Profile Evaluation - which schools should I apply to?

Question

Hi there,

I am currently thinking about where to do my master in fall 2017. I am hoping to get here some advice about what to do during the next year to enhance my profile, where to apply to, how my chances are etc.

I am a 24 year old German female

Academic Background:

I have the German Abitur
I have a 4-languages diploma (though in 5 languages), I did after my Abitur. In Business English, French, Spanish, Russian and Italian. I cannot speak all of the languages anymore, since I did this diploma in 2011/2012, but I suppose they’d come back if I started to study them again.
Since my mother is half Greek and I am in Greece each year, I can also speak some basic Greek.
During this diploma, I consistently traveled, e.g. to Thailand, to Myanmar, United States etc., never for a long time, but always enough time to get several impressions.
Studies: Media and Communication Management at the Macromedia University of Applied Sciences. (Bachelor grade 2.1, GPA 3.57) My bachelor thesis had the topic: The Potential of Hemp in the Textile Industry - An Empirical Analysis of the Sustainable Trend in Germany and how Hemp fits in. (Grade 1.3)
I know my grades are not the best, but since during my last 3 semesters, I only had grades better than 1.3 (except for one essay), I hope that I can somehow explain myself in my motivation letters and make up for it.
Semester abroad at National University in San Diego
Practical Semester at ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG (One of the biggest German mass media companies) as a Special Ad Sales Intern.
GMAT: This is an issue, I have taken it twice; first: 700 (Q45/V41), second (I cancelled it, so that I still have time to think about whether to take it or not): 700 again (Q48/38); I plan on taking the GMAT again in the middle of August, since I consistently scored 760+ on the GMATPrep practice tests.
Letter of Recommendation: I have one letter of recommendation from my lecturer whom I had in 5 classes (e.g. Entrepreneurship, HR,..). I think this letter will be considered as very good.

Pracitcal Experience:

ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG Intern for 5 months. I mainly worked with SalesForce. I did presentations for clients, sold ads myself (I even had my own clients), made market research, did translation work, etc.
Studies: during my studies, we consistently worked together with clients from large companies, for which we made corporate designs, new marketing strategies.
Internships: I am currently applying for internships for the next year, I want to do 2 – 3 internships in different fields. I try to get an internship in a finance department, one in a VC and one maybe in marketing
Start-up: I am currently founding my own start-up based on my bachelor thesis. With this start-up we enter a competitive field of only one other company world wide; It’s about a special kind of fashion made of hemp. I hope we’ll be done by this winter and can start selling in February/March 2017. It is all about the future and the importance of being sustainable.

Extracurricular:

Mentally ill people: Since my father has a social company, I have always been involved in it. I have grown up with mentally ill people and have learned early how to provide the best help for them. I will also become a board member in the association this year. In the association we mainly plan events with the mentally ill people, do trips, etc.
Refugees: As the refugee wave came to Germany, a few friends and I organized a group of people who drove to the boarders and provided food and water to the refugees. I also plan to hire refugees to sew the fashion for the start-up (of course with fair wages), but I am not sure yet, if I will find suitable candidates.
Buddy Program: During my studies, I accompanied foreign people who came to Munich to study. I helped them with documents concerning their Visas, helped them to find suitable accommodation, helped them to find friends and to settle in Munich. (the students were e.g. from South Korea, Sweden…)
Dog’s Fashion Show: I don’t know if I should include it, but it emphasizes my interest in fashion and to face challenges. When I was 18 I organized a dog’s fashion show (for which I have designed the clothes and also sew them) with real dogs in front of a audience of several hundred people.
Theater/Acting: I have started to be in our theater club in school in 5th class and have continued ‘til the 11th, I have also had acting lessons for over 5 years. I think this could be relevant for presentation skills, since I have learned how to properly present myself.
(M)ein Englischer Garten: A project during my studies in which we proposed a way to connect the two parts of the English Garden in Munich.
Humans of Munich: Together with a photographer, I did an own interpretation of the famous project Humans of New York. We wanted to offer a new way to look at the Germans, since we are perceived as stiff and maybe boring. I conducted interviews, managed our social media channels and did the translation work. In only a couple of months, we had several articles in highly valued newspapers, radio interviews, more than 20.000 followers and a reach of (at our high time) over 100.000 people.
MinD/Mensa: Member of MinD/Mensa, which is an organization for intellectually gifted people around the world. To be accepted, you need to have an IQ over 130. Through this, you have the opportunity to get a high value network anywhere in the world.
Sports: Tennis Team captain

I think that’s it, I don’t know if my interests should be included in my CV, but they would be: Aerial Hoop, piano (started at age 5), electrical guitar (started at age 12), diving (started at age 13), horseback riding (started at age 5), tennis (started at age 4), skiing (started at age 2), high interest in arts and photography (I modeled myself for a couple of years, for fashion and for art), traveling (I have been in over 25 countries and try to experience new cultures at least once or twice a year)

At the moment I am trying to make my CV somewhat more special, I am thinking of taking classes for programming C++ and Java, maybe a math or finance course at a university, since I barely had math in university.

I don’t know yet what would be the best for me to study. Mainly I thought about doing a Master in Management or Master in Finance. Maybe also an MBA, but I think that I don’t have sufficient work experience for it. Do you think I have any chances of getting into one of the top 10 management or finance programs? I thought about HEC, Insead, LBS, LSE and so on.

I would be so happy if you could help me to evaluate my profile and suggest me suitable universities and studies. I want to start in fall 2017 and apply during the first rounds because I have heard that in this round the chances of being accepted are highest.

Thank you so much in advance!

MiMEssay · Answer

Hey glatzekatze,

Well off the bat, you have a pretty strong profile with some really interesting and diverse activities.
So digging a bit deeper.

Your international background will be of interest to the schools. The places you have visited, the languages you speak both will be appreciated by schools and grant you differentiation from other European profiles.

You academics are fine, don't worry too much about it, further 700 is a strong GMAT score and your CGPA gets compensated via it.
Further your degree and thesis project are interesting and can be differentiating elements.
The exchange will also be an added value to your overall academic experience.

Your work experience is relevant and interesting, the job responsibilities you took further add value to your experiences. 
The start up is interesting and can be used to highlight a slew of skills.

Your extra curriculars are vast and diverse and can be used to highlight different elements of your profile, from empathy and teamwork, to leadership and organizational skills.
Your creative activities and hobbies will also be useful to show you have a life per say, and have a more or less all-rounder profile.

Activities like Mensa, Humans of Munich, Refugee social work etc can be really strong differentiating factors.

I am sure you have a very strong chance at all top 10 MiM schools, MIF or MFA can be a good call, but youll have to explain your interest in finance, so the internship you are seeking can be a good call. For MBA yes you will be too inexperienced.

Just work well on your SOP/Essays, as you will have a lot to talk about and putting them all into a set of essays can be a challenge.
A well-written application with the 700 GMAT(you really don't need to go higher, this is fine) would open doors for you almost everywhere.

For further building up you profile, i would suggest just concentrating on finding relevant work experience, other things are more or less covered by the activities you have pursued.

You can also take a more detailed evaluation at  https://mim-essay.com/profile-evaluation?gcf 
If you have any further questions I would be happy to help.

glatzekatze · Answer

Hi Abhyank,

thank you so much for your detailed evaluation!

I started the 4-week module "Introduction to Corporate Finance" at the Wharton Business School yesterday, which I'll try to complete with a grade better than 90%! I hope this will give me an opportunity to get a strong internship in a finance sector.

Would you have any further recommendations on what to work on besides the essays and practical experience during the next year?

thank you so much again, I'm a quite relieved now because I didn't think my profile was strong enough!

MiMEssay · Answer

Hey Glatzekate,

We have worked with a lot of European profiles at MiM-Essay.com, and I can easily say you are better than 80% of them.
So just keep working on your profile and get some brands on your resume, and it should be good.

For the MOOC's they may help in the internship, but to the application as a whole they will add limited value, as almost everyone is doing MOOC's now days, it may though go some way to make a case for your interest in finance.

So don't worry, just keep doing what you are doing, and you should be allright.
Work hard on your essays they will be your mouth piece to tell the schools what you are all about.

If you need some help with the essays, you can check out https://www.mim-essay.com/mim-essay-editing/
We can surely help bring out all your qualities, and get you in your target schools. (maybe with a scholarship as well)

Profile Evaluation - which schools should I apply to?

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards