TSJ wrote:
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
TSJ,
Thanks for sharing your detailed profile.
With your range of extra-curricular activities and achievements, you do come across as a very dynamic individual. Indeed, you have achieved a lot for your age and your application will have a large number of talking points. This will certainly help!
Nonetheless, there are a number of things, which will need to be addressed in your application. While extra curricular activities are important, they may not be able to cover up for your low GPA. Thus, getting a higher GMAT score is very crucial for you at this point. We recommend that you focus your energies entirely on the GMAT and get a score upwards of 700. Needless to say, the higher the better!
Further, you will need to carefully explain your shift from Aerospace Engineering to your current entrepreneurial venture. All business schools look for focused applications. Thus, it is important that you work on an application, which portrays a logical sync among your work experience, and future career goals, and showcases you as a mature individual.
If you manage to take care of the above-mentioned factors, you should have a good chance.
Should you feel the need for a detailed discussion, please feel free to approach us.
Good Luck! ☺