I applied to Rotman for Class of '21 in Round 3 and got dinged.

Any advice on how I can improve my chances Class of '22?

Nationality: Indian
GMAT: 750
IELTS: 8.5
Undergrad: Computer Science from India
Masters: Masters in Management from Fuqua
2 Years Work Experience in M&A Investment Banking for a Boutique Investment Bank in New York and Digital Financial Transformation Consulting for Global Consulting MNC
Post MBA Goals: Work in Investment Banking/Investment Management

Hi shwethanand
- Your GMAT score at 650 currently is not ideal. Look at a 30-50 point raise. This will also enhance your chances at other schools.
- The other part in your profile which you will need to manage a bit is your story - you have moved around a lot in different functions/companies, and there needs to be a central focus on why you need the MBA and what you will do post-MBA.

Hope this helps. Feel free to come back with more queries as needed.
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Hi testtaker2019

Your GMAT is absolutely fine. Your overall profile is pretty good as well. You would have an excellent chance. Go ahead with your apps.
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Hi Sid5050
- Seems quite interesting overall. IIT + GMAT 720 helps. Your GPA is a bit low though.
- The focus on consulting will need a closer look. Your experience has not been domain specific in consulting, so you might want to define a focus area. Would suggest you expand your ambitions beyond just MBB, as getting into MBB is always hard (though not impossible) if one is not coming from there in Canada.
- Would need more details on your ECA. What were the competitions about? The campus festival thing will not count for much.


Hope this helps. Feel free to come back with more queries as needed or to get in touch directly for a chat.
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Hi rajatvermaenator

- Excellent Merchant Navy engineer profile. Kudos on your achievements.
- The key areas to focus on for you will be:
a) Positioning your goal realistically to B-schools (including Rotman, which have very little space to explain on the goals part). You are from the engineering side of the Merchant Navy, not the navigation side. This means that your goal and relevance of current skill-set will be questioned a bit. Yes, you do have global experience, and have seen global supply chains at play, but your core skill-set was less administrative/navigational and more technical. Choose schools carefully.
b) Showcasing enough depth in extra-curriculars. While you have done some things, owing to the nature of your role, you cannot take out that much time for ECA as other people can. Making the most of what you have done will be important.
- Other than this, GMAT is fine. The GPA is a bit low though.
- Also go through this link as it might be relevant to you.

Hope this helps. Feel free to come back with more queries as needed or to get in touch directly for a chat.
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Hi SharanyaReddy3006

Professionally and academically, all looks good. Please provide more details on your ECA.
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Hi it would be great if someone could evaluate my Rotman profile

Age : 27

Gender : Male

GMAT score : 650 (Q47 V33)

Undergraduate : Bachelors in Business Management majored in Finance from Christ University Bangalore

GPA : 3.0

Other info : Cleared two levels of the CFA program

Work experience : 5 years of diverse work experience in one of the biggest and most reputed bulge bracket investment banks. I started my career with financial operations and soon transitioned into the world of data analytics. Currently I am working as a business intelligence specialist specializing in report automation via ETL tools and robotic process automation.

CSR : I am helping NGO understand their function better via helping them with data analytics

Leadership : I successfully led the toastmasters program in my company and expanded the same. For the same I have received a leadership award.

USP : Even though I am a commerce graduate, I am into one the functions that is traditionally held by STEM graduates or people who have a computer science background. I thrive to break the stereotype and push boundaries in my work place and my academics.

Query 1: I know my GPA is not the best and neither is my GMAT, however, given the work experience I have and my CFA journey (cleared 2 levels, I am planning to leverage the same for admission into Rotman.

Query 2 : Do you think I should apply after clearing my level 3 so as to get the GMAT waiver?

Query 3 : I am planning to apply for fall 2020 so that I wouldn't waste much time if I get through. My level 3 exam is in June 2020. Do you think this makes sense? I am doing this so even if I get a ding, I would still be familiar with the admission process and would improve upon any short comings that I faced earlier.

What do you think about my profile!

Hi,

Would really appreciate someone to go through my profile and give me some pointers.

Educational background:
Xth - 92.2%
XIIth - 10 CGPA
Undergraduate- B.Com(Hons) from University of Delhi (university with A+ ranking from NAAC)
15 years of education
Graduated in 2015
GMAT - 720 (Q48, V41, IR8, AWA5)

Professional Work-ex:
May ’19-Now - Sr. account executive handling a key national account in a globally known agency. I assist the client in planning their digital marketing spends, create dynamic functioning environment for the media (SEO, SEM, digital marketing, analytics, and social media marketing) teams, plan the creative strategies for upcoming briefs and work with the creative team to ensure a smooth execution and preservation for the brand identity throughout. Also organised a one day digital training day for the client’s category teams, to help them plan their budgets better in the future.

Mar’18-Mar’19 - Brand Strategist - created (from an existing larger marketing agency) and ran(responsible for the set up and the end-to-end operations) a 5 member Branding team working with upcoming restaurants or current ones looking for a rebranding in developing their brand identities (visual and verbal identities, packaging and in-store branding), ran lead gen activities & third party activities which led to a 3x increment in revenue, successfully created 5 new brands from scratch and rebranding 7 restaurants.

Mar’17-Mar’18 - content strategist - worked on effective social media campaigns for restaurants, worked on atleast 7 at-risk clients and brought them back to good terms with the agency. Helped in hiring activities, and inducted and trained 5 new resources on the team.
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Took a break here to help my mum who was then undergoing cancer treatment
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Aug-15-Aug’16 - Assurance Associate - in one of the Big-4, worked with American teams and assisted them in primary & substantive test of procedures. Was recognised for my efforts during a busy season and got a cash reward
___
Internship 1 - A startup that organised TED-X like events, helped organise 3 events, managed the a team of 20 interns to assist execution of 3 events; ensured smooth and timely execution of events, worked in PR (got us a 2 page cover for an event), worked with outreach and partnership and was responsible for at least 10% of the turnout
Internship 2 - worked in a realty firm, managed and redirected inbound leads and inquiries. Maintained weekly trackers and records

Extra-curriculars:
Volunteering for an environmental protection group working to rehabilitate the fauna on stretches of hills, destroyed by callous and illegal mining activity
Was a member of the finance society
Organized 3 events over 2 years for College Fest
Covered a fest for the college magazine
School Magazine editor
Scholarship Holder, MUN participant
As a child taught 2 of our maid’s children till they could join regular schools, ran in marathons for autism awareness

Short Term Goal:
Current role has been a more execution on larger accounts and strategy on smaller accounts/campaigns. Would like to further my career in brand strategy by gaining skills that would assist me in planning and managing a brand’s strategy and marketing strategies for national/international accounts. Maybe work with the new business’ division of an advertising firm.

Long Term Goal:
Build my own niche agency

Any help/recommedations for more such suitable courses for my profile would be highly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!
- Akshita

Hi All

I'm a 24 year old female, based out of Pune, working in a digital marketing agency. I'm applying to B schools for the August 2020 intake. I Lived in Shanghai, China for 5 years, finished my high school from there (11th and 12th in the IB International Baccalaureate Board). Please evaluate my profile.


GMAT: 690 (going to retake in Sept)
Undergrad: B.Tech in Biotechnology from Delhi College of Engineering - scored 71%.

Work ex: 2 years (3 years by the time I start the program) in a digital marketing agency (Merkle Sokrati)
- Complete knowledge of social media marketing - Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok
- Developed data analysis skills to successfully map and interpret multiple data sources, such as Facebook, Google Analytics, Appsflyer, Mixpanel, to make informed decisions about digital strategy.
- End to end account management from execution to strategy and management of internal and external stakeholders.
- Auditing new or existing accounts to determine account health and suggesting ways to improve it.
- Actively participating in the recruitment process through interviews, campus drives, trainings and seminars.
- Creating and presenting performance decks for quarterly/monthly business reviews based on trends both specific to the client and the industry.


- 2 fast-tracked promotions in this 2 year span
- Received several client appreciations for driving excellent performance performance and over-achieving the monthly/quarterly targets.
- Current position: Business Strategy Manager
- Leading a team of 10 people with annual spends of $4million for clients across different verticals - Ecommerce, BFSI, OTT, Telecomm
- Mentoring the team members and working on their personal development plans and growth paths.
- Collaborating regularly with agency partners from Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok to understand new channel offerings, seek help to solve client and performance issues, and brainstorm ideas to expand client business.
- Working on projects for Industry Research and Market Understanding for clients in new verticals, such as Gaming and OTT for Kids.
- Extensive collaboration with a team of 30 individuals working on the organizations quarterly Objectives and Key Results (OKRs).


Extra-curricular activities, awards, certifications
- Facebook Buying Professional Certification
- A grade in Rio+22 Power India Certification Program - the IARC center for United Nations Certification Program on sustainable energy.
- Organised multiple events in College
- Part of the organising committee of the tech fest in college - INNOVA. Held the position of Head - HR and Online Events.
- Part of the organising committee of Deltech Model United Nations for 3 years continuously. Held the position of Under Secretary General - Delegate Relations. Led a team of 20+ students and brought in a total of 350+ delegates from all around India

Your profile looks strong, what's your AWA score?

You should focus on writing the essay (spike factor) and focus on your extra curricular/interesting work experiences beyond the casual job responsibilities. For rotman, the spike factor always is make or break.
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