Ask ARINGO MBA Admissions Consulting

Hi Aringo,

Could you please evaluate my profile and gauge my chances at Melbourne Business School? I am also looking for some information on how the scholarships work at MBS and what are the chances of securing an interview with top Management Consulting firms with my GMAT score.

I understand that the big consulting firms do not consider candidates with a GMAT score <700. Is this true? I am planning to give another exam next month and my target score is 700+.

Profile:
Female, Age 32, Mother of 2 (3yr & 1yr old)
Australian Citizen (India born)

Education:
10th – 79.5%
12th - Diploma/Polytechnic – 76.27%
Graduation – B.E in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering from AMIETE – 6.56 GPA
GMAT – 670 (Q45,V37,IR6,AWA5)

Work Experience:
14 years of extensive experience in managing IT Infrastructure. I have attached my LinkedIn URL for your reference - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aparnarallabhandi

Extra- Curricular:
Worked as a teacher and a helper for a non-profit school for 7 years from 2005-2012.

Post MBA goals:
I want to join Management Consulting preferably Technology Management Consulting (given my experience in the IT) after completing my MBA.

Thank you in advance for all your help!

Cheers,
Aparna

Where do you see yourself after your MBA geographically? I am asking as that may make a difference regarding some of the questions you asked.

But in general I think it’s fair to say that you could have a career in consulting even with a GMAT score below 700, if there is something else in your profile that makes up for it. However, even though I like your profile I can’t really find anything that stands out enough for that to be a guarantee in your case. Of course there are things you can do in order to improve your chances of course, such as networking during your studies etc.

But in your case I would really recommend getting above 700 GMAT wise as that will increase your chances of admission as well. Your profile is nice but 700 is now the average GMAT score at this particular school so you can’t really feel completely sure about being admitted with a 700.

Unfortunately I do not have any “inside information” about scholarships to share, but I know it is one of the more “generous” business schools when it comes to scholarships for international students, so it is certainly a good choice in that regard. You can also find a lot of useful information on their website about what they offer, see: https://mbs.edu/above-search-links/current-students/scholarships for example.

Good luck!

Hi Aringo,

Thank you for your reply. We live in Melbourne, Australia. I do not have any plans to move out of Melbourne after finishing my MBA.

It is one of the reasons why I am very much interested in applying to MBS.

Cheers,
Aparna

Great, that really helps and makes your candidacy stronger so that is exactly what I wanted to hear! Make sure you make it clear that you have one option only for your MBA and why that is in your personal statements and interview.

Don't forget that raising your GMAT score is also vital though, if at all possible!

Good luck!

Hi,

Would really appreciate evaluation on my profile.

Female Chinese American, 27. 3.44 Applied Math double minor Econ/Stat at non-HYP ivy. GMAT 710 (Q48, V40; Q49, V38 <- this one I cancelled)

I have 5 years of work experience (though did switch jobs twice) in niche consulting (actuarial) and have had international working experience in Asia as part of the job. I have also lived in three countries and done lots of international travel for pleasure. So this has influenced my career goal which is short term transition to more strategy consulting to gain experience for long term corporate strategy work that would relate to Asian/expansion to Asia.

Extracurriculars: not much really. my job pretty much dictates my life between traveling and studying, so one or two after college. In college I did some clubs, but it's not student govt. No significant awards either except a semester or two of Dean's List.

What are my chances at Tuck, Booth (I think I have a great response to their prompt), Sloan, Haas, CBS, Stern?

Obviously, I wish I could improve my GMAT, and if I could just take the highest of the two I'd have the magical 730. So my second question is if I should try to retake and aim for the 730 again? But I would rather not hold Booth till R2.

Thanks!

Thanks for reaching out!

Although you did not get into a lot of details about your work experience I would say that as presented here, this profile seems a bit borderline. Your GMAT score is very close to being good enough for most of these schools, with the exception of NYU Stern and Booth, but I don’t see any “secret sauce” that makes you stand out from the crowd here. (Of course, there might be things you haven’t mentioned here that could make up that “secret sauce” but I can’t see that in this description, so basing everything on what you wrote here)

So if NYU and Booth are top choices for you, I could consider retaking the GMAT but otherwise, try to think of ways to stand out from other applicants as that is what will eventually get you admitted. (Of course that is something that you need to do for NYU and Booth as well, on top of a new and improved GMAT score, don’t get me wrong)

Thanks for the reply Aringo!

I guess I saw my international background as setting me apart from others - is that not unique enough nowadays? In terms of work experience, it's been pretty standard progression: start with technical modeling work, more responsibility over time, been on the biggest project sold by the practice (actually helped to cultivate the relationship in the beginning), and sold a small project on my own. Have led teams of 5 in doing a project and also junior team members.

Regarding GMAT retakes, do you know how schools feel about submitting a score after deadline, specifically for Booth. I know their website says to submit everything by deadline, but if I email with a (potential) score increase, would they completely disregard? I'm not sure if I want to hold out on Booth till R2 because I'm not sure if I could do a 730+ given my two 710s. And all else in the application would be equal.

Lastly, I wasn't aware NYU stern had that high of a GMAT focus - their average gmat is 714 and within my range?

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You are right that international experiences are great and can set you apart, but it’s hard to tell if your international experiences are unique enough for that based on what you wrote (keep in mind that you won’t be the only applicant with some international experience so even that has to be something special). International traveling for pleasure is also not something that the adcom will really focus too much on, in my experience.

But depending on what the international experience consisted of, you might be on to something there. If you’d like to discuss that part in more detail (totally understand that you might not feel comfortable getting into specifics about that on a public forum), please contact ARINGO directly for a some advice on that here: https://aringo.com/mba-process-registration/

As for submitting GMAT scores after the deadline it varies from school to school, but last I heard Booth will accept it. You might want to read up on other schools regarding that issue if relevant, though, as they don't all have this policy.

I am not sure where you got the GMAT average of 714 for NYU Stern from, as far as I remember it was 720 and that was actually lower than the previous year, which was lower than the previous year, I believe, so there is a chance that number goes up this year again (nobody knows for sure, of course). So for those wanting to be on the safe side, 710 might not be enough, unless there is something that makes up for the score in the profile and I am not sure I see that here (but again, I could be wrong, I would need more detail to know for sure). So I guess you could say that is a bit of a borderline case.

Hope that helps!

I would say most schools on your list are a bit of a stretch, unfortunately, but then again I haven’t seen your essays of course, so there is a chance I am wrong.

Since the list of schools is pretty long, though, I just hope you can justify fit for each of them. If that is not the case, make sure to do some more research on that part in order to make sure you only apply to schools that really fit you and your needs. Addressing that is a very important part of the essays, so it can really make a huge difference.

Given your background, I am thinking that some of the business schools that rank well for a specialization in entrepreneurship but are less competitive could be good options for you as well. So you might want to look into some of those schools too. See the latest rankings for that specialization here: https://aringo.com/mba-entrepreneurship-specialization/

So instead of wondering where you can get in, if you are very ambitious, try to focus on what school is most likely to help you achieve what you want to do and why, and you should be in pretty good shape!

Good luck!

Hi thank you so much for helping out with this.
I am a 25 year old female from India.
GMAT 1st attempt 640
GMAT 2nd attempt 690
Bachelors in Management - GPA 2.7
3 years of work experience as a process auditor with Pricewaterhouse Coopers with international clients.
2 years of fellowship as a teacher in an NGO (NGO is a branch of of US based NGO Teach For America).
Extra Curricular:
1. Awarded for exceptional work as auditor
2. National level football player (during high school)
3. Designed an app to better intra- company communication.

I have always dreamed of going to Haas / Stanford.
Please let me know if I can realistically expect admits from these colleges.
Or what are the best colleges than can apply to.

Thanks in advance!

Thanks for reaching out!

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but considering your nationality and your GPA, you need to up your GMAT score quite a lot in order to have a fighting chance at the schools you mentioned. So before you do anything else, start working on a new GMAT strategy would be my advice.

If you are willing to consider other schools it would be helpful to know what you value in a school and what your post-MBA goal is.

Hi Aringo,

I have been in search of a community or a forum, to find out the best-suited courses in MBA or MSc aligned with Corporate Social Responsibility and green/sustainable management. So far it's been a struggle to find a similar pool of applicants or threads for such courses and I'm really not able to find some good measure of rankings.
General information that I'm looking for is - Job prospects after degree, ideal profile with median GMAT score, and usefulness of the course.
Following are some courses that I know of and would like to know more about -

1. The Università Bocconi MAGER - MSc in MSc Sustainability and Social InnovationGreen Management, Energy and Corporate Social Responsibility
2. HEC Paris - MSc Sustainability and Social Innovation
3. RSM Erasmus University -MSc Global Business & Sustainability
4. UBC, Vancouver - MASTER OF SCIENCE IN RESOURCES, ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY (MSC)
5. Oxford University - MSc in Environmental Change and Management
6. University of Toronto -Master of Science in Sustainability Management (MScSM)
7. Columbia University - Master of Science in Sustainability Management

Bit about me - Background - Indian Female, I.T. Consulting with 40 months of Experience in a Big Four Company
Cumulative Percentage - 78% (Honors Degree in Bachelor of Technology (IT major) tier 2 institute.
Extra Curricular- Associated work with WWF and a few Non-Profit driven educational institutes.
GMAT Score - 650

Please evaluate this profile and in reach schools for my score. What extra is needed for profile to be considered strong.

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Hi and thanks for reaching out!

For more information about specific schools and programs we recommend either checking their websites or the threads about those specific schools here on the GMAT Club as you are more likely to find more updated information, as well as a variety of opinions there, but I do think that you should take a look at the following rankings in order to get started:
https://aringo.com/mba-nonprofit-corporate-social-responsibility-ethics-specialization/

As for strengthening your profile it is hard to know without having more details about your career and extra curriculars for example, but of course any promotions and leadership experiences you have at work, as well as reaching measurable and impressive milestones there would help. And a better GMAT score is a must for the top schools for an Indian applicant with a fairly basic profile.

Good luck!

Hi Aringo

I'd like to kindly request you for your review of my profile. I am targeting schools such as LBS, HEC, IESE, ESADE, Cambridge, Alliance Business School, Rotman, and Schulich.

Background:
Male from the Philippines
Age 25
GMAT 700
GPA: 3.19

Education:
Bachelor of Science in Management from a Top 3 School in the Philippines. Was in an honors course which comprises of the top 15% of all students in the university. Quant Heavy.

Work Experience: Worked 3.5 Years (4 by matriculation)

1st Job - Large International Bank based in London and Singapore
Started out as a graduate trainee in the bank for a 1.5 year program including a 3 month stint abroad doing projects. Left the bank as a project manager handling all project management and governance and control functions for a unit of the bank.

2nd Job - Top 15 Local Bank in the Philippines
Was recruited to help start the Investment Banking (focused on Capital Markets) business of said bank. Part of a 2 man team which grew the office from start-up to becoming a top-10 player in the industry also increasing revenues by 400% y-o-y. Currently Officer in Charge of the division since the retirement of previous boss handling all aspects of the unit from business (originating and executing Capital Markets transactions) to administrative work (Person in charge of the unit for compliance, risk, audit, and other non-business functions.

Recommendations: Can get recommendations from my former boss (currently CFO in a top 10 bank in the Philippines) and the current CEO of my current workplace.

Extra curricular - Avid traveler. Play a lot of sports (Tennis, Muay Thai, Football etc.), and played some competitively. Consulted for a large local NGO as part of previous internship experience and some volunteering efforts.

Post MBA - Continue working in Investment Banking in M&A or Capital Markets in a large foreign institution. Plan B would be to go into Management Consulting (have previous experience in the field from internships). Long term goal would be to return to the Philippines and join a local bank or set up my own shop in Financial Advisory/M&A.

Thanks all!

Impressive profile with a decent GMAT score, unusual nationality and industry, but I especially like your work experience. Given all that, I do think your school selection is very realistic, especially considering that several of the schools you mentioned (such as LBS and HEC, for example) really appreciate international experience and you certainly have plenty of that.

So assuming your essays and recommendations will be strong as well, I would rate your chances as good.

Hi, and thanks for reaching out!
Your profile definitely has a lot of potential and things to work with. However, the work experience is your weakness as this is generally not what most business schools are after. Therefore, I would really recommend that you try to think of any measurable achievements during this experience that you could list in order to make that part a bit more interesting. If there isn’t anything that stands out when it comes to that, it could be an issue that might be difficult to overcome for you.

Besides the work experience part, I don’t see anything that urgently needs to be improved, maybe with the exception of the post MBA goal. It would help if you would have a story around why that is your goal and how your previous experiences are related to that and led you to that goal.

Good luck!