June 25: Live Profile Evaluation Chat Session with ARINGO

24 year old Male Candidate

Education:
10th ICSE- 84%
12th ISC Commerce - 67%
Media Team Head in school

I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (BBA) with a specialization in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, completed in 2022. During my undergraduate years, I actively participated in case competitions, marketing clubs, elected secretary of student council and industry projects that developed my analytical and strategic thinking.

Professional Experience: I have over 2 years of full-time work experience in marketing and brand strategy, working across diverse industries including retail, sports, and change management consultancy. My roles involved:

Leading digital and offline marketing campaigns.

Managing brand communications and client relations.

Supporting strategic transformation projects for clients.

Only negative in my profile is I switched jobs a bit too often. I have worked in 3 companies in my 2 years which I can defend in an interview.

In parallel, I have worked on freelance projects and internships in advertising and social media management, which strengthened my interest in marketing and consulting.

Current Focus: I am currently taking a break from full-time work to prepare for the GMAT, with a goal of pursuing a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA). I am aiming to pivot into business consulting or strategic roles post-MBA, with a long-term goal of working at the intersection of marketing, strategy, and decision-making.

Hope you all are doing well, thanks for taking out time to review profile. TIA

Age: 37-year-old indian Male

Education:
Computer science engg, + MBA (as a fresher) from one of the top IIMs in India

CGPA: I have low scores in undergraduate and postgraduate (less than 3)
Experience: ~9 years across technology, business, and product

Professional Background:

Serial entrepreneur; co-founded one of India’s startups, where as founder worked on many problems related to sales, marketing, business and operations, I hired and led teams, drove the business from 0 to 1, managed key category P&Ls, and scaled operations.

I was also recognised as Forbes 30u30 (india) for my efforts.
I have also worked with a global venture accelerator, where I designed and led programs to support founders in their entrepreneurial journeys.


Post-MBA Goals: Looking to gain global exposure, build a strong international network, and transition my career to global business or product leadership roles.

Reason for Second MBA: Having done my first MBA early in my career, I’m now looking to deepen my global business understanding and reposition myself for international opportunities.

I’ve recently started GMAT preparation and am targeting one-year or accelerated programs such as:

London Business School (LBS – 1-year MBA)

Columbia Business School (J-Term / 15-month MBA)

Kellogg One-Year MBA

Columbia one-year/15-20 months program

Questions:

Do I have a realistic chance at these top programs, given my background and age?

What GMAT score range should I aim for to stay competitive?

Are there other top global MBA programs I should consider that offer one-year formats for experienced candidates?

Thank you ARINGO for joining, Let’s start the session

Thanks for joining today! I’m Jen T and here to answer your questions and offer insight on profiles for B-school. If you don’t get to ask your questions or want to follow up - please reach out to [email protected].

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Welcome Everyone! To the live chat

Hi hope you are doing good,

26years old indian male with 4 years of experience in semiconductor firm

Education
10th - CBSE board 10/10cgpa
12th - CBSE board 92.2%
Graduation - Btech+Metch dual degree in elctronics and commnuication -NIT Hamirpur (cleared Jee mains) cgpa 8.51 in btech and 8.52 in Mtech.

Research Paper Published - 1 (domain - DeepLeaning and Neural network)

During my graduation i was a part of my colleges Band, and have perfomed for my college in multiple occasions

Curretly working as Senior Engineer in Qualcomm in Audio Domain
i have expereiecen of working in web devlopment, Machine learning, Embedeed system software

i gave my first gmat attempt recently and got a 615 , i will give my second attempt soon i am aiming or 650+ scores .
Do I have a realistic chance attop programs, given my background and age?
What GMAT score range should I aim for to stay competitive?

Hi! You have an impressive background with impact and growth. Adcoms will be excited to see this. GRE is good. 8 years WE is at the high end for most traditional full-time MBA programs, so applying this year is a must. Not sure which schools you are considering but - CBS would be a reach, NYU, LBS, Oxford closer to target and Cornell would be safety.

What about Wharton, Booth?

They are my target schools

Or dream you can say

Hi, hope you are doing well

They would be stretch, but this year would be the year to give it all you have

Understood, thanks

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Hii hope you are having a good day

Interesting profile - a lot of change in a short amount of time. I’m not sure taking a professional break is wise. Remember you will be compared to other candidates working 70-80..90hrs and still taking the GMAT. I recommend finding a way to fill this time on your resume, preferably with the same employer? to provide some continuity (or freelance or helping a startup). Adcoms are open to explanations about job hopping, but you need to put it in the optional essay - don’t leave it for the interview as you may not get there if they don’t understand your path.

SB2504, I want to revise my thoughts - 322 is within range for Wharton and Booth - but you will need to have very compelling essays to show them why you deserve to be there and why they are the right fit. Go for it!

Understood

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Hi bixby, you certainly have a unique background, but you are picking the right programs - the non-flagship 2 year MBA programs at these top schools are open to a wider range of candidates. There are full-time Senior MBA programs built just for candidates in your phase - Stanford MSx, MIT Sloan Fellows, LBS Sloan Fellows, Foster GEMBA, USC IBEAR..... you would be a strong candidate for these. As for exam score - you do want to prove your academic readiness, so if you decide to take the GMAT I would aim for 645+; but many of these programs also take the Executive Assessment - made for mid-career folks - and they would be looking for 150+ ---- happy to chat offline a little more indepth about these options, please email me - [email protected]