Profile Evaluation for ISB class of 2019

Question

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 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 (Q47, V32, IR5, AWA5). Currently preparing to re-take in 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 Sales

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.

rishabhgmatdec · Answer

Wow. Not that my views carry much weight but I still wanted to drop in and congratulate you for your amazing profile. All the best with the GMAt retake.

Posted from my mobile device

Admissionado · Answer

Hello there good sir. 
So I think there are a few things here that will make it or break it:
1. GMAT. Obviously with a GMAT below 710 it makes little sense to apply. So only apply if you get your target score or higher.
2. Work experience - you don't have five years experience, but two. All Adcoms including ISB only consider the years post-graduation. It doesn't mean that what you have done before doesn't matter. But it's just considered something else.
3. Startup - A lot of your profile is riding on your success and experience in your startup. I currently have no real information about it... i.e. what is the turnover? what is the market share? what is your growth? how many employees do you lead? what have been your biggest achievements and milestones? with more information, the standing of your profile will become clear
4. Age - Average age is 27. You are quite young for applying here. So it means that a) you have to have equivalent experience b) you have to be prepared with good reasoning as to why it absolutely makes sense for you to apply and go NOW.

I hope this helps!!!

Best,
JF

jeffreyadcom · Answer

Short Answer: Scattered profile, aiming to cobble up tidbits towards a collage. ADCOMs value niche skills, specialization in one thing rather than dabbling in 10 things. However, If you can manage to map all of these to various ISB essays coherently and also ace a 720 + score in GMAT, ISB may actually pick you up. I hope the businesses that you did part-time can be projected as professional ventures. F&B; Dig.marketing are more like pocket money earning sidekicks to get going during the student phase.

But for M7 SCHOOLS -

Negatives:
1) Work ex is less; concurrent work ex with academics isn't counted.
2) Undergrad - unknown
3) CFA exam prep - is no qualification.
4) Current GMAT score is a sinker.
5) 22 Age is a NO-NO

Verdict: Wait for 5 years, if it is M7. You can try for ISB, if you can ace GMAT more than 720. Else, don't waste your application money.

99Colleges · Answer

Hi TSJ,

I’ve a different take on your profile.

Since you’re working as an entrepreneur, your experiences can be valuable in the classroom discussions. Second, your understanding of digital marketing is an important skill in today’s world, more so in India where it’s just beginning to explode and where there is plenty of arbitrage even in organic traffic/ leads. Third, your work in digital marketing, and most importantly generating profit, during undergrad shows enterprise and resourcefulness.

Although you’ve 2-year full-time experience, you can explain your other sojourns in the application, which surely will add sting to your profile.

However, you need to articulate reasons for an MBA and post-MBA career plan well. (It can get tricky if you’re an entrepreneur pre-MBA.) And yes, you should lift your GMAT score by few notches.

0492 · Answer

Hi All,

Please help me in evaluating my profile for ISB 2019. Below are the details.

GRE score -305( 1st attempt)

12th - 68%
10th - 76%
I have also represented myself at zonal Level in "Bal Shree" creative writing competition.

BTech - 61.1 (Computer Science)
I was a member of College Society "Karuna" a college NGO. I was also a Technical member of college Magazine "Enginium" and used to write Technical articles for it.
Runner-up in Inter - College Badminton Competition.
Core member of Technical Fest team.

Working for Accenture in Salesforce technology from past 3 years.
I have worked for two US clients.
Got promoted within a year.
Performed on Stage in an event in Accenture.

I am also an Active member of "Toastmaster Club" Bangalore.

Please let me know what else do I need to do for improving my profile.

ABatExpertsGlobal · Answer

Hi 0492 , Thanks for sharing your query. First things first - your international exposure at Accenture, coupled with your strong involvement with extra-curricular activities throughout your academic and professional career, will definitely add value to your overall candidature. Of course, please do ensure that all this information is presented appropriately in your essays along with the rest of your achievements. Having said the above, your GRE score is much lower than the ISB average of 324 and we strongly recommend a retake. Frankly, you will need to aim for a score much above the average considering your scores at school are again not on the higher side. Hence, we recommend that you focus on the GRE. Once you have an improved score, we suggest that you concentrate on preparing a stellar application

Should you feel the need to discuss this in greater detail, feel free to reach out to us. All the best!

Arunima01 · Answer

Hello,

Please evaluate my profile for ISB 2019-2020 batch.

Nationality : Indian
Gender : Female

Academics:
1) 10th - 82%
2) 12th - 74%
3) B.Tech 2013 Graduate - 6.2 CGPA 
4) GMAT - 720

Work Experience:

1) 3.5 years - Infosys Ltd as Senior Software Developer
2) 7 months - ABB India as Senior Specialist - Automation
3) 1 year - EY as LEad Analyst 
4) Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certified

Thank you for your time.

MBAkarma · Answer

Hello Arunima01

Unfortunately this information is too little to give any feedback on your profile.
You have covered the 'quantitative' side of your profile (acads, gmat, years of experience). However more critical is the 'qualitative' side of your profile. Read more here on what the admissions committee at ISB will look at while evaluating your candidature.
Since you come from an over-represented background (IT) it would help to know the business impact of your work, career progression and key achievements.
GMAT of 720 though good is not stellar and you will need to show a spike in your work experience and accomplishments. Though it is not very significant, you have not mentioned the name of your college. The more info you provide the easier it is to get a detailed feedback.
Diversity is also a factor to consider for you since you have not mentioned any extracurricular activities.
The most important piece of the puzzle is your Post-MBA plans and how they fit in with ISB. In absence of this it is very difficult to take a call.
Let me know if you wish to discuss this further.

Best
Varun Sharma
+919137133507
Free Profile Review
MBAkarma.com
Quora
LinkedIn
info@mbakarma.com

Arunima01

Hello,

Please evaluate my profile for ISB 2019-2020 batch.

Nationality : Indian
Gender : Female

Academics:
1) 10th - 82%
2) 12th - 74%
3) B.Tech 2013 Graduate - 6.2 CGPA
4) GMAT - 720

Work Experience:

1) 3.5 years - Infosys Ltd as Senior Software Developer
2) 7 months - ABB India as Senior Specialist - Automation
3) 1 year - EY as LEad Analyst
4) Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certified

Thank you for your time.

avsvsrk · Answer

Please evaluate my profile
Gender :Male
Nationality : Indian
class 10th Andhra Pradesh State Board : 2002 (76.2%)
Class 12th Andhra Pradesh Board: 2004 (73.6%)
B Tech (EEE) Local Engineering college 2009 (54.97%)
work Experience;
working as Academics Manager and Market Analyst in Conduira Education Services Pvt Ltd from 2009 to till date
It is a leading online and offline education services company in India
Extra Circular Activities:
Worked as Radio Jockey in Red FM during college days 
worked as Student President of College cultural committee 
working as strategic manager in a leading event management company 
Working for various NGO's 
won UNESCO GK competition at school level 
Karate : Green Belt and won various competitions at national level
ICET State 70 rank (out of 1.5 lakh)
CAT ; 98 PERCENTILE, MAT 99.99 percentile:
Started own Testprep company but unsuccessful
I was selected as Probation Officer into various Nationalized Banks and also as Technical Support Engineer into CSS Pvt, but i am in testprep field by choice not by chance and even i am looking for ISB to improve my management skills 
please suggest me , do my profile helps me in getting admission into ISB 
I am Planning to take GMAT in July 2018 ,please suggest me what should be my target GMAT score
Thank You for spending your time

MBAkarma · Answer

Hello avsvsrk First things first- looking at your past scores (which are not stellar) and your potential from CAT/MAT, I'll recommend a 730+. How are you faring on your mock tests? However, remember that GMAT is just one piece of the overall puzzle. ISB will look at all 6 admission factors mentioned here holistically. You have mentioned briefly about your work ex. It would help if you explain the nature of your work in detail, your career progression and achievements. What sort of positive business impact have you had on your organization's business. ISB is more interested in that vs years, industry or function. Same goes for extracurricular. For instance you have mentioned you worked for several NGOs- but worked in what capacity. How serious and long term was the relationship? What transferable skills have you gained that have made you a better person/professional/candidate? Your activities certainly look interesting and can give you an edge in terms of diversity, but if you bring the above out strongly. Lastly- what are your career goals? You have not mentioned these? Why do you necessarily need an MBA and that too from ISB to reach these goals? This will help define the fit with the school and the goals have to be realistic as per your profile, skills and what ISB can offer. To conclude, a meaningful assessment of your profile is not entirely possible due to missing information. ISB will look at your profile holistically on Acads+Quality of Work Ex+Diversity+Clarity of Goals. You will need a spike in at least 2-3 out of the 4 factors mentioned. Let me know if you wish to discuss this further. Best Varun Sharma +919137133507 Free Profile Review MBAkarma.com Quora LinkedIn info@mbakarma.com

ABatExpertsGlobal · Answer

Hello  avsvsrk ,

Thanks for writing in.

Considering your low academic scores in the past, a GMAT score upwards of 730 is highly recommended as it will help build the required confidence in the Admissions Committee with regard to your ability to adjust to the rigors of a demanding academic program. 
A detailed evaluation is difficult at this point since you have not shared much about your roles and responsibilities at work. Remember, ISB will evaluate your application holistically in terms of career progression, involvement in diverse pursuits, and feasibility of career goals. Hence, ensure that your essays convey the same in a meaningful way and your career goals particularly appear in logical sync with the rest of your experience.

'Improving management skills' is very generic as a career goal and you will need to come up with a clearly defined set of short-term and long-term goals.

Should you feel the need for a detailed discussion, feel free to reach out.

All the best!

deepak17091990 · Answer

Hi

Please review the below profile for ISB.

Qualification:

10th: 78% (From A.P.)
12th: 73% (From Assam)
B.Tech.(IT): 73%

Work exp. 3 years with TCS.
+2 years with Samsung SDS.

CCA: 
1) A research paper on Cyber crimes.
2) Participated in the closing and opening ceremonies of 1st Afro Asian Games, Hyderabad.
3) Participated in Declamation and Recitation competitions in the school.

Challenges faced:
1) An eating disorder.
2) Studied in the disturbed areas of Assam.

GMAT Sep 2018: Aiming for 720+.

Posted from my mobile device

MBAkarma · Answer

Hello deepak17091990 It will help evaluate your profile further if your can mention more around nature of your work, related achievements, impact in extracurricular activities and more importantly career goals (reason to purse an MBA from ISB). You can read here to know all the factors that matter in a profile during B School admissions and more on career goals here . Best Varun Sharma +919137133507 Free Profile Review MBAkarma.com GMAT Score Predictor info@mbakarma.com

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