Ask ARINGO MBA Admissions Consulting

Indian Male, 24
2018- Bcom. (Hons.) pass out, top 10% in class.
class 10- 8.4/10
class 12- 75%
Bcom.(Hons.)- 71.17%
Work Experience-
December 2018- march 2020- Plant manager at a local Indian manufacturing firm. (revenue 10 million USD)

May 2020- present- Assistant manager- at Indian FMCG company (revenue 50 million USD)- 2 significant salaried promotions- worked as project lead in projects with Indian Army, Parle, Britannia, Udaan, etc.- solely accountable for the preparation of financial statements, performing capital budgeting and finance-related managerial decisions- also, working as a compliance officer with the firm.

October 2021- present- volunteering in Boddhi tree foundation as a teaching faculty- taught 100's of students in mathematics and English subjects.

September 2021- October 2021- Internship- research associate intern at legacy research solutions- preparation of financial articles and dissertation of Ph.D. level.

Skilled in - financial modeling, Excel, PowerPoint, capital budgeting (DCF, DDM models), and game theory.

Applied in Simon Rochester, UBC Sauder, Schulich for MBA programs.

Is admission to these programs possible given a good interview?

Hi Nj97,

Thanks for sharing your profile and MBA aspirations.

My name is Priyanka, Client Manager at ARINGO. While the school list looks balanced and seems like you might have a fair chance (considering the interview goes well), GMAT can be a catch when Adcom will be comparing profiles at the time of decision making.

In case you are waiting for an interview call, you can share your details with PRIYANKAK@ARINGO.COM (once you get a call) and we can help you with the interview preparation. In case you are done with the interview, do not worry too much about the result, as your part in the application is over: just cross your fingers!

Hope you receive a positive result.

All the best.

Below is a brief about my profile, request you to kindly evaluate and suggest if there is a mismatch between the schools and the scores that I am targeting:

Gmat (First attempt) - 660, Q47, V34, IR6
Planning to take the second attend by end of May.

Target score: 710-720
Target Schools: Insead, Said, Judge, LBS, HEC

Indian / Male / 29 years

Graduation: Chemical Engineering (CGPA: 7.28 / 10, Harcourt Butler Technological Institute; mid-rank engineering college)
Post Graduation Diploma In Management: (CGPA: 7.05 /10, Indian Institute of Management Raipur; one of the top 15 business schools in India)

Work Experience: (Total 54 months till date)

30 months: Worked with a national Oil Marketing Company (a Fortune 500 company) in the Corporate Strategy and Planning team.

13 months: Worked in the CEO's office as a Program Manager at a cloud kitchen Start-up (this company is part of a group that owns two mobility based unicorn start-ups in India)

7 months: Program Manager to the CMO at the largest chain of Departmental stores in India.

Currently working as a Senior Manager in the CEO's Office at 7-Eleven India.

Target Schools: INSEAD, LBS, Said, Judge, HEC

Awards and Recognitions:

Implemented a project to optimize cash flows at 'Ola Foods' (part of a unicorn start-up group) during COVID-19 that not only led to ~42% optimization of excess space in kitchens but also resulted in monthly revenue stream of ~INR 8 lacs - Received recognition from Head of Projects and Head of Business Finance.

Guest Columnist for under 30 writers, a series of a daily column focusing on current affairs started by all 65 Dainik Bhaskar (leading national news daily) editions across 14 states.
Winner - Consulting case event at Advaita’15, the International Management fest of ISB Hyderabad.
Finalist - B-plan competition at Intaglio’16, the International Management fest of IIM Calcutta.
Finalist - Markician, the national marketing case study challenge organized by IIFT Delhi.
Winner - Case-Write-up competition in DIGITAL INDIA WEEK held at IIM Raipur, 2015

Post MBA - I want to pursue a career in consulting (with a focus on Energy sector).

Posted from my mobile device

Hi Abhi3492,

Thanks for sharing your profile and MBA aspirations.

My name is Priyanka, Client Manager at ARINGO.

You have a very interesting profile! From what I can see:

Academics – GPA seems to be fine. We would like to know your class percentile, as well. Also, as you have already done an MBA the schools would like to know the reason behind the second MBA.

GMAT – Good luck with the GMAT. Yes, aim for a 710+ score for better chances in your target schools.

Work Experience –You have experience working in a Fortune 500 company and a Startup- which is a good thing. However, we would like to know more about your roles and responsibilities, the impact of your work (like Ola Foods), promotions, international exposure, etc.

Extracurricular activities/Volunteer Work – Guest columnist in a national newspaper- Interesting! Any community work experience?

Your career goals – While your career goals look fine, we need to connect the dots for the focus on the energy sector and your passion for the same. We will be able to give more insights once you share your CV and provide more details.

All in all sounds like you have a good profile! If you send me your CV and other info on PRIYANKAK@ARINGO.com, I would love to connect you with our CEO who will be happy to help further with a detailed review and perhaps work together on some amazing apps.

All the best.

Hey Experts,

I would really appreciate if you can review my profile and let me know if I should retake the GMAT.

Target Schools:
Dream - INSEAD, LBS, Cambridge, HEC
Realistic - IESE, Mannheim, WHU, IE
Safe - Manchester, Warwick

Profile -

Academics:
- School: 85%+ (almost always among the top 3 in my class)
- Graduation (Engg.): 8.5 CGPA {50% scholarship}
- Post-Graduation - MBA(from one of the top 10 Bschools in India): 3.4 CGPA {Full Scholarship student}
(Studied French for 2 semesters - though not proficient at it anymore but can relearn - had decent grades in this subject)

Work Experience:
- About 2 years experience in a one of the top e-commerce startup in India. (Was among the top performers and worked with some of the leading brands in India)
- About 6 years of ed-tech experience

- 2 years of experience as a product manager (once again top performer - helped launched 2-3 important products that had a positive impact on revenue - revenue growth of 2-3x)
- 4 years of experience as a product lead (part of the founding team) - global product (worked with international clients, helped grow the firm exponentially - esp. with little to no funding)

Add ons
- Part of student body council during my post-grad
- NGO experience of close to 6 months
- Have a few certifications in data science, analytics, finance (Passed with top grades)
- GMAT - 710 (not planning to retake for now - score is 4 years old though - so, should I retake?)

Goal
- Short term goal (Work as Senior Product Manager for a tech firm - looking to gain international perspective and work with people from different backgrounds/culture) - my previous MBA or my jobs have not provided me with learning or perspective - hence the decision of 2nd MBA.
- Long term goal (Interested in using tech and my PM experience to build my own firm - one idea being in edtech focusing more on K12 helping children gain quality ed tech at very low cost across the globe. Though I am open to other options too - fintech (making lending easy for SMEs).. main point is to leverage tech and product experience to create a global impact firm.
- Want to stay in UK/Germany.

On concern regarding my safe and realistic school is post MBA salary. I am already currently close to $50k in India. Most of these school avg around $75K which is making me rethink my decision about my school selection.

Thanks for this interesting information!

Hi n2022gmat,

Thanks for sharing your profile and MBA aspirations.

My name is Priyanka, Client Manager at ARINGO.

You have a very interesting profile! From what I can see:

Academics & GMAT – good academic track record. Additional certifications are an excellent example of continuous learning. You would need to specify the reason for a second MBA in the applications. Regarding GMAT, we will suggest to re-take only if you think you are prepared enough for a 710+ score. If not, apply with 710 😊

Work Experience –The impact of your work is quantified well and your experience looks good. We suggest showcasing your international exposure well in your resume (like working with international clients in your ed-tech experience). With 8 years of experience, UK/EU are also more favorable geographies to apply for an MBA. We would love to see your resume to understand your career trajectory, as well.

Extracurricular activities/Volunteer Work – Mention more about your hobbies; NGO experience of ~6 months- A good talking point but would really want to know more details about your involvement.

Your career goals - Your career goals look fine as this is a logical extension of what you are doing presently but will be able to give more insights once you share your CV. You can look at the median starting salary of top UK/EU schools here: https://aringo.com/top-mba-programs/.

Well, a second MBA from a global premium B-school will not only boost your salary (or add value to your CV) but also will open a plethora of opportunities, learning, global exposure, networking, etc.

All in all, sounds like you have a good profile! If you send me your CV and other info on PRIYANKAK@ARINGO.com, I would love to connect you with our CEO who will be happy to help further with a detailed review and perhaps work together on some amazing apps.

All the best.

Hello ARINGO I came across your profile and wanted to get your views on my candidature to European business schools for an MBA. Can you suggest some colleges that will help me better w.r.t post-MBA field?

Background
Age: 28 & work exp 5 yrs
Gender: Male
Location: India
Nationality: Indian

GMAT Score: 690 (Might get 700/710 in re-attempt , please suggest if it makes a considerable difference in my application)
Schools: Open to suggestion for European colleges with focus on green energy/sustainability or the colleges which has strong alum network in these sectors is preferred

Work Experience:
1. 5 years of work experience in Wind Turbine industry. 3.5 yrs with Vestas (danish company, among top 3 players in the industry). Worked at system level to calculate aeroelastic loads. Handled sales team (technical bid manager’s) requests for product customization & wind farm optimization strategies (But no direct interaction with client). After 2 yrs promoted as Technical lead (unofficial designation) for repowering business in US, handled a team for 3 for this.
In last 2 years switched to Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy worked on product development of Offshore wind turbines. This role was more focused on New product development unlike customization focused role in last company.
2. Experience involves load calculation and analytics support to sales team in the form of maturing bids for specific sites. Also worked on developing best practices, identify gaps, perform continuous improvement. As a tech lead for repowering directly worked with Sr. Director (Technical bid management head) to propose various feasible solutions.
3. Strategy projects such as technology implementation into values chain to match needs of post product development activities. Achieved a milestone: to reduce around 2% steel weight for towers.



Academic:
1. Graduated with a degree in bachelor’s in mechanical Engg from Shivaji University. Held first position in class of 2015 (67% Absolute grading)
2. M.E in Design Engineering from BITS Pilani (8.67 CGPA Relative grading)
3. Xth : 86.36% XII th:70%

International Experience:
1. Closely worked with technical bid managers across the world mostly from US, Europe & APAC,where I tried to analyze requirements & proposed optimized solutions.
2. As a loads engg closely worked with teams in Denmark on various projects related to New product development. Worked with Noise experts from Denmark to help sound reduction at sensitive sites.

Extra-Curricular Activities:
1. Founder of Vestas Chess Club , Led Vestas Chess team to 1st FIDE international Corporate Chess Tournament in 2021 . Also member of Vestas Sports club, co-organized various sporting events for a group size of 100+ players.
2. Speaker at 2 international conferences in 2017,2018
3. Published 2 research papers during my Master’s degree
4. Volunteered as M.E Students representative in BITS
5. Cofounded Chess Club during in my bachelor’s college 2011. Also won zonal chess championship in 2012.
6.Member of Indian Climate Youth Netwok

Post MBA Goals:
Short Term: Work as a strategy consultant in a big consulting firm in field of Energy. I am passionate about energy transition & climate change mitigation. So using my past exp in wind industry I would like to consult projects in renewable field.

Long Term: Work in leadership roles at Product companies focusing on UN sustainable goals.

Hi RushS,

Thanks for sharing your profile and MBA aspirations.

My name is Priyanka, Client Manager at ARINGO.

About your profile:

Academics – good scores in both bachelor’s and master’s. We would like to know your percentile in M.E.

GMAT – Well, as you are part of the overrepresented pool of candidates (Male, Indian, Engineer…) it will be good if you are able to break the barrier of 700!

Work Experience –Your experience is good in the energy sector and the impact of your work is quantified well. Working with cross-cultural teams, Good managerial experience, promotions- All positive points.

Extracurricular activities/Volunteer Work – Taking initiatives beyond your KRAs in the workplace like founding a Chess club and running it successfully adds more value to your profile. We would love to know how you contribute as a member of the Indian Climate Youth Network.

Your career goals - Your career goals look fine as they are in perfect sync with your experience. 😊

School list – Here are the top programs for Sustainability from QS (https://www.topmba.com/why-mba/10-best-business-schools-sustainability). Warwick, University of Edinburgh, and Durham are all great UK schools that are not necessarily on the top of the rankings, but they are good at what they do – getting students into jobs/roles within sustainability.

All in all, sounds like you have a good profile! If you send me your CV and other info on PRIYANKAK@ARINGO.com, I would love to connect you with our CEO who will be happy to help further with a detailed review and perhaps work together on some amazing apps.

All the best.

Hi,
So I recently took the executive assessment test and scored relatively well - 167 (99% percentile) (IR 18; Q 15; V 14).

Would appreciate getting some insight from people who've applied with an EA, or had come across other candidates who had applied with an EA, as to how competitive such a score would be in the applicable FT MBA programs (Columbia; Stern etc.)?

MCBAS hi,
Shimri from ARINGO here
Your profile seems very interesting, and although I am missing some more info on your personal background, professional experience, extracurricular activities and school wish list, I really think you have a chance at some of the top MBA programs (Well, with a kick-ass application of course!)

Regarding the EA - congrats! 167 is a great EA score, It's way above the 700 mark. (hard to compare but I spoke to the head of admissions at Columbia who told me they see a 157 as 680... so 167 is GREAT!)
660 isn't a very good score for the top schools, and might not be enough for LBS and INSEAD (I need to see your CV, and understand your gender and nationality for this. as you can imagine, if you come from an overrepresented background, despite living in Australia since 18, the 660 will be an issue)

The good thing is there are quite a few good EA options these days (NYU, Columbia, Darden, Tepper, Duke etc.) and I would apply to all of them... as well as EU schools to maximize your overall chances

Happy to talk further and perhaps work together on some stellar apps.
As always I am on shimriw@ARINGO.com (but, if you reach out, please send me your CV and some more background )
GOOD LUCK!

Hi experts,

Please evaluate my profile below:

Gender: Female
Age: 32 years
Location: India
Target schools: NUS,NTU,IE

Work experience: 10 years
Worked as a retail fashion designer with MNC's like Bioworld Merchandising and Landmark Group
Also worked with domestic brands like Kazo, Aditya Birla group
Last worked as a manager heading an entire apparel category. Basically middle management responsible for entire category product development.

Education: Bachelor of design from NIFT, Delhi
Certificate course from London College of Fashion in Buying and merchandising
Diploma in Business management through continued education from SVKM Narsee Monjee
GPA in undergraduate: 4.0

Extra curriculars: Have volunteered with NGOs regarding underprivileged kids education
Part of the local environment development association
Worked for craft development initiatives in Bagh Madhya Pradesh
Speaker for growth of retail kidswear at Punjab University seminar

GMAT score: 570 (V40 Q28 IR5)
Will probably be giving another attempt before round 2

Can I look at applying in round 1 with these credentials? I am interested in a Full time MBA specialing in marketing

Posted from my mobile device

Hi,

Would appreciate any advice as to how to approach the following scenario in my MBA applications.

I'm deliberating whether to include a short 1-2 months of work experience I had.

The thing is that I really wish not to have any background check companies or adcoms contact that company. Essentially I told the company that I wish to terminate my contract with them as the role was very far from the one described, and apparently, they took it really hard and started making some allegations about violations of company guidelines etc. (i.e., that company can screw me over if contacted).

Now, I know that an omission of information could be equivalent to lying/misrepresentation and could potentially serve as grounds for rescinding my offer (if admitted), but would really appreciate good thought advice as to how to approach this issue.

Most people suggest simply omitting this short work experience, as it is not material enough and as there is an extremely low chance that any background check company can find out about it. Regardless, I'm worried about the possibility that it will somehow come up in the background checks (I'm based in central Europe, not in the US).

Hi Ayushi0212,

Thanks for sharing your profile and MBA aspirations.

My name is Priyanka, Client Manager at ARINGO.

You have a very interesting profile! From what I can see:

Academics – good GPA. Please include your class percentile in your CV. For GMAT, yes please take the exam again as 570 is not competitive enough.

Work Experience – With the given information, your profile seems to be fine but your overall experience is on the higher side than the class average of your target schools. We would love to see your CV to understand better your roles and responsibilities, the impact of your work, promotions, international exposure, etc.

Extracurricular activities/Volunteer Work – Actively involved in multiple community works is a good point.

Your career goals - Your career goals look fine and the dots can be connected with what you have done so far, however they are a bit generic and need to be further refined. We would love to give more insights once you share your CV and provide more details.

School list – We suggest considering applying to MBAs for mid-career professional programs with an improved GMAT score in Round 2 https://aringo.com/mba-over-30/

All in all sounds like you have a good profile! If you send me your CV and other info on PRIYANKAK@ARINGO.com, I would love to connect you with our CEO who will be happy to help further with a detailed review and perhaps work together on some amazing apps.

All the best.

Hi Daren65,

Well, there is no right answer to this query and both sides have pros and cons. However, we would recommend that you avoid putting such a short tenure in your CV. While it’s highly unlikely that it will come out but you can never be 100% sure.

All the best!

Hi Experts..

This is Kuldeep Kumar, 33 years old.

I appeared for GMAT on 14 Nov 2022 and scored 650 (Q 47, V34, IR 1 and AWA 4.0) I know GMAT is on lower side hence I will retake GMAT in Jan 2023 end to target 3rd round of applications. (Target Score for 3rd round 730-750+)

But, I thought let me ask experts to evaluate my profile at this stage so that I may plan to improve my GMAT score in the time available.

I have not prepared any resume for MBA purpose but my profile is as follows:

I am a Mechanical Engineering undergraduate 2008-2012 from Cochin University of Science and Technology, India currently working as Assistant Director/Assistant Works Manager at one of the Defence Public Sector Undertaking under Ministry of Defence. I am a Class I Gazetted Officer of the Government of India selected twice through UPSC ESE to cater Technical Services for Government of India. I have worked as a Senior Section Engineer for Indian Railways (Ministry of Railways) for 1 year, Assistant Naval Store Officer for Indian Navy (Ministry of Defence) for 1 year and now have been working as Assistant Director/ Assistant Works Manager for Ordnance Factories (Ministry of Defence) since last 5 years. I know it sounds confusing hence in short, I would say that I have been mostly a Government Officer.
Currently, I am looking after Research and Development (R&D), Marketing and Export (M&E) and Standardization at Ordnance Factories and I have been mandated with the task for development and marketing of Troop Comfort Equipment to equip Armed Forces with the latest Equipment. I have, with the help of my Team, developed some 10-12 Troop Comfort Equipment for Armed Forces and there are some 5-7 Design Patents under my name. These developments and marketing efforts can be translated into potential figures. (Future Business) Some order for newly developed equipment has already been secured as well. Some are under Military Trial.

B.TECH Aggregate Percentage: 74.42% (4th Topper of my Class) I think my GPA would be 3.5+ as per WES.
Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi, INDIA

I was District Topper in 10th Class (92.8%) CBSE

Second Topper of 12th Class (83.4%) CBSE

GRE SCORE 30th July 2012 during 3rd Year of Undergraduate: 1350/1600 OR 322/340
QUANTATIVE – 800 / 800 VERBAL – 550 / 800 ANALYTICAL WRITING - 3.0 / 6.0

Didn't pursue for MS because of financial issues

SAT Score 23rd Jan 2010: 1750/2400
Quantitative – 650 / 800 CRITICAL READING – 500 / 800 WRITING – 600 / 800

Didn't pursue for undergraduate again because of financial issues

I am a First Generation College Student as my father and mother didn't attend college.

I've Qualified written exam for various jobs such as ISRO SCIENTIST/ENGINEER SC BE-0002, BARC OCES/DGFS-2013, SAIL MANAGEMENT TRAINEE 2013, HAL MANAGEMENT TRAINEE-2013, RRB 2014, UPSC ESE 2014, UPSC ESE 2016, AFCAT 2012, SSB for INDIAN NAVY etc.

Extra-curriculars: mostly robotic events, paper presentations, lectures on some classes, guiding students who cannot afford coaching as I never took coaching classes earlier.

My career Goal is mostly to pursue entrepreneurship in future.

Now,

Q. No 1 Minimum Target Score (GMAT) to secure an admit with scholarship considering my profile, age factor etc. I've been financially stressed hence scholarship/loan is only option for me to pursue MBA

Q. No 2 List of Safe schools to apply in second round (if possible) as of now with GMAT 650 only. Otherwise I will totally focus on GMAT and then 3rd round.

I can get LORs from Senior Officers of my Organization who have directly supervised me during my working.

Deadlines for top Indian Business School are almost over now. I don't think I will be able to prepare a solid essay work and resume for top business school with such low GMAT Score and such short time.

Post MBA Goal is to work in Consulting/Tech for some years considering my experience in R&D and then go for entrepreneurs in the long term. I want international exposure and if I am targeting for 3rd round, I can improve upon my GMAT.

How about targeting top 20-30 business school of USA like Emory Goizueta, Kelly, Vanderbilt Owen, Rotman, Mannheim etc.

Expecting honest opinion.


Thanks & Regards

Kuldeep Kumar

Hi Kuldeep- We see that you are already in touch with our CEO. We look forward to a fruitful association .