Profile review

Question

Hello, I would be grateful if you could evaluate my profile below. Thank you.

Demographic:
28 year old male. Sri Lankan citizen. Minority.

GMAT:
710 (Q 49, V 38, IR 3, AWA 4)

Education:
Bachelors of Technology in Mechanical engineering from a Top Indian University
GPA: 5.56/10, which roughly translates to 2.3/4

Work experience:
After graduating in 2020, i have been managing the family business. It is a retail business which sells electrical products.
I was a sales associate and I worked really hard.
I have quite a few unique and interesting experiences which I hope to share with the adcom in essays.
Worked as a part time online math tutor for a British owned educational services company.

Extracurricular activities:
I am a member of Lions club international. (international charity Organization)
Secretary of club for two years.
I was involved in various community events like cancer awareness programs, food donations, medicine donations,
building infrastructure near hospitals etc.
During my bachelors, I participated in student events ramp walks, international student day events, played for college basketball team,
lead of baja sales team, co-founded the trading club, recruit lead for baja team (baja is building a off-road all terrain vehicle)
Awarded All-Rounder award in Toast Masters event during high school.
Highest marks obtained for mathematics, commerce among 300 students in high school.

Post MBA goal:
I want to work as a consultant for two years (to pay off all student loans), before returning back to Sri Lanka to take over my father's business.
The business only focuses on retail for now. I plan to start a manufacturing firm which produces electrical goods.

Reason for mba:
I have worked very hard and very diligently in the business for 3 years now.
I have identified my strengths, weakness but most importantly my moral alignment towards certain business decisions and ethics. I will have no chance to learn new habits if I confine myself to the business. I plan to learn from business leaders from all over the world and give back what I learnt from my experiences.

Target Schools:(full time mba)
NUS singapore, Cornell Johnson, Foster UW, Tepper CMU

Questions:
GPA
1. My GPA is low. Do i stand a chance to be admitted in these schools with that GPA. I plan to include in my essays that the GPA doesn't represent me
or my attitude towards education. I was focused solely on education during high school, so i could not improve my soft skills. When I joined university
I gave priority to developing interpersonal skills. I plan to communicate this to the admission committee. What is , in your experience with similar profiles,
my chances to get admits?

WORK
2. I work on a family business. There are no promotions or job designations like in the profiles of other applicants. Does this strengthen or weaken my application. I plan to write about the side "hustle" of selling second hand items to my father which i found cheaper online.

GMAT
3.Do i have to retake the gmat and by how much will it increase my chances( can I please get a percentage just to get a grasp

)

Considering all these, what are my chances at these universities. I plan to apply to only top 20-25 programs.
If i don't get admits, I plan to continue the family business.
Cornell has a family business program. Will that favor my application. Does the admission committee look past gpa, accolades and other things to give considerations to other desirable characters(majority of my application will be an attest of character).Is there anything in my application that is better not to tell to adcom? Do you recommend any other schools?

Thank you again

) Considering all these, what are my chances at these universities. I plan to apply to only top 20-25 programs. If i don't get admits, I plan to continue the family business. Cornell has a family business program. Will that favor my application. Does the admission committee look past gpa, accolades and other things to give considerations to other desirable characters(majority of my application will be an attest of character).Is there anything in my application that is better not to tell to adcom? Do you recommend any other schools? Thank you again

mbaMissionMichael · Answer

Hello Sidhusan and thanks for your post.
The application process is truly holistic, and committees will look at your stats (GPA and GMAT/GRE), work experience, and extracurriculars.

Your GPA is a bit low, but you can still compensate for it in other areas. Your GMAT, for example, is strong, and if you think you can do even better, I would consider retaking. If you haven’t already, I suggest taking it up to 3-4 times. You have nothing to lose since schools will only look at your highest score. And even a slight increase can boost your profile. Because of your low GPA, you may still want to illustrate to the schools that you have the academic ability to succeed in the classroom. You could showcase your quant ability in your resume, your recommenders could do the same in their recommendations, or you could even take a supplemental course such as stats or calculus. That could show you have the ability to do well in coursework.

It is hard to gauge your work experience without knowing your accomplishments and impact you have made there. Many people who work in family businesses are admitted. It will just be very important to show you have made an impact and demonstrated leadership there. Ideally this will be supported by strong recommendation letters as well, perhaps from a client. It will also be important to explain why you want your MBA, and to also illustrate the skills you already have which are transferable. Be sure your story makes sense, and is realistic and specific.

Regarding extracurriculars, make sure to really emphasize your leadership roles you have taken on, especially current ones. That can help differentiate you.

If you continue to strengthen your profile, you do have a chance at some of these schools, but they are extremely competitive, and each school simply does not have the room to admit all the world's qualified applicants. For that reason, I suggest apply to several schools, including reach, target and safety. Hopefully they will see that you have a compelling story and are someone who will add value to the classroom and community.

Good luck!

sidhusan · Answer

Thank you for the guidance sir!

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