ISB PROFILE EVALUATION THREAD - Post all Profile Eval Requests Here!

Hello mam,

Please analyse my profile

m 28 years, female,
having 6 years of experience in Corporate Financing in one of the public sector banks.

Got following grades:
X-72%
XII-84%
B.com(Hons) from DU-59.5%
have also completed certifiied associate of indian institute of banking with specialization in INTERNATIONAL BANKING.

Mam, the problem is i donot have any stuff for extra curriculum..

M planning to take test in August and targeting ISB. m getting r650 around in mocks

Will lack of extra curriculum be hurdle for me?

Mam Please advise

Hi,

Extra-curriculars are a definite good to have, but they are not mandatory for the ISB application. Focus upon your work achievements and leadership roles at work.
Also, a 650 GMAT score is low. Aim for a 700+

plz review my profile

Hi sangram1988,

Academically you've done well so far. NIT is a good brand on the CV. You come from a differentiated background that would make a good fit at ISB. A few things that we think you might want to focus on:
- ISB would count your work-experience as applicable by March 31st 2018. This would put you at the higher end of work experience. With higher work-experience, ISB would like to see stellar leadership/professional achievements and the ability to make business impact too. From your description, we think that we should be able to find the right examples there.
- In terms of GMAT, a 700+ score should keep you safe, but 680 and a great application may still do the trick.
- Extra-curriculars are important because they help to show your personality holistically. CSR activities, hobbies, activities beyond work, are an important part of the application and you might want to build these in your profile.


Feel free to reach out for a discussion.

Hi please evaluate my profile for ISB and IIMs PGP.
I am an Indian male and a Mech graduate from Thapar university with a gpa of 8.9. (top 7 percent approx.)
I did a six months internship at Tata motors during my 6th semester and was among 6 students selected from a batch of 140. Received SIx sigma green belt for successfully completing training and project. Also was awarded best trainee second runners up.

Then I did Masters in mechanical engineering from UC Berkeley. Had a good GRE of 331/340. I had a 3.8 GPA in masters. (Not sure that matters). Also received 20k dollars merit scholarship from Berkeley.

My GMAT is 770. Q51 V42. IR 8 AWA 5.5

My 10 and 12 marks are a bit low at 79.3 and 82 percents.

I will have about 19 months work ex by Jan 31, 2018.

As for my work ex I am working as a product quality engg in a German multinational (Fresenius) in San Francisco. Fresenius is more than a century old company and is the largest dialysis medical devices manufacturer in the world as well as has nearly 90 percent market share in the dialysis market. They are the largest hospital group in Europe owning about 100 hospitals there and a few thousand clinics in USA.
Extra curriculars:
State level badminton player in class 9th.
Convener of muse club in college.
Participated and won a lot of literary and quizzing events in college.
Have 2nd year degree certificate for tabla

Also planning to take CFA level 1 by Dec and level 2 by June next year. Want to target MBB if I get ISB and IB and MBB if I get IIMs. Hence CFA for IB roles.

Hobbies
Reading novels and watching TV shows. Also have been dabbling in trading biotech stocks in US markets.

Excellent profile! As an ISB alumnus, I must say that you have a strong chance of getting into the school. Your profile is a good mix of strong academics, decent work experience and diverse extra-curriculars. Test scores are high which add to your profile. Overall, you have the profile which ISB would be keen on meeting in the interviews. Since you will be applying to ISB with less than 2 years of experience, you would get a deferred admission as a Early Entry Option (EEO) candidate.

You may also target the IIMs for PGP (especially if you want to get into IB roles). However, for that the route will be the CAT and not the GMAT (I am sure you are aware). The 1 year MBA programs accept the GMAT but they need minimum 4-5 years of experience. Hence, they are out of question.

Hence, if you are looking for a 1 year MBA, then ISB is your best bet in India...and you have a good chance of getting in!

P.S. Do not worry about your school grades, your undergard and masters scores more than compensate for the slightly low school grades.

Good luck! Feel free to respond in case of any queries.

Regards,
Abhishek Chawla
ISB alumnus & Co-Founder, Strategy4GMAT
Ph: +91 9990493487; 7087234600 (https://gmatclub.com/chat) | E: abhishek.chawla@strategy4gmat.com
https://www.strategy4gmat.com

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Yeah I am only worried about getting interviews with regards to school grades. I had got 62 and 72 in english in the boards which is pretty ridiculous considering my english is very good. So I can explain that part.

IIMs A B and C take overseas Indians via GMAT for PGP 2 yr program. There is no fixed quota and they will only take if they think the candidate can come through CAT as well. Hence there is no waitlists in this route as well. I have talked to people who have gone via this route and all of them have told me that I should get interview calls from all 3. The only thing which is problematic is that even if I apply in round 2 for ISB the results will be out before IIM results and I will have to pay 2.5 lakhs. SO was wondering should I just do IIMs this year and if I dont get then apply ISB next year as anyways I will have to defer ISB.

Strategy4gmat has already evaluated your profile. But for me it Ahh moment! You will miss min. work criteria by 3 months and hence if selected will be offered deferred admission. Not sure if that hurts you.
Also if you have to wait for another year why not wait 2(get around 4 yrs exp) and apply in Stanford or Hass (closer to you current location)? They also send a lot of folks to MBB. However if your plan s to move back to India than ISB/IIM makes a lot of sense to me.

Do not make the mistake of using Optional Essay or other essay's space reflecting on your weak school english scores! You went to UG and Graduate school post that. Those grades matter not your HS. And then you are worried about one of its subset English score! I think I will be pissed off if I have to read this in an applicant essay. I am sure you can find better weakness in your profile

Haha almost every single person I have talked to has asked me why not the top US programs seeing that I have master from Berkeley. But for personal reasons I want to move back to India. Professionally I want to go either IB then PE then hedge fund route or consulting and then business route. For the business route far better to be in india as wait for green card is too damn long.

Hi jigneshmaniyar,

Chartered Accountants are valued at all B-schools because they bring a diverse point of view to both classroom learning and beyond class discussions. A couple of points that you might want to focus on:
- With 10 years of work-experience you would need to answer the why MBA? why now? questions very succinctly, since you have amassed a lot of work experience.
- 660 is on the lower side, however with a great profile, it may not be a deterrent, because your rich and above-average work experience. If you can portray your professional accomplishments in a manner that sets you apart from peers then you have a winner.
- We don't see a reference to extra-curriculars, but these are becoming increasingly important in the overall evaluation of a candidature, hence you may want to address these too.

Feel free to reach out for a discussion.

Hi swarup1981,

A well-balanced and well-developed profile, The international work experience and the professional accomplishments are good differentiators. You'd make a good fit for the ISB/IIM Executive MBA programs. Couple of thoughts:
- Target a GMAT of 680-700 (and the higher the better), this would keep your profile competitive and also be helpful in case you decide to apply to B-schools abroad.
- The choice of B-school would depend on your career goals, as all B-schools have different soft spots. You may want to use our free B-school selector here for a discussion.


As far as ISB is concerned, well-articulated essays and a GMAT of 680+ should see you through.

Hi,

I am an ISB 2018-2019 aspirant, would greatly appreciate your time to assess my profile.

Current Age: 22
Nationality: Indian
Gender: Male
IT/non-IT: UG in Engg., work exp. as an entrepreneur

Academics:
1) Class 10 (2011) - ICSE (85%)
- School cricket team captain
- School house captain
2) Class 11 & 12 (2013) - State Board (87%)
- School house captain
- Know how to speak French (if that matters...)
3) UG (2016) at from a top UK university (a Russell-group university based in London)
- B.Eng. (Honours) Aerospace Engineering (result - 2:2). It's a bit on the lower side, but compensated with co-curricular activities, part-time job, and starting a company
- Won an £7500/year (50%) scholarship for all 3 years of studies
- Business Strategy dissertation. (my supervisor was impressed with my company, allowed me do a strategy dissertation instead of an engineering one)
4) GMAT (Jul 2017) - 640 (Q - 47, V - 32, IT - 5, AWA - 5). Currently preparing to re-take in mid-Sep. Target 720
5) Currently preparing for CFA Level 1 (exam in Dec 2017)
6) Online courses from Coursera on Finance, Strategy, and Accounting

Work Experience:
2 years F/T since graduating at the time of admission (Apr 2018). 5 years F/T experience overall at the time of admission (Apr 2018)
1) Started a Food and Beverage company with a partner in India. Working as its CEO (managing Sales and Strategy)
2) Started a Started a Digital Marketing company during my 1st year in UG (decided quickly that engg. is not for me, only continued because of my parents' financial investment). Profits > £20,000. Ran it until graduation (~ 3 years). Most of University expense (tuition + cost of living) re-earned (great help to parents), which was the goal
3) Internship in Investment Banking (M&A) in summer 2015 at a small investment banking firm in India
4) Part-time work during UG studies - waiting staff, sub-warden, student abassador, and sales associate (at different times in the 3 years)
5) Summer internships since the age of 15 (except for summer 2015, when I started my own company). Worked mainly in the Sales department

Leadership/Volunteer Work/:
1) Currently volunteering as a spoken english tutor at a local government school (2x a week) through a local NGO
2) VP of my university's Economics Society (>400 members) in my final year (1st engg. student to be voted in)
3) Co-founded my university's Handball Club in my 2nd year. Was voted in as a treasurer
4) Head of Communications at my university's Engineers Without Borders Society
5) Student mentor in one of my university's students union's mentoring programmes
6) Football Coach at a local primary school during UG studies

Hobbies:
Wrestling and MMA, Painting, Writing poems, cooking

Can you please assess my chances for the ISB PGPM class 2018-2019?
Any improvement suggestions?

Please be brutal if needed, will be taken in positive. Thank you for the time.

Best Wishes.

Hello, I am Mohit (Age-32). Kindly review my profile for ISB Application.
I got 690 Score( Q-50, V-33) in GMAT (second attempt). I have 7 years of work experience in Production Planning and Control department in Steel industry. I am M TECH in chemical Engineering from IIT Bombay (CGPA - 8.3) & B E in Chemical Engg. from VNSGU, Surat (65% aggregate). 12th - 64% & 10th - 84.5%.
Have founded a start up in K-12 Education system which provides practical learning approach to children (involved with job in the venture for 4 years).

Hello, I am Mohit (Age-32). Kindly review my profile for ISB Application.
I got 690 Score( Q-50, V-33) in GMAT (second attempt). I have 7 years of work experience in Production Planning and Control department in Steel industry. I am M TECH in chemical Engineering from IIT Bombay (CGPA - 8.3) & B E in Chemical Engg. from VNSGU, Surat (65% aggregate). 12th - 64% & 10th - 84.5%.
Have founded a start up in K-12 Education system which provides practical learning approach to children (involved with job in the venture for 4 years).

Hi Mohit,

Your profile and achievements are god .Please go ahead.
No one can give you 100 % surety but in my view you have very good chance to get selected in ISB .
Few of my indian colleagues got ISB call at 650 also.
Goodluck
_________________

Hi TSJ,

You've done a whole lot of things in your short age and you come across as enterprising. I think you have great things ahead of you in the future, however, I am not very sure an MBA is the right thing at this time.

As I understand, you are running the F&B startup currently. Do talk about your work here/ how have you grown the company, what stage is the company at. etc. etc. Why leave it at this point in time? And what do you want to do after the MBA? Maybe spending some more years at the startup will give you better practical learning as compared to doing an MBA- will need to know more to understand it better.

Your GMAT and GPA, both are low and extra curricular activities/ work experience at college can not compensate for both. B-schools want to be sure of your academic rigor so you should definitely retake GMAT and aim for a 720 or above score.

Hi Mohit,

Your stats are looking good to me but I am missing details about your career growth and achievements at work, and ofcourse, your career goals.
Assuming these elements are strong, the application outcome will depend on how well you are able to execute your application and come across as a compelling candidate.

Hope that helps.