Profile Evaluation

Question

Total YOE: 4.5
GMAT FE: 645

Working in technology side of a bank as Data Engineer workflow involves understanding of Financial crime activities like Anti Money Laundering, Terrorist Attack and finding out the pattern of transactions which changes everytime by the Fraud/Terrorist person. Lead data migration of the bank for the historical data as per the UK govt guidelines for the archival and preservation of customer data which can anytime be called out by official for the investigation or provided as evidence for the suspicious activity, total of 11.8 millions records where migrated. 
Cleared CFA L1 in Jan 2023 (exam taken in Nov 2022) and currently studying for CFA L2 (exam in Aug 2025) along with full time job.
Been part of social wing where raised fund for under privileged children. Also had a instagram channel for food review.

TARGET SCHOOL
ISB
INSEAD

WHAT SHOULD BE THE GRE SCORE FOR BOTH THE SCHOOLS?

WHERE CAN I IMPROVE OR FOCUS FOR STRONGER APPLICATION?

MBAGuide · Answer

TPlusOne Interesting work experience, but a low GMAT score. I have successfully helped mentees from the cybersecurity domain get into the ISB PGP. You should target a score upwards of 675 on the GMAT. ISB has a clear understanding of the kinds of scores they accept each year from respective fields. The competition is tough. I am not clear on how the CFA fits with your profile/plans. You didn’t mention your goals, but it looks like you are making a case for pivoting your function to the core finance domain. That may not be easy to justify after a one-year MBA. Ideally, the school will expect you to explain why you haven’t already made an effort to enter the domain you want to work in post-MBA. You will have to tread carefully and research roles that offer more flexibility in terms of pre-MBA experience. INSEAD looks like a moonshot. Is there anything you haven’t covered here—international experience, promotions, leadership experience, etc.? Feel free to connect for a deeper discussion Best wishes Aanchal Sahni (INSEAD MBA alumna, former INSEAD MBA admissions interviewer) Founder, MBAGuideConsulting LinkedIn |WEBSITE: https://mbaguideconsulting.com/ | Message(WA): +91 9971200927| email- mbaguideconsulting@gmail.com

Rish94S · Answer

Along with higher GMAT score try focusing on story that can connect well with your goal. Profile sounds good but can be over represented in todays pool

shishimaru · Answer

Your profile is quite strong, with a solid mix of technical expertise, financial acumen, and social impact. Your work in financial crime prevention, AML, and data engineering is highly relevant, and your leadership in large-scale data migration projects adds weight to your experience. Clearing CFA Level 1 and preparing for Level 2 further reinforces your quantitative and financial knowledge, which is a valuable asset for business schools.

To strengthen your application, ensure that your essays effectively highlight the impact of your work, leadership experiences, and long-term career vision. Your social contributions and entrepreneurial food review channel add a unique dimension to your profile. Keep refining your story to showcase why an MBA is the next logical step in your journey. Best of luck!

TPlusOne · Answer

What should be the equivalent safer GRE score for ISB and INSEAD

Rish94S · Answer

Not in GRE game! Sorry

RibakDerulo12 · Answer

Hey bud!

I guess its a super strong profile. Some Strengths that I can identify:
Niche Expertise in Financial Crime Analytics – Deep exposure to Anti-Money Laundering (AML), terrorist financing patterns, and fraud detection, making you stand out in fintech risk & compliance.
High-Impact Project Leadership – Led UK regulatory data migration of 11.8M records, a mission-critical task showcasing technical leadership, regulatory understanding, and precision in execution.
Finance + Tech Synergy – CFA Level 1 cleared, CFA Level 2 in progress – Strong signal of finance acumen complementing your data engineering expertise.
This synergy can actually make you really stand out and you need to write strong essays that highlight this. You can be a great asset for the school coz they can be worry-free about your post study plans (You got fin+tech both)
Social & Creative Initiatives – Fundraising for underprivileged children & a food review Instagram channel—showcases leadership beyond work, adding a well-rounded dimension.

Thinking about safe score, I would say you are a bit below the benchmark. In terms of GMAT, I would say anywhere above 670 would make you fit. If you plan for GRE, I would again suggest 325+. I think you can increase it pretty easily, if you are hitting 645 it wont be a huge hurdle.

I would love to know why you're thinking of GRE after GMAT. It is not uncommon but important to have a concrete plan about it.

Apart from GMAT-GRE, I think rest of your selection would depend on how you come off. A Tech-Fin Leader story would be best coz you are not in the common IB-PE-FP&A category. So keep that up.

If you need help with GMAT or Profile deep-dive do reach out.

Best of Luck bud

TPlusOne

Total YOE: 4.5
GMAT FE: 645

Working in technology side of a bank as Data Engineer workflow involves understanding of Financial crime activities like Anti Money Laundering, Terrorist Attack and finding out the pattern of transactions which changes everytime by the Fraud/Terrorist person. Lead data migration of the bank for the historical data as per the UK govt guidelines for the archival and preservation of customer data which can anytime be called out by official for the investigation or provided as evidence for the suspicious activity, total of 11.8 millions records where migrated.
Cleared CFA L1 in Jan 2023 (exam taken in Nov 2022) and currently studying for CFA L2 (exam in Aug 2025) along with full time job.
Been part of social wing where raised fund for under privileged children. Also had a instagram channel for food review.

TARGET SCHOOL
ISB
INSEAD

WHAT SHOULD BE THE GRE SCORE FOR BOTH THE SCHOOLS?

WHERE CAN I IMPROVE OR FOCUS FOR STRONGER APPLICATION?

TPlusOne · Answer

My GMAT FE 645 is divided as 
Q87 (got last one incorrect but 3 points down)
V80 (Here I know I can improve I started with V65 in my first mock)
D77 (This is where I haven't improved since day 0 of GMAT preparation and the score fluctuated alot in mocks as well)
Reviewed GMAT and GRE paper pattern I think GRE would be helpful as Quant and Verbal are the only sections with not much of DI like in GMAT, a whole dedicated section. GRE DI questions I think is still doable for me (reviewed few DI questions so far).
Verbal is different for GRE, still manageable for me but DI of GMAT.

So my instinct says I would better be with GRE and good chances of scoring high in GRE.

This is just a speculation because of my fear of not improving in DI even after practicing and analysis many times it just never hits me.

Please feel free to add your points and let me know if I'm going in the right direction.

RibakDerulo12 · Answer

I think that's a fair analysis haha. I would agree with you. In my experience, DI can be improved but again, it is very individual-based so I would let you be the better judge for it

As a litmus test, I would recommend giving a GRE Mock after a bit of prep (<1 week maybe). Just see where you stand for GRE and compare it to where you are on the GMAT. If GRE seems strong enough, I would suggest you go ahead with it. Plus, if you need specific analysis about DI then do let me know. D77 doesn't seem that bad enough, but we might have to go into some of your mocks and ESR if we can grab one from your FE645 attempt. So, yea give a shot with GRE Mock, lets see where we are and where we can go. Good Luck!

MBAandBeyond · Answer

Hi TPlusOne ! I hope you are doing well! Your background in data engineering within the banking sector, particularly in financial crime risk and compliance, provides a strong technical foundation, and your leadership in regulatory-driven data migration adds credibility. Clearing CFA Level 1 and pursuing Level 2 demonstrates your commitment to finance. Your GMAT Focus score of 645 is decent but to stay competitive 20+ points should be good. For GRE score, 325+ for ISB shall be good and for INSEAD (they recommend 80% or above in the verbal and quantitative sections). Additionally, while your 4.5 years of work experience aligns well with ISB, shall be fine for INSEAD, where the average range is 3-8 years. Your profile lacks a clear post-MBA goal, whether you intend to stay in fintech, move into risk analytics, or transition into consulting or investment banking, you need a structured and well-defined career plan. Leadership outside of work, including your social impact efforts, is a good addition but needs stronger differentiation with measurable outcomes. To improve your chances, retaking the GMAT Focus or switching to GRE with a higher score is crucial, whichever feels best to you. Additionally, highlighting leadership in your projects, clarifying your career vision, and networking with alumni will strengthen your application. While ISB can be a realistic target with improvements, INSEAD remains a stretch unless you significantly boost your test scores and leadership impact. Please feel free to take a look at BLOG1 , BLOG2 , BLOG3 . What's going to matter most in your application is how you connect the experiential dots and build a great story to stand out from other applicants in the pool. If you’d like, we are happy to hop on a 1:1 call with you to learn more about your profile and provide a detailed evaluation and gauge your chances to the best-fit schools. Please feel free to schedule a profile evaluation call according to your convenience. “Join Our Exclusive Webinar!” “Bonus Offer: Get 4 schools for the price of 3 - Maximize your chances!” Limited slots available - Book your Profile Evaluation Now! Cheers! Shantanu Sharma Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond Email: valuecreation@mbaandbeyond.com

ExpertsGlobal · Answer

Hello  TPlusOne ,

You need to work on improving your GMAT; further, you have not quite shared your career goals and how the CFA fits in; hence, for a strong application, it is imperative that you are able to join the dots in your story and link them up with your career goals.

For INSEAD, you need a major score improvement; plus, it will be helpful if you have entrepreneurial or international experience as the school prefers this. In the absence of the same, INSEAD will be a long shot.

Hope this helps.

All the best!

FLY.reachout · Answer

Dear  TPlusOne

Lets talk about the strengths that we see in your profile and that would be consistent upskilling through CFA (if entering into core finance roles is your goal), good extracurriculars and decent work experience. However, your GMAT score as it stands today is slightly below the median score of admits and that could potentially set you back given your work experience comes under the bucket of IT professionals forming the majority of applicant pool, unless we put together a really strong application of course.

In terms of improvement areas, if your score in mocks had been consistently better than your present GMAT score, we recommend you reattempt the test and aim for a better score. If not, we would recommend you focus all your energies in putting together an impactful application.

We would love to hear more about your journey so far to give more directed recommendations and would be eager to support though the application process.

Please feel free to block a 15 min session with us at :   https://calendly.com/reachusfly/15min/

Warm regards, 
 Team FLY 
 https://www.teamfly.org/

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