Darden Profile Evaluation - Tools for B-School Profile Evaluation

Why an MBA and Darden specifically?

Also, have you considered retaking the GMAT? Raising that to 700+ would probably help. What was your quant score?

This is largely driven by the prominence they seem to have with consulting, which is a direction I'm currently looking at quite seriously.

My Quant was weak, a 44, but my hope is that with degrees in Finance and Econ and working in Finance, I could talk to the fact that I can clearly do that type of work. It's the abstract math that has always been tough for me. Honestly I studied for months, I know it would help, but I'm not sure much progress could be made on that front.

Dude, I love this profile and think you have the building blocks for a very powerful application. I'd put your chances right now at just south of 50/50.

If your goal is consulting, all I think all you really need to boost your chance of admission solidly above 50% is to tell a compelling story about how this transition is not really a pivot but another point along a consistent life path. I think there are two blog posts on Ivy Admissions Group that you should check out about this

- "Narrative" vs "Brand" - Which is best?

- How to write a compelling MBA admissions essay

Hope this helps! Reach out with any additional questions.

Would really be thankful if you guys can take a look at my profile

Nationality: Indian
GMAT: 700 Q 50 V 34 (Giving the exam again on 13th of next month)
Undergrad 7.29/10 from IIIT Hyderabad (Next to old IITs sorta collage)
12th 93% 10th 88%

Work Ex: 4 years by the time I start my MBA

Currently with Grab Singapore (Backend engineer)
Previously 2 years 2 months at Google India as a Software Engineer
Although this does not count (10 months Research intern with CA during undergrad and Summer intern at Groupon)

Achievements and Extra Curriculars:

1. U14 State level Kabaddi (Represented Odisha)
2. Cultural Head for annual techno cultural fest of Undergrad university [ And also Cultural head for 2 successive years for intra college events]
3. Ed Support volunteer at Make A difference ( ~ 8 months)
4. ACM ICPC two times onsite under 30 ranked team
5. TA for artificial intelligence in Undergrad
6. School(High school and Primary) level certificates for few sports and cultural events


Any suggestions or any idea about the chances?

Hi all,
Would appreciate any feedback. Thanks in advance.

• 760 GMAT
• 3.27 GPA (upward trending)
• Undergraduate degree in finance from a large public school in the Southeast US
• First generation college student
• Work experience includes 3 years at a bulge bracket IB as operations analyst – securities processing and trade settlements. Heavy involvement and leadership in various regulatory/strategy projects. Promoted ahead of schedule to senior analyst after 2 years.
• Internships at manufacturing company in both Shanghai and Singapore (operations and market research)
• Extracurriculars: Volunteer tutoring of adult students in subjects ranging from basic literacy to GED prep two hours a week. Social fraternity leadership for 2.5 years in undergrad.
• Goal: management consulting in the financial services industry
• 25-year-old white American male

I am in line for a Leadership Development Program at work next year, which I think would strengthen my application, but my team is wrapping up a large project this month so the time might be right to go ahead and apply this year. Thoughts?

Thanks again.

Hey, everyone

Would appreciate some feedback. Thank you in advance.

- Russian, white, straight, male, 30 y.o., married
- 730 GMAT (Q49, V40)
- 110 Toefl
- Undergraduate degree in engineering (automobile industry). The best automobile industry university in Russia.
- Former professional athlete, volleyball player. Was a member of Junior National Team Russia. Participated in Universiade 2007 in Bangkok as a member of national team. Europe champion among students and MVP of this championship. Played for a professional team in one of the strongest leagues in the world.
My other work experience includes creating 2 successful cosmetics stores in Moscow (active), creating an online cosmetics store(active) and creating a store and a hair salon in one place (unique approach in that town, now sold). I am also a partner in a big (55 stores) cosmetics stores network in Moscow. Got my first salary when was 13 and since then I am working constantly.
- Extracurriculars include volleyball non-profit projects. Participated in development of the amateur volleyball league. Gave volleyball lessons to kids and orphants.
- Goal: Creative marketing position in fashion & beauty industry.
- Speak 3 languages apart from my native Russian
- Hobby - Fashion photography. Just returned from Hong Kong where we were shooting models outdoors.

My main weakness is my very low GPA. It is as low as 2.44 (but I will check it once more. I pray for a calculating mistake). At the time I studied in university I was playing for the club and for the national team. I chose engineering while my sports colleagues all chose sports universities. And I also had some issues preventing me from getting top marks. However I worked hard on my diploma project and was awarded a prize as my project got into TOP100 diplomas that year. Will definitely write an optional essay for that.

Dude,
You have a great profile! 3 years in IB at a bulge-bracket bank, stellar GMAT, solid volunteer work. Would be cool if you did end up getting into that Leadership Development Program as well.

Only the GPA is a slight blip, but it's not thaaaaaat low and with your GMAT I feel like you more than covered that.

Basically, you are competitive in Top 10 programs, and Darden for sure, so just make your best application and roll with it...

JF

I’d rate your chances as really good, even despite the low GPA, as your GMAT score (for your applicant pool) makes up for it. So I would not worry too much, but admission is still dependent on your essay of course so make sure you give it your all, as the essay can really make or break your application as I am sure you know.

(Here’s some further reading that might be helpful: https://aringo.com/darden-business-school-mba/ and https://aringo.com/darden-mba-essay-examples/ although the essay question is different this year, see: https://aringo.com/duke-and-darden-deadlines-and-essay-questions/)

JL

Looks great in general, the work experience is not your strong suit so that Leadership Development Program could make a difference in your case. That said, I do think you could apply this year already as your profile now could get you in with the right essay etc. So focus on that this year (you can sign up for a free consultation with ARINGO here if you are interested in professional help with that part: https://aringo.com/mba-process-registration/) and in the worst case, you can always reapply next year as that program is a sufficient enough reason for a reapplication in my opinion.

Good luck!
JL

This profile looks a bit borderline at the moment to be honest, but a slightly higher GMAT score as well as a good answer to the following questions:
What is your post-MBA goal?
Why Darden?
Could make a big difference. So if you want, feel free to write a bit about that either here in this thread or directly to ARINGO here: https://aringo.com/mba-process-registration/, depending on what you prefer.

JL

Well, first before we get into chances, a piece of advice: As a software engineer, and a male one to boot, from India, you are always gonna have a challenging time. Obviously, you can get a higher GMAT and that will help. But still it's not enough. Right now what I see here in what you have written is someone who SEES himself as an engineer. An engineer who thinks he will geta better job by going to B-school. Now maybe that's true, but that's not the story that will get you your best admission. You need to re-conceive of your profile as a BUSINESSMAN and LEADER Otherwise, your application is doomed to the limbo of the thousands of other exactly the same Indian applications. Even if you had a 770 and even though you are an IIT grad.


You need to give your profile depth and breadth and make a killer application.

Now on to your profile evaluation. To be honest I really need more info from you esp. about your work experience, but with a 700, I would say you are good for the 15-30 range about. if you can crank it above a 720/730 then I would readjust that to 10-20 ranked schools approximately.

I hope this helps!
Best,
Jon

And feel free to drop us a line for a more full-on Free Consultation: https://bit.ly/mbafcGC

Hey there!
So, yes your GPA is mighty low.... But is it really that low? What I mean is that the schools don't usually ask you for a GPA equivalent, but look at your grades among your own education system. And I know that Russia grades much tougher than the US. Do you know your ranking? Your percentile? Anyhow, there's a bit of room to maneuver here. Although a 2.44 is very very low.

But otherwise, things look mighty good.
You're Russian (it's a plus)
You have great test scores
You have a successful entrepreneurial background
You speak four languages.

Plus with your cosmetics business, you will likely be telling them a unique story.

You just need to find the right way to frame it and to boost your profile.

I would be curious to see what we can do with that GPA, but otherwise, I would say Top 20 schools should be within range, with Top 10 being a bit tough and Top5 being extremely tough.

Anyhow, I hope this helps!

Best,
JF

And feel free to drop us a line for a more full-on Free Consultation: https://bit.ly/mbafcGC

Hi

My profile is as follows-

Background and nationality-Female civil Structural Engineer worked in the Energy Sector and Indian

Undergrad Information- B.E (Civil) (Tier-1 college) (GPA-4) (first with distinction)

GMAT: 700 (Q49, V36, IR7)

Work experience and leadership-8 years-worked as deputy lead of the team of about 30

Community and others-Involved in the global initiative to improve diversity at work place, emancipation of women and children in various corporate social initiatives, worked as volunteer for several community building activities in India and the US

Post MBA goals-Consulting

Hope of making a long lasting impact in the world.

My goal is to be an inspiration for the generations to come and make the MBA a vehicle for doing good.

Thanks


"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."

Hi all! I would really like some insights about my profile:

- Male, brazilian, 32 yo
- Undergraduate in Business at a Top 3 brazilian school (plenty of alumni accepted by Top Business Schools)
- GPA: 2.6 (horrible, and no good reason)
- GMAT: 740
- CFA Level I

Work Experience:

- Capital Markets (Structured Finance) at a top local boutique (Real Estate focused)
* 4 years
* 3 promotions (from intern to Senior Analyst)
* Leading analyst in 8 projects (3 of them were really big ones)

- Capital Markets (Structured Finance) at a Start-Up (as a junior associate)
* 1 year
* Didn´t go well specially because of brazilian economic conditions at the time

- Capital Markets (Structured Finance) at a new boutique (Agribusiness focused)
* Junior Associate
* 2 years (until now)
* Company growing very fast
* Leading analyst of 4 projects

Extracurriculars:
* Writer at a blog focused on Political Education (8 articles published)
* 1 year working at a NGO focused on children education (led 2 new projects)

International Experience:
* 4 months working as a Sales Person at a clothing store in Las Vegas, US (during college vacation)
* 3 weeks studying spanish in Buenos Aires, Argentina
* 2 weeks working ad a NGO (a organic farm) in Cape Town,South Africa

Other:
* Fluent spanish
* Short Course (graduate level) in Applied Statitics (at a top local college) - Final Grade: A
* HBx Core: Pass with High Honours

Post MBA objective:
* Investment Banking

So that GPA is an issue, of course, but I guess you already knew that. But your GMAT does make up for it to some extent and your work experience as well as your extra curriculars are impressive so I would say you have a pretty good shot at Darden. Is there any particular reason you have chosen Darden in particular? If so, make sure you mention that and try to show “fit” with the school in your essay somehow, even though that is not so easy, given the new essay question for Darden (see it here: https://aringo.com/duke-and-darden-deadlines-and-essay-questions/), as that will help your case as well.

Good luck!

JL

Looks promising enough but I am missing some distinguishing factor here, especially since you are an Indian applicant that would really be helpful. Only you can figure out if there is anything unique about you that you could focus on in your essay, but this list may be helpful when it comes to figuring out distinguishing features: https://aringo.com/mba-admission-drivers/

But all in all, I would call your profile solid, it just needs that “secret sauce” for me to feel a bit more confident in your chances of admission.

Good luck!

JL

Hi all,

I would appreciate any feedback you could provide on my profile.

- 26-year-old American white female
- 720 GMAT (46Q/44V)
- 3.71 GPA from small liberal arts college in mid-atlantic region (Tier 1 but not a top 50 school); double major in Econ and English
- Work experience at time of application includes 4 years at three different firms: 1 year at a consulting firm, 2 years at a strategic research group of a PR firm, where I worked primarily on branding engagements and I was promoted after one year, ahead of schedule, 1 year at current firm, a boutique strategy consulting firm (work is very market research-heavy). Each job has equipped me with increasing responsibilities (not to mention more money)
- Goal: Work at a top brand consultancy or specialize in branding/marketing consulting at a broader consulting firm; I am especially interested in strengthening my quant skills to ensure brand strategy is truly data-driven
- Extracurriculars: Not going to lie, this feels like a weak spot to me as I have moved around quite a bit geographically but: Pro-bono consulting from Jan 2017 to present, freelance market research gigs, recruitment for current company as well as informal mentoring of potential candidates outside of work, organizer of book/movie club from March 2017 to present; I also lead onboarding at my firm and have re-vamped the program (I have some other random ECs from before I moved to my current city but not very significant)


Thank you in advance!