Haas Profile Evaluation - Tools for B-School Profile Evaluation

Background and nationality: Female, India
Undergrad Information: R.V.College Of Engineering, India - 8.66/10 GPA (Graduated with distinction - top 5 in class)
GRE : 327/340 (166Q, 161V, 5 AWA)
Work experience: Product Manager, FAANG - Work ex [ 47 months by the time I join ] - started from analytics and moved to Product [ 2.5 years in a high-tech unicorn in India, 6 months in a small statup ]
Leadership experience : Google Student Ambassador, VP - Ecell, RVCE, Sponsored by Google to attend GHC, US and invited by Stanford to give a talk
Industry: Consumer Internet
Post MBA goals: Wearable tech industry

I applied in Round 2. Kindly review my profile for Haas.

Hi fdundo,

Weighing in here on your profile evaluation request on behalf of Admissionado! Your academic credentials are fairly solid, and your blended pre-MBA work experience at both larger tech firms (I'm inferring that from your references to FAANG and a high-tech unicorn in India) and a small start-up equips you well to take advantage of the Silicon Valley resources at Haas.

I think the biggest keys to your candidacy will be (1) demonstrating (through your resume, essays, and letters of recommendation) that you have business acumen in additional to technical / engineering expertise, as that is likely to be a stereotype that you'll be up against; and (2) explaining in a compelling way why you believe you need an MBA to achieve your post-MBA goals in the wearable tech field. Why couldn't you get a job in that industry now, without going to b-school? Or why do you believe getting a Haas MBA will boost you to a higher level or a stronger company than otherwise?

Best of luck to you!

Doris

Applying for the EWMBA program
Background and nationality: 28, Male, United States, Chinese
Undergrad Information: 2.79 GPA at UC Berkeley as Chemical Biology Major
GMAT: 660 ( 45Q, 34V)
Work experience and leadership: 5 years of WE in Big Pharma. 2 promotions. Currently the Community Rep for our site. Had leadership roles in college as a committee chair.
Community and others: Volunteer to tutor local grade school students

Hello,

Could someone please review my profile?


· Demographics (nationality, gender): Indian, male, will be 30 years old, this July.
· Education (undergraduate institution, GPA, major - high school/entrance exams not needed): Visvesvaraya Technological University, (India), Bachelor's in Electrical and Electronics engineering, GPA : 2.78
· GMAT or GRE (include section breakdown): 730 (Q49, VA 45 )
.Work experience (highlight amount of work experience, industries, roles, promotions, special accomplishments, international exposure):
- Started with IBM as an IT analyst and moved to Deloitte as an IT consultant. Was an individual contributor, and received a 'stellar performer of the year' award. Planned three
different platforms to address client issues. Worked with the development teams to outline a ticketing tool, curated for my team needs.
- Joined British Telecommunications as a network engineer, and later got promoted as a manager - workforce management consulting ( Individual contributor) . Designed a sharepoint
site for global clients to analyse their project data. Brainstormed different versions to come up with something closer to their operational goals. Received 4 quarterly awards for
process improvement, and 5 (senior) client recommendations. Massively improved operational performances for 3 different projects which was performing pathetically poor, leveraging
the benefits of the dashboard I designed. I have also been involved with several business transformational projects.

IBM : January 2014 – August 2015
Deloitte : September 2015 – December 2016
British Telecom : December 2016 – Present.

· Extracurricular activities (highlight notable undergraduate and post-undergraduate ones):
- School :
- Was the cultural captain : Was responsible to host cultural events and collaborate with other schools on cultural fests. Received 4 gold medals in school level athletics.
-Was the captain of the school's cricket team, for two years. (captaincy rotated every two years.

- Undergraduate:

o Founded the college's first heavy metal band
o Started the college's first Music club with a separate brick and mortar house.
o Received several gold/silver medals for different inter-college sports/game/music competitions.
o Founded a poetry club.

. Post-MBA goals: I want to get into management consulting or finance.

· Other information relevant to your profile: I have no international experience, but most of my clients have been from diverse nationalities.

Regards,
theleopride

Posted from my mobile device

Hi everyone!
First of all I’d like to thank everyone for taking the time to read through and respond to my profile.
I’m planning to apply for the Aug-2021 intake (basically applying this Aug 2020), and appreciate your insights for my profile.

Background:
Nationality: Indian, Male, 25 years old
GMAT: 730 (Q50, V38, IR7, AWA5.5)
TOEFL: 114 (R30, L30, S28, W26)

Education:
B.E in Computer Science from BITS Pilani (non IIT - top university in India), GPA: 9.55/10 (Top-5 of my batch of 650+)

Professional Experience:
1. By the time of Joining i.e Aug-2022, I will have 4 years of experience in a US based cloud company (Nutanix).
2. Moved into a new role of Product Management - which contributes to half of my total experience.
3. Technology consulting for IRENA on the side for about 9 months now - on sustainable energy technologies

International Exposure:
1. Worked for Empa (Swiss Lab) - on a 3 month internship with 3 professors. [REMOTE]
2. Travelled to Bay Area (my company HQ) for projects.
3. Handle customer requests and discussions in the EMEA/Americas/India regions. [REMOTE]
4. Have been working for IRENA (international renewable energy agency) - collaborating with researchers, technologists, etc. from over 5 nationalities [REMOTE]

Achievements:
1. One of the few employees to get a quick promotion in 1 year.
2. youngest PM in the entire company of 5000+ people.
3. Undergraduate merit scholar (for all semesters of study).

Co-Curriculars:
1. Started an NGO chapter in Bangalore - formed and led a team of 5 - deals with financial education for the underprivileged (> 1.5 year)
- conducted camps, collaborated with other NGOs to increase our reach to over 1000+ people, 1 case study of helping a group of people
2. Volunteered for another NPO remotely - creating a platform called “sing for needs” - product owner leading a team of 8 to deliver the solution (~ 1 year)
3. Worked as a mentor to a undergraduate startup (~ 1 year)
- helped scale their business to 50+ clients in 6 months (from 10)
- helped the team to get incubated at Atal Incubation Centre

Post MBA goals:
Goal-1: I would like to work in technology in a general management or a product management role for a tech company like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Tesla, Apple, etc.
Goal-2 (Backup): I want to try management consulting for a while before moving to tech

Questions:
Is my GMAT score enough to get into Wharton (with some scholarship)? Since Indians generally tend to have higher scores?
Any other inputs/suggestions for my application are most welcome.

Hi! I would really appreciate a profile evaluation for my application. Thanks!


Background:
- Mexican
- Male
- 29 years old

· Education:
- Universidad Anahuac Norte (Top 5)
- 79/100
- Bachelor in Business Administration

· Other coursework or post-undergraduate education:
- MBAMath

· GMAT:
- No oficial score yet. Realistic score 680-700

· Work experience (finance):
- 1.5 years in a boutique bank as Credit Director with a team of 2 people (participated with the company to create the credit area from scratch)
- 1 year as Credit Analyst and on the 2nd year got promoted to Credit Coordinator
- 8 months as IB Analyst
- 1.5 years as an intern in HSBC Mexico

· Extracurricular activities:
- Running (Chicago 2018 Marathon, Mexico 5-pax SalaValle 120km)
- Road biking
- Former board member of a nonprofit organization for 1.5 years
- Volunteering in the sep-19 earthquake in Mexico City

· Post-MBA goals:
- Transition into private equity.

· Other information relevant to your profile:
- Casual chess player
- Strong recommendations and essays

Hi everyone!
Thanks for taking time and responding to my profile.
I’m planning to apply for the Aug-2021 intake (applying for first round of 2020),

Background:
Nationality: Brazilian, Male, 30 years old
GMAT: 720 (Q48, V40, IR8, AWA4.5)
TOEFL: TBD

Education:
B.E in Production Engineering, GPA: 7.5/10
Finance Specialization in top business school in Brazil, GPA: 9.1/10

Professional Experience:
1. Started as an analyst in a small Private Equity (1.5 years)
2. Went through an Management Leadership program in a South African mining company (1.5 years)
2.1 Became an financial analyst in the same mining company (0.5 years)
3. Consultant in deals strategy - Big 4 (2.5 years)

International Exposure:
1. 1 year in Spain with a scholarship from Brazil govnmt. - studied in local university and worked for a local NGO
2. 3 months in Canada

Co-Curriculars:
1. Worked for a local NGO as a Finance Consultant
2. Work as volunteer mentor for local start-ups

Post MBA goals:
Goal-1: I would like to remain in the M&A environment in consulting (MBB preferred)
Goal-2 (Backup): Join a corporate role in M&A/Corporate Development

Hi lcbdelgado,

Haas is a great school when it comes to Consulting as a post-MBA goal, making up 25% of the placements as per the employment starts https://haas.berkeley.edu/recruiters/report/

The Haas program is built around its four defining principles:

1. Question the Status Quo
2. Confidence Without Attitude
3. Students Always
4. Beyond Yourself

I clearly see a good mix of 3 and 4 in your profile. You'll have to make sure you highlight 1&2 in your application through examples of your experiences. To understand their principles better, you can learn more about Haas' culture here: https://haas.berkeley.edu/about/the-haa ... r-culture/
With a GMAT score of 720, I see a good chance for you to make it to Haas. What’s going to matter most in your application is how you connect the experiential dots and build a great story to stand out from other applicants in the pool.

Shantanu Sharma
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond
Schedule a free session
Email: shantanu@mbaandbeyond.com
What s app: +65-97158525
Call: +49-15212121641
Linkedin

Hi rachitkansal,

Firstly, great profile there! And you've got a fair GMAT score for Haas.
Haas is a great school when it comes to tech as a post-MBA goal, making up around 40% of the placements in tech as per the employment stats https://haas.berkeley.edu/recruiters/report/. It also has a great location advantage, which is a critical factor we should consider while applying to business schools. Google, Amazon and Airbnb are among the top tech-employers for Haas.

The Haas program is built around its four defining principles (and considers the same criteria while analysing applications):
1. Question the Status Quo
2. Confidence Without Attitude
3. Students Always
4. Beyond Yourself

I clearly see a good mix of 2, 3 and 4 in your profile. You'll have to make sure you highlight the 'question the status quo' bit in your application through examples of your experiences. To understand their principles better, you can learn more about Haas' culture here: https://haas.berkeley.edu/about/the-haa ... r-culture/
Your achievement of becoming the youngest PM will make a great link with your post-mba goal.

With a GMAT score of 730, I see a good chance for you to make it to Haas. What’s going to matter most in your application is how you connect the experiential dots and build a great story to stand out from other applicants in the pool.
As for the scholarship, I would need to understand which scholarship you are eyeing and then evaluate your chances for the same.

I am happy to hop on a call sometime this week, if that suits you. Feel free to book my calendar as per your convenience.

Cheers!
Shantanu Sharma,
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond
Schedule a free session
Email: shantanu@mbaandbeyond.com
What s app: +65-97158525
Call: +49-15212121641
Linkedin

Hi,

I'm planning to apply to Haas in R1. Please find my profile below.

Background and nationality: Male 24, Indian

Undergrad Information:
-Graduated in Bachelors of Technology majoring in Electronics and Communications with a 7.91 CGPA(79.1 %), from GITAM University (Not a top tier university in India).
-Published a paper at IJARCEE in 2017
-ExCom member of the cultural committee 2015 & 2016

GMAT: 740

Work experience and leadership:
-Will be completing 4 years by June'21 at ADP (a US-based fortune 500 and blue-chip company) as a software engineer.
-Worked in the Product Implementation domain, with strong interaction with clients(Fortune 100 and 500 companies) and my on-shore partners from US and Philippines, giving me good amount of international exposure( specifically how people from different parts of the world perceive a client's request and negotiating with them to develop a common ground for us and deliver it to the client).
-Was able to suggest/change/improve many longstanding procedures and practices in my India team, to decrease our delivery timelines to clients and drastically improve their experience.
-Led a team of 4 fresh graduates with their onboarding, training, work assignments and mentoring.
-Led a team of 16 members to conduct personality and career development programs as part of associate engagement at ADP

Community and others:
-Member of EWB(Engineers Without Borders) student chapter, responsible for providing decent sanitary conditions in a rural village by setting up quick-build toilets in the entire village. Digitising a rural school with electronic infrastructure, and training the faculty and students. (2014-16)
- Organised and volunteered Food, groceries & essentials drive from April’20 – June’20 in my community serving to ~500 migrant workers.
- As a member of ISKCON, hyd - a world-renowned spiritual organisation - helped in food drives, book distribution and charity.

Post-MBA goals:
-With my experience in product implementation, I would like to transition into Product management in tech. (Short term)
-Would like to try and test out entrepreneurial ventures in the field of Blockchain(Currently pursuing Blockchain Revolution Specialisation by INSEAD for this) (Entrepreneurship - Long term)
- Frankly, I'm inclined towards consulting also (in short term) and would like to explore this in my 2 years during MBA

Extra curriculars:
- Helped my family business, in construction and real-estate, by brokering with potential customers. - 2019
- Worked as a Freelance Consultant with Defmax, a cybersecurity startup, to close a deal worth 400000 INR with Rothys, a US-based shoe company – 2018
- Secured Second place at Intra-University Debate Tournament - 2015
- Participated in State level Swimming and Skating tournaments - 2010, 2008 respectively
- Member of National Cadet Corps (NCC), Airforce Battalion – 2009-2010
- Member of Toastmasters, ADP - 2017-Present

I know this is very lengthy, but i would like to get a comprehensive evaluation of my entire profile and suggestions to improve my chances at Haas and to secure a scholarship. Please evaluate.

Thank You!

Hello VarunGampa,
At age 24 and 4 years of WE, you will be little on the younger side of the applicant pool. Your educational background and WE places you in an over-represented pool of applicants from India, and your GMAT score of 740 is little over the average, though for your pool may be less than average. Remember Haas also a small class size.
An easily recognizable American brand you work with may help your profile a little. You will have to bring out stories of leadership, growth and impact from your WE, a part of which you have talked about here in the form of additional responsibilities that you are entrusted upon by the company. However, also talk about the impact you created with your work and quantify it.
You should be able to make a compelling story with Product management as your post-MBA goal. For the purpose of application, you may want to show consistency, and either choose PM or Consulting as a goal. Your LT goal of entrepreneurship and the course you have taken up to pursue it are also ambitious and realistic at the same time.
Your EC and community engagement are pretty decent, and you may want to dig into some of these experiences (especially assisting your family business) and your community services especially during the pandemic in your essays.

Hope this helps a little.

Hi Ruchi,
Thank you for your evaluation. Would improving my gmat score by ~20 points and using your suggestions improve my chances? If they won't, I would rather apply to other schools, if you can suggest any. thanks again!

Hello VarunGampa,
A simple answer is higher the GMAT score, higher the chances. A 20 point jump will increase your chances definitely, but what it will mean to you in terms of efforts is what you need to decide. A 20 point jump alone wouldn’t guarantee you any call. If you are certain that you will be able to increase the score, then go for it, but will it mean taking away time from your application? GMAT is only one part of your application. You also need strategic representation of your candidature through your essays, which will take time.
The way you can look at applying to schools is dividing them in three buckets: 1) Reach school, 2) Match school, and 3) Safe school. I would categorize Hass as a reach school for you based on the limited understanding of your profile for now. The choice is not either or. You can apply to Haas and also apply to other schools. Pick a couple or one from each category to play safe. If you want me to suggest you any schools, I will have to learn more about you. Please feel free to book a free consultation with me at https://ruchipandeconsulting.com/contact-us/ and I will be happy to assist you.

Hello everyone, I'm looking to apply to the R1 2021 intake. Would love to get community's thoughts on my profile and my chances. Thanks in advance!

Background: 25-yo Indian male.

Undergrad: 5.85/10.00 undergrad GPA, majored in computer science from a state university.

GMAT: Haven't taken yet but tracking 730 on practice tests without complete review yet. [What score can I get away with?]

Work experience: Total 4 years of work experience as of Aug 20.

1 year at an early venture capital firm.

2 years of leadership development program at a high growth robotics startup. Here I ​led multiple strategic initiatives​, ​launched and scaled new cross-functional programs​, and ​developed leadership communications​ & company narratives.

1 year of SW Product Management at the same startup.

Will be starting as an Analyst at an Early Stage(Seed to Series-A) VC Fund from Aug 2020.

2 promotions so far, and multiple recognitions by the company CEO.

Extra-curriculars: Volunteered with a national not-for-profit for 3 years, helping and enabling local entreprenuers.


Post MBA goals
Short term: Join a VC / PE firm and gain more experience and credibility for my medium/long-term goal (below)
Medium/Long term: Launch my own fund to support & enable local entrepreneurs and help build the Indian growth story.

Hi All,

Looking for honest feedback on my profile and chances of getting into Haas, or if other schools may be a better fit.

Background and nationality: White Male, 28 years old
Undergrad Information: 3.6 GPA (3.8 in major) in Chemical Engineering from University of Illinois, class of 2013
GMAT: TBD, been doing well on trials, expect 720+.
Work experience and leadership: Since graduation I've worked for ExxonMobil in Texas. I've had various manufacturing and office roles. Titles include; Unit Process Engineer, Project Manager of Development, and Strategic Business Planner. I'd consider my experience rich in leadership experience from leading several teams in difficult environments.
Community and others: Regular volunteer in the United way. Attended community outreach and Food bank events.
Post MBA goals: Interesting in business development, strategic decision making in smaller businesses. Potentially something entrepreneurial if the opportunity presents itself.
Anything else? Family roots from the west coast.

Hi Jacknorris09

Your profile looks great. Evaluating step-by-step, let’s first see what Haas looks for:

1. Professional Achievement
2. Academic Aptitude
3. Leadership Potential
4. Diversity

I see a great mix of 1,2 & 3 in your profile. Your undergrad GPA is great and your GMAT target also seems in alignment with the Haas average. About work-ex, even if you have not achieved awards or promotions or any physical evidence, you have played multiple roles and that would have given you great insights into the workings of a company. Also, as you said, you have rich leadership experience. Your community work is also good and Post-MBA goals are in alignment with your prior career but I would emphasize bringing ‘diversity’ aspect by the interests you pursue and your beliefs. So, I feel overall you stand a fair chance to make it to Haas and what’s going to matter most, now, in your application is how you connect the experiential dots and build a great story. If you’d like we are happy to hop on a call sometime this week to discuss your chances further. Feel free to book a free session with us as per your convenience.

Cheers!
Kashish Garg
Community Manager, MBA and Beyond

On behalf of
Shantanu Sharma,
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond
Schedule a free session
Email: shantanu@mbaandbeyond.com

_________________

Requesting a profile review

*Background*

Overview:
I’m looking to bring a strong sense of purpose in my career by transitioning fully to social impact. I’ve always wanted to go into social impact full-time, but I needed to build a niche and valuable skillset before doing so. Regarding marketable skills, I feel ready now, but I need an MBA to help me transition.

Work experience:
I'm currently a Product Manager in Internet Business in a Multinational Telecommunications company. I have 5.5 years of full-time experience, all in Telecommunications product management. The firm I work for is one of the top ones in my country, Bangladesh, and is a part of the 10th largest mobile network operator in the world. I've gotten regular, formal awards (Marketing Award for six quarters out of the twelve quarters of my employment till date + Employee of the month multiple times) at work and my portfolio has increased with time. I can back my achievements with solid numbers.

Some career highlights
- Successful completion of 1-month international assignment & placement in HQ
- Former Management Trainee with fast track progression to Managerial role, within only 2.5 years of my career
- Project Manager for the first telecom merger in Bangladesh
- Product Manager for Facebook's Freebasics program in Bangladesh, which focuses on giving internet connectivity to the bottom of the pyramid, launching it for the first time in my country

On the side, I'm a director at my family business which focuses on government and non-profit sector consulting. I do business advisory for non-profits, and one of these non-profits was founded by a Harvard Kennedy alum and an Oxford Said MBA alum. My area of expertise is "mobile tech & communications for development".

Extracurriculars:
During my undergrad, I won multiple international & national awards in social entrepreneurship competitions. One of that was GSEC organized by the University of Washington's Foster School of Business. My team had beat out MIT in that competition. I was also awarded by Nobel Peace Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, for winning Yunus Centre's social entrepreneurship idea competition. I've coordinated nationwide charity drives back in my undergrad, 100+ people reporting to me.

Other coursework:
I finished MBA Math and I scored 100% in all of the MBA Math courses.

Nationality: Bangladeshi

Sex: Male

*Stats*

GRE & TOEFL Score:
My GRE total is 328, with a breakdown of 169 in Verbal, 159 in Quant, 4.5 in AW. I'm also done with my TOEFL with a 113/120.
I plan to resit the GRE to raise my Quant, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to make the time for it.

Undergrad GPA:
I graduated from the best business school in my country. My alma mater has alums in top business schools all over the world, including the business schools that I plan to apply to.

My 3.13/4 CGPA (Major- Finance) is measly though. I dived into ECAs during my first two years, achieving great success at the expense of my academics. Reprioritized and did very well in academics during my third year. During my fourth year, I contracted Hepatitis E just before my final exams, and my CGPA took a nosedive. My last year’s GPA was 3/4 versus my third year’s GPA of 3.7/4. I had the choice of postponing my studies for a year or taking a bad hit to my CGPA, & I chose the latter due to financial reasons. Anyways, even after taking my horrible fourth year in account, my last two years' CGPA is 3.35/4, so there is an upward trend there.

*MBA Info*

Goal of MBA:
Working in social impact on the side has actually inspired me to enter social impact full-time post-MBA, perhaps joining my family's business on a full-time basis, and/or starting a sister organization to the family business focused on my area of expertise. My area of expertise, Telecommunications, is very important for social impact in my country, Bangladesh. Our internet connectivity is almost entirely mobile communications dependant.

Working in a large private organization has not given me the training I need to embark on an entrepreneurial venture or engage full-time in expanding a family business. I need an MBA to make me ready.

Background and nationality- Indian male, 24 year old, B.Tech

Undergrad Information- B.Tech from Delhi College Of Engineering, GPA- 4 (as per WES)

GMAT: 730 (Q50, V38)

Work experience and leadership: 26 months ( Currently at Paytm Mobiquest for past 4 months, earlier at Urban Company for 8 months as Category Manager (General Management role), and as Junior Research Analyst at McKinsey & Co. for 14 months)
In McKinsey, handled international clients, successfully piloted a new project for South East Asia.
At the time of joining, work ex will be around 36 months

Community and others - Entrepreneurship stint during College (funded by Government of India), Lead volunteer and OC member at Startup Jalsa (India's biggest startup conference) for 5 years, Working with a local NGO in Chandigarh during the times of COVID, Logistics manager for an event called 'The Largest Plantation' which made a world record of planting 300,000 trees in 2 hours near Delhi

Post MBA goals - Short term : PM at a tech-giant (Apple, Microsoft, Google), Long-term: moving back to India and starting my own venture

Anything else- National Level badminton level in school, several olympiads winner in school, Core OC member at college's literature festival

Hi everyone.
I would love to get my profile evaluated.

Background:
IT Engineer Male Indian

Education
10th grade : 93%
12th grade: 94.75%
CGPA: 8.6 ( Manipal Institute of Technology)
GMAT: 700

Work Experience:
2 years in Cisco. Worked as a software developer/scrum master for an important Cisco service used in 180 countries and generating an annual revenue of 6 Billion.
3 month Internship in Istanbul: Was stuck there when the military coup took place. Lots of good stories around that.
Founder of a startup in college. Got multiple contracts from various hotels and universities.

Extra- Curricular Activities:
Cisco Intern Ambassador : Point of contact between 240+ Cisco Interns and the management. Worked with them to improve the internship experience.
Vice-President, Indian Society for Technical Education : Led a team of 200+ to organize events in college
Category Head,Technical Fest : Made improvements to the events to improve participation by 50% to 1200 people. Led a team of 100+.
Worked at an NGO (MAD) for 2+ years as a mentor training volunteers. Responsible for the curriculum planning of 14 teachers and overall study schedule of 60+children.
Various performance awards at work.
State-level Swimmer.
Vice-President of my school.

Post MBA goals

Product Management/ Consulting