3.36/4.0 CGPA from a recognized University in Europe (received a full-ride scholarship for 1 year of master’s program)

GRE: Still to attempt (hopeful to surpass 320)

Work experience and leadership:
- Industry: Energy and Sustainability Consulting (non-MBB)
- Current position: Sustainability Consultant at F500 company
- Work ex and progression: 3.5 years (Analyst: 24 months -> Senior Analyst: 5 months -> Consultant: 14 months). I was promoted twice and am on track to be promoted to Senior Consultant at the end of this year.
- In my current role, I am managing two global Private Equity clients and their portfolio companies (around 60). I also manage Interns and Analysts.
- Multiple summer internships during UG

Community and others:
I am passionate about mentoring and have volunteered with multiple organizations over the last 10 years.
- Lead Employee Resource group at my company (around 2.5 years)
- Manage recruitment (internship and full-time) from my alma mater (1 year)
- Research Lead at an Environmental organization (4 years)
- Mentor at two NGOs that work for women and other minorities' education in Asia. Mentored 4 students for their UG & MS applications (around 2 years)
- Co-founded a non-profit organization that provides admissions consulting for UG & MS to minorities in India (around 1 year)

Post-MBA goals:
I want to pursue an MBA to improve my leadership skills and learn how businesses operate. Also, to learn and polish key business and finance-related skills.

Short-term: I want to do corporate strategy/operations consulting at MBB.
Long-term: Given my extensive energy and sustainability background, I am interested in continuing in strategy consulting or moving to the industry to do sustainability strategy at a Fortune 100 company.

Target schools: HBS, Wharton, MIT Sloan, Booth

Questions?
- What if I do get 320+ in GRE? Do I still have a shot?
- People’s management: I manage interns and Analysts for projects but I am not their people's manager. Do you think this counts?
- I will apply in R2 this year. Would I be at disadvantage for not applying in R1? Should I wait until next year to apply in R1?


I would really appreciate your review, thanks a lot!

Dobby14:

- What if I do get 320+ in GRE? Do I still have a shot?

A: Yes, but 320 is somewhat on the cusp. It also depends on the balance between the Q and V sections.

- People’s management: I manage interns and Analysts for projects but I am not their people's manager. Do you think this counts?

A: Yes, but there's no admissions requirement to be a manager. Still, you can make the claim assuming it's appropriate in your CV/resume and/or essays.

- I will apply in R2 this year. Would I be at disadvantage for not applying in R1? Should I wait until next year to apply in R1?

A: Nope, apply R2 if you are ready this year. You are at no disadvantage, especially for HBS.

If you think my team can be of help, please reach out for a free consultation.

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

Dobby14,
Your profile ticks a lot of boxes for successful applicants; the career goals may need a lot of work though to align them well.
Overall, a strong application would win you good admissions, and possible good scholarships (with good stats)

Feel free to connect for a detailed assessment, free.

First of all, let me mention how uncommon it is to see a profile with such exquisite detail. I assume you are extremely skilled at this. Regarding your GRE score, which is respectable, I think the extra 10 to 15 points can be easily made up by citing outstanding leadership examples and briefly describing any certifications, academic or professional honours you have received over the course of your career.
Regarding your work experience, I'd want to add that you did a fantastic job of mentioning your present and previous positions and responsibilities. You could also focus on "Branding your Profile" by including outstanding leadership examples. The adcom is interested in how well you performed as a Leader working above and beyond your role to make things happen, so I would like you to draw on your experience by elaborating more about the important projects assigned, examples of leadership, skill-set developed, and the impact generated during your diverse tenure at schools like Harvard.

Regarding your ECAs, excellent work! Your ECAs bring diversity to your resume, ranging from military service to company founding. In addition, I would advise going into more detail regarding the difficulties encountered, the skill set acquired, the leadership roles performed, and the overall experience; this ought to spark an interesting discussion with the AdComs.
Your profile is excellent overall, with both your short- and long-term post-MBA ambitions being pertinent. All that remains is for you to create excellent examples for your MBA essays.

If you need more help, we'd be happy to setup a call and give more pointers on how to improve your profile and the right schools you should target.
You can setup a call via this link:
https://bit.ly/3DSH5km

Your profile is brilliant. You have the perfect amount of work experience, and that too in the right fields. According to international standards, one needs a minimum of 3 years of work experience, and you have the required amount. So, this hurdle is all cleared for you.


The Harvard Business School's MBA 2+2 programme is a deferred enrollment programme. Students in their final year of undergraduate study or those enrolled in a master's programme could apply for deferred admission to Harvard's MBA programme under this programme. This means that the programme is split into two parts. After entry, the first two years (up to four years) will be utilised to gain full-time work experience, with the last two years dedicated to academic pursuits. By taking this course, you are reserving a spot in the future batch of Harvard's MBA programme. Harvard's 2+2 MBA programme is open to students from all disciplines, but you must meet the following criteria to be accepted:
If you graduate before October 2021, you can apply for the current admission cycle.
Students in their final year of an undergraduate degree programme may apply.
Students pursuing a master's degree are also eligible to apply. However, they must not have worked full-time between their bachelor's and master's degrees.
The applicant must have a GMAT or GRE score. Exams taken before April 30, 2016, will not be considered valid.
If you are an international student who attended a non-English university, you must pass one of the English language proficiency tests.
You will be given priority if you plan to work in an operating company (related to production and manufacturing) for the first two years.
The candidate comes from a low socioeconomic background.

If you need more help, we'd be happy to setup a call and give more pointers on how to improve your profile and the right schools you should target.
You can setup a call via this link:
https://bit.ly/3DSH5km

If you are serious about Harvard, you must look at improving your candidature in significant ways, maybe consider the ROI of professional help.
1. Focus on the outcomes more than the processes.
2. Highlight your strengths well.
3. Spend a lot more efforts on your resume AND your career goal; right now they do not show your calibre and clarity well
4. Get stand out recommendations as well
5. Make a balanced bucket of many schools/ programs
and much more

Happy to help with a free 45 min session to answer your questions one to one, and discuss your doubts.

Hi Dobby14,

Thanks for writing in.

Here is a point-wise reply to your queries:

-Well, you have a differentiating background alongside international exposure and this would help you stand out in the applicant pool; however, a 320 on the GRE is still on the lower side and we would definitely encourage you to aim for a better score.
-Having managerial experience is not a formal requirement, especially so early on in your career; managerial aptitude and leadership potential can be derived from other aspects of your candidature as well and the good news is that even if you aren't a manager in the formal sense of the term, you still have the qualities to show for it.
-Chances in R2 would definitely be lower than in R1; however, do not worry about what you cannot control. Apply when you are ready even if that means you are applying in Round 2. You could also wait till R1, next year, provided you think you will also have something substantial to add to your profile during the interim period.

We hope this helped.

Should you have any follow up questions, please feel free to write to us.

All the best!

Hello everyone.
I hope you are doing well.
Can you please critically review my profile for HBS?

Background, nationality, and educational background:
- 25 years old, Male, Uzbek, currently working in Uzbekistan
- BSc. in Economics, First-Class Honors from UK institution (received a full-ride merit scholarship for 4 years of UG)

GMAT: 770 (Quant 50)

Work experience and leadership:
- Industry: Manufacturing, Construction materials. (largest in the country)
- Current position: Strategy Manager in Corporate Strategy department
- Work ex and progression: 38 month (Analyst: 12 months -> Senior Analyst: 15 months -> Manager: 11 months).
- I am involved in projects that range from developing corporate strategy to optimizing operations at a manufacturing level. My job is quant-heavy and involves a lot of communication with personnel at every level of the firm’s hierarchy.
- I also participated in M&A projects of the company; sold 3 subsidiaries that did not align with long-term goals of the firm.
- Multiple summer internships during UG

Community and others:
Extra's not much after UG
- Volunteered in Covid hospital (a few weeks)
- Led a green dormitory initiative (1 year)
- Leadership role in volunteer organization (2 years)
- Organized clubs and sport events during UG

Post-MBA goals:
I want to pivot to consulting and participate in larger-scale projects in a diverse set of industries. I want to learn and gain valuable experience to found my own consulting firm that works with small and medium firms.

Short-term: I want to do corporate strategy/operations consulting at MBB.
Long-term: Starting my own boutique consulting firm and taking it to global scale.

Target schools: HBS, Fuqua, UNC, Goizueta

I really appreciate your review and comments.
Thanks a lot

sherxon:

It sounds like you will be an interesting candidate for Harvard. A few things to note:

(1) Community/extracurricular is obviously not your strength. It's not a big deal for the HBS essay, but if you can dig into any accomplishments in your CV/resume and application itself, that should be helpful.

(2) Your career goals need a ton of work. What you are proposing is commonplace and not that interesting. You need to either consider a new ST/LT goal or build in layers of specificity into what you have laid out.

I am surprised you are considering this batch of schools given the range. Is there a specific reason?

In any event, please reach out to us for a free consultation if you want to discuss further. You have an interesting background and getting to know you better on a complimentary call could be beneficial to both you and us.

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

Thank you, Admissionado
I chose the schools that are good for consulting. the range reflects the risk mitigation.