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UsamaGuddar
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Joined: 04 Sep 2020
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Profile Evaluation and Expert Advice 17 Dec 2020, 13:48
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Hello,

I would like to hear from the experts here on my profile suitability for an MBA, ideally with an Ivy League but equally eagerly with Canada’s top b-schools.

Age: 25 (turning 26 in Aug 21)
Ethnic background: Pakistani Muslim male, low-middle income background and first gen university grad
Undergrad: BSc Accounting & Finance
CGPA: 3.82
Work Exp: +3 years, currently employed with GSK and leading regional finance team with portfolio of over $1bn
GMAT Score: 640 - v35, q43 (pretty bad, I know!)

A little more on the sidelines, I am one of the youngest managers at GSK with a strong career record so far. Was part of the university’s consulting group. I was a member of the country’s biggest parliamentary debating club and was invited by the British and Danish Parliaments in 2016.

Post MBA goals: I want to look at my MBA as an opportunity to start a career in North America in the realm of business consulting.

Key concern: with the overall, currently profile, should I appear for a retake? Also, a big deciding factor would be funding - I absolutely cannot afford to fund the degree myself.

Anything else that you should know to evaluate? Please ask away.

Thank you very much in advance.

Regards,
Usama

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MiMEssay
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Last visit: 25 Nov 2024
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Concentration: Marketing, Entrepreneurship
GMAT 1: 690 Q49 V35
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GMAT 1: 690 Q49 V35
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Profile Evaluation and Expert Advice 20 Jan 2021, 23:35
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UsamaGuddar
Hello,

I would like to hear from the experts here on my profile suitability for an MBA, ideally with an Ivy League but equally eagerly with Canada’s top b-schools.

Age: 25 (turning 26 in Aug 21)
Ethnic background: Pakistani Muslim male, low-middle income background and first gen university grad
Undergrad: BSc Accounting & Finance
CGPA: 3.82
Work Exp: +3 years, currently employed with GSK and leading regional finance team with portfolio of over $1bn
GMAT Score: 640 - v35, q43 (pretty bad, I know!)

A little more on the sidelines, I am one of the youngest managers at GSK with a strong career record so far. Was part of the university’s consulting group. I was a member of the country’s biggest parliamentary debating club and was invited by the British and Danish Parliaments in 2016.

Post MBA goals: I want to look at my MBA as an opportunity to start a career in North America in the realm of business consulting.

Key concern: with the overall, currently profile, should I appear for a retake? Also, a big deciding factor would be funding - I absolutely cannot afford to fund the degree myself.

Anything else that you should know to evaluate? Please ask away.

Thank you very much in advance.

Regards,
Usama

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Hey UsamaGuddar,

To commence your profile evaluation, I would say that your academic background is quite strong. Your GPA of 3.82 not only displays your academic prowess but also opens a lot of opportunities and doors to top business schools for you.

Coming on to your work experience, your role undoubtedly highlights your caliber for the program and your prowess in managing teams and projects. Moreover, you have a good brand on your CV, which definitely plays a major role in your application. However, your work experience of 3+ years is slightly on the lower end as you’d be competing with applicants possessing 5 years of experience on an average. To stand at par with this pool, it is imperative to draw attention towards the projects you have undertaken, the impacts you’ve created, and your career progression with major learning takeaways.

Furthermore, your participation in extracurricular activities is equally important as it will showcase a holistically developed profile that the schools are looking for. Needless to say, you definitely possess a decent hold on your extracurricular activities through being a part of your university’s consulting group. Your visit to the British and Danish parliament through your involvement in your country’s biggest debating club adds the streak of international experience in your profile and brings to light your broadened perspective. Moreover, since you are applying for an MBA program, you should also focus on highlighting the instances wherein you’ve taken the lead and spearheaded initiatives. Furthermore, this can be taken up a notch by elaborating on the kind of events you organized, duties you performed, and, most importantly, highlight what your major takeaways were.

Also, to further boost your profile, you can also take any major certifications related to your field of interest to highlight your constant thirst for knowledge and upscaling your skills. You can also take up CSR activities that will showcase the socially empathetic trait of your personality.

Coming on to your GMAT score, a score of 640 falls on the lower end given your target schools. All Ivy league schools are highly competitive, with a minimum GMAT requirement of 700. Hence you should definitely opt for a retake.

Apart from the Ivy league, targeting top canadian schools would also demand a minimum GMAT of 680+.

On this note, here are some schools that fall under the dream and competitive category in Canada that you can be looking at (with an updates score)

Dream (40% acceptance rate): Rottman, Ivey, UBC
Competitive(50-60% acceptance rate): Schulich, Queen’s, HEC Montreal, Rayson

All said and done, since you want to target Ivy league colleges and a competitive program like MBA, you need to complement your profile with an equally strong application. An application through its various components such as essays, LORs, and SOPs would help you highlight your strengths and give apt justifications for your weaknesses to smooth over your profile flaws. Moreover, the application acts as the window through which the admission committee can peer into your skills, caliber, and personality.

Therefore, in lieu of that, I would recommend you to check out our flagship ALL-IN-ONE service, which has helped 3500+ applicants 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 a B-school alumnus who’d be helping you directly with your application process, right from shortlisting the right schools and crafting an impactful application to prepping your for the interview and bagging scholarships!

Link for All in one-:

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

Hope this helped!