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hilaire
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Joined: 08 Feb 2011
Last visit: 30 May 2013
Posts: 7
Own Kudos:
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Given Kudos: 6
Affiliations: > ITAngels member (Business angel club)
Location: Paris (France)
Concentration: Entrepreneurship - Private equity - Innovation & tecnologies - Product & Design
Schools: Insead '13 (S) Stanford '15 (D) Haas '15 (D) Stern '15 (II) Sloan '15 (D)
GMAT 1: 650 Q41 V30
Posts: 7
Kudos: 2
Profile Evalution - Targetting a B school in california 08 Feb 2011, 08:50
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Hello All,

this is so exciting to start blogging about MBA. I am starting my application for different B-Schools.
I have a master in international business & Marketing from a French school called ISG or ISM in english.
I joined the multinational program and got certificates from :

Temple university - Tokyo, Japan ( 3 Months)
Jiao Tong university - Shanghai, China. (2 months)
St John's university - NYC, USA. ( 6 months)

I started working in 2008 in a small start up called Mobile Tag, specialized in mobile application & web platform development to decode & control 2D barcodes. I am still working for it as a business development manager.
I've worked with multiple Mobile network operators. We raised 4 millions euros in 2008 and we just finished a new funding round that is almost the double. We created an office in Atlanta and signed a major contract with At&t to roll out a country scale 2D barcode solution. Look for At&t code scanner on the Appstores & you will find us ).

I want to join a californian MBA for multiple reasons :

> I love working In new technologies & start ups
> I am now very interested in Venture capital, Private equity & entrepreuneurship
> I am myself investing money in small start ups as a "Business angel"
> California is still the best place on earth for any kind of web or technology based start up / Investment.


GPA : Even If the french system does not use GPA, I think to be around 3.2 or 3.4.
Gmat : not passed yet - Estimation = 670 or 690 at best.

Associations :

Member of ItAngels business angel club in Paris.

I am targetting USC, UCLA, Berkeley and (for the dream :-) ) Stanford as a former Stanford MBA student will recommend me. I definitely love UCLA & Berkeley.

How do you think I will do for these schools ? Do you see any other schools ? even not in california ?

If I am posting in the wrong area of the blog, please tell me !

Thank you,

Hilaire
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bakfed
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Profile Evalution - Targetting a B school in california 08 Feb 2011, 12:26
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Hi hilaire, I think you have quite an interesting profile and with that, should have a pretty interesting story to tell the admissions committee. Looking at your numbers, Anderson and Haas should be the schools that you focus on the most (application-wise). Stanford, obviously, will be a big stretch, but if you're keen on applying there, go for it! Marshall should be relatively easier to get in given your information. The thing with Haas and Anderson is that they both have a very high average GPA, and their average GMAT scores are also comparable to those in the ultra-elites, such as Harvard and Wharton. I'll use your 3.2-3.4 as a gauge and a 670-690GMAT score to determine your candidacy. Both of these ranges are somewhat below both of the averages provided by the schools. Having said that, you'll need to be able to come up with clever ways to speak up about your reasons, your candidacy, your experiences to these schools to show fit, personality, background, and academic ability. Try your best to hit over 720 on your GMAT and you will greatly increase your chance to gain admissions to Haas and Anderson instead of a 680. Best of luck!!
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hilaire
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Joined: 08 Feb 2011
Last visit: 30 May 2013
Posts: 7
Own Kudos:
2
Given Kudos: 6
Affiliations: > ITAngels member (Business angel club)
Location: Paris (France)
Concentration: Entrepreneurship - Private equity - Innovation & tecnologies - Product & Design
Schools: Insead '13 (S) Stanford '15 (D) Haas '15 (D) Stern '15 (II) Sloan '15 (D)
GMAT 1: 650 Q41 V30
Posts: 7
Kudos: 2
Profile Evalution - Targetting a B school in california 09 Feb 2011, 03:31
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Dear bakfed & All,

thank you for your quick answer.
In deed you are right, I should try to target the best possible gmat score.

Stanford is in deed way above the pack ...I'll see if it's worth taking the time to apply VS focusing on Berkeley & Anderson.

Besides these schools, do you see any other schools, even on the east coast, that could match with my interests ?
HKUST, Stern ? Others ?

Thank you !!

Hilaire
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bakfed
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Profile Evalution - Targetting a B school in california 09 Feb 2011, 08:58
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Well, if you want to work in the states, you probably should scratch HKUST off the chart. There are a ton of schools on the east coast that may potentially match what you want to do. Private equity is a hard field to get into and most enter it through some sort of an ibanking job (trading, acquisition, whatever it is). Columbia, NYU, and Chicago Booth are all great finance schools that you should look at.
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hilaire
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Joined: 08 Feb 2011
Last visit: 30 May 2013
Posts: 7
Own Kudos:
2
Given Kudos: 6
Affiliations: > ITAngels member (Business angel club)
Location: Paris (France)
Concentration: Entrepreneurship - Private equity - Innovation & tecnologies - Product & Design
Schools: Insead '13 (S) Stanford '15 (D) Haas '15 (D) Stern '15 (II) Sloan '15 (D)
GMAT 1: 650 Q41 V30
Posts: 7
Kudos: 2
Profile Evalution - Targetting a B school in california 10 Feb 2011, 10:23
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Yep, you are right for HKUST, but they have very good international partnerships.
Asia is growing fast and I might have very good opportunities there !

Thank you for your advices.

I'll keep working on my Gmat,

Kr,

Hilaire
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bakfed
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Status:Darden Class of 2013
Schools:University of Virginia
GMAT 1: 660 Q44 V37
Posts: 1,768
Kudos: 1,245
Profile Evalution - Targetting a B school in california 10 Feb 2011, 11:26
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Don't get me wrong - HKUST is an awesome school. However, the push for HKUST is mainly in the Asian countries, which have some very strong growth right now (obviously, look at China, Taiwan, Malaysia, etc). But if you want to work in the states, an MBA from HKUST is going to make it harder for you to find a job here.