Harvard Profile Evaluation - Tools for B-School Profile Evaluation

Niv19:

You have a great profile and should be competitive for many schools.

I'm not sure you necessarily need to do more to beef up your profile. The key is pulling it altogether in a way that creates a strong and unique narrative. For example, what is the theme (if any) that links all of your extracurricular work? What about tying your pre-MBA experience to your post-MBA goals in starting your own company? Lastly, why does each program appeal to you and how would those programs help you achieve your career trajectory?

Other than that, with a little luck you should find success in this process.

Hi Niv19,

First, I would like to congratulate you on backing a 760 in your GMAT that’s quite exceptional at your age, and you are definitely above the bar set by top B-schools for GMAT. Moreover, you have a great overall GPA and Won 2nd place in the Deloitte All India level case study competition, which is a big accomplishment!

Now coming to your Work Experience, you have worked in Deloitte Audit for 28 months. Hence, you must highlight the role & responsibilities, any critical projects, any leadership opportunity, and professional accolades that define the characteristics required for the MBA curriculum. In addition, since you have started your B2C firm selling organic produce, it’s important to highlight the aspirations related to your business, why do you think it was a great decision, why a business in organic produce, and lastly, since it’s a competitive market, what impact do you hope to create with your firm.

You have some interesting ECAs like community volunteering services at the blue cross and being a Community service director. All of this could be a major boost if you highlight the challenges faced, the role you had, and the impact created by you. Moreover, you have some great hobbies that would help the adcom know you better.

All in all, I would say that you have a robust profile; once you get your CFA level one certification, that would add a boost to your profile. In addition, you are exceptional in your GMAT and GPA, and you have realistic post-MBA goals and great ECAs & Hobbies. Yes, in terms of work experience, you do have a bit less work experience than required. Still, since you have started your own business, it’s a great opportunity where we can use it to showcase characteristics of Leadership potential, strategic thinking, and the capability to do something beyond normal standards.

I would like to know more about your entrepreneurial experience to find major USPs. Also, it would help me to find schools that align with your expectations and values! If you’d like, we are happy to hop on a call with you sometime this week to discuss your profile in length and further chances for admission to your target schools. Feel free to book a free session with us as per your convenience.

Cheers!
Neha Hadke
Profile Analyst & Channel Manager, MBA and Beyond
Website|Blogs|Testimonials|GMATclub Reviews
Email: neha@mbaandbeyond.com
Women in Business & Beyond- Our initiative to help women aspirants in their MBA journey.

Hi Niv19 , great profile overall!

For me, your ECs and entrepreneurial stint are the highlights. Needless to say you could use your professional and extra-curriculars experiences to show leadership and versatility.

If I were to guide you on differentiating yourself - I would advise that you share what vision do you have for yourself in the long term. Perhaps your passion for gardening brought you closer to the farming community and you identified an underlying problem. Perhaps solving for this problem gives some purpose to your professional decisions. How you onboarded the suppliers, designed your supply chain for fresh produce and connected with target customers would give exceptional depth to your entrepreneurial story. Your long term goals could be aspirational as well as inspirational. What skills and learnings do you wish to gain from your target industry of consulting in the short term that would help you achieve your long term goals?

If targeting European schools, I would also advise you to focus on international motivation. CFA is good to have but you should be able to connect it with your plan and goals.

If you wish to seek professional guidance on application strategy do reach out

Hi all,

Could someone possibly chance me for the 2+2 program, please?

An overview of my application:
- Age 21
- Nationality British
- White male but first-gen university student, state (secondary) school-educated
- 760 GMAT (Q48 V47 IR8)
- I will be joining an "EB" investment bank as an M&A analyst upon graduation this year, I have summer interned at a different "EB" last year
- Have grown my own business over the last 6 years to 7-figures in revenue and have now exited to a unicorn company
- On track for first-class honours in my Econ degree at a top European university
- Lack of volunteer experience aside from a short stint in sports coaching (imagine this will impact my GSB odds especially?)

Also applying for the deferred programs at Stanford, Wharton and MIT if you could possibly weigh in on those as well, please!

Many thanks for any input

TLuxtino:

The two strengths of your profile are clearly your statistics/performance and your startup company. The latter is really what, if anything, will help separate you.

That being said, I am not sure you are the ideal candidate for those deferred MBA programs. They take so few people and tend to focus on those from truly unconventional backgrounds. The lack of extracurricular activities is also a little concerning though that can probably be explained by the amount of time you presumably spent on your startup.

You should definitely apply (because you never know!), but plan to reapply in a few years after you have accumulated full-time work experience. You should be an even better candidate by that point!

-Admissionado

Hi, TLuxtino,

Thank you for your post!

First of all, I would like to congratulate you for backing a 760 in your GMAT; it’s a great achievement at such a young age! Moreover, you managed to build your start-up, generating a 7-figures in revenue, that’s huge. Coming to your profile, first and foremost, I would like to know more about your start-up and how you were able to generate such high revenue being so young. In your essays, try to quote specific examples of your role & responsibilities, leadership examples, challenges faced in building the company, and the impact generated over the last six years.

Harvard Business School’s 2+2 program is perhaps the best-known deferred MBA. Hence, it would require more than factual data, professional and academic brilliance, a pinch of uniqueness, and extraordinary character to make it to Harvard. Moreover, Harvard prefers high-potential individuals from a lower socio-economic background with less family exposure to graduate school. You may want to read an article on what business schools look in the candidate for deferred MBA programs you will get some insights. Moreover, I would also suggest that you look out for more deferred MBA programs. Here is a blog that may help you understand all about other top deferred programs; go through it once. Deferred MBA programs: MBA for college seniors.This would most certainly help clear any doubts and, at the same time, help understand all about top deferred programs at Stanford, Wharton, and MIT!

All in all, I would say you are definitely an overachiever and an ideal candidate for the program. Still, it would help if you had strong ECAs that depict a diverse skill-set acquired, new challenges faced, and new opportunities to build your character. However, you could also use your example of a Start-up for the same, but do remember to add some strong ECAs. While doing so, try to connect dots to form a matrix interlinking your ECAs with work experience, skill-set, academic accolades, and entrepreneurial brilliance. If you’d like to get a more detailed analysis of your profile regarding Stanford, Wharton, MIT, and any other top deferred MBA Programs feel free to book a free session with us at your convenience.

Check out our upcoming events and sign up for the session that interests you.

Cheers!
Neha Hadke
Profile Analyst & Channel Manager, MBA and Beyond
Testimonials
Email: neha@mbaandbeyond.com

Hi Guys,

Below you've got my profile breakdown:

Undergraduate Course: Statistics
Undergraduate CGPA: 3.2/4
Graduate Course(Masters): Economics
Graduate CGPA: 4/4
GMAT score: 740

Do I stand a chance at HBS with this profile?

Thanks

Hi Toyin95,

You've provided very few details about your profile. Your GMAT score is definitely competitive, therefore, this part is pretty sorted. We would like to learn more about your profile, such as your leadership abilities, impact you have had, ECs, achievements, and so on. Harvard seeks leaders, creative minds, and good academics. You must bring all of these attributes to your application. You should be able to demonstrate your potential and make a compelling logical case for why you are a good match for a deferred MBA program. You can look at what business schools look in the candidate for deferred MBA programs. Business Schools, especially for deferred MBA programs, aspire to create future leaders, so the potential must be visible in their students already!

Overall, based on your GMAT score, you had a chance; however, more details about your profile are required to assess your chances better. If you’d like, we are happy to hop on a call with you sometime this week to discuss your profile in-depth and further chances at Harvard. Feel free to book a free session with us as per your convenience.

Cheers!
Neha Hadke
Profile Analyst & Channel Manager, MBA and Beyond
Testimonials
Email: neha@mbaandbeyond.com

Dear fellows,

Hope y'all doing great.

Guys, especially admissions experts, I need your insight into my profile and how can I improve it. Given my profile, how'd you evaluate my chances of admission into HBS?

- A 28-year-old (turning 29 soon) male from Azerbaijan. Is it late to apply at this age? I'll be 30 when I start studying.
- Bachelors in Industrial Engineering and Management (courses were heavily on economics and management rather than engineering) from a Top 5 university in Azerbaijan. Graduated with a GPA of 82/100, which puts me in the top 10% of the class. But, when I convert it to U.S 4.0 scale, it's around 3.0. Doesn't look impressive:) What do you think?
- Master's in Business Analysis and Strategic Management from a TOP 10 UK business school. Will having a degree in business hurt my MBA application? Graduated with Distinction. I was awarded a prestigious international scholarship(fully funded) to study for this degree.
- GMAT 740
- IELTS 8.0
- WE:
-3 months internship at the Central Bank during undergrad,
-5 months of international experience (Central Europe) as a trading and operations consultant at a brokerage firm,
-close to 3 years at the Central Bank as a risk management specialist.
-3 months at an international automotive in the UK as a strategy consultant. It was part of my master's dissertation project, for which I also got a distinction.
-1 year and counting at the Central Bank as a leading specialist in the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing field.
-extracurricular and leadership: I don't know whether it can be considered an extra curricular-1 year of military service. During this period I've been promoted to unit commander position, I had a couple of soldiers in my unit. I thought it could be critical considering Azerbaijan is in a harsh military situation.
- I've conducted a project single-handedly that encompassed several departments at the Central Bank.(I think it can be counted as a leadership experience as well)
- the scholarship I mentioned above is awarded for intellectual and leadership capabilities and only the top 2-3% of applicants succeed worldwide.
- Did and currently doing projects that had an impact on the country's financial system.

Post-MBA goal
-My goal is to switch to Strategy and Operations in Big Tech.

I'd appreciate any feedback on my profile. Also, how can I improve it?

Thanks:)

Age: 25 years old, asian, USA
Undergrad: Top 20 university in the US, 3.75 GPA
GMAT: 750
Work Experience:
2 Years global investment bank
1 Year (will be 2 year by the time I matriculate) at a top 10 private equity fund (in-terms of size)
Post MBA Career:
Continue private equity career

extra curricular:
2 years teaching kids financial literacy
1 year supporting ex-convicts land jobs

essays: tbd hopefully strong
letters of rec: will be extremely strong

Hi sanghyunp2004

To guide you on the prospects, I would be interested to know more about your "leadership experience".

As you may know, HBS's mission statement is to “educate leaders who make a difference in the world.” Successful applicants at HBS are young yet accomplished, having demonstrated impressive feats in a variety of areas such as entrepreneurship, social impact, arts, sports, government organizations, advisory and so on. Therefore, your roadmap to landing into HBS should focus on highlighting your stellar growth trajectory, leadership experience and uniqueness that you could bring to the cohort. Your ECs sound interesting. Maybe expand a bit more to clearly convey the impact (in terms of $$, lives changed, creating a sustainable model etc.).

If you wish to seek professional guidance on your application strategy do reach out.

Warm Regards

Hi sanghyunp2004,

First, I would like to say you did a great job backing a 750 in your GMAT, so congrats on that! Moreover, you do have a decent overall GPA. Additionally, I would suggest you add more about your academic statistics to back your profile.

You do have a relevant work profile; however, I would like to know more about your roles & responsibilities, critical projects, and professional accolades for your work experience. Additionally, you will need to add some info about international exposure and elaborate more about the part played by you in critical projects, examples of leadership, and the relevant skills developed. The same goes for your ECA; it’s decent but brief. You need to mention the challenges faced, leadership roles played, the impact generated, and the relevant skills developed through your ECAs to bank upon them! Harvard looks for Collaborative Leaders who exhibit the highest ethical standards and respect for others and can make positive contributions to the MBA Program. So make sure you bring the same in your application.

Regarding your post-mba goals, they are relevant but very common. All in all, you do have a decent profile. What’s going to matter most is how you connect the dots and represent an amazing narrative. However, Harvard could be a stretch for anyone. I suggest adding a few more schools to your list. Applying in early rounds to help secure a spot in the top 10 US B-Schools. For your reference, you may read How to strengthen your MBA application for Round 1 MBA? you will get some beneficial insights. You are a relevant applicant with a robust profile and have a good chance at the top MBA program. If you'd like, we are happy to hop on a call with you sometime this week to discuss your profile in length and further help you with your profile-building strategy; feel free to book a free session with us at your convenience.

Cheers!
Neha Hadke
Profile Analyst & Channel Manager, MBA and Beyond
Testimonials
Email: neha@mbaandbeyond.com

Age: 29 years old, Indian , USA
Undergrad: Top 20 university in India, 7.4/10 - Top 20% of class
GMAT: 760
Work Experience:
7 Years- India's Largest Financial Services Group and Bank (Public Sector/ Govt )

Post MBA Career:
Continue in my current organization

extra curricular:
Lead a NGO for 3 years
Taught underprivileged / Rural kids - 2 years
Was part of a NGO that supported low income group families during COVID-19
My job required me to work in Rural places to uplift villages - Was closely associated with the local village govts post office hours


essays: strong ( i guess)
letters of rec: will be extremely strong

vamkrispk:

There's nothing in your profile that doesn't suggest you won't be given consideration for Harvard, but at the same time, I'm not seeing a "wow" factor for an Indian candidate. That is not to say you do not have it or won't identify it, but that's just something to note.

HBS, as you may know, has one open-ended essay. What will you write about? What "calling card" will you use to describe your narrative that will help you stand out?

You should definitely apply, but it would be wise to have several backup options. HBS is never a sure thing for anyone!

-Admissionado

Hello vamkrispk
Hope you can throw some light on how have you progressed in your career in the last ~7 years. What are some of the major wins you accomplished in terms of leadership exposure, stakeholder management skills, business knowledge etc.?

Given you have a public sector banking/finance background, here are some ideas to get you thinking about your story as an HBS applicant. To begin with, put forth a strong narrative about your motivation to work in the public sector. You may have interesting insights from working on the execution of projects that concern specific TGs such as the bottom of the pyramid of the Indian economy. What problems did you identify and tried to solve? Demonstrate compassionate leadership through stories and iron will to mobilize such sectors post-MBA leveraging your prior experience in public sector banking and your increased business acumen after HBS. Be conscientious about your goals. Your post MBA objective of continuing with your current organization needs more explanation. This calls for more discussion and research but I think you can leverage your experience to get into a wide array of roles in public sector advisory, consulting, startups, impact initiative etc.

Warm regards

Hi, vamkrispk,

Thank you for your post!

First, I would like to congratulate you on backing a 760 in your GMAT; that's quite exceptional. Additionally, I recommend adding more about your academic statistics to back your profile. Since a strong overall academic profile is a prerequisite for top B-schools like HBS, furthermore, you should understand that HBS is no short of stellar academic profiles hence, you need to bank upon your work experience, ECAs, community services & volunteering experiences to characterize you as someone who is an innovative thinker who had demonstrated leadership and analytical skills and is passionate enough to make a difference in the world. These are the most basic values HBS looks for in a successful candidate. As a result, you will need to bring all the values to your apps.

Moreover, Applying in early rounds could definitely help secure a spot at HBS. hence, for your reference, I suggest you read How to strengthen your MBA application for Round 1 MBA? you will get some beneficial insights. At this point, I would like to know more about your profile, work experience, promotions, impact certifications, etc., as we consider your candidacy for the Harvard Business School MBA program. Also, HBS can be a stretch for anyone; I suggest adding a few more reach schools to your School list. Hence, if you'd like to get a detailed analysis of your profile regarding the MBA program at HBS, feel free to book a free session with us at your convenience.

Cheers!
Neha Hadke
Profile Analyst & Channel Manager, MBA and Beyond
Testimonials
Email: neha@mbaandbeyond.com

I have had a multitude of experiences. Working in rural villages- transforming the villages through financial inclusion, working with district officials and local governments etc to uplift society. Worked in semi-urban centers, againing working with various state holders, on improving industry and local businesses. Worked with major corporations for the production of covid-19 vaccines ( since a bank i was on the team to fund the project) etc.
As a team leader, we have been awarded multiple times by senior management, etc. Was posted to new york in the investment banking division . A lot of different experiences ( rare and given only to very few)