My chances getting into M7

You Have a really strong profile here, few points below:

GMAT: The average at M7 schools is around 730, with your 760 you are well above the average so you should be a strong fit for all schools
GPA: The average here at M7 schools is around a 3.6, you are below on this account at a 3.4, but all GPAs are not created equal and you had a very challenging, quant major and graduated from a good program. Given this and your strong GMAT there should be few questions marks about your intellectual aptitude

WE: Blue chip work experience in an MBA ready function will put you on par with your potential future classmates

Career Goals: you listed a few options, all of them would make sense with your background and would not raise any questions. Pick one and focus here to maximize your chances

ECs: Strong, schools like a track record of engagement and involvement so this would be a positive for you

Demo: Generally asian applicants are considered overrepresented, but depending on your country of origin this may be less of an issue

Good luck! You should be in good shape to be competitive at M7 schools

Kevin,

Thank you for the post. You should have a good chance at M7 schools. You are in the right range in terms of work experience, your GMAT is high and having experience at a top tech company helps. I am curious to hear more about the current work you are doing. How big is the company and are you managing anyone?

It will now come down to executing the right story. Where are you originally from?

Contact me to discuss your profile further as well as how we can help.

Scott@personalmbacoach.com

Best,
Scott

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for sharing your background! In my view, you should be competitive at the top schools given your strong GMAT score, solid GPA with a challenging major, strong career trajectory, and leadership roles in your extracurricular activities. Given your professional experiences, it may make more sense to focus on product management/entrepreneurship as your career goals post-MBA. Clearly conveying your story and what is motivating you to get an MBA/pursue your post-MBA goals will be important as you craft your application. If you'd like to discuss further through a free consultation, feel free to shoot me an email at info@ivygroupe.com or https://www.ivygroupe.com/contact.

Best,
Shaifali

Hi Kevin,

You seem to be a young rockstar!

It is interesting and inspiring to learn about your diverse experiences. While that could be an asset, if not explained properly, it could also leave the admission committee members confused about your commitment and motivations for an MBA. Work on that aspect and you will be good

If you want to talk about your applications, feel free to reach out. My contact details are below.

You might also find the following useful:

What B-schools look for and how they evaluate your profile

Essays, Tips and Deadlines of more than Top 50 global MBA/EMBA programs

Hello,

I hope you are well.

Would you be able to spend some time evaluating my profile and recommending some top schools that I should focus on?

GPA: 3.5 (from a business school in Hong Kong; majored in Finance; graduated in 2012)
Citizenship: India but have been living in Hong Kong for ~9 years now
Work: 6 Years (by the time I enroll) of institutional business development for a top investment bank (MS/GS/JP)
GMAT: 710 (Q48/V38/IR3/AW5); this is my biggest worry.

Other points to note:
- Have shown a 'habit of leadership' throughout life (high school, university, and work); see below.
- School Captain
- Overall Student Life Award at university for leadership and community integration
- Officially recognized as one of the most promising juniors in Asia (elected to sit on multiple leadership committees)
- Became responsible to cover the largest institutional clients in Asia just after 2 years at work (based on performance); our coverage even got recognized with a "best client service" award by the client directly.
- Specially selected by our international CEO of our business to lead a project based out of Asia
- Have gone through exceptional circumstances back home to reach where I am (none of my parents are educated, extremely poor background but went to one of the best high schools in Delhi, Dad passed away at an early age)
- Worked part time during university to support myself
- Don't have exceptional community service but actively mentor students at my secondary school back home and juniors at university)
- Trained for and ran a marathon
- LGBTQ
Would appreciate your thoughts on (apologies, in advance, for the long list of questions):
1) I have taken the GMAT multiple times but I am unable to do better under time constraints (and historically, this has been the case too). Is there a way I could address this? I am confident that I have the intellectual horsepower (at least for business school) when time is not a constraint.
2) What would be the ideal short-term goal for me to highlight? I am afraid that my real goal is too...different from what my current background would permit. Should I stick to a goal in the investment management industry alone? I understand that AdComs think carefully about whether a candidate will be able to achieve their immediate goal.
3) Given the Indian citizenship (Hong Kong resident for 9 years) and a relatively low GMAT, should I even target the top 10 schools? Ideally, I would really like to make it to a top 10 school - don't want to spend USD 250k(!!) anywhere else, really - but I am conscious of the competition from Indian male candidates.
4) Should I have one recommender from London and one from Hong Kong? Or do you think it would be better to have both from Hong Kong (since AdComs prefer to have people working close to you)?
5) Any 10-20 school that you would recommend for someone who wants to return to Asia? I don't want to work in the US.

Thank you your thoughts, in advance!

Hi swadpat18

I really like the breadth and depth of profile that you have shared. You come across as an interesting, smart and a multi-dimensional person and most B-schools are looking for such individuals.

Let's answer your Qs one by one..

1) I have taken the GMAT multiple times but I am unable to do better under time constraints (and historically, this has been the case too). Is there a way I could address this? I am confident that I have the intellectual horsepower (at least for business school) when time is not a constraint.
If you are not targeting US b-schools then I'd say you can manage well with this GMAT if you are strategic about your school choices (will come to that in Q5) and if you can make other aspects of your applications awesome

2) What would be the ideal short-term goal for me to highlight? I am afraid that my real goal is too...different from what my current background would permit. Should I stick to a goal in the investment management industry alone? I understand that AdComs think carefully about whether a candidate will be able to achieve their immediate goal.
This is very tricky. I'd strongly encourage you to introspect deeply and write about what you really want to do. If your passion and vision shines through, it would be immensely helpful for your application. But at the same time, it is your responsibility to make the goals, credible and realistic. If you truly think you can make it work, then go for it.

3) Given the Indian citizenship (Hong Kong resident for 9 years) and a relatively low GMAT, should I even target the top 10 schools? Ideally, I would really like to make it to a top 10 school - don't want to spend USD 250k(!!) anywhere else, really - but I am conscious of the competition from Indian male candidates.
If your best shot is 710 and you absolutely don't want to retake it- then you only have one option - to pick schools where you will be competitive.

4) Should I have one recommender from London and one from Hong Kong? Or do you think it would be better to have both from Hong Kong (since AdComs prefer to have people working close to you)?
The geographical location doesn't really matter. Schools want to see reco from someone who really knows you, has worked with you- irrespective of they are in the same location or not.

5) Any 10-20 school that you would recommend for someone who wants to return to Asia? I don't want to work in the US.
I feel you have a good profile for European schools, including UK. So that way, INSEAD, LBS, Oxford, HEC Paris, and a few more come to mind.. But again a lot would depend on how you craft your narrative. If you are open, you could also try Singapore and China

I admire your personal story and background - that reveals many wonderful things about you. Don't shy away from highlighting all that in your essays.

I'd be happy to guide you more on your MBA applications and journey. Reach out if you need help

Good luck!

You have a really strong profile so assuming strong essays as well, I don’t think you should have any problems getting into one of the top schools, provided that you can demonstrate fit with the school or schools you choose. So what I would spend time on right now, if I were you, would be comparing the different schools, finding out as much about them as you can and maybe even visiting them, if possible. That will help convince the adcoms of your suitability for their school and program in particular.

Thanks for sharing your profile. You have a strong background which should serve you well in the process, see answers below

1) I have taken the GMAT multiple times but I am unable to do better under time constraints (and historically, this has been the case too). Is there a way I could address this? I am confident that I have the intellectual horsepower (at least for business school) when time is not a constraint.
HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU TAKEN THE GMAT. ONE THING I ALWAYS RECOMMEND TEST TAKERS DO IS TIME EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR PREP EVEN WHEN DOING A SINGLE QUESTION, THIS HELPS YOU GET USED TO THE TIME PRESSURES OF TEST DAY. THE GMAT IS NOT EXCLUSIVELY A TEST IF INTELLECT BUT MORESO A TEST OF YOUR ABILITY TO ADRESS COMPLEX PROBLEMS QUICKLY
2) What would be the ideal short-term goal for me to highlight? I am afraid that my real goal is too...different from what my current background would permit. Should I stick to a goal in the investment management industry alone? I understand that AdComs think carefully about whether a candidate will be able to achieve their immediate goal.
I ALWAYS THINK ITS BETTER TO BE AUTHENTIC IF POSSIBLE, THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO CONNECT YOUR GOALS TO ASPECTS FO YOUR BACKGROUND OR INTEREST. PART OF THE PROBLEM WITH NOT BEING AUDACIOUS ENOUGH IS THE SCHOOL MAY ASK WHY DO YOU NEED AN MBA, SO YOU WILL WANT TO BALANCE THESE THINGS OUT. ULTIMATELY YOU SHOULD BE MORE SAFE HERE AND MAKE SURE YOUR GOALS WILL BE CLEAR AND LOGICAL TO THE AD COMM
3) Given the Indian citizenship (Hong Kong resident for 9 years) and a relatively low GMAT, should I even target the top 10 schools? Ideally, I would really like to make it to a top 10 school - don't want to spend USD 250k(!!) anywhere else, really - but I am conscious of the competition from Indian male candidates.
YOU ARE NOT ULTIMATELY OUT OF THE RACE FOR TOP 10, THE BOTTOM OF THE TOP 10 IS PROBABLY MORE REALISTIC BUT THE POINTS YOU NOTED ABOVE JUST MAKE IT EVEN MORE IMPORTANT YOUR ESSAYS AND OTHER ASPECTS OF YOUR APPLICATION ARE ON POINT
4) Should I have one recommender from London and one from Hong Kong? Or do you think it would be better to have both from Hong Kong (since AdComs prefer to have people working close to you)?
PICK THE BEST PEOPLE WHO WILL GIVE YOU THE STRONGEST RECOMMENDERS
5) Any 10-20 school that you would recommend for someone who wants to return to Asia? I don't want to work in the US.
SOME OF THE WEST COAST SCHOOLS IN THE US HAVE GOOD TIES TO THE ASIAN BUSINESS MARKET, SO CONSIDER THOSE (USC/UCLA/HAAS)

Hi Kevin,

Congratulations on the great score.

You seem to be ticking all the right boxes - provided you do a good job on your essays, and explain your career goals clearly you should have no problem getting into an M7. If you have any specific questions, feel free to write back. Feel free also, to get in touch with us for a Skype based profile evaluation call.

Best regards,
Karthik

Thank you for your post.

1. This can be highlighted in other components of the application. The LOR can be used to support this and you can highlight your strong analytical abilities at work.

2. I would rather explore this live as it is better not to state a goal after just a brief post. Happy to discuss further though!

3. We can target top 10, though it may be wise to apply to a spread of schools, perhaps a bit beyond top 10 as well.

4. Letter should come from managers who are close to you and can highlight leadership experiences and accomplishments as well as how you have performed relative to others. The location is less important.

5. Michigan Ross and NYU Stern have good global names for schools in that range.

Good luck and reach out if you want further assistance.

Scott@personalmbacoach.com

Best,
Scott