Hello vishaldey,

With 3 years of work experience, you are on the younger side of applicants for INSEAD. While your 720 GMAT is relatively promising for INSEAD, you could still benefit from scoring 20 to 30 points higher since you are coming from an overrepresented background.

Another way to maximize your chances is to broaden your school list. Where else are you considering applying to? These days, applicants are applying to more schools – with many in the 6+ range.

I would also like to know about your post-MBA goals and extracurricular experience to provide further guidance here. Feel free to send a note to scott@personalmbacoach.com to discuss your candidacy in more detail.

Regards,
Personal MBA Coach


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Hi everyone!

What do you think of my chances based on the profile below?

Regards,

David

My Profile:
Target Schools:
-HBS, LBS, MIT, Wharton, Yale, INSEAD, HEC Paris, Stanford

Nationality:
Czech Republic

Education:
-BA (Hons) in Business Management from a non-prestigious university in the United Kingdom
-Exchange semester in Germany
-Mentee in the University’s Mentoring Programme
-Vice-Chancellor Scholarship Award

Grade:
4.0 GPA (1st Class)

GMAT:
720

Current Role:
S&OP Manager Amazon (2 years)
-Managing Sales and Operations planning for three countries

Work Experience:
-Business Analyst Intern at a boutique Management Consulting firm in Luxembourg (return offer received)
-Supply Chain Management Intern at Amazon in EMEA (return offer accepted)
-Management Intern at Enterprise Holdings in Scotland (return offer received)

Extracurriculars:
-Pro-Bono Management Consultant working on projects for social enterprises, non profits and start-ups within NA and EMEA regions
-Winter Internship Experience in Consulting - project based
-Volunteer English Teacher in Germany and Czech Republic
-IBM Data Science professional certificate
-Numerous certificates in data analytics from Coursera, Udemy, EDx, etc.
-Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certificate
-Former member of the Czech Republic National Boxing Team
-Toastmasters Member

Skills:
-MySQL, Python, VBA, Excel, Tableau

Languages:
-Czech
-German
-English
-Slovak

Others:
-First generation degree holder
-28 years old
-white male

Post MBA Goal:
-return to Amazon as a Senior Programme Manager in Supply Chain Management -> grow to a director/VP level
-long-term: work in Ops/Supply Chain Management division in a consulting firm

Posted from my mobile device

Hi David26,

Thank you for sharing your profile. Your profile looks good on the surface. Let me evaluate your profile one by one.

Stats: Your undergrad GPA is great, and a good GMAT score. So, this part is pretty sorted for you. Make sure you demonstrate soft skills well in your apps and talk about their impacts.

Work experience: Sounds good! Your experience with Amazon will definitely help you bring out different examples of leadership and stand out. Bringing a spectacular sales growth experience will undoubtedly give you an edge. I see no red flags here. But there is a piece of advice from me for your resume building. Try to list the impact you have brought during your experience and shortlist them better and highlight only those that can help establish a clear picture of your work profile and not lose the reader/evaluator.

Ecs: Your ECs are strong. They not only demonstrate your amazing leadership and diverse interests, but they also make a powerful statement about how passionate you are about learning new things and giving back to society in every possible manner. Speaking about all these with the right passion would definitely bring diversity to your apps.

Your post-MBA makes sense, and INSEAD is a great option for consulting. All you need to do is properly articulate your post-MBA goals. For example, dig deeper to discover what gaps you see in your profile right now and how an MBA from INSEAD would help you fill those gaps and achieve your goals.

Overall, your profile is strong. I'd like to look over your profile in detail, and if we can bring out USPs that are in line with the school's values, you'll have a good chance. If you’d like, we are happy to hop on a call with you sometime this week to discuss your profile in length and further chances to the b-school. Feel free to book a free session with us as per your convenience.

How to enhance your application and maximize your chances in Round 1 for fall intake

Cheers!
Shantanu Sharma
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond
Testimonials
Email: shantanu@mbaandbeyond.com
What s app: +65-97158525





_________________

Hi everyone!

What do you think of my chances based on the profile below?

Regards,

Juan

My Profile:
Target Schools:
-IESE, HEC Paris, BOCCONI, ESADE
All in round 1 in October for September 22’ intake

Nationality:
Argentinian

Education:
-BA in Business Administration from a prestigious university in Argentina (well known locally)
- Public Accountant degree in the same business school
-Postgraduate in Management at the same school
-CFA LEVEL 1 EXAM passed above the 90th percentile

Grade:
8.1 (scale 1-10) graduated with honors

GMAT:
690
6 years of experience (7 when I start the program)
Current Role:
Equity Research Analyst at an international bank (1 year)

Previous Work Experience:
-4 years as a Credit risk analyst at the same bank
-1 year as a Trainee at the same bank

Extracurriculars:
- Helmsman, I love sailing.

Skills:
Excel, office, financial modeling

Languages:
-Spanish
-English
-Portuguese

Others:
-28 years old
-white male
- I hold a Spanish passport to work in Europe afterwords


Post MBA Goal:
- go to a more commercial role in a fintech in Europe.

Posted from my mobile device

Hi Juan (@jistel),

thanks for sharing your profile.

I have personally worked with Argentinians applying to your target schools and, at first glance, I can say you have good chances of admission at IESE, HEC Paris, and especially at Bocconi and ESADE.

At INSEAD too, at least from a stats perspective. May I ask you a few questions though?

a. What's your Q/V/IR split?

b. Do you have any international experience? Have you lived outside Argentina even if only for a short period of time (e.g. an exchange semester during college)? Or have you been frequently on international biz trips?

c. Was your move from Credit Risk Analyst to Equity Research Analyst considered an official promotion?

d. I guess your goal in Fintech in Europe is your short-term goal (i.e. immediately post-MBA). What about your long-term goal?

Feel free to share your CV with me. You can email it to me at alex@arleeconsulting.com. I would love to take a look at your career progression during those 6 years at the international bank.

Thank you very much.

Warm regards
Alex
_________________

Thanks for your response Alex
Here is the additional info
a- Q46 V38 IR6
b- no international experience living/studying abroad. However my job always involved working with people across Latam, especially my current role. I interact on a daily basis with coworkers and clients across Latam, US and UK.
C- it was definitely an upgrade since I was selected and there was a lot of competition for this role, which requires more responsibility than the previous one and I also received an improvement in my working conditions, however on my resume it stands as a change in sector.
D- my long term goal would be to start my own company to a more strategy oriented role providing consulting for startups and investing in those that could generate an impact on the world.

So you think my profile is initially also strong enough to have good chances Insead? I love that school and I know some alumni over there but I feel my 690 gmat score is on the lower end.

A retake is not a possibility with the time I have left to apply for Round 1 and, I feel this is a must since competition will be fierce this year. Do you agree?

A final question, do you think I have possibilities to get a scholarship in any of these schools despite my 690 gmat?

Thanks again Alex!

Posted from my mobile device

Hi Juan,

thanks for getting back.

A 690 is by no means on the lower end for INSEAD. More so, as a Latin American applicant. So, don't worry.

I'd be more concerned about your Q46 than about your overall score. As you may know, INSEAD recommends at least 70-75th percentile for both Q and V sections. This is not a deal-breaker, though, as plenty of applicants are accepted with lower percentiles. For example, I once worked with a client who majored in Mathematics in college and scored lower than the 50th percentile and was accepted. So, in your application (e.g. essays), try to show great quantitative skills.

I'd also be a bit concerned about your lack of international experience. So, in your application, try to leverage very well your experiences working in multicultural projects and any international travels for leisure.

In terms of Round 1 vs later rounds, it is always recommended to apply as early as possible. That being said, Round 1 and Round 2 behave very similarly, so applying in Round 2 would not be risky. More so since you come from an under-represented nationality. But if you feel like you must apply in Round 1, what you could do is submit your application and retake the GMAT before an interview decision is made. This would give you about 2-3 extra weeks to prep.

As for your last question, I do believe you have chances of getting a scholarship at any of your target schools. Just to give you a couple of recent examples from Latin American clients with below 700 GMAT scores, one was awarded 15K at INSEAD with a 680 score, and another one was awarded 25K at HEC Paris with a 690 score (similar Q/V split to yours).

I hope this helps.

Thank you very much.

Warm regards
Alex
_________________

Thanks for your advice Alex. One additional question: do my short and long term goals make sense to you? Do you see it feasible as an mba story? Or would the admissions team see it as difficult to achieve even with the mba?



Posted from my mobile device

Hi Juan,

they do make sense. Particularly, your short-term goal. As for your long-term one, it is quite common for INSEAD graduates to start their own companies 5-10 years post-graduation. So, starting your own consultancy would not look unrealistic. But, in your application, I would make sure to draw a clear line between Fintech and advising start-ups and investing in some.

The AdCom could wonder how you are going to use Fintech as a bridge.

I hope this helps.

Warm regards
Alex
_________________

Thanks again for your responses Alex, very helpful!
I’ve been thinking based on everything we talked I think I could target Insead as a reach school given it is the most international of all and I personally know some alumni there having a great experience.
Having said that and given my international goals in Europe, would you add LBS as a reach school too? Do you see my profile a good fit for LBS and to aim for scholarships?

Based on my research and your advice my top preferences would be
1-Insead/LBS
2-IESE/HEC
3- Esade/Bocconi

Even though I like all these schools I don’t see myself crafting 6 strong applications, so I would only apply to the first 4 schools for round 1.

Si you think this is a good plan?

Thanks again,
Juan



Posted from my mobile device

Hi Juan,

INSEAD and LBS are considered by many as the top schools in Europe and, generally speaking, if you have a good profile for one, chances are you also have a good profile for the other. So many people applying to INSEAD also apply to LBS and vice-versa. So, yes, I would add LBS to your target schools. LBS has many scholarships and one of them is for Latin American applicants.

Just so you know, INSEAD and LBS take a different approach when it comes to scholarships. At INSEAD, the scholarship is a separate application. Once you get invited to interview, you are given access to the scholarship application, and each scholarship you want to apply for has several essays (typically, 2 or 3). These essays are typically meant for you to show how you meet the eligibility criteria of each scholarship and to explain your financial circumstances.

At LBS, though, for most scholarships, you are simply automatically considered for them. So, there is not much you need to do.

In terms of your target list, I would definitely apply to INSEAD, LBS, HEC Paris, and IESE in Round 1. If not successful, then I would consider other schools for Round 2. Though not necessarily ESADE and Bocconi only. You could consider Said, Judge, IMD, IE... as well.

I hope this helps.

Warm regards
Alex
_________________

Profile Evaluation for MBA 2022 Intake-
GMAT: 760
Duolingo: 145
Undergrad: 9.7 CGPA in Bachelor of Commerce.
University: Lovely Professional University, Punjab
12th Grade: 92%
Work Experience: 2.5 yrs as Finance Associate in Largest Infrastructure Company of India- Promoted Twice in the period currently leading a team and managing finance of Two National Projects in India under the direct control of PM Office.
3 MOnths as a Process analyst intern in Telecom Company.
EC's - Hosted many events in Undergrad, District level Hockey Player won prizes in Undergrad, Been a part of Charitable organization for the past 5 years.
Certifications: CFA Level 1, CPMP and Online MOOC's over Analytics and Data Science.
My concern is the reputation of my undergrad university.
Hope for the Comments.
Also, Please let me know if pursuing MBA in India or in Abroad is correct for my profile.

Please review my profile for INSEAD and also let me know what all US B-Schools should I consider?
--------
Target GMAT- 720+
Gender-Female
Marital status- Single
Nationality- Indian
Age- 33 yrs.
Educational Qualification
• Bachelor's in Technology (RTU) - Information technology (4yr.) 2011 passout - 79% (topper in 2nd year & Overall score => top 1% of the batch.)
• PGDM (XIME Bangalore) - Analytics & Marketing (2yr program) 2018 batch- CGPA 6.27/8 (all 6 pointers are considered the top performers in the batch)
• Winter School from Audencia Business School, Nantes-France ( Exchange Program) - Merit-based selection for the Exchange program (during my 2 yr. PGDM)
Total Work Ex.= ~ 6.8yrs

Currently working in a French MNC, the leader in Mobility - since 2018, Joined as an MT confirmed within 6 months (generally it is a year), progressed from MT to Analyst and then to Digital Business Partner driving Digital transformation in the company. Promoted to BI specialist role in April 2021 as I have exhibited my Analytical competency while working in my previous role. I work closely with France, UK & North America.
Extracurricular In Alstom- Active volunteer in organizing Industry Seminars, Corporate outings/sessions, etc.,
Roles I have performed-
• In French MNC I have been working for last 3 yrs. - Business Intelligence Specialist & Digital Transformation [Best Performance Rating since last two years], took many cross-functional projects & tasks too. Three trips in 2 years to Company's Headquarter in Paris to present the Digital Initiative & initiate the DAP - Digital Acceleration Program
• At a small start-up for 3.8 years - Product Manager & Business Analyst [Best Performer for three consecutive years & hence promoted to Assistant Business Development Manager after which I left the job to do PGDM]

Key Achievements:-
• Organized 20+ IT literacy camps from 2008- 2011 (during my B.Tech)
• Organized 30+ sessions across 15 cities in India during my time at MLM promoting a New Career option. (during my MLM experience from 2008 to 2012)
• From 2008-2012- Promoted MLM multilevel marketing -IT program wrong ~4k people- first glimpse of my Marketing skills (along with my Bachelors I was doing MLM too)
• Led 6 months trail of my own entrepreneur concept, though it failed and hence I joined a start-up in 2012.
• Runner up in "The Hindu's- The Board Club" case study challenge.
• Placecom Experience (during PGDM)- Helped in placing 40% of the students who were left after the placement week & facilitated 30% of New Corporate tie-ups during the late placement activity season.
• At Grad. Level- I lead the Drama Club in B.Tech, Lead the C++ Club. During PGDM- I volunteered for Mocks B-Case, Lead strategist -Endorsement & fundraising plans for clubs.

Hi Artishahi,

I like your profile! You are a little on the higher side of age- which on comparing to corresponding numbers of years at work (which are lesser), I would attribute to your 2 year PGDBM. INSEAD takes in about 29% of their class above 31 years, so I think you are safe to apply. Adding to this is the fact that you have 6+ years work exp, which is well within INSEAD's range.

Your work experience with Alstom is relevant- you have risen up in the company at an avobe average pace, your work has been recognized (recommender should endorse this) and you have been given specialized responsibilities. Through this, I see some great leadership stories emerging, which is gonna help as INSEAD asks 4 questions on the career aspect. I see you will have the material to explain your 1. career progress, 2. leadership, 3. importance of your work to the company. The international exposure should be duly highlighted wherever you get the chance (in your resume, essays and recos).

I also like the fact that you have worked in a startup/ tried to start one yourself- these experience add variety to your personality, and have hopefully given you a different skill set that the one you developed at the MNC.

Some of your ECAs mentioned here are dated, so its nice to see that you have been actively involved in co-curricular initiatives at work.

To sum up, your varied experiences, international exposure and leadership outside work should call for useful insights that can serve as application fodder. It will be your onus to put all this nicely in a way that impresses!
_________________

@MBADecoder- thanks for reviewing my profile, can you suggest if I have any chances in top US B-Schools or not, especially- Wharton Kellogg & Tepper

Wharton/ Kellogg- GMAT looks a little low.
I'd be happy to discuss over a phone call and make recommendations. You can write to me through this link : https://mbadecoder.com/services/free-pr ... valuation/
_________________

Hello artishahi,

Thank you for sharing. For many top US b-schools, your chances of admission start to decrease slightly each year after the 6-year mark of work experience. That said, I would recommend applying as soon as possible since you will spend another year in the workforce before enrolling.

However, do not worry that you have slightly surpassed 6 years of work experience, as Personal MBA Coach provides comprehensive support to many more experienced professionals who gain admission to top programs by crafting a story to explain their roles to date. Also, European schools trend a bit older, so with INSEAD you will be close to the average.

Of course, a lot comes down to your GMAT and putting together compelling applications. You have some strong leadership experience via your work and extracurriculars, though I am curious to learn about your post-MBA goals since articulating these goals is a crucial part of the application process.

If you would like to maximize your chances of success, feel free to send a note to scott@personalmbacoach.com. We send a lot of folks to INSEAD and work with a lot of Indian applicants as well.

Regards,
Personal MBA Coach


_________________

Hi guys, could you kindly evaluate my profile? Thanks!


32 years (33 while starting the program)
5.5 years of work experience

Target Schools:
- INSEAD, LBS, Said, Judge, Bocconi, Kellogg 1 year.

Nationality:
Brazil

Education:
-BA in Economics from a tier-one university in Brazil
-Summer Course in Investments in the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics

GPA:
Very low - I had a very serious health issue during college, which took me 9 years to finish it. And that's why I'm 32 with 5,5 years of WE. I will address this issue in the main essays (as something that I overcame) and in the optional ones (for extenuating circumstances).

GMAT:
Not taken yet. According to my performance in the past mocks, it will be something between 660 and 680. I think I won't have time to improve my score since my wife is in the last months of pregnancy and after the kid is born I'm dead

Work Experience:
1) 3,5 years of full-time exp. in a top investment bank in support areas (intern -> trainee -> analyst)
* 1 year as a trainee (super competitive job rotation program) in strategy/product/intelligence areas,
* 1,5 year as projects analyst (some nice stats to show),
* 1 year as a strategy analyst

2) 2 years in Didi (Uber competitor, from China, but in Brazil), with one promotion
*1,5 year as an operations coordinator in the ridesharing division, leading one whole category by myself and managing 5 people (with different nationalities) - won a couple of international prizes due to high performance. One project yielded me an acknowledgment letter from a state governor and I appeared in local newspapers.
*0,5 year as strategy manager in the fintech division, managing a team of 2.

Extracurriculars:
- Volunteered for 2 years providing financial education to unprivileged adults (I went to public schools specialized in late literacy, to teach some basic concepts about finance).
- Helped an NGO in my hometown to rebuild a historical heritage building. I was part of the fundraising team.

Languages:
-Portuguese
-English
-Spanish

Others:
- First from my family to have an undergrad
- Low-income childhood
- Passionate about electronic music: I've been to 10 countries to follow my favorite DJs (don't know if it helps in the "international exposure" box), I learned mixing in a very famous dance club in Brazil and practice sometimes in my bedroom.
- I also practice indoor biking and crossfit

Post-MBA Goal:
- Short-term: Come back to Brazil as senior manager (Strategy) of a mid-sized fintech, with good chances of becoming a partner
- Long-term aspirational goal: contribute to the Brazilian financial education scene

My concerns:

1) College bad times (9 years to finish):
* Although in the range of WE, I'm a little bit above average with age.
* Very low GPA

2) Don't know if I'll have enough time to achieve a good GMAT score. I know that I won't reach Round 1 and I don't want to put Round 2 at risk. (I'm applying for the September/22 intake). I know that some South Americans can get in with a 650-ish GMAT, but I don't think they have the same concerns as I do.

Hi LeftShallot,

thanks for your sharing your profile. It does have potential.

I am going to address directly your concerns.

1) College / Age. I can kind of relate to you. While in college, I enrolled in a series of double-degrees which made my official graduation date be 9 years after I first started college. During those nine years, I obtained two bachelor's and a master's from overseas and had multiple part-time and full-time jobs. But when looking for my first job after graduation, I felt too old. So I needed to find a way to accelerate my career. So, within the first year or so at my first job, I worked really hard and managed to shift from a technical role to a more commercial one covering Latin America, and I was in charge of a couple of analysts and an intern.

So, in your case, besides addressing extenuating circumstances, what you need to do in your app is to show that, over those 5.5 years, you have made up for the late start with an impressive career trajectory. In other words, you need to show that you are not older than your peers, and you have even accomplished more than people your same age.

If you manage to do this successfully, you'll be fine. Just like I was when I applied to b-school back in the days.

2) GMAT. You're right. Plenty of Latin Americans get accepted to INSEAD with 650-ish GMAT scores. That being said, plenty of them are also rejected/waitlisted with 700+ scores. I think with a compelling story and a kick-ass application (covering the points addressed in #1), you could perfectly get accepted with a ~680 score.

Since you seem to lack a bit of international experience (at least, work-wise), stress very well everything that has to do with international travels (e.g. your exchange in Barcelona, your DJ trips, biz trips...) and working in multicultural teams.

Also, since INSEAD is looking for applicants with an international outlook, it would be recommended to mention goals that are also global/international, at least, short-term.

I hope this helps. Feel free to email me your CV at alex@arleeconsulting.com. I would love to take a look.

By the way, congrats on becoming a dad.

Warm regards
Alex
_________________

Alex, thanks so much for your answer.

Definitely I'll follow your recommendations.

1) I'll try to show that 5y after finishing undergrad I'm leading projects with a budget >10MM USD, that I managed people from different backgrounds (and even older). I was thinking to show the advantages of being a little bit older and getting through the past experiences: be a more empathetic person and leader, calmer and good at dealing with pressure. Do you think something like this is valid to say?

2) For the 680 score: I'm relieved.

You are right about the international exposure. Getting back to Brazil is what I want, but I can't disguise a good offer outside, so I'll broaden my short-term goals to other countries.

Apart from INSEAD, do you think I have some chances in the other schools I mentioned?

Thank you