ISB Profile Evaluation - Tools for B-School Profile Evaluation

Hello subhsngh0

You seem to have a balanced profile.
Work ex, GMAT, extracurricular seem to check all the required boxes.
Key for you is execution and presentation of your story- if done well you have a decent shot at getting an interview call.
One important thing that seems missing is career goals- you will need to display why the long term vision of your career demands PGP from ISB.

Best
Varun Sharma
+919137133507
MBAkarma.com
GMAT Score Predictor
info@mbakarma.com

Hello Aniket04

No doubt aim for a high GMAT, a score around 640 can make things tricky for strongest of the profiles.
Starting with your work history, you seem to have a drastic change from a developer to an NGO.
Though your work ex with the NGO could potentially work in your favor, you will need to show why the need of PGP now (just 10 months into this job- why not learn a littel more on the job) and tying your career goals with ISB. While I know you seem confident of your goals since you seem to have a concrete plan, the key is to know whether this plan requires an education at ISB.

Best
Varun Sharma
+919137133507
MBAkarma.com
GMAT Score Predictor
info@mbakarma.com

Dear subhsngh0,

This is with respect to the profile evaluation request you posted on the group. I am an Indian School of Business alum, CO14, and have been assisting applicants get into global business schools for the last 3 years.

Below is my evaluation of your profile:
GMAT : Average
Academics : Above Average
Work Experience : Average
Pros : Consistency in career path – from what you studied to what you applied at work
Cons : Limited team leadership/managerial experiences seems limited
Extracurricular : You will need to focus on one aspect and showcase that in depth in your application essays.

While your GMAT score is just at par with the average, the most critical aspect that admission committee would want to gauge in your profile is whether you have had any managerial / leadership experience – If yes, how and in what context. Secondly, they would also want to see how has your career progressed in an engineering line of work, and what are you aiming to do in the immediate short term post MBA – while your long term goals can be abstract, in the short term you will need to be specific and realistic. For ex. if you want to become a management consultant post MBA, you will have to state very clearly why will you be suited for the role and what aspect of the work excites you.

Please feel free to get in touch with me at arijit.biswas@crackadmission.com and/or +919701215544 in case you want a detailed discussion.

Wish you the best !
Arijit

Hello,

Can somebody evaluate my profile for ISB application?

X - 87%
XII - 88%
B.Tech. (ECE) - 66.7%

GMAT score : 670 (Q45, V37, IR 5)

Work Experience:
-> Around 8 years of experience in SDLC , which comprises of involving in design & architecture level discussions, evangelizing test frameworks using new test tools, creating and testing different use cases and on-boarding the new candidates.
-> Worked for a top class Web-based IT product firm.
-> After a year gap from the IT field, I joined back a startup in relatively a new technology, summing my total work experience to 10 years.

Academic Achievements:
-> Received different merit awards for my scholastic performance.
-> Participated and won several quiz competitions at the school level.

Extra Curricular
-> Amateur Photographer
-> Avid reader of native literature
-> Film buff

Social Work :
-> Received a note of appreciation from 'Help age India' for helping them in raising funds for the deprived.
-> Organized few CSR activities while being a part of company during my work experience, being a leader in initiating such activities.


Post MBA goal - During my break from IT field, I faced a lot of hurdles while setting up my own firm which made my pursue my MBA and set up my firm.

I wanted to know if this GMAT score is enough to get an interview letter else, I have to take another try but I am running out of time.

Hello Argo

All anyone can say is that your score is lower than the average of the class at ISB.
Whether this score is enough or not will highly depend on your profile and how you choose to present it.
If you look at the ISB decision tracker here- https://gmatclub.com/forum/isb-204/decision-tracker.html you can see that there at at least 9 people who got rejected despite a 730.
And this decision tracker is just representative of the applicants. The actual number of rejections with such scores will be even higher.
At the same time there are at least 7 people with a 680 or lower who have successfully got in. Again, we can safely assume that the actual number will much much higher.
There is no 'safe' score. Everything depends on your profile (read here), career goals (read here) and how you chose to present these in your essays/LOR.
Experience says that with an IT profile 670 will be tough to get in with. SO it might be better if your consider a retake.

Best
Varun Sharma
+919137133507
MBAkarma.com
GMAT Score Predictor
info@mbakarma.com

Hello,

Looking for a profile evaluation. Suggestions/comments will be highly appreciated.

X - 85%
XII - 77%
Bcom (Banking and Finance) - 58%
Post Graduation - 61%

GMAT score : 710 (Q48, V39, IR 6)

Work Experience:
-> 5 years of experience till March 2019.
-> I have worked in the impact investment space throughout. I have assessed more than 100 early-stage companies, evaluated their business models, did financial analysis, and took a credit call. I have assessed companies from financial inclusion, healthcare, affordable education, clean energy, and food and agri sectors.
-> In the last 12 months, I have been working on the other side of the table. I joined a healthcare start-up in Gurgaon and I have managed the entire fundraising process of the company. This is the first time it's out in the market to raise equity, I have managed the entire process end-to-end and have successfully received multiple term sheets from investors.
-> So the total works out like this - 4 years in lending to companies making social or environmental impact, and then 1 year raising funds for one such company.

Academic Achievements:
-> Represented school/college in several debate competitions.
-> Participated and won several quiz competitions at the school level.

Extra Curricular
-> Fitness enthusiast
-> News-worm
-> Petrolhead

Post MBA goal - By utilizing my experience in the lending space, having looked at several dozen companies from both the investor's side and the management's side, I now want to develop my financial analysis skills and managerial skills further (here is where the relevant subjects taught at ISB come) and work for an internaltion private equity fund, eventually setting-up a fund of my own.

The story - I have always been in the finance space. I was pursuing CA alongwith Bcom. While I cleared the entrance examination and the intermediate examination without much trouble, I was getting no satisfaction from what I was doing. I have to admit that I really did not have a clear path back then (I was 18!) and chose to pursue CA simply because my brother was a CA and everybody around me was doing just that! I started reading up about what alternatives I had, and that's when I stumbled upon financial inclusion. I have always had an inclination towards doing something for the society, and this gave me a way to link that with my interest in finance and numbers. I then applied for Post Graduation at Indian Institute of Forest Management and did my majors in Development Management (While the name says 'Forest Management', I studied only one subject on forestry. The institute is run by Ministry of Environment and Forest, hence the name). I studied about financial inclusion, microfinance, and other subjects on social development in rural and urban India. This knowledge came super handy at my first job when I worked with a financial institution lending to microfinance companies and farmer producer organizations. As I was ultimately dealing with rural population, everything taught at IIFM was super useful. I worked at my first job for 2 years, then moved to the second with similar responsibilities (but I got to look at far more diversified companies) and worked there for 2 years. I had to move cities due to my father's health, due to which I had to join the third one (healthcare company that I previously mentioned about). At the healthcare company, I got to understand everything from the other side as I was directly involved with the promoter-CEO of the company on day-to-day basis. Understood in great detail how companies are run, what challenges they face, the kind of issues that crop up (both internal and external). Also raised money for the company in the process.

My concerns -
-> Crappy grad score (I was doing CA alongwith it at that time. While I passed all the CA exams I gave, I did not complete it so I don't thing that'll save me a lot)
-> Please tell me what else should I be concerned about.

Thanks!

Hi @abhishekkr10,

Thanks for sharing your profile.

I am an ISB alum, C014 and have been assisting applicants in their admission journeys since.

Below is my take on your profile :
Academics : Average (GPA is a negative)
Work Experience : Good
Extra-Curricular : Average (depends on how you relate the same with other aspects of your profile)
GMAT Score : Above Average (Q 48 is a slight concern since coming in from a finance experience, the expectation ad com would have is a near perfect Q score)

While your unconventional academic background and your experiences will definitely attract the interests of the ad com, what is important for you to articulate in your application – essentially the essays – is how you will be adding value to the ISB cohort and you have thoroughly done homework about your post MBA goals. Since it is a known fact that the no. of PE firms or for that matter financial firms that come to recruit from ISB are limited, you will need to make your goals realistic. One potential way can be, working in the financial strategy / investment relations division of a growth phase startup/established organization (whose primary business is not finance related) post ISB. For the mid- term, you can say that you will build on your short-term experience to join a PE firm in the mid-term before eventually starting a fund of your own.

Also, I would recommend you not to be shy or defensive of the career choices you have made, but rather focus on how you can communicate the learnings/ experiences / achievements from what you have in an high impact manner.
Please feel free to get in touch with me at arijit.biswas@crackadmission.com and/or +91970121554 in case you want a detailed discussion.

Thanks
Arijit

Hello abhishekr10

While you certainly have some aspects going for you in your profile, I see the following concerns-

1. Career goals- Biggest concern- not sure if an MBA is the right path for you, especially from ISB. Hope you have done you research.
2. Past story- Focus on showcasing conscious though behind each decision or how each dot connects to the long term vision of your career. I understand we all make decisions early in life with less clarity, but still you can display how it all falls into place and completes a bigger picture.
3. Lack of extracurricular- But itself the list of extracurricular activities look weak. A bullet list is not enough, unless you have had long term/serious relationship and a positive impact on your life or the life of others through these activities.
Despite these concerns, overall, however, I feel your work profile is different enough to warrant an interview call, as long as you craft decent essays and a cohesive story.

Best
Varun Sharma
+919137133507
MBAkarma.com
GMAT Score Predictor
info@mbakarma.com

Hello,

Really strong application would be necessary. Connecting the dots in your application is going to be particularly important as there are shifts.

640ish on GMAT is going to really weaken your case, try to cross the class average GMAT.

You can build a story on the slightly unconventional nature of your profile. If you prepare a strong application, you do stand a fine chance of receiving the interview call. Prepare well for the interview...as ISB has 5:1 selection ratio in interviews.

I will say that you have a very fair chance of being interviewed. Prepare strong applications. Explain the shift well and link it with your inspirating for management degree and further goals. Expect some grilling in the interview.

All the best!

A lot would depend on how you knit the career movespecially together to tell a story. Ponder and do that really well.

High age and low GMAT is generally considered a serious disadvantage. See if you can improve the score by a few points. AFAIK, you can send an improved score until a couple of weeks after submitting the application...I would suggest that you consider that option.

The extra curriculars are a bit like hobbies, don't emphasize much.

Hi Abhishek,

You have presented your experience really well and it's exciting to see the kind of work you have done even before your MBA. Working with a PE fund can be a good career goal, albeit in the medium term. Very difficult to directly get into PE post MBA even through an NYU Stern. You may be a good fit for Consulting in the short term and transition to PE in a few years. Your undergrad score may not be so much of a concern because most CAs end up focusing on their CA exams than undergrad - and business schools understand that.

So good experience overall - articulate it well, connect it with achievable career goals and you should comfortably receive an interview invite.

All the Best!
ISBmantra / Admit Square Consulting
www.isbmantra.com | www.admitsquare.com

Hi Argo!

ISB hasn't been very open to candidates with 10+ years of experience in the last few years, but since this is R2 already, you better give it a shot. Waiting for another year will only make things more difficult. You have done well to score a 670 and up to 700, it will not make so much of a difference. 670 assures the school of your capability to cope with the classes and if ISB likes your profile, they will invite you for the interview primarily based on your profile now. Demonstrate strong leadership potential, rich industry exposure and good clarity of goals through your essays.

All the Best!
ISBmantra / Admit Square Consulting
www.isbmantra.com | www.admitsquare.com

Hey Aniket,

I am a current student of ISB. Here are my remarks regarding your profile-

First of all, please make a point to appear for GMAT. You need to have some clarity regarding the GMAT score. Preferably a 730+ with your profile would be ok.

You have done a lot of things but you need to connect the dots in your profile. Less work experience might be a hindrance in your application. I only know two guys from the current batch of around 850+ who are from TCS but they do have a good GMAT score. For help regarding your application, do reach out to me for any help. Email id is siddarth4984@gmail.com.

Regards
Siddharth Maheshwari
ISB Co'19

Hi Abhishek

Thanks for posting.
- All seems in order here. With a good app, you should have a decent chance. In terms of post-MBA goals, may need to be a bit careful with international PE; ISB may not be positioned to help you get there. That doesn't mean all PE is out; be selective about what opportunities are possible. Also, your experience so far is more impact lending oriented than impact investment from what you have described, which can matter.
- Your grad score isn't that much of an issue right now, given your diversity. If you can back it up with a good app, you should have a chance.

Hope this helps. Feel free to come back with more queries as needed.

Hi Argo

Thanks for posting. Quick review from us:
- Given your background (IT), your GMAT score will be insufficient. Look at a 30+ point increase. Not sure if that is possible given the time remaining to R2 now.
- Your work is quite tech oriented, and you are on the higher side of the pool. While ISB does look at candidates on that side of the spectrum as well, it is usually looking for a spike in some other area to justify that much experience. Given your profile, ECA, and quantum of experience, your chance at ISB with these parameters will be low.
- Would suggest you raise your score, and then look at other programs like IIMB,C,A as well.

Hope this helps. Feel free to come back with more queries as needed.