akhil1895 wrote:
Background and nationality : Civil Engineering ( Amrita University), Indian
Undergrad Information: 6.43 CGPA
GMAT: 660
Work experience and leadership: Started my own startup on fintech during my college final year, Worked at Urbandart as Growth specialist for 1.5 yr ( Clients : Google, Amazon, Dunzo, Swiggy, Zomato, Cred etc,,), currently into family business ( Gas agency handling a team of 30 members, builder )
As on Jan 2020: 3.5 yrs experience
Post MBA goals: Want to work abroad in an investment banking firm
Anything else: Actively trading from past 1 year and very much interested in Finance
Would like to know my chances into Rotman and areas to be improved as I will be applying for next year?
Hey
akhil1895,
You seem ambitious about pursuing a career in the field of Finance, which is further complemented by the leadership roles you undertook in both your academic and professional experience.
To begin with, your undergraduate GPA of 6.43 is a bit on the lower end, although it should not worry you, as what matters most in a MBA program is how you utilized your time in college or your professional career, thus showcasing a well-groomed profile is what you should be focusing on.
Coming to GMAT, an overall score of 660 is slightly on the lower end. In order to target a school like Rotman, an average score of 690 is what would be required and therefore I would advise you to go for a retake.
As for your work experience, since an MBA is a manager's degree and requires significant work experience, your 3.5+ years of work experience would put you at par with other applicants. Moreover, your initiative of establishing your own fintech start-up during your UG showcases your leadership skills and ability to take on initiatives. Therefore, make sure you elaborate on your entrepreneurial endeavours, what you did in these roles, how you handled problems, etc.
All things considered, you lack big brands in your profile which is a minor drawback as you would be competing against applicants with work experience from the big four firms. In order to overshadow this, you can shine light on the e-commerce giants (like Google, Amazon, Dunzo, etc.) you catered to and how you augmented their business growth.
Coming to your extracurriculars, since you haven’t provided any information regarding your extracurriculars, I would like to tell you that your extracurricular activities and your other endeavors matter as well because AdComs are looking for applicants with holistically developed profiles. Thus, it is essential to shed light on the endeavors you’ve taken up at the clubs, associations, and events you managed or participated in.
Also showcasing any volunteering or CSR activities that you participated in would strengthen your application as it would bring to light the socially responsible aspect of your personality, a trait held in high regard by any and every b-school. Moreover, given your inclination towards settling into the investment banking sector, I would recommend you to take up a few certifications relevant to the field to clearly define your drive towards building a career in the same.
Coming to your chance of acceptance in Rotman, it stands at around 50%. That said, when applying abroad, in order to hedge your bets wisely, it is always better to target 6-8 schools. Some other schools that you can be targeting are - HEC Montreal, Ivy, Queen, Schulich, and UBC as well.
On this note, while you have a competitive profile, to increase your chances of getting admitted to these schools you would need to ensure that you have a very strong application (consisting of - Essays, LORs, and Resume)that highlights your strengths and overshadows your weaknesses in order to differentiate your profile. You need to showcase your journey, what makes you different from your peers, and how you are a great value addition to the school.
Therefore, in lieu of that, I would recommend you to check out our flagship ALL-IN-ONE service, which has helped 3500+ applicants to get into their dream schools. This service will also provide you with end-to-end consulting and unlimited edits on your application documents. Not only that, you’d be connected with B-school alumni who’d be helping you directly with your application process, right from shortlisting the right schools to submitting the application to the school.
Link to our all-in-one solution -
https://www.mim-essay.com/mim-all-in-one Hope this helped!
_________________
Abhyank Srinet
Founder & CEO
(MiM-Essay)