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MBAApplicant93
10 Sep 2016, 20:27
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hello,
First and foremost, thank you for taking the time to review my profile. I find great value in this forum and used it relentlessly during my GMAT studies.
Anyways, I would love some honest feedback on my "profile". I recently just completed my second GMAT attempt after a grueling 18-months of studying (on and off) in which I improved my first CAT exam score by 210 points. I am planning to apply to business school in two years; therefore, I would be in the class graduating in 2021.
Stats:
- Age: 23 (keep in mind, I will be 26-27 my first year at school)
- Gender: Male
- Ethnicity: Caucasian
- Undergrad: B.S. in Finance at a top 50 university (private school)
- GPA: 3.8
- GMAT First Attempt: July 18th, 2015 (Quant 47 Verbal 35 - Total Score 680, IR5 AWA5.5)
- GMAT Second Attempt: August 10th, 2016 (Quant 49 Verbal 36 - Total Score 710, IR3 AWA5.5)
Experience:
- By the time I apply for business school, I will have had 4 years of work experience in Big Pharma (think J&J). Additionally, I will have worked in the Midwest and the Northeast for different roles, and potentially a short-term assignment overseas, all positions as a financial analyst/sr. financial analyst. My company has a corporate sponsorship program in which they sponsor (pay for) analysts to go back to top MBA programs full-time.
Noteworthy College Extracurricular Experience:
- I played Division I tennis and was the captain for three years (this was about 20 hours a week)
- I had two internships during college (corporate finance and consulting) my junior and senior year
Noteworthy Post-College Extracurricular Experience:
- I am a volunteer assistant coach at a Division I college program out in the northeast
- I am involved with a volunteering organization in which I tutor and mentor a diverse and underserved youth population
Target Schools:
- HBS
- Stanford
- Wharton
- Kellogg
- Booth
Post-MBA:
I would like to stay with the company I work for and climb the corporate ladder. Additionally, I would be interested in owning my own business. Someday, I would like to lead thousands of people in the workplace and make a major impact in the community and on the lives of those I lead.
Recommendation Comments:
HBS: My first boss was an HBS grad who I have an amazing relationship with who will be writing a recommendation letter for me in the future. Additionally, I worked very closely with other HBS grads who would be more than happy to write recommendations for me.
Kellogg: I have worked very closely (on the same team) with two Kellogg grads that would write recommendations for me.
Stanford and Yale: As of right now, I don't have any immediate connections at work/outside of work for recommendations. We have plenty of Stanford grads, but I haven't worked with any so far.
Columbia: My second boss was a Columbia grad who I had a great connection with and she would be more than happy to write a recommendation for me.
Concerns:
- The biggest concern that I have is my score, IR3, on my latest GMAT score. I was so happy with my composite score, as I have had to climb all the way from a 500 on my first CAT to a 710. I am burnt out and do not want to take the GMAT again; however, I do not want that Integrated Reasoning score to ding me so much that I can't get into a top 5-10 program. My goal with the GMAT was to be able to have my application be placed in the "further review" pile of applications, rather than the trashcan. Could the IR3 ruin my chances? Are there other parts of my application that could help offset? On all of my practice exams, and even my first GMAT attempt, I scored anywhere from a 5-7 on IR. For whatever reason, I found the wording extremely difficult and hard to understand on my last GMAT attempt. Nonetheless, I bombed it and it has given me major anxiety the last two days. I am assuming my second GMAT attempt still looks better on paper than my first GMAT attempt, despite the poor IR score.
Sorry for all the information, I am just trying to ease my anxiety stemming from the low IR score and wanted to provide you a brief perspective of my profile to get an honest evaluation.
Best,
Future MBA Prospect
First and foremost, thank you for taking the time to review my profile. I find great value in this forum and used it relentlessly during my GMAT studies.
Anyways, I would love some honest feedback on my "profile". I recently just completed my second GMAT attempt after a grueling 18-months of studying (on and off) in which I improved my first CAT exam score by 210 points. I am planning to apply to business school in two years; therefore, I would be in the class graduating in 2021.
Stats:
- Age: 23 (keep in mind, I will be 26-27 my first year at school)
- Gender: Male
- Ethnicity: Caucasian
- Undergrad: B.S. in Finance at a top 50 university (private school)
- GPA: 3.8
- GMAT First Attempt: July 18th, 2015 (Quant 47 Verbal 35 - Total Score 680, IR5 AWA5.5)
- GMAT Second Attempt: August 10th, 2016 (Quant 49 Verbal 36 - Total Score 710, IR3 AWA5.5)
Experience:
- By the time I apply for business school, I will have had 4 years of work experience in Big Pharma (think J&J). Additionally, I will have worked in the Midwest and the Northeast for different roles, and potentially a short-term assignment overseas, all positions as a financial analyst/sr. financial analyst. My company has a corporate sponsorship program in which they sponsor (pay for) analysts to go back to top MBA programs full-time.
Noteworthy College Extracurricular Experience:
- I played Division I tennis and was the captain for three years (this was about 20 hours a week)
- I had two internships during college (corporate finance and consulting) my junior and senior year
Noteworthy Post-College Extracurricular Experience:
- I am a volunteer assistant coach at a Division I college program out in the northeast
- I am involved with a volunteering organization in which I tutor and mentor a diverse and underserved youth population
Target Schools:
- HBS
- Stanford
- Wharton
- Kellogg
- Booth
Post-MBA:
I would like to stay with the company I work for and climb the corporate ladder. Additionally, I would be interested in owning my own business. Someday, I would like to lead thousands of people in the workplace and make a major impact in the community and on the lives of those I lead.
Recommendation Comments:
HBS: My first boss was an HBS grad who I have an amazing relationship with who will be writing a recommendation letter for me in the future. Additionally, I worked very closely with other HBS grads who would be more than happy to write recommendations for me.
Kellogg: I have worked very closely (on the same team) with two Kellogg grads that would write recommendations for me.
Stanford and Yale: As of right now, I don't have any immediate connections at work/outside of work for recommendations. We have plenty of Stanford grads, but I haven't worked with any so far.
Columbia: My second boss was a Columbia grad who I had a great connection with and she would be more than happy to write a recommendation for me.
Concerns:
- The biggest concern that I have is my score, IR3, on my latest GMAT score. I was so happy with my composite score, as I have had to climb all the way from a 500 on my first CAT to a 710. I am burnt out and do not want to take the GMAT again; however, I do not want that Integrated Reasoning score to ding me so much that I can't get into a top 5-10 program. My goal with the GMAT was to be able to have my application be placed in the "further review" pile of applications, rather than the trashcan. Could the IR3 ruin my chances? Are there other parts of my application that could help offset? On all of my practice exams, and even my first GMAT attempt, I scored anywhere from a 5-7 on IR. For whatever reason, I found the wording extremely difficult and hard to understand on my last GMAT attempt. Nonetheless, I bombed it and it has given me major anxiety the last two days. I am assuming my second GMAT attempt still looks better on paper than my first GMAT attempt, despite the poor IR score.
Sorry for all the information, I am just trying to ease my anxiety stemming from the low IR score and wanted to provide you a brief perspective of my profile to get an honest evaluation.
Best,
Future MBA Prospect
12 Sep 2016, 20:18
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi there!
First of all, congrats on the significant GMAT improvement! That is tough so kudos to you.
Your college background is great...very high GPA plus balancing college athletics and the leadership experience.
Your work experience sounds very strong too. The international assignment could be a nice bonus to your profile. And definitely pursue the sponsorship option, that is a nice signal of high performance and potential post-MBA job security.
I like the extracurricular activities you have too, definitely keep those up. Is it possible to up your involvement in the tutoring organization by taking on more of a lead role or planning an event or something? Lots of applicants do tutoring so that could be a nice way to make your experience stand out further.
I don't think your IR score will ruin your chances. At least not at this point where IR is still not used heavily. It's possible that could change in 2 years but we really don't know. Still, your overall score should always be the most important.
You do have an ambitious list of schools though. And while your GMAT improvement is impressive it will still put you below average for all those schools today. HBS/Stanford in particular could be really tough. Definitely give them a shot, especially considering all the strengths in your profile I mentioned above, and with continued networking/engagement with your target schools over the next 2 years, that will help. Keep in mind though that having alums write your recs is nice, but it's definitely not any sort of guarantee. So if you're not willing to try GMAT again, I would just make sure you have 1-2 backup schools in mind (these could be Round 2 schools when it comes time).
Good luck, and keep us posted if we can help with further questions!
Kate
First of all, congrats on the significant GMAT improvement! That is tough so kudos to you.
Your college background is great...very high GPA plus balancing college athletics and the leadership experience.
Your work experience sounds very strong too. The international assignment could be a nice bonus to your profile. And definitely pursue the sponsorship option, that is a nice signal of high performance and potential post-MBA job security.
I like the extracurricular activities you have too, definitely keep those up. Is it possible to up your involvement in the tutoring organization by taking on more of a lead role or planning an event or something? Lots of applicants do tutoring so that could be a nice way to make your experience stand out further.
I don't think your IR score will ruin your chances. At least not at this point where IR is still not used heavily. It's possible that could change in 2 years but we really don't know. Still, your overall score should always be the most important.
You do have an ambitious list of schools though. And while your GMAT improvement is impressive it will still put you below average for all those schools today. HBS/Stanford in particular could be really tough. Definitely give them a shot, especially considering all the strengths in your profile I mentioned above, and with continued networking/engagement with your target schools over the next 2 years, that will help. Keep in mind though that having alums write your recs is nice, but it's definitely not any sort of guarantee. So if you're not willing to try GMAT again, I would just make sure you have 1-2 backup schools in mind (these could be Round 2 schools when it comes time).
Good luck, and keep us posted if we can help with further questions!
Kate
MBAApplicant93
Hello,
First and foremost, thank you for taking the time to review my profile. I find great value in this forum and used it relentlessly during my GMAT studies.
Anyways, I would love some honest feedback on my "profile". I recently just completed my second GMAT attempt after a grueling 18-months of studying (on and off) in which I improved my first CAT exam score by 210 points. I am planning to apply to business school in two years; therefore, I would be in the class graduating in 2021.
Stats:
- Age: 23 (keep in mind, I will be 26-27 my first year at school)
- Gender: Male
- Ethnicity: Caucasian
- Undergrad: B.S. in Finance at a top 50 university (private school)
- GPA: 3.8
- GMAT First Attempt: July 18th, 2015 (Quant 47 Verbal 35 - Total Score 680, IR5 AWA5.5)
- GMAT Second Attempt: August 10th, 2016 (Quant 49 Verbal 36 - Total Score 710, IR3 AWA5.5)
Experience:
- By the time I apply for business school, I will have had 4 years of work experience in Big Pharma (think J&J). Additionally, I will have worked in the Midwest and the Northeast for different roles, and potentially a short-term assignment overseas, all positions as a financial analyst/sr. financial analyst. My company has a corporate sponsorship program in which they sponsor (pay for) analysts to go back to top MBA programs full-time.
Noteworthy College Extracurricular Experience:
- I played Division I tennis and was the captain for three years (this was about 20 hours a week)
- I had two internships during college (corporate finance and consulting) my junior and senior year
Noteworthy Post-College Extracurricular Experience:
- I am a volunteer assistant coach at a Division I college program out in the northeast
- I am involved with a volunteering organization in which I tutor and mentor a diverse and underserved youth population
Target Schools:
- HBS
- Stanford
- Wharton
- Kellogg
- Booth
Post-MBA:
I would like to stay with the company I work for and climb the corporate ladder. Additionally, I would be interested in owning my own business. Someday, I would like to lead thousands of people in the workplace and make a major impact in the community and on the lives of those I lead.
Recommendation Comments:
HBS: My first boss was an HBS grad who I have an amazing relationship with who will be writing a recommendation letter for me in the future. Additionally, I worked very closely with other HBS grads who would be more than happy to write recommendations for me.
Kellogg: I have worked very closely (on the same team) with two Kellogg grads that would write recommendations for me.
Stanford and Yale: As of right now, I don't have any immediate connections at work/outside of work for recommendations. We have plenty of Stanford grads, but I haven't worked with any so far.
Columbia: My second boss was a Columbia grad who I had a great connection with and she would be more than happy to write a recommendation for me.
Concerns:
- The biggest concern that I have is my score, IR3, on my latest GMAT score. I was so happy with my composite score, as I have had to climb all the way from a 500 on my first CAT to a 710. I am burnt out and do not want to take the GMAT again; however, I do not want that Integrated Reasoning score to ding me so much that I can't get into a top 5-10 program. My goal with the GMAT was to be able to have my application be placed in the "further review" pile of applications, rather than the trashcan. Could the IR3 ruin my chances? Are there other parts of my application that could help offset? On all of my practice exams, and even my first GMAT attempt, I scored anywhere from a 5-7 on IR. For whatever reason, I found the wording extremely difficult and hard to understand on my last GMAT attempt. Nonetheless, I bombed it and it has given me major anxiety the last two days. I am assuming my second GMAT attempt still looks better on paper than my first GMAT attempt, despite the poor IR score.
Sorry for all the information, I am just trying to ease my anxiety stemming from the low IR score and wanted to provide you a brief perspective of my profile to get an honest evaluation.
Best,
Future MBA Prospect
First and foremost, thank you for taking the time to review my profile. I find great value in this forum and used it relentlessly during my GMAT studies.
Anyways, I would love some honest feedback on my "profile". I recently just completed my second GMAT attempt after a grueling 18-months of studying (on and off) in which I improved my first CAT exam score by 210 points. I am planning to apply to business school in two years; therefore, I would be in the class graduating in 2021.
Stats:
- Age: 23 (keep in mind, I will be 26-27 my first year at school)
- Gender: Male
- Ethnicity: Caucasian
- Undergrad: B.S. in Finance at a top 50 university (private school)
- GPA: 3.8
- GMAT First Attempt: July 18th, 2015 (Quant 47 Verbal 35 - Total Score 680, IR5 AWA5.5)
- GMAT Second Attempt: August 10th, 2016 (Quant 49 Verbal 36 - Total Score 710, IR3 AWA5.5)
Experience:
- By the time I apply for business school, I will have had 4 years of work experience in Big Pharma (think J&J). Additionally, I will have worked in the Midwest and the Northeast for different roles, and potentially a short-term assignment overseas, all positions as a financial analyst/sr. financial analyst. My company has a corporate sponsorship program in which they sponsor (pay for) analysts to go back to top MBA programs full-time.
Noteworthy College Extracurricular Experience:
- I played Division I tennis and was the captain for three years (this was about 20 hours a week)
- I had two internships during college (corporate finance and consulting) my junior and senior year
Noteworthy Post-College Extracurricular Experience:
- I am a volunteer assistant coach at a Division I college program out in the northeast
- I am involved with a volunteering organization in which I tutor and mentor a diverse and underserved youth population
Target Schools:
- HBS
- Stanford
- Wharton
- Kellogg
- Booth
Post-MBA:
I would like to stay with the company I work for and climb the corporate ladder. Additionally, I would be interested in owning my own business. Someday, I would like to lead thousands of people in the workplace and make a major impact in the community and on the lives of those I lead.
Recommendation Comments:
HBS: My first boss was an HBS grad who I have an amazing relationship with who will be writing a recommendation letter for me in the future. Additionally, I worked very closely with other HBS grads who would be more than happy to write recommendations for me.
Kellogg: I have worked very closely (on the same team) with two Kellogg grads that would write recommendations for me.
Stanford and Yale: As of right now, I don't have any immediate connections at work/outside of work for recommendations. We have plenty of Stanford grads, but I haven't worked with any so far.
Columbia: My second boss was a Columbia grad who I had a great connection with and she would be more than happy to write a recommendation for me.
Concerns:
- The biggest concern that I have is my score, IR3, on my latest GMAT score. I was so happy with my composite score, as I have had to climb all the way from a 500 on my first CAT to a 710. I am burnt out and do not want to take the GMAT again; however, I do not want that Integrated Reasoning score to ding me so much that I can't get into a top 5-10 program. My goal with the GMAT was to be able to have my application be placed in the "further review" pile of applications, rather than the trashcan. Could the IR3 ruin my chances? Are there other parts of my application that could help offset? On all of my practice exams, and even my first GMAT attempt, I scored anywhere from a 5-7 on IR. For whatever reason, I found the wording extremely difficult and hard to understand on my last GMAT attempt. Nonetheless, I bombed it and it has given me major anxiety the last two days. I am assuming my second GMAT attempt still looks better on paper than my first GMAT attempt, despite the poor IR score.
Sorry for all the information, I am just trying to ease my anxiety stemming from the low IR score and wanted to provide you a brief perspective of my profile to get an honest evaluation.
Best,
Future MBA Prospect
MBAApplicant93
13 Sep 2016, 08:40
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi Kate!
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my post and give great feedback. From what you said, I just want to pick-up from your point about trying to take more of a lead role or planning an event within the organization I volunteer at.
First, I think that is a great idea and something that I will definitely look into. I have a few follow-up questions revolving around things that are within my control that I could do to better my chances of getting into the programs that I listed in my first post.
1. What extracurricular activities have you seen that have given MBA Applicants an application boost?
2. What are your thoughts on, when the appropriate time comes around, me signing up with MBA Missions (for the start-to-finish package) in order to better my chances on the schools I listed in my first post?
3. You mentioned me having continued network/engagement with my target schools over the next two years, what does this look like? Should I be visiting these schools, speaking to alum, calling each school's admissions staff, etc.? I just want to make sure I can pinpoint what continued network engagement really is to better my chances.
Thank you again, very helpful!
Future MBA Prospect
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my post and give great feedback. From what you said, I just want to pick-up from your point about trying to take more of a lead role or planning an event within the organization I volunteer at.
First, I think that is a great idea and something that I will definitely look into. I have a few follow-up questions revolving around things that are within my control that I could do to better my chances of getting into the programs that I listed in my first post.
1. What extracurricular activities have you seen that have given MBA Applicants an application boost?
2. What are your thoughts on, when the appropriate time comes around, me signing up with MBA Missions (for the start-to-finish package) in order to better my chances on the schools I listed in my first post?
3. You mentioned me having continued network/engagement with my target schools over the next two years, what does this look like? Should I be visiting these schools, speaking to alum, calling each school's admissions staff, etc.? I just want to make sure I can pinpoint what continued network engagement really is to better my chances.
Thank you again, very helpful!
Future MBA Prospect
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