Profile Evaluation and Advice. Targeting R2 this year or R1 Next Year

Question

Hi Guys,

Brief background about myself:

25, Male, Indian, BSc. Econ from T-1.5 university in India. Undergrad GPA: 3.03 (extremely low I'm aware, but I have a positive trend to it if it helps)
 
 Semester 1: 2.79  
 Semester 2: 2.21  
 Semester 3: 2.45 
 Semester 4: 3.49 
 Semester 5: 3.72 
  Semester 6: 3.65    
 
 4.5 years of work ex, 1 year in Big 4 Investment Banking, 8 months in a startup, (current role) 2.5 years in India's leading domestic Investment Bank in Tech IB. 2 promotions in 2.5 years, now I'm an Associate (similar position to post MBA associates) 
 No significant extracurriculars since I've started work. Have helped a few people here and there on how to get into IB. Have co-founded the largest student led non profit social consulting firm's chapter in my college but thats about it 
 Have taken 3 attempts at GMAT with most recent score being 615, want to pull this up to 675+ within the next 1.5 months while simultaneously working on applications 
 Target schools: Wharton, Columbia, Booth, Stern, INSEAD, LBS, HEC, ISB.  
 Please let me know any advice, and if i stand a good chance at these colleges and what i can do additionally. Happy to get in touch with counsellors as well

MG4MBACrystalBall · Answer

Anonymous2603 ,

Some thoughts on your profile evaluation and some tough love too, to begin with:
 
 The academic arc presents a lot of mixed bag. The college pedgiree is unclear without the name - T1.5 is hard to judge tbh. The GPA trend is good, especially in the last year. What was the reason for the low start and any fail/repeat grades therein? This will come under a lot of scrutiny when it comes to the top league schools you are targeting. In addition to a solid GMAT (think 695+), also try to build a parallel transcript for a more realistic shot. If struggling with GMAT, don't hesitate in pivoting to GRE - lot of non-STEM grads do that 
 The professional profile shows promise given the nature of your work and trajectory. Was it your startup? Also, has your current employer been a feeder?  
  ECs matter a lot , more so when it comes to those schools. It'll be worth giving this a hard look in terms of whether you can invest another year to build things on this front. 
 European schools value  international experience  a lot. Have you had any?

Let me know.

admitStreet · Answer

Anonymous2603 - Your undergrad grades are honestly a bit tricky for your target schools (as you've noted), but a strong GMAT (ideally 685-695+) can help offset this. Also consider pursuing courses like MBAMath etc. to demonstrate academic readiness. I'd like to understand your work-ex and motivations better i.e. key projects/ achievements, rationale behind job switches, directional career goals post-MBA, etc. These would in turn help inform the right school mix. It'd also be crucial to showcase some extracurriculars, leadership stints and international exposure - schools such as INSEAD and LBS value these. Hope this helps. Feel free to reach out for a detailed discussion. Regards, Arvind Founder, admitStreet | Testimonials W: https://admitstreet.com | Request a Free Profile Evaluation

dee1pug1 · Answer

I'll keep it short and sweet. Forget everything else - first focus on that GMAT score. Without a 695+, nothing else will matter - be it your arc of GPA, experience, achievements, etc. Your status as an Indian male with a weak GPA (which is quite below the lowest average of T25s) will require you to offer something meaningful back to schools.

If you already haven't, hire a coach for 1-2-1 tutoring for GMAT. You are well into the 100-day countdown to R2 deadlines.

If you already haven't, hire a coach for 1-2-1 tutoring for GMAT. You are well into the 100-day countdown to R2 deadlines.

Profile Evaluation and Advice. Targeting R2 this year or R1 Next Year

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