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Joined: 05 Sep 2014
Last visit: 03 May 2015
Posts: 7
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Given Kudos: 7
Location: United States
Concentration: International Business, Entrepreneurship
Schools: McCombs '17 (S)
GMAT 1: 740 Q49 V42
GPA: 3.26
WE:Sales (Energy)
Schools: McCombs '17 (S)
GMAT 1: 740 Q49 V42
Posts: 7
Kudos: 5
Profile Evaluation - 06 Sep 2014, 07:47
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Nationality: American
Age: 25
GMAT: 740 (AWA: Unknown, I.R. 8, Q49, V42)
Undergraduate Degree: History and Asian Studies
Undergraduate GPA: 3.28
Work Experience: 2.5 years in Shanghai working for a boutique HR consultancy followed by roughly half a year as a gap year in Europe, the US, and Asia.

I just finished the GMAT and have started looking into programs. My goal is to become a management consultant.

Any insights, recommendations, or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the help!
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CriticalSquare
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Profile Evaluation - 07 Sep 2014, 12:41
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Hi there,

Thanks for posting and great GMAT score! Happy to help but need a bit more information here mate. What did you DO for the HR firm in Shanghai? Did you lead teams? What kind of impact did you? What kind of scope? Were you involved outside of work or within the firm outside of project work? What did you do during your gap year? What are you going to be doing for the next year? Why was your GPA low? The more you share, the better!

Bhavik
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Joined: 05 Sep 2014
Last visit: 03 May 2015
Posts: 7
Own Kudos:
5
Given Kudos: 7
Location: United States
Concentration: International Business, Entrepreneurship
Schools: McCombs '17 (S)
GMAT 1: 740 Q49 V42
GPA: 3.26
WE:Sales (Energy)
Schools: McCombs '17 (S)
GMAT 1: 740 Q49 V42
Posts: 7
Kudos: 5
Profile Evaluation - 07 Sep 2014, 12:53
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@ Bhavik

Thanks for replying! To answer your questions:

What did you DO for the HR firm in Shanghai?
- I was an Operations Manager

Did you lead teams?
- Yes, I had a team of 2-5 at my job and another 5 for my NGO work (I was Vice-President of a Shanghai-based charity)

What kind of impact did you?
- Implemented and improved systems throughout my tenure leading to cost reduction and process improvement

What kind of scope?
- We delivered training for Fortune 5's operating in the APAC region (soft skills training, mostly)

Were you involved outside of work or within the firm outside of project work?
- Yes, participated in/managed several charity projects

What did you do during your gap year?
- A mixture of travel, GMAT prep, and assisting my parents move/build a retirement house

What are you going to be doing for the next year?
- I'll be traveling through October, then, unsure.

Why was your GPA low?
- Youthful recklessness. Initially I did well, grades dropped Sophomore year, and steadily improved over the following two years until graduation. I do not feel that my GPA is an accurate reflection of my abilities, and certainly causes me concern.

Thanks for your advice and I look forward to hearing back!
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Profile Evaluation - 09 Sep 2014, 11:31
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Thanks for the additional information. Your work experience is great and I like the mixture of impact and leadership. From a GPA perspective you'll need to write about that in your optional essay but you're not the first person who partied a bit too hard!

What concerns me, however, is that you have no idea what you're doing come October. You also didn't do anything impressive in your gap year so it's not like you left for a great reason. That's a pretty big flag. At the very least, it could be mitigated if you knew what you were going to do but not having anything to write about in terms of what's ahead is going to raise the alarm. People who leave work usually do so to pursue something they are passionate about. Or they are doing it between one opportunity and the next. Not being able to talk about either is rough.

I think you should focus on figuring out what's next first and ASAP. Then plan to apply next fall once you have a story around this gap.

Bhavik