Profile evaluation for MBA

Top 15 schools are going to be quite tough unfortunately. You are coming from the toughest demographic out there when it comes to b-school apps & it's one that tends to have very high GMAT scores for those top schools (740+). In addition, your age is going to work against you since you are above the average. Your work experience also sounds quite technical, which can make it difficult to show the business impact b-schools like to see among applicants. That's not to say b-school is out of reach but top 15 programs are going to be quite difficult to get into. I'd generally consider schools in the 25-35 range, and I'd also consider European schools, where the average age tends to be higher (and therefore your age will not work against you quite as much).

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MadhaviRS, thanks for reaching out. I wasn't 100% sure how many total years of experience you had based on what you shared here. When I do the math I'm guessing it's around 10? But I'm not sure if any of the work was concurrent. I was also unsure if you spent any time in any other grad programs (law school?) which might make you even older. The reason this all matters is because you ideally want to be right around the b-schools' average in terms of years of work experience as well as age. The average years of experience at LBS for example is 5.5 and the average age is typically around 29. When you are too far from those averages it makes things tougher for you as an applicant. The adcom starts to worry that you no longer need the degree.

Another important factor will be your GMAT score. Generally speaking you want to hit & ideally exceed the average score at your target schools (at top schools the average is typically 700-720). In your case, as an Indian applicant, you are coming from a competitive demographic & one that tends to have very high GMAT scores, so you'll want to be sure to actually exceed a school's average & not just hit it. If a school's average is 700 for example, you'll ideally want a score of 720+. Especially since you are coming from a non-traditional background the adcom will be looking to the GMAT to see if you are up for the rigors of b-school.

Finally, you'll want to be sure to highlight the business impact you HAVE had in your work experience so you can highlight your transferrable skills and again, convince them that you are up for the rigors of b-school. And of course you'll want to be sure to name strong, specific ST & LT career goals so they understand WHY you need the MBA.

I hope that helps as you think through your candidacy & target schools! Good luck to you!

Hi, it would be great if you could spare a few minutes to evaluate my profile.

Age: 26
GMAT: 740 (Q50, V40)
Undergrad: Civil Engg, IIT
GPA: 7.1/10 (There is no direct conversion offered on a 4 point grade scale)
Professional experience: 5 years at matriculation
Working as a Sr. Product Manager at a large Indian diversified financial services company since the past 1 year.
Worked as a core team member leading Product Management & Analytics at a fintech startup for 2.5 years.
Worked as a Product Analyst (recruited from campus) for 1 year at a Tech Startup which was acquired by Amazon.
Good extracurriculars
Been engaged with 2 different NGOs teaching underprivileged kids for the last 1.5 years.

Post-MBA goals: Strategy consulting or Product Management

Thanks in Advance!

.

MadhaviRS, ok great - 5-6 years of experience is WAY better than 10 when it comes to applying to b-school so that's good news! Unfortunately a professional qualification as a Company Secretary won't carry much weight with the adcom. Instead, they want to see the specifics of the business impact you've had. Like I said, the adcom is looking for PROOF that you are up for the rigors of b-school and they look for those in the form of examples of the impact you've had & leadership experience you've demonstrated both at work and in your extracurriculars. It can be a bit trickier when you're not coming from a traditional business background, but there are definitely ways to do it. And that's also not to say you can't get in when you're a non-traditional applicant (and in fact you can work it to your advantage to stand out from the crowd) but you do want to show the transferrable business skills you've gained and been able to use at work.

Your post-MBA goals will be important as well. As a non-traditional applicant who may not have had as much exposure to the business world as other applicants (and again, this may or may not be true of you - I'm just guessing based on the details you shared here), it's especially critical to show that you've really thought through your short-term (immediately upon graduation) and long-term (~10 years post graduation) career goals and the skill gaps you need to fill via the MBA to get there. You want to show that you've done your homework here & show the specific impact you plan to have in your goals as well as WHY this is your passion. Strong, well-thought out goals are another way to convince them that you really have thought out your plans for an MBA even if you are a non-traditional applicant.

Long story short, you definitely have a shot at the MBA but the GMAT will be very important (and I know you're working on that already!) as will the story you tell about why you need the degree & what you plan to do with it afterwards.

I hope that helps! Definitely reach out to us if you need any help thinking through your goals or your story. Claudia at claudia@admissionado.com can get you set up with a free consultation with one of our consultants!

ACADEMICS:
STD X (ICSE BOARD)-74%
STD XII(MATH SCIENCE-STATE BOARD)-60%
Two year break in studies as father got paralyzed and mummy is a psychiatric patient suffering from Schizophrenia
Engineering- ANNAMALAI UNIVERSITY CHENNAI (TAMIL NADU GOVT. OWNED COLLEGE.
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1ST-EMPLOYER- JOINED BPO INDUSTRY WORKING FOR WIPRO FOR 6 MONTHS (NATURE OF JOB: TELE-CALLER : RESOLUTION OF ISSUE OF TELECOM SERVICE FOR UK PEOPLE)
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2ND EMPLOYER- MAHENDRA EDUCATION PRIVATE LIMITED( ASSISTANT MANAGER: NATURE OF JOB:TEACHING AND DEVELOPMENT OF CONTENT OF QUANT SECTION FOR COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION) I WAS ADJUDGED BEST MATHS FACULTY PAN INDIA ACROSS 120 BRANCHES IN YEAR 2015
3RD EMPLOYER- BANK OF INDIA (PUBLIC SECTOR UNDERTAKING 4TH LARGEST BANK IN INDIA,DESIGNATION:CLERK(NATURE OF JOB: CLERICAL AND FINANCE WORK)
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4TH EMPLOYER-BANK OF INDIA (PUBLIC SECTOR UNDERTAKING 4TH LARGEST BANK IN INDIA,DESIGNATION:ASSISTANT MANAGER(NATURE OF JOB: MANAGERIAL ,CONTROL AND SUPERVISORY ROLE) CLEARED ALL INDIA COMPETITIVE EXAMS CONDUCTED BY IBPS(WHERE MORE THAN 30 LAKH STUDENTS HAD APPLIED TO GET SHORTLISTED AMONG 6000 SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES.
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5TH EMPLOYER INDIAN RAILWAYS: QUALIFED NTPC EXAM 2015 WHERE MORE THAN 1.25 CRORE PEOPLE APPEARED FOR THE EXAM AND ONLY 5000 ODD COULD QUALIFY TO JOIN THE SERVICE(HOWEVER DID NOT JOIN THE SERVICE BECAUSE OF BETTER JOB OPPORTUNITY)
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6TH EMPLOYER(CURRENTLY WORKING WITH) STATE BANK OF INDIA, INDIA'S LARGEST BANK AND WORLD'S 45TH LARGEST BANK AND THE ONLY FORTUNE GLOBAL 500 COMPANY IN INDIA RANKED AT 216. QUALIFIED INDIA'S 3RD TOUGHEST EXAM AFTER UPSC AND CAT I.E SBI PROBATIONARY OFFICER EXAM WHERE MORE THAN 50 LAKH PEOPLE APPEARED FOR THE EXAM AND MERELY 600 CANDIDATES COULD MAKE IT INTO FINAL LIST. CURRENTLY I AM WORKING AS AN ASSISTANT MANAGER NATURE OF JOB( MANAGERIAL,CONTROLLER ,SUPERVISORY AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF DAY TO DAY WORKING OF SBI BRANCH HEADING A TEAM OF 5 STAFF IN BRANCH AND DEPUTED AS A BRANCH MANAGER)
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I have scored 750 in Gmat

Posted from my mobile device

sudhanshubanty, at first glance, this is a lot of jobs and a lot of jobs and a lot of employers. I'm not 100% sure from your description how many years of work experience you have. Most MBA programs are looking for applicants with 3-5 years upon matriculation. You want to be able to show strong career progression (ideally 1-2 promotions), and when you've changed jobs so many times the adcom can start to worry that things haven't worked out well with your employers or that you're unable to make a commitment. Your GMAT is strong, although you are coming from a demographic that tends to have very high GMAT scores, and it's the very toughest demographic when it comes to b-school applications since it's so overrepresented. A lot is going to depend on the specific accomplishments you've had at work (i.e. driving increases in revenue, driving decreases in costs, launching new products, leading teams) as well as your post-MBA goals and your argument for why you need the MBA.

First of all Thanks for the reply Jon.
Just needed to clear few ambiguities.
I have a total work experience of 5.5
yrs
6 month IT BPO
2 YEARS EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE(ASSISTANT MANAGER)
1.5 YEARS(CLERICAL) IN FINANCE PUBLIC SECTOR UNDERTAKING.
1.5 YEARS IN FINANCE IN MANAGERIAL ROLE.
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CHANGE IN JOB IS ONLY IN PURSUIT FOR BETTER CARRER
-------------------------------
THOUGH I QUALIFIED AND CLEARED 6 DIFFERENT RECRUITMENT PROCESS HOWEVER I HAVE TILL DATE WORKED FOR ONLY
4 ORGANISATION...
And change and shift in Job was only for a Carrer progression..
And not because of any dispute or ant unfavourable reason and circumstances.
-------------------------------
With the work profile that I have is it possible to make a CUT in top 20 B SCHOOLS with the help of Admission Consultant.
Thanking you in Advance.

Posted from my mobile device

First of all Thanks for the reply Jon.
Just needed to clear few ambiguities.
I have a total work experience of 5.5
yrs
6 month IT BPO
2 YEARS EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE(ASSISTANT MANAGER)
1.5 YEARS(CLERICAL) IN FINANCE PUBLIC SECTOR UNDERTAKING.
1.5 YEARS IN FINANCE IN MANAGERIAL ROLE.
-------------------------------
CHANGE IN JOB IS ONLY IN PURSUIT FOR BETTER CARRER
-------------------------------
THOUGH I QUALIFIED AND CLEARED 6 DIFFERENT RECRUITMENT PROCESS HOWEVER I HAVE TILL DATE WORKED FOR ONLY
4 ORGANISATION...
And change and shift in Job was only for a Carrer progression..
And not because of any dispute or ant unfavourable reason and circumstances.
-------------------------------
With the work profile that I have is it possible to make a CUT in top 20 B SCHOOLS with the help of Admission Consultant.
Thanking you in Advance.

Posted from my mobile device

Thanks for clarifying, sudhanshubanty! Assuming some strong accomplishments at work you'll most likely have a shot at top 20 but it's a bit hard to say without knowing more about you. It would be ideal to see a copy of your resume! I'd recommend reaching out to Claudia at claudia@admissionado.com. She can set you up with an MBA consultant who can take a look at your resume, talk through your career goals & give you a better assessment in terms of candidacy for top 20 schools. Or if you feel comfortable sharing that level of detail here that works too. Like I said, your GMAT is strong, but the adcom will also want to see the results you've driven at work -- ideally doing things like increasing revenue, decreasing costs, leading teams, etc. They also like to see extracurriculars & the impact you've had there as well -- again leading teams, etc. And of course your post-MBA goals are critical since your argument for why you need the MBA rests on those. We are definitely happy to help & can give you better direction with more of that detail!

Hello,
I am targeting the 2020 class of US Bschools (only), am yet to sit for GMAT, targeting a score of 710.
I am already an MBA from one of the top 15 Business schools in India

Two main objectives i am seeking to resolve
Questions:

1- How good is my profile for the top 20 US schools? and/or should i broaden my reach
2- shall i aim for a higher score to get an upper hand or should i work towards improving my profile.

Nationality:
India

Gender:
Female

Age: 32( at the time of joining)

Education:
MBA: CGPA of 3.4 on 4 point scale.
PG diploma in Mass comm and advertising, PU
Undergrad: BA(honours-psychology), Panjab university. 60.66 percent (have low score because of a major accident in my second year, can i say this in my essay to justify the low score)
Have been pretty active for community work in college (vice president of global study community body in my college), National Social service member for a year etc.

Professional Experience (6 years):
Have majority of my experience in branding(brand and design consulting)and advertising. Have worked with top brands as clients and the last experience was with a global advertising firm.


MBA Objective:
two fold: Get into consulting/ marketing.
Also, i am on an H4 visa, so restart my career in US

Schools:
top 20 US schools.

Thankyou for your time and help.

Hi there! Thanks for reaching out! The good news is that branding is a non-traditional applicant for someone from your demographic, so you can definitely use that to your advantage to stand out from the pack. Ideally you'll want to show some strong, quantifiable accomplishments there. Unfortuately, there are a number of challenges in your candidacy as well. Although it helps that you don't have the typical engineering/technical background, it's still extremely tough as an Indian male since it's such an overrepresented population among b-school applicants. It's also a population that tends to have very high GMAT scores -- typically 20-30 points above a school's average for any given school. Given that a 710 is going to put you at a disadvantage & make top 20 schools a reach. The existing MBA is a challenge as well. Many schools will not even accept applicants who already have an MBA, and even at schools that will accept your application you'll have to work harder to prove that you need yet another MBA.

Your age & years of experience will be a challenge as well since you're above average for both. Most schools want applicants with 3-5 years of experience upon matriculation.

Given all of this, top 20 is going to be a challenge unless you can get your GMAT up into the 740 range. That said, if part-time programs are an option for you at all (not sure if that's feasible given your current job) you would have a better shot at those. Your age & years of experience will be more on target & they are much easier to get into than their full-time counterparts. Otherwise, if 710 feels like your max GMAT I'd aim for schools in the 15-30 range.

Hi

Thanks for being open sharing your opinion on everyone's profile. We really appreciate definitely the kindness and the precious time.

I just would to get a bit of an opinion.

Overall Situation
I love my role - being M&A advisor now for KPMG in Indonesia. At the moment, I am an Associate Director - with just less than 2 years of experience. Previously spent most of my time in the Real Estate Fund Management and Acquisition business - 8 years in Singapore. Found myself loving to be more client oriented and given my Indonesian nationality - I have recently moved back to Jakarta to expand my horizon (after all it is SEA biggest economy) and cover more sectors (although still covering Real Estate). But eventually want to go back to Singapore and do similar roles.

Career wise
Always in progression - been promoted at least almost every 1-2 years. Closed couple of deals in my days as acquisition analyst and manager and contributed to company's bottom line. Being M&A advisor too, although relatively short stint, has been able to expand network in Indonesia and perform origination and land on few clienteles. Managing a team of 15 (mix of associates to assistant manager) now.

GMAT
670 1st take. Of course aiming for 700+.

Qualification
Singapore Management University - GPA 3.3/4.0 - Finance major - Good in Finance. and a CFA Charterholder

1st generation degree holder.

Total work experience
9.5 years. Not 10+ but not exactly less than 6 years. Again - already Senior Manager/ Associate Director - considered a seasoned player in the field

Age - currently 32 - likely to join in 33/34
Sadly on the older side. Spent first 4-5 years of my early career pursuing CFA.

Nationality
Indonesian

Reasons for MBA
3 reasons:

1. I wanted to do more interesting and complex deals - naturally - to be in the same function but at a better player or shop - such as Evercore, Lazard, Rotschilds OR at a global in-house Corp Devt team- not thinking of Bulge Bracket (though will be open as well), many of these shops would require MBA and the relevant network(s), prestige and connection. Hence, a good top MBA degree will definitely help me to get there. I have seen my close friends - interestingly - 3 of them are Wharton Graduates (a school that I probably have low chance) and MBA has helped them in this regard - esp. on career switching to Mgmt Consulting but at the same time to land on good network of people.

2. At the same time, I wanted to learn and future proof myself - esp. in the field of technology. I dont necessarily want to become a data scientist or a digital consultant. But I know that to move up and be a leader today - it is imperative to understand this. Hence, naturally, love to pursue MBA with MS OR Tech related

3. Being someone who also want and aim to remain in this field and in Singapore, naturally, I would like to expand my network and be more global in order to be able to facilitate cross border transaction and network. I have seen how a top MBA can play a big role in this field

My options
definitely top MBA schools (ideally the US program) - 1 year program such as Cornell is always the best given its tech option too and possibly EMBA (in this regard, I would join in later) - given where I am, I would not mind to be on a part time - something like Booth / Kellog - saw that they have programs in HK. I definitely love MIT Sloan and MSX program to be very frank. Saw the UK program too - Cambridge / Oxford - seemingly interesting given their 1 year as well - but have to check their network in this field.

Alternatively, I want to be more close to China/ HK - may consider those programs with strong US network.

I could possibly to take one year study leave from KPMG. Hence, at least by the end of my program, I may come back to KPMG as a backup - though ideally, I want to move to somewhere better.

Do you think I am realistic?

Thanks!

Hey there,

Happy to help advise! You have a super interesting background--congrats on all of your accomplishments to date. I think you have a sense that the biggest things holding you back will be your GMAT and your age--obviously you can work on the GMAT but we cant change your age I'd encourage you to apply as soon as possible (ideally round 2) and clarify your career goals a bit.

If you're set on moving into investment banking, you'll really need to complete a two year program at a top school so you can complete the summer internship (and get a return offer)! If you wouldn't mind going back to KPMG after one year and you're more interested in an MBA for access to the network and the opportunities in the future there a number of one year programs that I think would be a great fit for you. These tend to attract folks who aren't necessarily looking to switch industries, and as they're shorter in duration it's a great fit for students with more work experience. I'd look into Cornell, as you mentioned, and then Kellogg and NYU as well.

You mentioned being open to EMBA programs--one approach may be to apply to full-time programs this year and if it doesn't work out keep EMBA in mind for a few years down the road.

Best of luck!

Hi Thank Admissionado officer

I think I have just one curiosity question - if you dont mind answering - 1stly I am okay to join back KPMG (or ideally not a big bulge to be frank but more mid-sized boutique but regional player) - I hope I could definitely move up the rank by having a strong credibility on my hand. In addition, I am actually keen to also move out to Private Equity - and to your understanding, does 2 year MBA is also a typical way to move? because from what I see the PE does not necessarily have this sort of internship program, am I right?

Again sure - for typical IBs yes - the internship route is the best.. but bearing in mind my age and the type of job profile I am doing - it may be a bit tough to be back as Associate.

Thanks!

Hi levin343,

I'm following up to the response my fellow colleague had previously provided. To answer your question, while it's not as prevalent as IB, there are PE internship programs. Given your experience and age, I agree with my colleague that an EMBA program is probably a better fit for you. You will be among peers with comparable years of experience and will be able to learn more from them. Likewise, your chances for admission is also probably better since you really need to make a strong case as to why you NEED a full-time MBA to achieve your goals. As you stated, it would be tough for you to go back into an Associate role at this time, similarly the adcom may be concerned about how much you will learn from peers with average of 5 years of experience, and how you will fit in.

If you would like to discuss further, please feel free to reach out to us for a free consultation: https://admissionado.com/free-consultation/

Best,
Cindy