Harvard Profile Evaluation - Tools for B-School Profile Evaluation

Hi everyone, I am a 22-year-old Australian about to begin my final year of undergraduate studies with the intention to complete an MBA through Harvard's 2+2 program. Due to my expected graduation date, I am eligible to apply to potential programs in 2021. I believe that my GMAT score and essay(s) will ‘make or break’ my application. I appreciate any feedback on my profile and would like to hear opinions on what would be an appropriate GMAT score to target for Harvard. My current train of thought is minimum --> 710, target --> 730, dream --> 750.



(1) BACKGROUND

Work experience:

• Big 3 German automotive manufacturer (Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes)
  
  
  6-month internship in Germany
  
  
• Prestigious boutique German automotive manufacturer
  
  
  14-month internship + thesis in Germany.
  
  Only (possibly first) non-EU resident at the company

Extra curriculars:

• Founding president of the mechanical engineering student association
  
  
  200+ members in six months
  
  Organised an on-campus industry expo with 30+ companies and 1100 student registrations
  
  Company Q&As, industry visits, skill workshops, etc.
  
  
• Elected undergraduate representative of 12,000+ students on the school’s academic board
  
  
  Hold monthly academic board meetings with the pro-vice chancellor and other high-ranking school officials. The academic board establishes the structure of academic programs and discusses school matters. There are a lot of NDAs!
  
  
• In2Science mentor
  
  
  Mentor a classroom of low socioeconomic high school students to increase their engagement, confidence, and aspirations in STEM.
  
  
• Student-Staff consulting representative
  
  
  Consult with my peers to identify program-related opportunities for improvement and present those issues at student-staff meetings.
  
  
• Entrepreneurship club
  
  
  Committee member
  
  
• Founded a side-business on a shoestring budget
  
  
  Automotive part marketplace, similar to this. I DO NOT want to brand it as a start-up.
  
  
• Very early stage NPO start-up
  
  
  I have the ambition to not let this happen again. Everyone has the right to get home safely!
  
  MVP almost complete.
  
  
• Golden Key International Honour Society
  
  
• Formula SAE

Undergrad school/major:

• Location - Australia
  
  
• QS 250, QS Engineering 100
  
  
• Mechanical Engineering (Honours) | Business Management
  
  
  Will graduate with two degrees.
  
  Received several awards.
  
  Featured on university promotional material.
  
  
• December 2020 graduation date

Other education/coursework:

• Certificate III in Music Industry

Race/nationality:

• White
  
  
• Australian

Sex:

• Male

(2) STATS

Cold GMAT Scores:

• MGMAT#1 620 (Q40 V35)
  
  
  Taken 23/12/2019
  
  
• GMATPrep#1 530 (Q32 V32)
  
  
  Taken 26/12/2019
  
  
• Potential test dates: July 20’, December 20’, January 21’, February 21’

Undergrad GPA:

• 4.0 / 4.0
  
  
  6 subjects remaining.

(3) MBA INFO

Goal of MBA:

• [Short-term] To move away from traditional engineering roles and into management style roles particularly in NPO start-ups. By being accepted into a deferred program I will have the confidence after undergrad to take professional risks, whether that is to begin/grow a start-up or apply myself in a smaller boutique firm. Furthermore, I will have the support of the school’s network to help accelerate my professional progression in the period before matriculation.
  
  
• [Long-term] My longer-term vision is to make a positive impact in Australia. Currently Australia has a large dependence on its mining and farming exports however both industries are in decline which will ultimately damage the economy. The automotive industry was once in this position, unfortunately the industry succumbed to the downward trend and manufacturing has since been abandoned. My goal is to bring back the automotive industry to Australia in the form of renewable and sustainable practises thus contributing jobs, innovative technology, and pride to the country.

(4) OTHER

International exposure and languages:

• Two months in Tanzania
  
  
• Two years in Germany
  
  
  Can speak German at an elementary workplace level which I learnt in my own time.

Matriculation:

• Aim to work for 3-4 years before matriculating
  
  
  Assuming that I am accepted into a deferred program.
  
  
• Will be ~27 years old at time of matriculation

Essay discussion points:

• Aspirations to lead and make a positive impact.
  
  
  Unfortunately Fortunately I have no ‘sob stories’.
  
  
  
• MBA goals
  
  
• Time spent in Germany

Hi all:

Submitted R2 for a slew of schools and would appreciate some initial evaluations.

Demographics: 27 years old, Chinese-American (US Citizenship but ethnically Chinese). From NYC.

Education:
• Undergrad: Lower-tier Ivy, GPA: 3.6/4. Humanities major with a minor in business.

GMAT: 710 (Q47, V41). Not the best, but only started studying in Q4 2019 and no time to retake in order to catch R2 deadlines.

Work Experience (more of less all based out of NYC):
• Started professional career in strategy consulting with a large non-MBB consulting firm. Worked there for 1.5 years and early promote to senior strategy analyst.
• Switched to a sector coverage group in investment banking at a large bulge-bracket European bank where I have worked for the past 3 years. Fast-track promotion to Associate after less than 2 years of IBD experience.

Leadership and Extracurricular Activities:
• Currently on the Board of Directors as Treasurer or a local grassroots advocacy non-profit. Have served on Board for the past 2.5 years. Manage a $40k operating budget and ongoing balance of over $100k
• In college, was President of an umbrella organization group covering 75+ clubs on campus. Also co-founded the school's branch of a well-known think tank's college network. Was part of a club sport where we placed top 3 in national championships and a social fraternity.

Other:
• Pursued my ideals for social justice by looking into public service as a career in undergrad. Interned with nonprofits, an UN agency, and the White House before realizing the sector was not the best fit. Recruited for a slew of jobs before landing an offer in strategy consulting during my senior year recruiting cycle.
• Had plenty of international exposure in undergrad (2 summers studying abroad and a semester-long credit internship in Southeast Asia)

Post MBA goal: Looking to establish an entrepreneurship career in cannabis immediately upon graduation. Long-term is to establish a social impact fund. EDIT: Have no interest in returning to consulting or banking after MBA. Also not interested in tech.

Essay: Is about why I want to pursue a career in cannabis. Essentially, I want to put my passion for social justice at the forefront of my career again and I view cannabis as an opportunity to both make a business impact and rectify historical wrongs.

Other schools: Stanford, Wharton, Sloan, Tuck, Yale, Columbia, and Booth.

Points of concern:
• GMAT score, but hoping career trajectory makes up for it
• Cannabis as my post-MBA career plan. Pretty risky, but I purposely chose schools with either cannabis student clubs already or schools in states that have legalized or are in the process of legalizing.

Nice profile. I too am applying only to HBS and Stanford with the "HBS/GSB or nothing" attitude. I hope to see you in class

dogchow,

Thanks for your post.

Your grades are competitive; your GMAT is on the low side both for the schools you are aiming for and your demographic. (the fact that you didn't have time to retake is irrelevant to the schools. Could come across as an excuse if you mention it in your application. ) YOur work experience and extra-curriculars are strong and competitive at your target programs.

Your goal gave me pause and I actually checked with my staff. Four who commented, including 3 former adcom, felt it's a mistake to say you want to connect cannabis and social justice and correction of historical wrongs. While legal in increasing parts of the country, it is still very controversial. Is it possible for you to write about entrepreneurship and social justice and leave out the cannabis?

Hi guys, I would greatly appreciate it if you use your fortune-telling powers to evaluate my chances of getting invited to HBS R2 interviews.
- Age: 29. Male.
- Nationality: Egypt.
- Background: Medical Doctor (M.D.)
- University: Most prestigious medical school in Egypt.
- GPA: 3.82
- GRE: Q:162 (79%) V: 159 (83%)
- Four years of US-based experience in the field of cancer & Molecular diagnostics.
- 3 promotions. From Sales to Marketing to Product development & Strategic planning.
- Published researcher in Biotechnology and Stem Cells form elite US institutions.
- Current: Founder & CEO of a Molecular Diagnostics Consulting Company.
- Extracurriculars: President & Founder of the biggest Student Club. President of the Student Union.
- LORs: President of the company I worked for reflecting on a successful business track record. & University Professor & mentor reflecting on a history of leadership in extracurricular activities.
- Essay: Influences that impacted my decision to pursue medical entrepreneurship, why an MBA & post-MBA goals.
Thanks & I really appreciate your efforts so much!

Except for your GRE you have a competitive profile for HBS and a reasonable chance of getting an interview invitation. Your verbal GRE is on the low side, but I don't think it's a knock-out. I wouldn't have recommended you ask a prof for a recommendation, but hopefully the content was so good that it will work out. Obviously I can't comment at all on your essay.

Best,
Linda

Posted from my mobile device

I think you have a solid application, based on your stats I would say the essay and interview are going to be critical to tip the scale in your favor. Make sure you use your essay to connect with the admission officer on a personal level, and prep for your interview as much as possible, the key to is sound personable, structured BUT not scripted. Best of luck to you!

Hi AziMani,

Weighing in here on your profile evaluation request! At a baseline level, there are key aspects of your background that would definitely catch the AdCom's attention in a positive way -- your country (Egypt) is underrepresented in top US MBA programs, and your training as a medical doctor is certainly intriguing. You would have to have proved through your academic transcripts and work experience that you have the adequate verbal and quantitative aptitude to do MBA-level work, because as others have pointed out, your GRE scores are lower than ideal.

The topics that you say you covered in your essay are absolutely the right ones, but without seeing the actual content, it's difficult to say how persuasive your explanations are. For an applicant like you who comes from a non-traditional background, the key is to very clearly explain why you've chosen to take a business path rather than a conventional medical path. You want to convince the AdCom that with your dual degrees, you'll be better equipped than anyone else in your field to become a BUSINESS leader. Leadership potential is what they're looking for, at the end of the day.

Best of luck to you!

Doris

Hi dogchow,

I know you posted several days ago now, but I wanted to chime in with some thoughts on your profile on behalf of Admissionado! At first glance, your academic credentials are solid even though they're not extraordinary. I don't think you have all that much to compensate for or prove through other application components, but I do think that you'll need to stand out in some other way. Your pre-MBA work experience is standard with consulting and banking, so the obvious area of interest in my view is your post-MBA goals.

It's true that rolling the dice on cannabis could be perceived as risky, but AdCom's aren't naive enough to ignore the huge revenue and profit potential of that industry as laws change, so it could be an attractive play. My biggest question for you (without having read your essays) would be how you demonstrate that you have a genuine interest in social impact, enough to want to make it a hallmark of your post-MBA career. While it's great that you were interested in social impact careers back in college, the reality is that you eschewed that path at that point for two very conventional business fields instead, so your track record so far doesn't lend that much credibility on that front. If you're invited for interviews, I recommend you figure out how to frame your answers in ways that marry your passion for social impact with your understanding of the power of the profit motive.

Best of luck to you!

Doris

Hi MBAaustralia,

I'm a little late to the conversation about your profile evaluation request, but I wanted to share my perspective for you too!

Setting aside the (big) missing puzzle piece of your GMAT score, I'd say that the remaining major components of your application all look very strong. You have an exceptional amount of work experience already for someone of your young age, and I see a very consistent thematic thread about your interest in leading the sustainable growth of the automotive industry in Australia in the future. An important thing for you to consider (and explicitly address in your essays) is why you believe spending time in the US -- whether just for your MBA, or for your MBA + X number of years of work experience in the US -- will empower you to achieve your longer-term goals in Australia in a way that really moves the needle. I would make sure that you have at least 1 professional letter of recommendation from one of your internship supervisors, as they'll be able to speak to your aptitude in your chosen industry.

As a general rule of thumb, you want to score at the median level of any MBA program that you're applying to (730 for HBS). Obviously, anything higher than that is icing on the cake (though never a guarantee of anything!); if you score lower than 710 or 700, you'll have some explaining to do to convince the AdCom that you do have the academic aptitude for MBA-level work. Don't feel like you have to nail your ideal score the first time around -- if you need 2 attempts to get there, that's fine.

Good luck with your GMAT prep and your application! Please look us up at www.admissionado.com if you'd like to speak with us further!

Doris

Hi everybody, I'm thinking about applying to HBS in September 2020. I've not taken GMAT yet, but I'd like to get a glimpse of my opportunities.

Demographics: 27 years old (I will be 28 in September 2020), Italian, from a small town in the south.

Education:
• Undergrad: best engineering school in Italy, ranked among top15 engineering in the world, GPA: 110 out of 110. Industrial Engineering and Management (3 years, standard lenght)
• Master's Degree (2 years, standard lenght) in Industrial Engineering and Management with focus on Corporate Finance from Tokyo Institute of Technology, top50 school in the world, best engineering school in Japan. GPA 5 out of 5

GMAT: Have to take the test yet

Work Experience:
• Started professional career in design thinking strategy consulting as intern for 3 months in Tokyo office.
• Moved back to Italy where I joined Big4 as an Advisory consultant. Promoted to senior after 1 year and 6 months (usually it takes two years) and aiming to reach manager in 2021. Top performer, in 2019 I received a 200% bonus for what I did. Already managing small teams (2/3 people) and probably going to Japan this year for a project.
In total I've worked for about 3 years, will be 3.7 years in September 2020.

Leadership and Extracurricular Activities:
• Currently on the Board of Innovation of my company
• I am currently managing a project inside my company to promote knowledge sharing involving +50 people and inviting guests and experts in specific areas
• Member of the JA Italy association. I work as a Dream Coach, teaching students in high school about finance, management and how to run a business. Organizing business games at national and European levels
• Ex-member of Slush Asia, an event where investors and startuppers can meet to find good solutions and launch business ideas

Other:
• My Master's Thesis in Japan was good enough to go to the World Banking & Finance Symposium in Dubai in 2016. Currently still working with my Japanese mentor in order to publish the research with a good Finance Journal
• Had plenty of international exposure (during undergrad I went to Hungary for a governmental project, during Master's I went to Hong Kong for 1 month)
• Passionate about Japanese culture, I can speak Japanese fluently (other than English and a basic Spanish, and native Italian of course). I am part of the only Buddhist monastery in Italy where I often go to relax, help with growing vegetables and cooking

Post MBA goal: Although I like my current job, I'm looking for a more challenging opportunity. Most of my colleagues want just to work 9-18 and then go home. I'd like to put myself in a new contest: go to US and work there for a management consulting company is my objective. I've already experienced European and Asian culture.

Essay: Still to think clearly about it. But every time I read Harvard Business Review and they talk about CEOs, I want to become one of them.

Other schools: Stanford, Wharton, Sloan, and probably INSEAD. But I want to go to HBS

Thank you for your time guys!!

Hi there!

I think you have a solid background:
- High GPA
- STEM background
- European/bilingual
- International exposure
- good work experience
This is all very positive and I think you have a fair chance of joining HBS provided you score well at GMAT (have you taken online tests to see how your fair?).
Best of luck to you!

Thank you for the feedback! Since I will be privately funded, I don't know if I have enough savings for Sep 2020 and I was thinking about waiting until September 2021. Do you think that it will be too late? I will be 29 years old, with 4,7 years of working experience.
And actually I don't know if my working experience of around 3/4 years in a Big4 is a minus. Should I try to do something different during this year?

In my opinion you should apply and see how much scholarship you receive from your school of choice and don't forget to look into external scholarships as well (Fullbright for example), once you are admitted and you know how much scholarship funds you have available you can make an informed decision. You can also wait until september 2021 if you add a good work experience to your CV.

If you get a competitive GMAT score, you will have a competitive profile for HBS. They will love the international aspects of your background. I think you will need to dig deeper for an essay theme, but you have time to do so. Why do you want to be like these CEOs? The reason are probably more interesting (and revealing of your values) than the aspiration. Go for HBS, but keep your mind open to the other elite programs you are considering. You may also want to consider Kellogg and Yale.

A few resources for you:

[*]HBS Essay tips
[*]Get Accepted to Harvard Business School, a webinar recording

Best,
Linda

Hi,

Here is my profile.

10th-78%
12th-66%
Bachelor of Engineering - 8.6(CGPA) in Mechanical Engineering from India
Work Experience - 4.9 years .Working as Data Analyst in TCS in India. Having Experience of leading team of 10 people for more than 2 years. A active member of corporate social responsibility(CSR) and the active member of toastmaster club and other club that are working for NGOs that mainly deal with student education locally. There is regular interaction with client and management people from company and outside but no international exposure yet.
GMAT- Giving in FEB end(First attempt)

Certification credential - I am Charter Financial analyst(CFA) Level 3 Candidate.
National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM) Certified in Derivative and Market
Certified in Financial Modelling.

Courses for MBA- Finance



Please let me know the expected GMAT score also that i should aim for.

any input would be greatly appreciated

Thanks and Regards