Harvard Profile Evaluation - Tools for B-School Profile Evaluation

Background
- Age 24
- Swiss (born to 1st Gen immigrant parents)
- First to attend uni in my family

Education
- BA in Business Administration from Uni St. Gallen (top tier business school in DACH region), 3.7 GPA
- Co-published paper based on my thesis alongside supervisor and professor

Exam results
- GMAT 760 (V49, Q47, IR 8, AWA not yet received)
- TOEFL: (not yet taken) Aiming for 115-120

Work Experience - Part-Time during Uni (~2 years part-time)
1. Internship at Marketing Association
2. Research Assistant at Uni
3. Various smaller jobs with some leadership experience

Work Experience - Full-Time after Uni (1 year at application)
1. Big4 consulting internship (6 mo)
2. In-house strategy at prestigious bulge bracket bank (6 mo)
3. Recently started tech startup with friends

Extracurricular
- Elected representative of my cohort in student parliament
- Member of appointments committee for 3 professorships

Post MBA Goals
- Continue work on startup if it works out
- Otherwise go into MBB consulting

I would greatly appreciate any feedback and advice
Thank you

Hello everyone, I have been working on my profile for a long time, and getting into an MBA program at one of the top most reputed universities has been my ambition for a long time. Looking to receive a constructive & honest evaluation of my profile.

Background, nationality and undergrad information:
- 28, Male, Indian
- Bachelors in Commerce - Computers from a recognised university (Osmania University) in the country - Scored 78%

GRE: 337

Work experience and leadership: Total of 7+ years
1 year - Product role at a Consumer-tech Startup (latest stint)
1.5 years - Product Lead at an NGO : built e-learning modules that is spanned across 98 countries
2.5 years - Founder of a Social Impact Consulting Firm
1.5 years - Industrial/Management Trainee - Internal Audit at an Indian conglomerate
1 year - Product role at an e-commerce startup

Certifications -
1. Product Management from ISB
2. Design Thinking from Darden School of Business
3. Essentials of Corporate Financial Analysis & Decision Making Capstone from University of Melbourne

Community and Others:
- Kalinga Fellowship : Led the Digital Awareness Team and worked on conceptualizing the first truly multi-sector information sharing platform along with the strategic partners: IBM & Traffik Analysis Hub.
- Trained 100+ Telangana State Police officials on the strengthening of the 33 Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) in the State in collaboration with the Women Safety Wing and Retired officials of Telangana Police & Government
- Led on-field research team on landscape analysis on online sexual exploitation - A research project funded The Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF)

Post MBA goals:
Product Management at fast-paced startups/ companies like Google, Meta, Amazon.

IndianAspirantMBA:

Pros: GRE score, good community/other, and relevant experience for your post-MBA goals

Cons: lots of career switching, community/other is good but doesn't seem too in-depth, competitive demographic

In general, Harvard is within your reach but far from a sure thing. You will need to consider other programs in addition to HBS to guarantee yourself a seat in a top program for next year.

Don't hesitate to sign up for a free consultation if you want to discuss in more detail and figure out a plan on how to maximize your chances for Harvard and its peer institutions

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

Hi everyone,

Indian applicant to HBS. Finished my HBS interview recently and can't stop thinking about how I could have answered more fully, been more structured, not given 1-2 responses in a 'stream of consciousness', and not given high-level/superficial answers (30-45 seconds long) to a 1-2 questions (out of the 15 or so I got). Apart from the above, overall I felt it went well, the interviewer and observer were engaged, occasionally smiling/laughing and felt very conversational. Wasn't thrown off by any curveballs either and definitely wasn't scripted.

Can any of the admissions consultants or applicants who got in / rejected post-interview please share what a 'bad interview' look like (i.e., what do the 40% who don't get in post-interview do wrong)? How perfect does the interview responses need to be?

Would really appreciate your insight. Thank you.

Accepted.com
MBAPrepCoach jayarora Admissionado StratusSoterios

Hi rs5713:

There is a strong temptation to second guess yourself and your interview performance. Do not do this! It's very, very hard to assess an interview performance in general, especially if it's a matter of style. The AdCom knows the interview is very stressful on the candidates, and so even if you are not perfect by your own standards does not mean you did not actually do well.

For what it's worth, Harvard looks to weed out those candidates who do things really egregiously such as showing up late (or not at all), having an poor command of the English language, coming off too arrogant or too shy, speaking for too long/not having a filter, or giving signs of being disingenuous or dishonest. Everyone else pretty much passes the bar.

The interview is important but it's not the only criteria. There are countless candidates who get in despite having what they consider to be a "bad" interview and there are others who don't get in despite having what they consider to be a "good" interview. It's as subjective of a component as it gets and it's only one aspect of the holistic evaluation of your entire profile.

Therefore, I urge you to take a deep breath and not overthink how it went. There's no new information that will change your particular outcome and there's nothing you can do about it now.

Fingers crossed,
Admissionado

Admissionado - Thank you for the detailed post and for entertaining my crazy!

I don't think I hit any of your 'eliminators' so fingers crossed it goes well. Evidently, you've given this advice to several people before haha! Really appreciate it.

Just one follow-up, do 40% of 1,800 people (720 people) really fit into one of the buckets you mentioned above? That seems like an awful lot of people that either cannot speak English well, ramble, are arrogant, show up late, etc.? Maybe I'm just over-estimating the competition/second guessing myself but I'd have assumed at this stage nearly everyone will be fantastic!

Thanks again

Hi rs5713,
1) I am in part agreement with the previous post; whatever your learnings about how your interview went, from worst ever to best ever, the truth is there is little you can do about it right now. Therefore, you do need to chill, and not let anxiety get the better of you.
2) With few details of your profile in your post, (and with no "real action point" post an assessment, even if you had given all details), is like asking for a specific answer in response to a generic question
3) The interviewers look for answers to questions they asked, with relevant examples and consistency in your overall story. The answers are even better if they neither sound too prepared (stock answers), or too long drawn. Spontaneity helps in the answer, of course, based on examples crisply conveyed.
4) Finally, regardless of how well or how poorly you answered, rarely will an interview be more than ONE of the factors used to make the admit/ ding/ WL decision.

Hope that helps

rs5713:

The reason we have given this advice to other people before is because it remains true! It would have been concerning if our advice had shifted from post to post. That would be a red flag

There might be a misunderstanding in the "40%" of folks who get an interview but do not ultimately get an acceptance letter. Candidates who have "poor" interviews (for those egregious reasons mentioned) do not make up the full 40%. I am quite confident sure the actual number is much, much smaller. The point is that those people with really poor interviews face an uphill battle. It's like if they had a very bad GPA or GMAT/GORE score.

The lion's share of those who get an interview but are not accepted are likely denied for other reasons. The process is not entirely linear. Just because you received an interview does not mean interview performance is the last and only determining factor at that point to getting in. The interview is simply another data point that gets considered into your overall decision. A candidate might have had a great interview but ultimately wasn't as strong in other components even though those components were enough to get them an interview in the first place.

Harvard with 3 year experience and 690. Rate my chances?

Hi HrithuOlickel

I would suggest you to refer this post to get a reliable answer

Will suggest a retake and improvement of the score to 700+. Will considerably increase the chances.

HrithuOlickel:

In years past, I would say maybe assuming every other component of your application was strong. Unfortunately, because GMAT scores have gone up and MBA programs have been higher in demand, a 690 is going to be really tough for Harvard. The "magic" 700 is no longer really what it used to be in years past.

Plus, your years of experience don't really matter for HBS as far its implications are concerned for your GMAT. It's not like having 3-4 more years of experience means that your GMAT will matter less. HBS has its pick of the litter so you still need to do well for admission.

As suggested by others, you should definitely retake the exam. 10 points would be helpful, but really you should be looking to get between a 720 and 740 to be "safe."

Again, we don't know anything else about your profile so it's hard to say definitively.

Hi everyone, could you please critically review my profile?

Background, nationality, and educational background:
- 26 years old, Female, Indian national, currently working in India as Clinical Dentist
- BDS ( Bachelor of Dental Surgery), 3.6/4.0 CGPA from a Top Dental College in Hyderabad, India
- I have 1 International and 2 National Research Papers
- Led the college Cricket and Basketball team for 3 years as a captain. Three consecutive wins in cricket and two in basketball.
- Heading a team of fourteen, I led organizing various academic and sports events at our college fest attended by over 800 students.
- During graduation, I led a team of ten and the finances for our convocation day.

GMAT: 750

Work experience and leadership:
- Industry: Healthcare Providers
- Current position: Associate Dentist
- Work ex and progression: 2.5 years. I was promoted once and am on track to be promoted to Senior Dentist at the start of next year.
- In my current role, I am managing 70% of the clinical cases and mostly do the main conversation with the patients. I also manage Interns and Consulting Dentists.


Community and others:
- I am passionate about mentoring and have volunteered with NEET exam Aspirants.
- Mentored 8 students for their MDS (Masters of Dental Surgery) and MS applications (around 3years)
- Lead monthly Free Dental Health Checkup Camps (around 3.5 years)

Post-MBA goals:
I want to pursue an MBA to improve my leadership skills and learn business and operations point of view. Also, to learn and polish key business and analytical skills.

Short-term: I want to do Healthcare corporate strategy/operations consulting.
Long-term: Given my extensive Clinical Experience and Medical background, I am interested in continuing in Healthcare consulting or moving to leadership roles in Healthcare domain like Pharmaceutical Industry.

Target schools: HBS, Wharton, Booth, Kellogg, Duke.

Questions?
- Is 750 GMAT sufficient for my profile?
- People’s management: I manage interns and Consulting Dentists for some specific cases. Do you think this counts?
- Having a Dental background and clinical experience, will I be at a disadvantage in the admission process?
- 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?
- What are my chances for HBS?


I would really appreciate your review, thanks a lot!

Bhargu999:

Thanks for posting! Responding to each of your questions:

- Is 750 GMAT sufficient for my profile?

A: Yes, a 750 is more than sufficient for any profile. It's a brilliant score - congrats.

- People’s management: I manage interns and Consulting Dentists for some specific cases. Do you think this counts?

A: Yes, if you choose to speak to your management experience this will count.

- Having a Dental background and clinical experience, will I be at a disadvantage in the admission process?

A: Not necessarily a disadvantage. You can argue it's an advantage due to the diversity of experience. You need to make a strong case for how your experience and pedigree is will allow you to succeed in an MBA program. You need to then argue for why your post-MBA path is credible and acheivable.

- 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: No, R2 is fine for these programs. If you are ready to apply (and deadlines are creeping up), you should go ahead this year.

- What are my chances for HBS?

A: I think you have a puncher's chance. The diversity of your experience and strong GPA/GMAT will make you an attractive candidate. My point about your narrative (read: essays) will be very, very important for someone with your background.

If you think we can be of help to you in this process, please reach out for a free consultation using this link:

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

Hey! I'm thinking of applying to Harvard Business School and was wondering what are my chances of getting in?
I come from SciencesPo Paris, which is a very well respected university in France (for political science and IR- which is what I'm studying- we are ranked right below Harvard and exaeqo to Princeton) and is not easy getting in (students who go to SciencesPo typically also get accepted into universities such as LSE, Cornell, UCL, NYU, Berkeley and Georgetown). My GMAT isn't incredible (about 3,7-3,8), but I did a couple of interesting internships and am currently doing an exchange at the University of Hong Kong where I think I could get a 4.0 for the semester (which is quite hard and rare here). I also speak 4 languages and have three nationalities. I haven't done my GMAT yet and am doing it soon. If I get a really good score on my GMAT (720+), what are my chances of getting into Harvard BS School?

Hello,
Can someone review my profile?

Undergrad:
Bachelor of Technology, Computer science and engineering
some Indian engineering school
GPA: 7.85/10

Graduate:
Master of Technology,Computer science and engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
GPA: 8.76/10

After my bachelors degree, I worked as Software Engineer at IBM India for 2 years and 3 months.
Then I did my masters from IIT Bombay.
After Masters I moved to Japan and have worked with following companies:
1. Rakuten - 2 years 3 months (Started as Software engineer, changed to Product management after 1 year, E-commerce)
2. LINE Corp. - 3 years (Product manager, Messaging app, apis, developer tools)
3. Woven Planet (Toyota Motors corporation) - 8 months (Current job) (Product management, Autonomous vehicles)

Total experience at matriculation (Fall 2023): 108 months

GRE
Verbal: 157
Quant: 162
AWA: 3.5

Post MBA goals:
Short term: move to strategy role in autonomous vehicles domain
Long term: Leadership role in autonomous vehicles domain

Extracurricular:
- Active participation in sports in undergrad and grad school, Won inter-collegiate basketball tournament, Sports. person of the year nominee
- Volunteer for many committees in college, Treasurer of Girls mess during undergrad
- Volunteer at Japanese children's English camp - teach English to kids
- Learned Japanese language after coming to Japan

With my exacting job, I didn't have enough time to prepare for GRE so my GRE score is not great.
Do I stand a chance at top schools like HBS, MIT, Stanford? Or I shouldn't apply? Also any suggestions on which schools to pick from top20?
I want to apply in R2 January 2023.

Thanks in advance!

Just the last 2 questions.
1. As my work experience at matriculation (fall 2023) would be 40 months. But the average is around 5years. Is it okay to apply or will it decrease my chance?
2. Any few schools you can suggest which are better suited for me in top 15?