LBS/INSEAD Profile strength evaluation

Question

Hi, 
I need some advice regarding my application strength to attend INSEAD or London Business School MBA program.

Here is my profile: 
- 29 years old with 6 years of work experience in two countries with 3 years in native Pakistan with SIEMENS in a managerial position and 3 years in UAE in a managerial position with LONDON DAIRY (current position). 
- GMAT 700 89th percentile (Quant 47 67th percentile and Verbal 40 91st percentile) in third attempt. 
- Bachelor of Electrical Engineering with 3.0/4.0 GPA and a MBA from LUMS Pakistan with 3.4/4.0 GPA 
- Plenty of sports activities at national and inter-varsity level and now at corporate level as well. 
- Well traveled around Europe during Student exchange program 
- Target schools: INSEAD, London Business School

What do you think are my chances of acceptance for any of these two programs?

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Warm Regards

VantagePointMelody · Answer

Hi there,

Thanks for your question! I'll provide my thoughts based on the information you provided but I'd love to learn more about you before I'm able to provide a more thorough assessment. The good news for you is that both INSEAD and LBS tend to admit applicants with more years of work experience (vs. the 4 or 5 year average of H/S/W). Although you don't mention what role you're in at London Dairy (in terms of function), it sounds like to you're in a position of leadership that will provide some unique and impactful stories/insights for your applications. That's certainly a strength for both your target schools in terms of leadership and career progression. Your international experience will also be very important to those two schools so I would recommend highlighting that throughout your applications.

So why are you pursuing an MBA if you already have one? What are you career goals for after business school? Why are you targeting those specific schools? Those are questions that you'll need to answer thoughtfully and with conviction in order to be a competitive candidate for those schools.

Your quant score on the GMAT is a bit on the low side, so you could consider writing an optional essay to address it. You could also have your recommenders write about your analytical abilities in their letters to provide more evidence of your competency in that area. It's a not a huge red flag, and depending on how the rest of your application shapes up, it could be a non-issue. But it can't hurt to also address it in the optional essay, if for no other reason but to show the adcom that you're self-aware of the slightly less stellar pieces of your application.

Lastly, your involvement in sports can be a great asset to your application but it will be important to showcase how you've been involved and if you've stepped up into a leadership role besides being a participant. The general rule with ECs is quality is valued way more than quantity. So it's will be important to be strategic on how you present your extra-curricular involvement.

Overall, I think you're on the right track for INSEAD and LBS based on the information you provided but I'm happy to chat more if you'd like to provide more clarification. We also offer a free introductory consultation at www.vantagepointadmissions.com if you'd like to get more personalized feedback. We'd love to hear from you!

Wish you the best!

-Melody

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