Ross Profile Evaluation - Tools for B-School Profile Evaluation

Hello SameerSid0410,
Your WE is impressive and will definitely help you distinguish from other candidates. You have demonstrated leadership and worked in leadership roles in the startup, and you should have lots to talk about in the essays from there.
In your EC, try to stress on how your passion has helped others. For example, if have you taught children learn football that could be one way in which you have contributed to the community. Most often than not, we have better ECs than we realize. AdCom want a rounded personality and love to see the social impact you have created beyond your personal development (mentoring kids to learn football versus football being a recreational activity). The given pandemic provides you ample opportunities to bolster your profile in this regard. You can learn more about this, from the article in the link: https://ruchipandeconsulting.com/the-world/.
It is good you have a company name in mind for post-MBA goals. Check if they recruit at your target schools. However, what you should talk about more is how you will contribute to Khan Academy after you graduate than still learning from there (not that you cannot talk about it). I do not see any difference in your ST and LT goals. In what capacity do you want to work at Khan? Product Manager role cannot be an LT goal. You will have to take a look at your goals again. It is something you will be able to join right after MBA. Also, mention what you would like to do at Khan. Another question that you may want to ask yourself is why MBA? Aren’t you getting PM roles in your current organization? You are leaving an industry that is particularly booming in this current pandemic. Considering your profile, it is something that you would be already doing in some capacity (enhancing product features) and much beyond.
Ross, based on my experience, prefers candidates with high GMAT scores. So you can work at improving that, if you can. A score of 750+ will make your profile competitive for Ross though you can still apply with a 720. It will also benefit you to increase your GMAT for your other target schools.
Kellogg and Haas are a good choice with Kellogg having a Technology Management pathway and Haas being preferred choice for applicants wanting to pursue tech roles.
The last tip I have for you is to work on crafting a strategic application, thinking hard how you have made impact at work and taking a re-look at your ST LT goals. The way you represent yourself through your essays will be critical to your success.
Hope this helps. If you have any further questions, feel free to write.

Requesting a profile review

*Background*

Overview:
I’m looking to bring a strong sense of purpose in my career by transitioning fully to social impact. I’ve always wanted to go into social impact full-time, but I needed to build a niche and valuable skillset before doing so. Regarding marketable skills, I feel ready now, but I need an MBA to help me transition.

Work experience:
I'm currently a Product Manager in Internet Business in a Multinational Telecommunications company. I have 5.5 years of full-time experience, all in Telecommunications product management. The firm I work for is one of the top ones in my country, Bangladesh, and is a part of the 10th largest mobile network operator in the world. I've gotten regular, formal awards (Marketing Award for six quarters out of the twelve quarters of my employment till date + Employee of the month multiple times) at work and my portfolio has increased with time. I can back my achievements with solid numbers.

Some career highlights
- Successful completion of 1-month international assignment & placement in HQ
- Former Management Trainee with fast track progression to Managerial role, within only 2.5 years of my career
- Project Manager for the first telecom merger in Bangladesh
- Product Manager for Facebook's Freebasics program in Bangladesh, which focuses on giving internet connectivity to the bottom of the pyramid, launching it for the first time in my country

On the side, I'm a director at my family business which focuses on government and non-profit sector consulting. I do business advisory for non-profits, and one of these non-profits was founded by a Harvard Kennedy alum and an Oxford Said MBA alum. My area of expertise is "mobile tech & communications for development".

Extracurriculars:
During my undergrad, I won multiple international & national awards in social entrepreneurship competitions. One of that was GSEC organized by the University of Washington's Foster School of Business. My team had beat out MIT in that competition. I was also awarded by Nobel Peace Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, for winning Yunus Centre's social entrepreneurship idea competition. I've coordinated nationwide charity drives back in my undergrad, 100+ people reporting to me.

Other coursework:
I finished MBA Math and I scored 100% in all of the MBA Math courses.

Nationality: Bangladeshi

Sex: Male

*Stats*

GRE & TOEFL Score:
My GRE total is 328, with a breakdown of 169 in Verbal, 159 in Quant, 4.5 in AW. I'm also done with my TOEFL with a 113/120.
I plan to resit the GRE to raise my Quant, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to make the time for it.

Undergrad GPA:
I graduated from the best business school in my country. My alma mater has alums in top business schools all over the world, including the business schools that I plan to apply to.

My 3.13/4 CGPA (Major- Finance) is measly though. I dived into ECAs during my first two years, achieving great success at the expense of my academics. Reprioritized and did very well in academics during my third year. During my fourth year, I contracted Hepatitis E just before my final exams, and my CGPA took a nosedive. My last year’s GPA was 3/4 versus my third year’s GPA of 3.7/4. I had the choice of postponing my studies for a year or taking a bad hit to my CGPA, & I chose the latter due to financial reasons. Anyways, even after taking my horrible fourth year in account, my last two years' CGPA is 3.35/4, so there is an upward trend there.

*MBA Info*

Goal of MBA:
Working in social impact on the side has actually inspired me to enter social impact full-time post-MBA, perhaps joining my family's business on a full-time basis, and/or starting a sister organization to the family business focused on my area of expertise. My area of expertise, Telecommunications, is very important for social impact in my country, Bangladesh. Our internet connectivity is almost entirely mobile communications dependant.

Working in a large private organization has not given me the training I need to embark on an entrepreneurial venture or engage full-time in expanding a family business. I need an MBA to make me ready.

Hi Naseef,

I just have evaluated your profile for Oxford and would love to do it for Ross. I have given feedback on the aspects of your profile that you should highlight. Your stats are fine for Ross too, though having a higher score may enhance your chances of getting a scholarship. You have done a course in MBA Math, so that should also work for you. For Ross, try to highlight the following:

Awareness: Ross wants its students to be aware of what they are and what they can bring to the table, that they may not have moved mountains in their personal and professional life but must be knowing their life experiences and how they helped them shape their characters now.

Impact: A quality it highly emphasises is your impact on the work, your achievements there and the leadership role you have played.

Teamwork: A Ross student should be capable of thriving as a team, giving weightage to the group, and letting others contribute too.
I would suggest you be very humble and down to earth while exemplifying the self-awareness quality in your essays. Also, try to mention what qualities you feel are lagging in you to start a venture and how a particular school will help you achieve the same (mention curriculum, projects, clubs of that school in this part). What’s going to matter most in your application is how you connect all the dots and build a great story. 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,
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond
Schedule a free session

Background and nationality- Indian male, 24 year old, B.Tech

Undergrad Information- B.Tech from Delhi College Of Engineering, GPA- 4 (as per WES)

GMAT: 730 (Q50, V38)

Work experience and leadership: 26 months ( Currently at Paytm Mobiquest for past 4 months, earlier at Urban Company for 8 months as Category Manager (General Management role), and as Junior Research Analyst at McKinsey & Co. for 14 months)
In McKinsey, handled international clients, successfully piloted a new project for South East Asia.
At the time of joining, work ex will be around 36 months

Community and others - Entrepreneurship stint during College (funded by Government of India), Lead volunteer and OC member at Startup Jalsa (India's biggest startup conference) for 5 years, Working with a local NGO in Chandigarh during the times of COVID, Logistics manager for an event called 'The Largest Plantation' which made a world record of planting 300,000 trees in 2 hours near Delhi

Post MBA goals - Short term : PM at a tech-giant (Apple, Microsoft, Google), Long-term: moving back to India and starting my own venture

Anything else- National Level badminton level in school, several olympiads winner in school, Core OC member at college's literature festival

Hi, and thanks for writing! Since you're relatively young and you've been at your current role for only 4 months (and only 8 months at your previous role) I think it'll be better if you wait until next year to apply and build up some experience/accomplishments at your current role - plus, since you're applying from a heavily represented applicant pool, Round 1 is better. Additionally, given that competition is fierce for Indian applicants, with the extra time I even recommend boosting your GMAT if possible. In the meantime, also continue with your community involvement, which is shaping up very well so far and will give you the potential to demonstrate your leadership skills as well.

Hope that helps!

Hi,

Would really appreciate a profile evaluation folks.

Male - Pakistan, 29. Will be 30 by the time I start the program next Fall.

BBA, 3rd Ranked B-School in the country GPA 3.3/4
MBA, From a Top 2 business school in the country, GPA 3.06/4
GMAT - 750
CFA Level 1 and 2 passed.
I am hoping my GMAT and CFA Level 1 and 2 can compensate for the lower GPA?
Extra Curr: Have been President of various societies in university, and involved in a lot of charity work as well. Also have been the founding member of official supporters club of an England based football team in Pakistan. Years of handwork and pure dedication have gone into it, and the community is still running strong.

WE: 5 years by Fall 21 (All in Pakistan)

16 months with a Digital Media Start Up. Started off as a Marketing Analyst, and got a promotion within 6 months.
Associate Markets & Deals, 9 months with a Fortune 500
Financial Sales Analyst, US based Forbes Cloud 100 company. 7 months.
15 months at a gaming start up. Here I was responsible for scaling the product and the entire strategy formulation.
Currently working as an Account Manager for a US based Insurance Company in their Pakistan office. Just started 2 months ago.

My biggest concern is the hopping I did in my 2nd and 3rd job (9+7 months) and if it would come back to haunt me? I blame my ambitious self for it, since I really felt I couldn't grow in those roles, and switched jobs frequently. I would also be willing to wait another year and start in Fall 2022 instead if my job consistency would be a problem for the adcoms.

Reasons for doing a 2nd MBA are simple. The Pakistan MBA experience happened when I was too young. Most of what I learned in class was pure theory that I couldn't connect with, as there was no work experience to set the context. Students, especially in Pakistan jump on the MBA bandwagon right after completing their undergraduate degree, and I did the same. It is also very common for universities to select students for their MBA program with no prior work experience.

Secondly, and most importantly, while I have worked in international firms in Pakistan, my aspirations are no longer limited to Pakistan only. The 2-year Pakistan MBA degree hasn't helped in taking the leap into the international arena. Hence, an MBA from a top global B-school would be passport to a truly global career.

Post MBA goal is to get into Tech or Management Consulting ideally in London or Dubai.

Will really appreciate honest feedback. Thanks in advance!

Hi experts,

Please check my profile for the evaluation, appreciated!
Given the GMAT 700 score, i would like to seek you advise whether I'm suitable for S16 and have a good chance to get in? I'm targeting US S16 and UK LBS, Insead and Cam. Thanks a lot!

Profile：
- 31yo Asia Woman
- Double bachelors of Mathematics and Economics: 88/100
- Master of Science in Investment Management: 3.8/4
- Certified FRM
- GMAT: 700 (Q51 V31)

Work experience and leadership:
Total 9y exp
in Mainland China
• (Fresh Graduate) 2y in a Forbes Top 100 TMT company in house Credit Quantitative Analyst; One promotion.
Relocate to Hong Kong:
• 3.7y in one of the world leading Credit Rating agency’s Analytics Advisory Team; Frequent travel for onsite delivery of customized Credit risk advisory services in SEA and Greater China, Client are all leading Financial Institutions in Asia; Got promoted after 1.5y to Assistant Director and Acted as Project Manager for multiple projects in SEA and China. Got “Merit” for performance when left.
• 1.3y in a US leading software company, served as the Risk Product Manager (presales consultant) leading the Greater China Risk business, brought the risk business from 0 to over 2mioUSD annual subscriptions, got the Asia 1st and worldwide 2nd new deal with a big Asian Insurer.
Move from vendor industry to FI (still in Hong Kong):
• (current employer) 2y in a HK life insurer under a Forbes top 500 insurance group with title VP; Build up from scratch and lead the Credit Analysis and analytics team under Investment Function, directly report to Head of Investment. Look after portfolios mainly covers USD bonds, US Private Credit, US securitization and Structured products; One promotion.


Post MBA goals:
- ST goal: Leverage on the mixed backgrounds of quant and knowledge in insurance investments, as well as the communications in the real money investor universe, move to Fund Investor relations and Fund raising, or capital introduction, solution team in a ibank;
- LT goal: leadership role in a FI;

Anything else?
- Would like to seek advise whether 1y or 2y MBA program is a better catch, if the ST goals is to have several years of working exposure in a different location?
- Any recommendation on programmes favoring more experienced candidate?

Hi Hlx311,

Your profile looks great. Your stats are very sorted (Though GMAT is lower than the S16 average but your background and work-ex compensates for it). Your work-ex is great with amazing leadership experience and big names for your CV right after graduation. You have had great impact on the organizations you have been part of with many promotions and career recognitions. Overall, I see a good experience except that I do not find much international experience beyond Asia. Have you travelled anywhere out of Asia or got the chance to interact with global clients? International experience becomes important for schools like LBS, Insead which suits better to your profile.

Also, I do not find any ECs or community involvement. With this huge experience, you should be able to show some in your application. So, overall, you have a competitive profile but US schools generally tend to have younger candidates and so you will need to shortlist some based on your background and experience. Also, I believe 1-year program will be a better option for you and so LBS, Insead etc would suit better to your profile. One major task for you is to, first, shortslist schools smartly. If you'd like, we are happy to discuss your profile and goals at length and help you in deciding your 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,
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond
Success stories and Real essays
Email: shantanu@mbaandbeyond.com
Linkedin

Hi Kashish,

thanks for the reply!
Regarding the international experience out of Aisa, i've travelled to Poland and Bahrain in my first job for client DD. And I can share more with my EC and or community activties with you via email, hope you can prorvide more on the school selection.

Thank you.

Sure Hlx311. You can mail ur CV, GMAT score, schools you wish to target (any location preference etc), any major community service/hobbies you are involved in and any other relevant info at shantanu@mbaandbeyond.com or kashish@mbaandbeyond.com. We are happy to help you

Hi all,

Request to evaluate my profile for the college.
Mentioned below are my details.
Also, if someone could guide me which other schools (Outside India)
should I be targetting as per my profile,it would of huge help.
Thanks in advance.

Personal Details: 32 M (Indian)

Academic:

GMAT- 710 ( Q-49, V-36)
B.E. (Mechanical Engineering) from Delhi College of Engineering(Ranked in Top 10 Colleges in India for Engineering)- 68.4%(2010)(Top 10% in Batch)
12th (CBSE)- 67.6%
10th (ICSE)- 92.4%(District Topper)
Ex-student of Super-30,Patna


Professional:

8 years of work experience - 5 years in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd.(Maharatna Public Sector Unit)

Product and Application developement of Industrial and Automotive Lubricants through market research,lube surveys,field trials of new and existing products.
Resolution of field complaints in co-ordination with sales team across India.
Obtaining product certifications and approvals from customers.
Lab management through co-ordination with quality and assurance team.
Co-ordination with Sales/Marketing team to achieve business plan.
Conducting technical training sessions for top OEMs and partners.
Deputed as the one of the first Techno-Commercial Managers in the organisational restructuring.
One of the top performers on fast track promotions.
Briefly involved in role of Sales and Marketing in Northern India.

3 Years with a Lubricant Service(Oil/gas sector)Company- VAS Tribo

Supervision of Maintenance activities related to Lubrication at plants.
Monitoring of field complaints and resolution by providing technical support.
Consulting in Lubrication Program developement for various clients across automotive,cement,paper,fertilisers industries.
Conducting Training sessions for customers and developing Sector-specific training modules for industries.
Co-ordination with Noria,USA our USA Partners and German Global Team for Lubricant Testing and conducting training sessions.
Co-ordinating with Sales and Marketing team to achieve business plan.

Trainings/Certifications:

Advanced Machinery Lubrication by Noria Corporation.
Startup India Learning Program By Invest India, Government Of India
Strategy Consulting Virtual Experience Program by Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
Crash Course in Data Science by John Hopkins University SAIS Online.

Extra-curriculars:

Author in India's only Lubrication and Reliability magazine.
Inter-SBU Cricket Tournament player at BPCL.
Volunteer Teacher at Super-30 Patna
Interest in Foreign Diplomacy and International politics.

Post-MBA Goals:

Consulting in Oil/Gas/Energy Sector but not necessarily limited to this sector.

Hi Spriyam,

Your overall profile looks good. Let's go step-by-step in evaluating your profile:

- Your stats seem good overall. Though they are not extraordinary, I believe a 700+ score is good and the other parts of your profile should compensate for it not being "excellent".

- Now for your work-experience, I can see your cross-functional role for various regulation issues as well for strategy and business development. This exhibits your interest in the business. Also, there are some visible achievements like being one of top performers. I feel your 8 years of experience should speak some great leadership experience and huge impacts but your communication of the work-ex here does not clearly speak these experiences. I can not see a career trajectory here like your positions at the two companies and what were your promotions in the current company. So, overall there can be extraordinary points but I can not see them here.

- Your ECs look great. You may speak of the impact you've had as a mentor at Super-30 Patna and about your interests which are quite different and can give a unique blend to your profile.

I am missing details of your career goals and why you want to do an MBA. We can have a discussion over your work-ex and career goals and then I'll be at a better position to suggest you schools fitting your profile. Feel free to book our calendar 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

Hi

I'm an Indian Male applying to MBA programs this year.

GMAT: 720 (Q49/V40)
GPA: 7.75/10 (Distinction)
Undergrad- B-Tech in Electronics and Communication from NIT Surat
Experience- 42 months currently
7 months, marketing and sales in Zomato (India's leading FnB platform)
22 months, Business Analyst at ZS Associates
13 months- Assistant Manager at upGrad (India's highest online education platform)
Post MBA Goals- Strategy Consulting
Extracurricular- Been involved in educational initiatives, workshops and seminars for 5+ years, counseled more than 5,000 kids across the country. Head of campus press and convener of the college fest. Active quizzer. National Award winner for creative writing.

Please evaluate my profile for Michigan Ross.

Hey everyone, I'm planning to apply to Ross in R2 taking advantage of the GMAT waiver. It would be great if someone can evaluate my profile and give me advice on what to do to make my profile look stronger.
Background and nationality: Indian, Male, 28.
Undergrad Information: B.Tech Chemical Engineering with specialisation in Petroleum Downstream sector from a not-so-renowned but a prominent energy specific institute in India. CGPA:8.06/10 (Top10% in my batch, but have no proof. Can I highlight it somewhere in my application?) Have qualified IIT-JEE in 2011 (ranked among top 2% among half a million applicants but did not take admission in an IIT.
GMAT: As mentioned above, requested and received GMAT waiver.
Work experience and leadership: Have been working as a Process Engineer in LNG sector (O&G industry) in the fastest growing and largest LNG infrastructure company in India, Petronet LNG. I handle end-to-end plant operations including process control, supervision of maintenance activities, troubleshooting etc. Also involved in giving technical suggestions and executing projects related to process debottlenecking and improving production capacity.
Total WE: 6 years by July,21. Received 2 promotions in the span of 5 years, which is unprecedented in my company (not sure how to highlight it in my application).
Have led cross-functional brownfield projects during my tenure and saved a few million in operational costs for my company. Have taken up leadership roles in community service during as part of Petronet LNG's CSR activities (again not sure how to highlight it. Have mentioned briefly about it in my resume).
Post MBA goals: Want to work as a Program Manager in tech industry and leverage my operations management experience. Want to focus on energy optimisation in my future company along with streamlining business processes.
Anything else? I was the President of a Student Chapter in my senior year and had pioneered my institute's maiden national- level tech fest since years its establishment. The fest has since become a tradition. Also, worked towards upgrading nearby community during college. I'm mentioning both these stories in my essays for Ross.

Applying to Ross because I believe Tauber institute would give me the resources and opportunity to get into the tech sector and in the role that I'm looking forward to.

Thanks for reading,
Sonesh.

Hey ssonesh,

Your profile is very impressive with a strong work experience. You have remarkably shown career progression and contributed to your organization. Your record with a mix of leadership positions makes your case quite strong as b-schools prefer the candidates who have held leadership positions or have displayed leadership characteristics. The fact you held a president post at undergrad level further strengthens this point and highlights that you had developed leadership traits at a very early stage.

Your work-ex indeed good and ECs support your profile very well too. But I insist on providing me with more information with respect to your undergrad score, hobbies and interests as it will help me to make a more informed evaluation.

Regarding your essays, in my opinion, they should highlight why you are a perfect fit for Michigan Ross. Along with, you must also bring forward your personal experiences or leadership experiences from your past. For instance, you can have a look at an essay of one of your admits here: https://www.mbaandbeyond.com/mba-testim ... cess-story

The concerned admit is a Petroleum Engineer as well. His review and essay may be of some help to you.

You may consider applying to other colleges which have waived off GMAT/GRE requirement: https://www.mbaandbeyond.com/blog/top-f ... thout-gmat

Feel free to connect to us for any help or query.

Regards,
Shantanu Sharma,
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond
Schedule a free session
Email: shantanu@mbaandbeyond.com
What s app: +65-97158525
Call: +49-15212121641
Linkedin

Thank you so much MBAandBeyond for evaluating my profile.
My undergrad CGPA is mentioned in my previous post. (8.06/10).
I have specific interest in yoga and have been practising it for 4 years now.
My main concern is I feel I am not able to properly highlight all my achievements in my application. But I'll try my best to include as much as I can.

Sonesh.

Hey ssonesh!

Commencing the profile evaluation with your academic background, I would like to start off by saying that you have a strong academic background. Your GPA of 8.06 highlights your academic prowess while your program in college enables you to add diversity into the cohort by providing valuable insights into the energy sector.

Moving on to your work experience, you have almost 6 years of work experience in the LNG sector which is quite competent for the MBA program. However, you should be mindful of the fact that you’d be competing with the applicants from big brands in the sector such as Cheniere Energy, ExxonMobil, Chevron, etc. Hence, it becomes imperative to negate the lack of big brand names, by talking about the kind of projects you have undertaken, the impact you created, and your career progression with major learning takeaways that would definitely showcase the quality of your work and establish you as no less than a big4 candidate.

Further, on the note of extracurriculars, you must be cognizant of the fact that schools seek applicants having a holistic profile. Therefore, your involvement in the CSR initiatives of the company showcases your empathetic skills and your caliber to create a positive impact on society by utilizing your skills. Your stint as the president of the student chapter of your college society vouches for your leadership skills while your involvement in the tech fest highlights your communication and project management capabilities. All in all, I would say that you have a holistically developed profile in this aspect.

Given your school choice, Michigan Ross is a competitive school which means that it has an acceptance rate of 17-20% which makes your chances of acceptance into its program anywhere between 50-60%. However, while applying to foreign B-schools, it’s never a good strategy to apply to only one school. You should always hedge your bets wisely and apply to a good mixed bunch of 6-8 schools. Therefore, given your profile, you can target schools such as Vanderbilt, Darden, Wisconsin, Texas McCombs, Georgia Tech, etc.

Another aspect that you should be acquainted with while applying to B-schools is the importance of a strong application. Since you are from an engineering background and haven’t even given a GMAT, a strong application is the only way for you to highlight your worthiness for a management program such as MBA. A strong application would not only allow you to highlight your strength but also give you a medium to smooth over the flaws in your profile.

Therefore, in lieu of that, I would recommend you to check out our flagship ALL-IN-ONE service, which has allowed us to help 3500+ applicants to get into their dream schools. As you are still in the early process of your application, it would provide you with end-to-end consulting and unlimited edits on your application documents. Not only that, you’d be connected with B-school alumni who’d be helping you directly with your application process, right from the brainstorming session to submitting the application to the school.

Link for the ALL-IN-ONE service:

https://www.mim-essay.com/mim-all-in-one

Hope this helped!