Hi,
I would love to hear your opinion on my brief profile.

Targeting INSEAD Jan or Sept intake R1.

GMAT score: 730 (Q51, V36)

Demography: 25 years, Male Indian

Undergraduation: B.Tech from IIT Kharagpur (Top Engineering college)
CGPA: 8.91/10 (2nd rank in a class of 60)

Micro-Specialization in Engineering Systems
CGPA: 8.69/10 (Top rank in class)

Work experience (in brief):
Current total work experience of 4.3+ years:
• First 3 years at a top US based boutique management consulting firm - Worked with clients based all across the globe in countries such as USA, South Africa, Canada, Europe. Worked on 6 different engagements. Spent 1.5 years working at client headquarters in South Africa and USA. Brought saving of $150MM+ for the clients. Managed end-to-end project execution and delivery. Led meetings with stakeholders and top level executives at client offices which led to successful sign-off of multiples projects. Managed team of analysts and developers across all projects.
• 1 year at a top Indian startup in business intelligence space - Led automation initiatives across different verticals of the company. Worked with heads of different business verticals to solve business problems using data-driven solutions.
• Currently working for 3+ months at a top London based global luxury fashion retail company - Leading multiple projects which will serve the entire organisation's data quality and business insights needs.

International exposure details:
• During my tenure at the management consulting firm, I worked in headquarters of multiple clients based in South Africa and USA for 1.5 years where I lead the projects right from the concept evaluation phase to the final project delivery. All clients were based out of foreign geographies and I had to regularly interact with them across the 3 years.
• In my current job at the luxury fashion company, all my colleagues are based out of either New York, London or different offices in Portugal with whom I have to work and interact on a daily basis.
• Did 2 internships at universities in USA and Canada during college. Got selected for the prestigious Mitacs Globalink program to do research in Canada.

Extracurriculars:
• Actively involved with an NGO in India which works for the cause of women safety through the use of crowdsourced data and technology. I generate insights and information using publicly available data and the data collected from our own surveys to make Indian women more aware of their surroundings and make them feel more safe.
• I also worked with a doctor from Boston, USA to publish insights and information using data of Covid-19 pandemic from different counties to make people better informed of what's happening across the globe and give them a real picture of the present and future to help with their anxiety and mental health.
• Worked as a social volunteers in college for 2 years to teach village children and help fulfil basic needs of the people in villages
• Was the head of the department college fest, member of the placement committee, headed few other cultural activities. Won 3 medals in table-tennis competitions.

Future Goals: Want to work for a top management consulting firm where I work for clients all across the globe.

I'm really inclined towards doing my MBA from INSEAD because of its 10-12 month programme and highly global cohort and campuses, and I would like to live in Europe.

Would love to know my chances of getting an interview call from INSEAD and admit. Would also love to know between the January and September intake, which would be better for me. Also, other European or US schools that will be a good fit for me.

Looking forward to hearing your feedback,

Thanks much!

Hi rvMBAgoal

Thanks for posting. Here is our opinion on your profile:
- GMAT/GPA/undergrad is all in line. While the Indian demographic is competitive, a GMAT of 730 should be quite competitive for you.
- The international experience/awareness part is quite solid as well. No question marks here at all.
- The critical thing here will be weaving a good story in terms of your career choices, why you moved from consulting to a startup, and then a luxury retailer (and are now looking for an MBA), all in the space of 18 months. Why an MBA and why now?
- Other schools you could look at are Oxford, Cambridge, HEC, and LBS.


Hope this helps. Feel free to come back with more queries as needed, or to contact us directly through the coordinates at the signature below, referencing this thread.
_________________

Hi

Background and nationality: 30+ Russian/Romanian
Undergrad Information: Top 10 Russian finance/econ schools 3.2/4
Grad: Top 10 UK engineering schools, petroleum engineer 4/4
GMAT: 720 (I have plenty of time to retake if needed)
Work experience and leadership: 10 years of corpfin/corpdev for Russian oil giant (top 50 in Global F500) of which 5 years in Singapore, led a couple of high-caliber M&A assignments; been on career track, promoted 3 times, been awarded by CEO, shortlisted for senior leadership roles in portfolio companies (still will be able to play this card post-mba)
Community and others: within my employer led several de-carbonization, tech and operational efficiency projects with tangible quantifiable results, interned at tech VC, did 3 Ironman 70.3 triathlons and a marathon in a row in 4 months (I don't know how it can be helpful but some folks mention it), CFA lvl 3 candidate
Overall international exposure (studied or worked): European and Siberian parts of Russia, Europe, Asia/Singapore, Middle East
Post MBA goals: Consulting with emphasize on energy transition or VC in clean tech, not sure about my odds in IB
Schools:
a) I guess European schools will be the best fit for me (INSEAD, LBS) since I'm a bit older, have int. exposure and visa will not be an issue;
b) also would love to explore 1-year programs at Cornell and NYU (MBA Tech) since I'm inclined to tech/STEM and hey, NY is the center of galaxy;
c) maybe 1-year accelerated at Duke (with concentration in Energy Finance) since I have significant energy experience;
d) not much info about MIT fellows or Stanford Msx;
e) not sure about standard 2 year US MBA path, but would love to hear your suggestions.

Hi boblesponge,

thanks for your post. You have a very well-rounded profile with potential for INSEAD (and LBS).

Without knowing much about those 10 years of work experience, the 3 promotions, the senior leadership roles, and the achievements (e.g. awarded by CEO) all indicate good career progression. Though, I would love to take a look at your CV to understand better your career path.

You clearly have the international experience that INSEAD (and LBS) appreciates so much.

I also like your experience with Ironman, triathlon and marathons. Besides training and preparing for these, though, what else do you do in your free time? Do you have any community service involvement outside of work?

I have other questions for you if you don't mind:

1. How old are you? Because you did graduate studies and you have 10 years of work experience, I guess you're around 33-34? Is that right? INSEAD's range goes from 26 to 32, and the range for years of work experience goes from 3 to 8 years. If you're outside this range, don't worry. It doesn't mean you have no chances to get accepted. All you need to do is show in your application that you have accomplished much more than the average 28-29-year-old applicant.

2. When are you planning to apply? You mentioned you have plenty of time to retake the GMAT, so what intake and round are you targetting? Depending on your age, I wouldn't wait much longer.

3. What's your GMAT Q/V/IR split? Your 720 overall score is about 10 points above INSEAD's (and LBS') average so, in principle, a retake wouldn't be that necessary. I would prioritize a strong application over a few more points in your GMAT score. That being said, if you indeed have plenty of time to retake the GMAT and you are confident about increasing your score, by all means, go ahead and retake it. A higher score would also help you offset the (potential) age issue.

4. What is your long-term goal? I'm assuming consulting, VC or IB are your immediate post-MBA goals.

As for US schools, your age could potentially be a vulnerability, especially for traditional 2-year Top MBA Programs. But I would def try the Duke Accelerated MBA, NYU Tech MBA and Cornell 1-Year MBA.

I hope this helps.

As I said, I would love to take a look at your CV (or LinkedIn profile). Feel free to share it directly with me at alex@arleeconsulting.com.

Thank you very much.

Warm regards
Alex
_________________

27 year old Indian woman here.

\(Stats\)

GMAT Score: 740 (Q:50, V:40, 97 percentile)

Undergrad GPA: 8/10

Grad GPA: 6.7/7 (2nd in a class of 120)


Why I want an MBA: I have experience in IT/Finance and want to pivot into Strategy Consulting or General Management and am keen on an international study experience.

Why I want one now: I have always had an interest in the the process management space. I have been working as a business analyst where I am part of the implementation of a digital strategy in the organisation for over 3 years which led me to an interest in strategy in general. I want to learn and explore this new but related field.

Background

Work experience: 3.5 years (1 promotion) as a Business Analyst in a global financial services firm with a focus on technology platforms

Extra curriculars and other experience:

Part of a Leadership Prep program at work
Part of Digital Innovation Initiatives at work
Part of the site-level (1000+ employees) employee engagement and communications workgroups at work
Head of the Alumni Committee at Grad School

Undergrad school/major: Bachelor of Engineering in Information Technology

Other education/coursework: Master of Management Studies with a focus on Information Systems

Hi everyone! Firstly, best of luck to everyone who is applying to INSEAD and congratulations to those who have already secured an admit. We are two incoming MBA candidates at INSEAD. Last year, when we were in the middle of our application process, we had a lot of questions about the school but not enough avenues to find the answers. We wanted to bridge this gap and, at the same time, relieve some of the stress and uncertainty the pandemic has caused in the minds of prospective MBA candidates. This is how our YouTube channel 'Role Call' was created!

Role Call presents its first live fireside chat 'Pursuing an MBA in Challenging Times' tomorrow, Sunday (22nd November) at 3PM GMT (10AM EST, 8.30PM IST, 11PM SGT). Our guest is an INSEAD alum, Sharath Jeevan, who graduated from INSEAD during the dot com bubble burst. He is one of the world's leading experts on intrinsic motivation and on how to apply motivation thinking to address our deepest problems. If you are an incoming or aspiring MBA candidate and you are feeling the burn of uncertainty all around, this session will nudge you to form a unique perspective. To register for the event, Please visit https://rb.gy/be4sju .

Dear all,

Would you know if anyone who has been admitted to INSEAD with an Integrated Reasoning of 5?

Thank you for your answers

mimosa

Hi mimosa1712,

May I know your main concern? We have some recent INSEAD admits, can help you connect with someone!

Shantanu Sharma,
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond

Hi,

I could really use a profile evaluation favor. I would like to know whether I am a good fit for this school and for which schools I may be a good fit. Thanks in advance!

Nationality:
Georgia (European country, not a state!), was born here and currently based here.

Age at the start of studies:
27 (if I apply in January for R2)
28 (if I apply for 2022 intake)

Undergrad information:
Bachelor of Arts in Economics from an average private university in Warsaw, Poland. GPA around 4.8/5.

GMAT:
730 (Q49, V40); IR 6; AWA 6.0
I’ve canceled the first test result.

Work experience and leadership:
Current: For the past 3.5 years I’ve been working at the LSE listed FTSE 250 constituent top bank in Georgia. For the last 1.5 years I’ve been the head of regional corporate investment banking team. Started out as a junior banker.
Current: Board member at the medical non-profit society, responsible for creating the biggest annual international conference of anesthesiology in Georgia.
Past: AML analyst for 1.5 years at Citibank in Warsaw, Poland.

Extra curriculars:
Passed CFA Level 2 Exam, targeting Level 3 exam in May 2021.
2011-12 Finalist of US Department State funded Future Leaders Exchange Program, via which I went to the USA and studied at a US high school for one full academic year, on full scholarship and a stipend.
2014 Participated in Startup Weekend by Google in Warsaw and won a symbolic prize.
2014 Participated in Erasmus Intensive Program when I was in Warsaw. I led the team in Portugal where we simulated the launch of a business for 10 days.
2019 Participated as a panel discussion speaker at Krynica Economic Forum with top finance executives, we spoke on FinTech and digital banking.

Post MBA goals:
Private equity shop or venture capital would be a dream come true. Otherwise, investment banking preferably with GS, MS or top tier boutiques.

Languages:
Fluent Georgia, English, Russian
Conversational Polish

Recommendation letters:
Will be able to get recommendation letters from the top management of the bank I work for. Some of the recommenders are top 20 bschool alums.

Target schools:
Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Booth, MIT, Yale, Cornell.

Hi raindr0p,

I saw your profile at various forums and will give a collective evaluation.

You have got a great profile, I can see certain amazing elements in your profile. Let's go step-by-step.

- Stats: Quite amazing. You have shown your potential through many great examples and considering your background, it should be a good score with all your target schools.

- Work-ex: From the details that you've provided, I can see a good career trajectory and I believe you can present many good leadership stories out of your experience. I would like to know your impact on the companies. Plus, you've got great recommenders. I will suggest you also get letters of support from the respective schools' alum after application. It can complement your apps well.

- ECs: You are an achiever! I can see some wonderful things, for example, your participation in the Erasmus program, then your role as a board member in a non-profit. You should highlight your motivation and purpose behind these actions in the apps.

Overall, you have a fair shot at the schools you've mentioned. But keep a well-researched portfolio of schools to target. Try avoiding those schools with which your values and goals can not resonate. Also, if you're thinking to work in Europe post-MBA, you may consider INSEAD and LBS which provide great opportunities for a career in PE/VC. If you'd like, we are happy to hop on a call with you to discuss your profile at length and help you shortlist schools. Feel free to book a free session with us as per your convenience.

Cheers!
Kashish Garg,
Community Manager, MBA and Beyond

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

Thanks a lot for your time! What do you mean by letters of support? Is it something different from the letters of recommendation? And how do they work?
And also, how likely is it to get PE/VC jobs after the graduation? I've heard it's extremely hard if not impossible.