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Pinned: Welcome to MBA Spotlight Day 2! https://gmatclub.com/mba-spotlight
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Zeros wrote:
Hi Maria - I am an user of the lab and enjoying it so far! I have a question on the HBS essay - I have created a structure around major leadership learnings in my life (Have been involved in EC leadership in college and post grad) and as well as an alternate structure around major moments self discovery (generally explaining lessons the drove each career move incl. internships, internships were varied but post grad experience is just 2 yrs Deloitte risk & 2 years T2 consulting). I know you caution against writing an autobiography - do you think either structure works? Or how would you think about talking about your experiences without reading like a autobiography?

Hi there! It sounds (?) like maybe option 1 is stronger here ... explanations around "what drove each career move" is a bit of a waste of time for the HBS essay, since the *application form* itself gives you a "reason for leaving" box. So, I’d focus on the structure that lets you explain the "greatest hits" of your leadership, without worrying so much about tying it all together in a chronolgocal package
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MBA2024_Hopeful wrote:
Hi Maria - thank you so much for the work you’ve done on ApplicantLab! Been really helpful as I walk through the applications process.

Thank you!!! :) Don’t forget to you can reach out to us with questions! (just... I’ve currently got a killer cold so I might be a little delayed on replying to stuff this week, but USUALLY I try to reply within 3 business days!) :)
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ApplicantLab wrote:
Hi there! It sounds (?) like maybe option 1 is stronger here ... explanations around "what drove each career move" is a bit of a waste of time for the HBS essay, since the *application form* itself gives you a "reason for leaving" box. So, I’d focus on the structure that lets you explain the "greatest hits" of your leadership, without worrying so much about tying it all together in a chronolgocal package

Thanks Maria! I’m sorry you feel under the weather today, I know what it’s like :( Would it be ok to reach out via applicant lab email for a similar profile review? I didn’t get a chance to do so here but I know you’re not feeling well and it is way past the time limit - totally understandable if not
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Hello Maria! If you can’t get to my profile review info above, can I send a email to you as well? Thank you
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RivenSun wrote:
Age 32 Black, Male, United States First gen college student, first gen American Education: University of Maryland Global Campus, B.S. in Cybersecurity Technology, 3.69 gpa Work Ex - United States Navy- Senior Intelligence Analyst- 11 years (enlisted, 6 years of technical and management experience within. Direct reports: 30) Booz Allen Analyst- Associate/Senior Cyber Intelligence Analyst- 2 1/2 years GRE Score - 321: 158 quant, 163 verbal, retaking soon Aiming for around 325+ to up quant score Post MBA Goals: PM in tech (specifically in the trust and safety/privacy sector to fight disinformation) Long term: entrepreneurship in the tech space Reaches: Wharton, Stanford, Harvard, UChiago, Northwestern Target: UCLA, Duke, CMU, NYU, UT-Austin Question: are my scores, background, goals in line with my reaches and targets? For reaches, what do I have to specify to stand out more especially as a veteran?

Hi there and first of all thank you for your service! have you reached out to service2school yet? they are a nonprofit that matches US military veterans in MBA programs with current veterans applying… they are a wonderful resource that I highly recommend.

What’s unique about this profile is that many times people apply to MBA programs immediately after leaving the military but it looks like you spent two years in Consulting first? so in terms of your resume twins it’ll be one part military but also one part booz.

I think you’re right to be retaking the GRE; the bigger challenge here is going to be the number of years of work experience that you have…

Schools that I think might be more open to your background would be Tuck (tend to be more open to folks with unconventional paths), UVa Darden (veteran-friendly) , McDonough (they are in DC) — I also like duke, and I think Tepper is a wonderful choice for you because they really are on The Cutting Edge of ai/ml Etc which I’m guessing is going to be a huge part of cybersecurity issues going forward.

Apply with a career Vision that’s in the long-term a little bit more specific than just Tech entrepreneurship :)
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placidnotes wrote:
What is your recommendation for someone who works a consultant who is specialized in cybersecurity especially when we are in competition with strategy or management consultants who are also applying from the same firm?

Focus on the interpersonal leadership stories you can share! E.g. managing others on your team, managing client expectations, etc.

Don’t say you want the MBA to move INTO strategy ... OWN the cybersecturity stuff and center the career vision around that
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sippy01032003 wrote:
Demographics Age: 20 Gender: Male Ethnicity: Asian (Citizenship: India) Education and Stats Bachelor’s Degree: Business Administration (Amity University Noida) CGPA: 8.40 GMAT: yet to take Internships: 1. RecruitNXT (Startup): Worked on a startup as a team lead helping create a Web Extension for HR professionals. 2. Unnati (NGO): Worked on writing informative articles for various social media pages of the organization. 3. Metvy (Startup): Contributed to the selection criteria of potential interns and helped filtering people out. 4. IBS Software (Coorporate): Learnt data validation and contributed towards filtering of unbilled and unearned revenue (Accomplisments of star performer and letter of reccommendation for each) Cocurriculars: 1. College Football Team Captain. 2. 3 Times Nationals Tennis player. 3. Taekwando Red Belt certification from World Taekwando Federation 4. Diploma in classical music (Degree) Work Experience: yet to get Post MBA Goals Target: T15 Questions: Would getting experience from a company with a big name in the market be comparatively better at contributing to my selection or having experience helping with the growth of a startup? How big a weightage do accomplishments in co curricular activities have while considering my profile for selection ?

Hi there! Re: which job to take, take the one you’d rather have IF MBA programs DID NOT EXIST. That way, even if you don’t get into an MBA program later, you won’t have wasted years of your life in a job you dislike!

Going by : https://www.applicantlab.com/blog/mba-a ... eet-needs/

... pick the job that will allow you have more impact.... though I will say, if you’re from India, given the intense competition, working at a well-known firm might be better... IF you can really stand out there. Similarly, if you work for a start-up, work for one that is raising a lot of money from well-known VC funds, etc.

Could you have a full-time job at a fancy company, but then help a startup in your spare time?

re: cocurricular activities, these are hobbies which are nice , and they won’t hurt, but the ones you mention won’t make a huge difference in b-school admissions , imho
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sanjanag104 wrote:
Hi Maria, if someone has a low GPA (international student, but GPA is considerably less)- would you suggest a high GMAT to offset it, or will a high GRE score suffice (Q168, V165)?

I think any high test score works here! Ideally, all else being equal, a higher GMAT is better, since that is the "vanity metric" for schools, but if you’re aiming for R2 coming up, then go with the GRE and focus now on the essays, etc.
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amansinghrajput wrote:
I am asking for Cambridge judge business school

Oh I apologize, I read it as "CBS" = Columbia Business School. my understanding is that their "R3" is the same as "R2" for other schools, right? So it shouldn’t be too late then, based on that?
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(hey GMAT club folks -- please send me an email if I need to get out of this chat room? There are a million messages and so I have no idea if I’m supposed to stop or not? Thank you!) (either way, I might stop in about 10 minutes since that will have been 2 hours, ha ha)
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Kindly evaluate my profile:
26M CS Engineer from VIT University
10th: 10.00 CGPA
12th : 88%
Grad cgpa : 8.63
Applying with GMAT wavier
Work ex: Currently a Consultant at Eli lilly and Co. Previously worked with Amazon as a Business Analyst, ZS Associates as an Associate and OYO as an Area Supply Manager.
Total work ex: 4.5+years
Strong Analytics background. Strong consulting experience.
Designed Financial models and Business intelligence dashboards for Amazon.
Achievements & Community Service:
1.Multiple national level scholarships (eg Ishan Uday)
2.Founded a Chapter in VIT University and was President in another.
3.Led Career Counselling drive for under privilege children
4.Organized multiple CSR activities for Female workers of Tea gardens in association with ABITA
5.Mentored 10+ students for interview preps and getting into consulting
6.Managed cultural fests
7.National level Lawn Tennis player
8.Degree holder in Indian classical music

For Simon Business School (Rochester) and University of Maryland (GMAT not reqd). And what other schools can I target in the US
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Sajjad1994 wrote:
Thank you everyone for joining us, This chat is officially over

^^
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Cristhian29 wrote:
Age 34 (intend on applying R2 2023 for 2024) Male, Peru Education: Electronics Engineering, Top 1 University in Peru Work Ex total 10 years De Vicente Constructora (Construction) - Senior MEP Estimator 5 years Termo Sistemas - HVAC Supervisor 1 year Constructora Inarco (Construction) - MEP Estimator 3 years COSAPI(Construction) - Budget Trainee 6 months ABB (Automation and electrification) - Process Automation Services Professional Intern 6 months Applying with a test waiver Extra Curricular: Member of IEEE PUCP Student Branch Passionate about E-sports Post MBA Goals: Product/Brand Management at Technology. Question: What are my chances of getting into Michigan Ross, Johnson, Darden, Anderson, McCombs, Foster, Goizueta, Kelley, Tepper, McDonough, Scheller, Owen, Mendoza, Jones, Simon? Is there anything I can do to strengthen my application? Are there other schools in which I would have more chances to be admitted?

I think your chances are solid, if we assume that you’ve been, e.g. managing other people? I’m sorry that I don’t know what an "MEP Estimator" is? Does it involve leading other people, or is it a solitary desk job? It will come down to your leadership experience --- ie, are you working with / managing others, or doing these jobs all by yourself in a solitary manner?

Re: schools to target, look at those that have strong real estate offerings -- e.g. UCLA anderson; McDonough -- you can say that you want to pivot from construction to real estate / "the business side" of your field.

I would not mention "e-sports" in the application -- gives an image of someone only playing video games all day, anti-social, etc. I’m not saying that You ARE anti-social, but it risks giving the wrong impression.

There’s no way you can take a test (gre?) and get a strong score? Aside from "making sure you have good leadership experience", the biggest thing you could do to improve your chances would be to apply with a strong test score.
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MBA2024_Hopeful wrote:
I’m requesting a profile evaluation for myself. This is information at the time of matriculation - please let me know if you’d like me to add anything! Demographics: Age 26, Male, Born in India but lived in Canada for the majority of my life (Canadian citizen) GMAT: 760 (47 verbal, 47 quant, 6.0 AWA, 8 IR) Academics: Bachelor of Applied Science in Industrial Engineering (with a Minor in Business) from the University of Toronto with a 3.67 GPA out of 4.0 (Rank 9 of 128) Work Experience: 4 years at Deloitte Consulting (Business Analyst -> Consultant -> Senior Consultant) on the Workday Implementation team. Early promotion to Consultant and multiple workplace awards (Gold Dot, Applause, etc) Extracurricular Experience: Content creator and writer focused on hockey (in collaboration with local sports media), social impact consulting, animal shelter volunteer, mentorship and recruitment experience, entrepreneurship awards, mobile app creator Reason for MBA: Pivoting from Technology Consulting in Canada to Management Consulting in the US in the short term, and moving to an education non-profit in the long term Target: Full-time MBA @ M7 + Haas/Yale/Tuck How does my portfolio line up with my target schools? Any areas for improvement or emphasis based on what I’ve written above? And would I be bucketed against other Indians or other Canadians? Thank you in advance!

Ok so first of all, there should be a tonnnnnn of ppl at Deloitte that can help you with a lot of this? Isn’t there even a grad school application council thingee there (or is that only for the US employees?) -- anyway, your resume twins at Deloitte would be a great help here.

Are you sponsored by Deloitte?

re: the career goals, why the move to wanting to do consulting in the US, other than money? If it’s just about salary (it RISKS lookling like MAYBE it is...) then I would instead favor a career vision that goes into "industry" (related to waht you’ve done at deloitte) ...

... I do not advise the "moving to an education nonprofit in the long term" story... I don’t see enough evidence of that... "social impact consultig" as a side thing is fine, but I don’t see enough here for a jump ALL the way to non-profit to make sense (?) -- since you have not worked Full Time for a nonprofit beofre, I would choose something esle.

re: your competitiveness, your peers at Deloitte should have a ton of "resume twin fodder" to help you !
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Chineseguy110 wrote:
Personal Information: Age: 25 Gender: Male Ethnicity: Asian (Chinese) Education: University of Minnesota Major: Economics Minor: Asian Literature, Business Management GPA: 3.33 GMAT: Not taken official GMAT Scored 650 on GMAT Focus Edition practice test Professional Aspirations: Seeking a senior or director-level role in product management within the AI industry post-MBA Long-term goal to launch a tech startup in the AI space Work Experience: 1 year as a Consultant 2 years as a Technical Product Manager in AI and ML space Currently Lead Technical Product Manager at United Healthcare Optum Achievements include launching products impacting millions, leading EfficientPivot project, and implementing NLP-driven search solutions MBA Program Preferences: Interested in Northwestern’s full-time AI MBA program Also considering Stanford and MIT for their strong tech and entrepreneurship focus Looking for programs with robust entrepreneurship labs, clubs, and networking opportunities to foster skills necessary for future tech startup Extracurricular Activities: Peer Lead Mentor at work, supporting new employees Assisting in family food business with project management and marketing Strengths and Contributions: Expertise in AI and ML product management and development Demonstrated leadership in guiding cross-functional teams Innovative approach in integrating AI solutions to enhance user experiences Entrepreneurial mindset, evidenced by contributions to family business and workplace initiatives

I think the Kellogg AI MBA could be an interesting fit for you -- is there any way you can get your test score up? You’d ideally have a stronger GMAT or GRE score, esp with your GPA.

Other schools with strong entrepreneurship programs that sometimes people forget about are Duke (good entrep + also good healthcare), UCLA, even Rice! I’d also look at Tepper since they are a huge AI / ML school. Haas has a good combo of tech + also healthcare.
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Ok folks, I’ve now been here for 2 hours and I have probably worn out my welcome (plus I am about to fall asleep from my cold!) - Thank you !
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ApplicantLab wrote:
Ok so first of all, there should be a tonnnnnn of ppl at Deloitte that can help you with a lot of this? Isn’t there even a grad school application council thingee there (or is that only for the US employees?) -- anyway, your resume twins at Deloitte would be a great help here. Are you sponsored by Deloitte? re: the career goals, why the move to wanting to do consulting in the US, other than money? If it’s just about salary (it RISKS lookling like MAYBE it is...) then I would instead favor a career vision that goes into "industry" (related to waht you’ve done at deloitte) ... ... I do not advise the "moving to an education nonprofit in the long term" story... I don’t see enough evidence of that... "social impact consultig" as a side thing is fine, but I don’t see enough here for a jump ALL the way to non-profit to make sense (?) -- since you have not worked Full Time for a nonprofit beofre, I would choose something esle. re: your competitiveness, your peers at Deloitte should have a ton of "resume twin fodder" to help you !

Thank you Maria! Will digest and shoot you an email, if that’s okay!
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Hi folks, I’d like to reschedule my GMAT test that was booked on 20 Dec 23 to Apr 24 but the system won’t let me since they’ll be changing to new GMAT after Jan 24.. do you guys have any suggestions on this? Thanks
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Hello everyone,
Myself aged 25 having 2 yr work exp as developer Undergrad computer science from vtu University.
10th: 9.6
12th:75
Grad:75
Achievements:
Zonal level football player( school)
Content / creative head at DSC google ( managed all content related work for different seminars for diff colleges under dsc)
Captain football team
Volunteered ncc with credible certifications
School college level debate winners
Lead cultural fests
Product based company intern ship
Can someone suggest which schools to target?
Preferred roles: consultant, marketing, product management
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Viths27 wrote:
Hello everyone, Myself aged 25 having 2 yr work exp as developer Undergrad computer science from vtu University. 10th: 9.6 12th:75 Grad:75 Achievements: Zonal level football player( school) Content / creative head at DSC google ( managed all content related work for different seminars for diff colleges under dsc) Captain football team Volunteered ncc with credible certifications School college level debate winners Lead cultural fests Product based company intern ship Can someone suggest which schools to target? Preferred roles: consultant, marketing, product management

You can use this tool - https://gmatclub.com/forum/what-are-my- ... 09854.html
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Can schools see the gmat scores of papers taken online if you decide to not send them?
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Is the focused edition, cross sectional adaptive or adaptivess is restricted to each section individually?
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Yoga_Venkatesh wrote:
Is the focused edition, cross sectional adaptive or adaptivess is restricted to each section individually?

The new Focus Edition is question adaptive not section adaptive.
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poojaarora1818 wrote:
The new Focus Edition is question adaptive not section adaptive.

As is the classic GMAT, no?
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nivivacious wrote:
Can schools see the gmat scores of papers taken online if you decide to not send them?

AFAIK no
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Hi I am 37 yrs old Male working in Merchant Navy with 15 years of Experience want apply for Executive MBA programme should I give GMAT or Executive Assessment (EA).What is the difference between EMBA and Global EMBA. Which MBA program I should go like finance, marketing or any other please suggest
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Hello. I’m male 31 yrs old, have 6.5 yrs work ex in public sector bank as an officer. Started one small business as well. Participated in NGOs also. What are my chances for top B schools in USA and UK if I get 720+ in gmat?
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Is there any zoom meeting?
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Can anyone tell me their honest egmat experience especially their verbal part? They are posting video interviews of students on daily basis? Are they really that good?
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Yes, they’re good
I scored a 760 and I mostly did their verbal part only.
Their content is short and to the point.
Their main strengths are the questions, customized tests, question forums and their sigma mock is one of the best mocks out there. They also have a surprisingly quick TAT when replying to your mails.
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I did not explore other places so I don’t know how good they are compared to others. But they’re definitely sufficient and good for the prep.
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Also, I cant comment on the quant part since I did not go through the quant content. But the quant questions were on an appropriate level of difficulty.
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hii i have a general question about answering strengthening/weaking questions
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can truisms strengthen/weaken a given argument (RC)
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Welcome to MBA Spotlight Day 2! https://gmatclub.com/mba-spotlight
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Hi Everyone! We will be doing an AMA and profile review chat with Stratus Admissions Expert in a few minutes. Thank you for joining!
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Thank you Narenn and StratusSophie for joining!
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Hi all! My name is Sophie Hilaire and I’m an MBA admissions counselor with Stratus. I’m a Wharton MBA and West Point alum; I spent 6 years in the Army and 5 years with McKinsey as a generalist strategy consultant. Feel free to ask any Qs, I’ll be online for the next hour or so.
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Welcome StratusSophie! We are thrilled to have you joining us today to answer questions. For those of us joining this chat session, please feel free to ask Sophie your questions about your profile, MBA programs/expectations, and more.
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Demographics

Age: 20

Gender: Male

Ethnicity: Asian (Citizenship: India)

Education and Stats

Bachelor’s Degree: Business Administration (Amity University Noida)
CGPA: 8.40

GMAT: yet to take


Internships:
1. RecruitNXT (Startup): Worked on a startup as a team lead helping create a Web Extension for HR professionals.
2. Unnati (NGO): Worked on writing informative articles for various social media pages of the organization.
3. Metvy (Startup): Contributed to the selection criteria of potential interns and helped filtering people out.
4. IBS Software (Coorporate): Learnt data validation and contributed towards filtering of unbilled and unearned revenue
(Accomplisments of star performer and letter of reccommendation for each)

Cocurriculars:
1. College Football Team Captain.
2. 3 Times Nationals Tennis player.
3. Taekwando Red Belt certification from World Taekwando Federation
4. Diploma in classical music (Degree)

Work Experience: yet to get

Post MBA Goals

Target: T15

Questions:

Would getting experience from a company with a big name in the market be comparatively better at contributing to my selection or having experience helping with the growth of a startup?
How big a weightage do accomplishments in co curricular activities have while considering my profile for selection ?
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Please help me out and recommend what would be the best for my profile going forward
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Hello, throwing my profile into the “chances” conversation. Thank you for your insights!

– 28 year old male, non-minority. Graduated with a 3.5 from a top 40 U.S. University. 324 GRE (158 quant, 166 verbal)
– Non-traditional candidate: environmental science and international relations double major for undergrad; 2 years teaching English in Spain; 4 years working with S&P500 companies and major investors at a business/sustainability non-profit. Pursuing an MBA for the quantitative and business training I lack.

What are my T7/T20 odds in Round 2? Applying to Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Ross, Berkeley, UCLA, Georgetown. Thank you!
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HI

Age: 24

Gender: Male
Citizenship: India)

Education and Stats

Bachelor’s Degree: Business Administration (Amity University Noida)
CGPA: 8.40

GMAT: yet to take


Internships:
1. RecruitNXT (Startup): Worked on a startup as a team lead helping create a Web Extension for HR professionals.
2. Unnati (NGO): Worked on writing informative articles for various social media pages of the organization.
3. Metvy (Startup): Contributed to the selection criteria of potential interns and helped filtering people out.
4. IBS Software (Coorporate): Learnt data validation and contributed towards filtering of unbilled and unearned revenue
(Accomplisments of star performer and letter of reccommendation for each)

Cocurriculars:
1. College Football Team Captain.
2. 3 Times Nationals Tennis player.
3. Taekwando Red Belt certification from World Taekwando Federation
4. Diploma in classical music (Degree)

Work Experience: yet to get

Post MBA Goals

Target: T15

Questions:
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Hello - I’m requesting a profile evaluation for myself. This is information at the time of matriculation - please let me know if you’d like me to add anything!

Demographics: Age 26, Male, Born in India but lived in Canada for the majority of my life (Canadian citizen)

GMAT: 760 (47 verbal, 47 quant, 6.0 AWA, 8 IR)

Academics: Bachelor of Applied Science in Industrial Engineering (with a Minor in Business) from the University of Toronto with a 3.67 GPA out of 4.0 (Rank 9 of 128)

Work Experience: 4 years at Deloitte Consulting (Business Analyst -> Consultant -> Senior Consultant) on the Workday Implementation team. Early promotion to Consultant and multiple workplace awards (Gold Dot, Applause, etc)

Extracurricular Experience: Content creator and writer focused on hockey (in collaboration with local sports media), social impact consulting, animal shelter volunteer, mentorship and recruitment experience, entrepreneurship awards, mobile app creator

Reason for MBA: Pivoting from Technology Consulting in Canada to Management Consulting in the US in the short term, and moving to an education non-profit in the long term

Target: Full-time MBA @ M7 + Haas/Yale/Tuck

How does my portfolio line up with my target schools? Any areas for improvement or emphasis based on what I’ve written above? And would I be bucketed against other Indians or other Canadians? Thank you in advance!
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Hi Sophie,
I am an Indian with a modest score of 720. I have 2 yrs of work ex at Oracle and 2 years at Amazon.
I have recently co-founded a startup, which we plan to go live with in the next month.

After the launch we have plans to go Global and have interest from several investors regarding the same.

I also mentor students regarding IT placements and career switches.

Post MBA goal - Launch the company in the US

I have 2 questions:
1. What can I do to boost my chances as the GMAT appears to be a roadblock for R2 applications? I do feel my profile is competitive but what should be strategy for better schools?
2. If I do decide to retake the GMAT - does the adcom consider if the scores are sent after the deadline, maybe before interview dates are rolled out?
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Or if I should just leave T10 schools completely in case score does not increase?
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Age 34 (intend on applying R2 2023 for 2024)
Male, Peru

Education: Electronics Engineering, Top 1 University in Peru
GPA 3.45

Work Ex total 10 years

De Vicente Constructora (Construction) - Senior MEP (Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing) Estimator 5 years
Termo Sistemas - HVAC Supervisor 1 year
Constructora Inarco (Construction) - MEP Estimator 3 years
COSAPI(Construction) - Budget Trainee 6 months
ABB (Automation and electrification) - Process Automation Services Professional Intern 6 months

Applying with a test waiver

Extra Curricular:
Member of IEEE PUCP Student Branch

Post MBA Goals: Product/Brand Management at Technology.

Question:
What are my chances of getting into Michigan Ross, Johnson, Darden, Anderson, McCombs, Foster, Goizueta, Kelley, Tepper, McDonough, Scheller, Owen, Mendoza, Jones, Simon?
Is there anything I can do to strengthen my application?
Are there other schools where I would have more chances to be admitted?
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HI, I’m requesting a profile evaluation for myself.

Demographics: Age 24, Male, Born in Algeria

GMAT: haven’t taken yet

Academics: Bachelor of Applied Science in Industrial Engineering (with a Minor in Business) from the University of Toronto with a 3.67 GPA out of 4.0 (Rank 9 of 128)

Work Experience: 4 years at Deloitte Consulting (Business Analyst -> Consultant -> Senior Consultant) on the Workday Implementation team. Early promotion to Consultant and multiple workplace awards (Gold Dot, Applause, etc)

Extracurricular Experience: Content creator and writer focused on hockey (in collaboration with local sports media), social impact consulting, animal shelter volunteer, mentorship and recruitment experience, entrepreneurship awards, mobile app creator

Reason for MBA: Pivoting from Technology Consulting in Canada to Management Consulting in the US in the short term, and moving to an education non-profit in the long term

Target: Full-time MBA @ M7 + Haas/Yale/Tuck

How does my portfolio line up with my target schools? Any areas for improvement or emphasis based on what I’ve written above? And would I be bucketed against other Indians or other Canadians? Thank you in advance!
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Hi Sippy, thanks for your question. I see you’re thinking ahead, which is great. (unless you’re considering delayed entry?)

As far as your question about where to head professionally pre-MBA, either a startup or an established company is good, it’s all in how you tell it in your story and connect the dots to why you need an MBA next. A big name in the market never hurts though, since it shows you’ve been rigorously run through the stage gates of a respected org with an established process.

Extracurriculars are important, so you should start thinking now about where to put your time outside of work--something you’re passionate about but also in line with your future aspirations. Extracurriculars can also be things you do at work that are outside of your scope, such as leading an affinity group.
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Age 23
Male
HIspanic
First Gen
4 year USMC enlisted
Current ed.: BS Computer Science, Double Minor Math & Entrepreneurship
Current gpa: 4.0

ECS:
Lots of volunteer work (200+ hrs a year)
Vice President of hackathan club (largest collegiate hackathon in SF)
Founding Real estate student org
Real estate internship
SEO Career Participant
MLT Career Prep Fellow
GMAT: yet to take, aiming for 760 with my math background
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Demographics:
Age 32
Black, Male, United States
First gen college student, first gen American

Education: University of Maryland Global Campus, B.S. in Cybersecurity Technology, 3.69 gpa. Finished degree after service.

Work Ex:
United States Navy- Senior Intelligence Analyst- 11 years (enlisted, 6 years of technical and management experience within. Direct reports: 30)

Booz Allen Hamilton - Associate/Senior Cyber Intelligence Analyst- 2 years.

GRE Score - 321: 158 quant, 163 verbal, retaking soon
Aiming for around 325+ to up quant score

Post MBA Goals: PM in tech (specifically in the trust and safety/privacy sector to fight disinformation) Long term: entrepreneurship in the tech space to build a company that focuses on internet privacy and helping fight disinformation online.

Reaches: Wharton, Stanford, Harvard, UChicago, Northwestern
Target: Yale, UCLA, Duke, NYU, UT-Austin

Question: are my scores and background in line with my reaches and targets. For reaches, what do I have to specify to stand out more especially as a veteran.
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MY PROFILE-

Indian Male
Run a small Coaching center for helping school kids in academics (4+years) and also looks after my small family business of construction material sales
BTech 76%
Mtech 86% (IIT)
Gmat 740
little social work and extra-curriculars
What are chances for colleges ranked in USA TOP 20-40 and what are chances for scholarship?
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Hi Tyler - that’s an interesting profile you have. You’ll automatically stand out from the pile--your challenge will be to convince the adcom through your story that you are perfectly suited for an MBA, and will be able to contribute to your classmates’ experiences as well.

As far as the schools you’re considering in R2, I’d say UCLA and Georgetown look like solid targets for you. The rest are reaches for pretty much anyone, but if you’re able to articulate your story really well, I could see things going well for you somewhere on your list. At the top programs, it becomes a bit of a crap shoot and doesn’t hurt to apply to more, so long as you have capacity for quality apps.
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StratusSophie, here is a useful chat tip - just click on the tiny arrow at bottom right of a chat message, select quote and the relevant question/comment will automatically be quoted in your replies. See the screenshot below

ChatNote1.png

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28
Male
Black
1 year tech unicorn, 2 years startup founder, 2.5 years consulting
3.7/5 GPA, STEM
GRE: taking it next week; target 320+
Post-MBA goal: Investment Banking
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StratusSophie wrote:
Hi Tyler - that’s an interesting profile you have. You’ll automatically stand out from the pile--your challenge will be to convince the adcom through your story that you are perfectly suited for an MBA, and will be able to contribute to your classmates’ experiences as well. As far as the schools you’re considering in R2, I’d say UCLA and Georgetown look like solid targets for you. The rest are reaches for pretty much anyone, but if you’re able to articulate your story really well, I could see things going well for you somewhere on your list. At the top programs, it becomes a bit of a crap shoot and doesn’t hurt to apply to more, so long as you have capacity for quality apps.

Much appreciated Sophie - I’ll cross my fingers! Thanks again
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Hi MBA2024 - good questions! Your profile is an interesting one. I think the schools you added to M7 are really good fits for you. The M7s I’d probably cut are HBS, MIT, and Booth.

So long as you’ve been working on your extracurriculars recently, there’s nothing I’d add.

Different schools do ethnicity/citizenship bucketing differently, so I can’t comment there.
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Hello,
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HI, I’m requesting a profile evaluation for myself.

Demographics: Age 24, Male, Born in Algeria

GMAT: haven’t taken yet

Academics:
Bachelor of Automation engineering. rank : 20 . gpa : 12/20
Master of automation and industrial computing. rank : 2. gpa : 16/20

Work Experience: i worked in the family business as a product designer for 5 years.
I built a website for the business, and i run the social media platforms.

Internship : 6 month internship at the Renewable Energy laboratories.
Started a startup during my last year in university as part of my graduation, managed to create prototypes for renewable energy adapters. the project was one of the top ranked project in the state. helped me graduate with a 19.6/20.

Reason for MBA: gain experience by working for a tech company in the US in the short term, and expanding the family business and my startup in the long term

Target: affordable top 50 B-schools in the US or Canada

How does my portfolio line up with my target schools? what are my chances for round 2 ?Any areas for improvement or emphasis based on what I’ve written above? And would the competition be lower since there are only a few Algerians in B schools? Thank you in advance!
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Hi Lord -
1. Your profile could be quite competitive at T10-20 schools, perhaps even with scholarship $, so consider that if your GMAT remains stagnant. You could also share why your score isn’t as high as you expect in your optional essay. This would all depend on which schools you’re applying to, since a 720 is great!
2. You can do this at most schools, HBS is not one of them. Just give them a heads up in your optional essay and let them know when they can expect an update.
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Demographics: Age 36, male, asian-american

Education: USC, B.A. in international relations, 3.06 GPA (switched from comp sci in 3rd year, 3.41 GPA)
GMAT: aiming for 655 focus edition (~710 original)

Work Experience:
3.5 years DoorDash strategy & ops, 2 promotions from associate to manager
1.5 yrs at Square, pivot from ops to s&o - moved to DoorDash via M&A
2 yrs at Delivery startup, operations lead (2 promotions from specialist) - moved to Square via M&A

Reason for MBA: growth within tech field but same function (product and business strategy & ops roles), seeking move to consumer or b2b software products (mid stage startups or biz units within large companies), long-term goal of entrepreneurship

Reaches: Haas, Yale
Target: Anderson, Tepper, McCombs, Foster

Questions:
- How does my profile stack up against other tech candidates?
- How do age and low GPA work for or against my candidacy?
- Are these the right level of programs I should target? Any programs missing from list?
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I’m 27 years old. Indian male, Industrial Engineer with 7.5 gpa. Founder of a health and wellness start up founded in 2019, then shifted to manufacturing of packaging films in 2021 and currently building it pan india. Recently gave gmat focus and got 745.
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Age 27 (Applying R2 & R3 2023 for 2024)
Female, Nigeria

GRE: 329 (Q166, V163)
GPA (3.19/5.0)

Work experience: 5 years
Industry: Financial services ( Portfolio Management, Treasury operations)

Extra Curricular:
5 years Mentoring high school students
2 years volunteering at an hunger alleviation NGO

Reason for MBA: Career switch

Short term Post MBA Goals: Consulting
Long term post MBA goals: Founder of a social impact

Target school: Stanford, Kellogg, Duke, Tuck, Cornell, Columbia, Wharton

Question: What are my chances given my low undergrad GPA
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Hi Cristhian - Are you applying for EMBAs? With your work experiences being outside the typical 3-8 year window, I’d recommend it, it would make more sense for your story and the network you’d gain would be more relevant to you. Given your list, I believe you would have a good chance at an admit at the last 5 schools, but your story is going to need to be dialed in to overcome your work experience # of years.
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Hi Marco - I didn’t catch your Q about your profile. Overall though, you have an atypical background for a vet which is a good thing if you tell your story well. I worked with a former enlisted NG applicant with a low GPA and low GMAT but he ended up with a 50% scholarship to Tepper, his first choice, in R3. The key for him was his story, as well.
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Hi RivenSun - solid background for a vet, good luck on your next GRE! Did you consider Consortium?

Currently your GRE is below your reach schools’ medians, so I’m glad to hear you’re retaking. Your GPA is excellent, but from a non-feeder school.

To improve your profile, what are you doing for extracurriculars? And how soon are you planning on applying? Your # years work experience is already outside the typical 3-8 year duration, so I’d get your app in R2 if possible.
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StratusSophie wrote:
Hi Cristhian - Are you applying for EMBAs? With your work experiences being outside the typical 3-8 year window, I’d recommend it, it would make more sense for your story and the network you’d gain would be more relevant to you. Given your list, I believe you would have a good chance at an admit at the last 5 schools, but your story is going to need to be dialed in to overcome your work experience # of years.

Thank you Sophie, I am applying to full-time MBA, I chose this because I want to pivot into Tech
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Hi Gulluhullu - with your excellent GMAT score, leadership experience at work, and graduating from an IIT, I think you’re well poised to get in somewhere T20-40. Especially closer to T40, you could see some generous scholarship offers to help increase a program’s GMAT. In your story though, you should clearly articulate how you’ve been working in community-minded ways through your coaching center, to overcome your lack of extracurriculars.
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Profile evaluation

Indian male engineer
BE in Civil engineering with 7.56 CGPA.
Having 4.3 yrs of work experience as a highway design engineer. Working with abroad clients.

GMAT :720
Extra curricular: - captain of College cricket team and also head of Tedx college team.


My question:
I am willing to apply in Cambridge Judge Business School, UK in R3, would it be advisable ?


Any other suggestion of college in UK.
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StratusSophie wrote:
Hi MBA2024 - good questions! Your profile is an interesting one. I think the schools you added to M7 are really good fits for you. The M7s I’d probably cut are HBS, MIT, and Booth. So long as you’ve been working on your extracurriculars recently, there’s nothing I’d add. Different schools do ethnicity/citizenship bucketing differently, so I can’t comment there.

Thank you Sophie! Any reasons why you would cut those 3 schools in particular?
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GMATTMCLUB wrote:
28 Male Black 1 year tech unicorn, 2 years startup founder, 2.5 years consulting 3.7/5 GPA, STEM GRE: taking it next week; target 320+ Post-MBA goal: Investment Banking

Nice! Good luck on the GRE. What’s your question that I can help answer?
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StratusSophie wrote:
Hi Gulluhullu - with your excellent GMAT score, leadership experience at work, and graduating from an IIT, I think you’re well poised to get in somewhere T20-40. Especially closer to T40, you could see some generous scholarship offers to help increase a program’s GMAT. In your story though, you should clearly articulate how you’ve been working in community-minded ways through your coaching center, to overcome your lack of extracurriculars.

thanks a lot for your insight
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My profile:

Peruvian woman (30 years old)
Work experience: 6 years (5 years in internal consulting in the main peruvian bank, 1 year in strategy consulting)
Education: Bachelor in Management (GPA: 3; percentil 80%)
Expected GMAT score: 700
Extracurricular: Co-founded an ONG and led different non-profit organizations to improve education in my country.
Post-MBA Goals: Strategy Consulting
Other factors: First Generation Student
Considering to apply in 2R to HBS, Ross, Cornell, Oxford and Cambridge (full time program).

Based on that information, please, I would like to know if my profile good enough to apply for the mentioned schools and for scholarships?
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Aymene wrote:
HI, I’m requesting a profile evaluation for myself. Demographics: Age 24, Male, Born in Algeria GMAT: haven’t taken yet Academics: Bachelor of Automation engineering. rank : 20 . gpa : 12/20 Master of automation and industrial computing. rank : 2. gpa : 16/20 Work Experience: i worked in the family business as a product designer for 5 years. I built a website for the business, and i run the social media platforms. Internship : 6 month internship at the Renewable Energy laboratories. Started a startup during my last year in university as part of my graduation, managed to create prototypes for renewable energy adapters. the project was one of the top ranked project in the state. helped me graduate with a 19.6/20. Reason for MBA: gain experience by working for a tech company in the US in the short term, and expanding the family business and my startup in the long term Target: affordable top 50 B-schools in the US or Canada How does my portfolio line up with my target schools? what are my chances for round 2 ?Any areas for improvement or emphasis based on what I’ve written above? And would the competition be lower since there are only a few Algerians in B schools? Thank you in advance!

Very cool! you’re right that MBA programs don’t see a ton of Algerian applicants, so you’ll immediately stand out from the pile. Good luck on your GMAT, it will inform your reach/target/safety schools.

In terms of improving your profile, what extracurriculars are you involved in? How are you going to get everything done by R2 with no GMAT yet? Unless you aren’t currently working, I think you’d run into a timing issue. You may want to get ready for R1 next year.
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StratusSophie wrote:
Nice! Good luck on the GRE. What’s your question that I can help answer?

Thank you.
My questions: How competitive is my profile for M7/T15? Can I get test waivers + significant scholarships from T25 schools?
To add, I volunteer with two organisations in the area of clean energy - a UN arm, and a company. At work, I’m involved in 3 committees, and a strong member of all.
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Thanks for the questions everyone! My time here has come to an end, but if I didn’t get to your Q and you want to schedule a free 30 min consultation with me or anyone else on the Stratus team, feel free to sign up here https://www.stratusadmissionscounseling ... sultation/
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Good luck!
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StratusSophie, Thanks very much Sophie for visiting our chat today and providing valuable advice to MBA applicants.
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StratusSophie wrote:
Hi RivenSun - solid background for a vet, good luck on your next GRE! Did you consider Consortium? Currently your GRE is below your reach schools’ medians, so I’m glad to hear you’re retaking. Your GPA is excellent, but from a non-feeder school. To improve your profile, what are you doing for extracurriculars? And how soon are you planning on applying? Your # years work experience is already outside the typical 3-8 year duration, so I’d get your app in R2 if possible.

Hi! Yes. I’m applying through the consortium as well and for round 2.
I have ECs from my time in the Navy: habitat for humanity for 1 years; command fundraising volunteering for 3 years raising over ~$15k for command activities; command department sponsorship coordinator for a year)
Current EC: help mentor and support veterans recently getting out of the military through a few veteran groups.
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@Everyone, see you in the YouTube LIVE on Round 2 App Tips shortly. Join Here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yhEQNRff_0
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MBA Spotlight in full swing
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Degree : BTech in IT
College : Srm university (main campus)
Graduation year : 2016
Cgpa in btech: 8.04
Percentage in btech : 84%
Percentage in 12th : 75.6%
Cgpa in 10th : 9.2

Work experience : 3years
Company : verizon (US TELECOM COMPANY )
Role : data scientist 2

Patent : filed a patent
Research paper : 1 published in International Journal of Water.
Others :
Awarded as top 5% data scientist on kaggle by kaggle community in 2020.
Secretary for initiating fusion in year 2019-2020 (student driven social club).
Awarded by Verizon India MD in July 2021.
Bagged 3 spotlight awards.





i am planning to do MBA/MSBA in business analytics from UK (preferring)

Want to know if Warwick / Manchester / London business school / imperial college of london.
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could you please help with profile evaluation ?
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Kushchokhani wrote:
MBA Spotlight in full swing

:lol:
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shubra1999 wrote:
could you please help with profile evaluation ?

If you have not, yet recommend that you make a post in the decision tracker - it is easier and better for profile evals! https://gmatclub.com/forum/decision-tra ... ister.html
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We just did our MBA cost video if people are interested in viewing it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fXrr2y_NDg
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Hello all,

Not sure if anyone applied to the early round of Gabelli Business School and since Dec 1 is the decision date, has anyone received any offers post interview?
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Hi Everyone, I have a query related to Focus Edition. Does the course curriculum of Focus Edition helps in acing the MBA course Curriculum? Would taking Focus Edition makes more sense?
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INSEAD Admissions and Scholarship Process

Are you planning to apply at INSEAD? Looking for scholarships to manage your finances?

Join us on a path to success with our captivating webinar. Increase your chances of success, acquire valuable insights for confidently navigating your MBA application, and stay ahead of deadlines with expert admission tips specifically designed for US B-Schools!

Speakers for the session
1. ANDY FISCHTROM
Andy Fischtrom, former INSEAD Head of Student Life, leverages 20 years of experience and diverse career roles. Passionate about guiding MBA candidates, he emphasizes the transformative power of business school, stressing the lasting value of personal and professional connections forged during the MBA journey.

2. SANJNA DHINGRA
Sanjna, a student at INSEAD, brings with her a robust professional background in Risk Consulting at KPMG India. Sanjna has been instrumental in the development, strategic positioning, launch, and continuous improvement of various risk-focused products aimed at enhancing organizational processes.

REGISTER FOR THE SESSION HERE!

MBA and Beyond
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Hello Guys, Do we have GMAT classic official guide for 2023-2024. I see only the focus edition on amazon.
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in that case do i use the 2022 OG for my prep??
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Aakash122822 wrote:
in that case do i use the 2022 OG for my prep??

Yep, the 2023 OG is for the FE
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2022 is the last one that’s for the classic gmat
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I’m done with my gmat but ironically didn’t use any of the books (gmat ninja for the win)

They’re all good quality and all the 2-3 pencil marks have been thoroughly erased.

If you’re in India and interested (even better if you’re in Pune or Mumbai) reply to this!
1. GMAT official guide Focus edition 2023-24 (India edition) + online question bank 2300/-
online 1400/-

2. Gmat math workbook tenth edition KAPLAN +

3. GMAT official guide Quantitative review 2022 + online question bank 500/-

question bank 1500/-
4. GMAT official guide 2022 (India edition) + online

bank 500/-
5. GMAT official guide verbal review 2022 + online
Open to negotiations ofc (these are just ballpark figures I’ve come to based on quality and how much \ paid for them)
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Anywhere else I can post this? Really don’t want those books to go to waste since they’re untouched
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Anyone here who has used/currently using GMAT CLUB tests?
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Rohinivish wrote:
Anywhere else I can post this? Really don’t want those books to go to waste since they’re untouched

Hey! You can post it here: https://gmatclub.com/forum/buy-sell-use ... l#p3292198
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Hey,
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I have my GMAT in a week, is there anything I should specifically focus on in these 6-7 days?
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