Profile Evaluation for Columbia Business School

Question

Evaluation for CBS Deferred MBA

Academic grades: Score in 10th is 88%, 12th std grade= 90%. Graduating from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) Bachelors of Business Administration program with a CGPA of 3.8/4. Pursuing CIMA UK.

Internship experience: Data Analyst at a quick-service restaurant. 2 months internship at PWC.

Achievements: Winner of State level table tennis tournament and secured All India Rank 1 in multiple CIMA exams.

Extra-curriculars: One year experience at an NGO. Member of Entrepreneurship Cell of my college and AISEC club

Certification course: Financial Market from Yale University via Coursera. Stock trading Workshop at IIT-B. I have completed a couple of more certification courses in other domains.

Expected GMAT score: 710-730 ( Got 710 in first simulated/ mock test)

Please provide me valuable insights into my profile and areas of improvement

Admissionado · Answer

So nice to see that you’ve done your research and narrowed down your choices. Based on the limited information you have provided, it's a little tough to assess your overall profile. Once you take the GMAT, we’ll have a clearer picture of where you stand in your very competitive demographic and will be able to dig deeper.

One major determinant of your chances of success is your ability to convey your soft skills like leadership and teamwork. You’ll also need a strong recommendation letter that shows the adcom that you perform head and shoulders above the rest of your peer group.

Most importantly, your short- and long-term career goals should be ambitious but achievable. These goals should somehow connect to what you have accomplished already and to your MBA journey. (Small accomplishments are just fine as long as they are meaningful to you!)

Ultimately, we want to make sure that you have differentiated yourself from the rest of the applicant pool by sharing compelling stories that showcase your leadership potential, teamwork ability, creativity, resourcefulness, global perspective, …you catch my drift.

Hopefully this gets your started thinking about how to frame your achievements. Feel free to share additional background, your goals, or any other specific questions I can help with!

Cheers,

Stefanie

srishti246 · Answer

Hi,

Thank you for starting this thread!

Request you to please review my profile.

Age - 26 Years (as of Sep'20)
Indian Female
GMAT - 720

X- 9.4 CGPA (~90%)
XII - 95% (majors in commerce and maths)
Under-graduate - Bachelors in Business Economics (BBE) from Gargi College, University of Delhi (one of the three flagship professional courses offered by central government) with 80% aggregate score of all three years. Specialized in Strategy and Marketing.
Professional Certification/ Fellowship in Leadership, Management and Liberal Arts from Vedica Scholars Programme for Women, considered the best fellowship program in India by India Today (https://www.indiatoday.in/education-tod ... 2019-07-22). With GPA of 3.67 (on 4) ranked second in class of 40 students.

Work Ex (after under-graduation as on Sep'20) - 3 years and 9 months

1. EY-Parthenon | Management Consultant (Jan'18 - Sep'20 - 2 years and 8 months)
Involved in developing corporate strategies and performing commercial due diligence that help companies and private equity firms maximize the value of their investments. Primary focus is in TMT, Education and Consumer sectors across India, South Asia (Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines) and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) geographies, both remotely and at client location. Got promoted to Consultant role in 10 months of joining after post-grad and now manage team of 2-3 Analysts as part of engagement team. Awarded EYP Kudos award last quarter for exceptional performance.

2. I have briefly (3-4 months) worked as an Investment Associate with OYO PropCo (JV between OYO & Softbank) where I evaluated and executed acquisitions of premium hotel properties in USA and India hospitality markets working out of New York and India office.

3. KPMG India | Risk Consulting Analyst (Jun'15 - Jul'16 - 1 year)
Provided solutions for business risks by performing Enterprise Risk Assessment (ERA) and Internal Financial Control (IFC) procedures across sectors including IT, FMCG, Manufacturing and Trading. Assisted HR team in Workday ERP implementation at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) India. Recipient of KPMG ‘Kudos Award’; selected among 250 Analysts for demonstrating expertise on projects and constantly receiving positive client feedback

4. Kotak Asset Management Company - Mutual Funds | Master's Internship (2 months)
Mentored by Lakshmi Iyer, Chief Investment Officer (Debt)–Kotak Asset Management Company, designed financial model to analyze recovery of returns for M&A deals worth USD 3.5-90 million in mutual funds industry.

5. Samarth (winner of CSR India Health Impact Award) | Master's Internship (7 months)
A startup for elderly care; designed and developed financial plan to fund future growth of Samarth; identified investment requirements of USD 5.45 million. Performed break even analysis of operating income to identify time required to cover expenses.

Extra curricular -
- Zonal-level Indian Classical Music singer (won multiple awards throughout school and college, participated in Indian Idol (Indian version of the Pop Idol format aired on national television); acquired Senior Diploma with first division in Indian classical music from Prayag Sangeet Samiti, Allahabad
- Elected President and General Secretary of Undergrad college's Commerce Association among a batch of 1,200 students; led 20-member team to organize national commerce festival, raising sponsorship worth INR 2.5 lakhs
- Freelancer with Femoneysta providing one-on-one coaching to women (aged 20-60 years) on personal finance. https://www.femoneysta.com/
Social work -
- Online UN Volunteer at Tanzania Development Trust; enhanced map navigation to protect girls at risk of FGM
- Imparted music education to economically disadvantaged students as an Educator with Becoming I Foundation
- Volunteer Assistant to Secretary General at OECD (as part of Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation), Angèl Ghurria, at the 'Laureates and Leaders for Children Summit 2016' held at Rashtrapati Bhawan, aimed to bring together Nobel laureates and world leaders to focus on children's rights
- As a member of the College Leaders Program of ENACTUS, organised waste A-4 size sheet collection drives for corporates, localities and students alike to contribute towards rural empowerment program of ENACTUS (an international not-for-profit organisation)

Interest - Indian classical vocals, Bharatanatyam dance, reading/studying Astrophysics / Cosmology

Post MBA goals - to change geographies and work at top social impact consulting firms such as Dalberg/ BAMGF / Bridgespan (combination of my skills, interest and need to impact society)

Thank you for your time.

Regards,
Srishti Grover

Nitikamehta1993 · Answer

Would request someone to please provide a brief evaluation of my profile:

Female, Indian, 27 years
Education:
Xth - 87%
XIIth - 96%
B.Com - 65% 
CFA Level 3 candidate (completed 2 levels with more than 90 percentile)
Chartered Accountant – completed all levels in first attempt
Total work experience – 4 years post qualification, 7 years including articleship
o 1 year with Diageo India in Finance Controllership role 
o Youngest resource responsible for driving efficiencies across the biggest cost category ~ $ 0.6 Bn
o Optimized raw materials and packing materials procurement processes resulting in modest financial savings

• 3 years with KPMG India in Risk consulting domain
o Conducted majority of the projects as a team leader and worked for many Fortune 500 clients. Delivered significant financial savings as a result of the process-based reviews conducted.
o Received an exceptional promotion.
• 1 year with Credit Suisse as an Intern in Product Control division (CA Articleship)
• 2 years with Haribhakti & Co. (Top 10 Indian CA firm) as an Intern in risk consulting (CA Articleship)

Extra-Curricular activities:
Volunteered for 2.5 years as a teacher and career mentor at Make A Difference organization
Created internship opportunity for five less fortunate students at a leading e-commerce company 
Recruited academic support volunteers at Make A Difference (a non-profit)

GMAT Online - 720 (Q50 V38 IR7)

Post MBA goal:
Short Term: Strategy/Consulting
Long term: Financial Strategy Consulting 
Target schools – Ross, Stern, Kellogg, CBS, Darden, Booth, Yale, Duke, Cornell 
Target school start – Fall’21

Admissionado · Answer

srishti246 : Great profile - congrats on your success to date. You have some credible work experience and your extracurricular activities seem quite robust, though I'd be careful for both get too pent up about internships or college experiences as those will matter less when you are 3+ years out of school. Your grades and test scores are solid. What was the breakdown in your GMAT? You have put a lot out there and there is no way you will be able to communicate everything in an application to an admissions committee, so you are going to have to be selectively strategic. The big piece missing here are your essays. You need to ace them. Also, where do you want to go? Every profile can seem great on paper, but it all comes down to relativity. What are your target schools? Please reach out to us at Admissionado if you need our help. We are always happy to conduct a free consultation to better understand your profile and walk you through how our services can help it shine in a competitive application process. https://admissionado.com/free-consultation/ Best, Seth

Admissionado · Answer

Nitikamehta1993 : Thank you for sharing your background with us. You should be very proud of your terrific accomplishments. Strengths: You are coming from a recognizable company in KPMG - that always helps. Your Quant score on your GMAT is stellar - well done. Similarly, CFA certification is another feather in your cap and will only further confirm your technical capabilities. Lastly, you mention some promising community service activities, so that is certainly a plus. Weaknesses: Your verbal GMAT score will raise some questions, particularly as an international candidate. While I think your extracurricular activities sound interesting, given the little information I know, it makes me wonder if it's just a facade - I'd like to ultimately learn more about your accomplishments. Lastly, your career goal does not sound all that interesting on paper. You are going to need to wow the admissions committees with imaginative and pragmatic short-term and long-term careers goals if you are going to differentiate yourself, particularly coming from a competitive demographic. The list of schools you have selected are excellent and you should have a shot at each of them. If you are still actively applying for R2 (or R3) and are looking for essay support or full application package services, please reach out to us at Admissionado to schedule your free consultation. One of our fine MBA experts will be happy to get to know you better and help you make your MBA dreams a reality! Kindly, Seth https://admissionado.com/free-consultation/

Mandy001 · Answer

Hi everyone, any feedback on my profile is highly appreciated

Indian
Male
25 years old

GMAT: 730 (V38/Q50), IR8, AWA 5

Education: Bachelor's in Mechanical engineering from IIT Patna (2019 graduate)
GPA: 8.23/10
Overseas experience: I have done majority of my primary schooling from Switzerland, Germany, England, and Wales (nearly 3 years in total)

Work ex:
4 years working at ZS associates (Consulting in Pharma domain)
- For initial 1.5 years, i worked in Incentive compensation responsible for calculating incentives for the sales reps and their managers
- For the past 2.5 years, i have been working as a market researcher responsible for understanding the market domain and provide strategic solutions
- I have even won multiple awards for my outstanding mentorship

Extra curricular:
- Was involved in the college NGO club
- Have been involved in the Office NGO events
- Have organized multiple college events
- Co-authored a research paper published in an international conference
- Have been involved in 2 major academic projects were I built a rice-transplanter machine and a passive exo-skeleton model
- I also started a "ritual" in college where the final year students will share their job application or masters application experiences with the juniors

Entrepreneurial activity
- During the weekends, I actively used to buy fake jewelry from wholesale markets and sell them on Amazon, Flipkart, and Ebay. I generated a revenue of about INR 3,000,000 in two years with nearly 50% in profits
- I had to close the operations down during wave 2 of Covid pandemic due to supply chain issues

Carrier goals/ post MBA
- Want to stay in consulting field in strategic domain

Admissionado · Answer

Mandy001 : Are you looking solely at Columbia? Are you targeting other schools? You have a very good profile from a solid consulting firm and extracurriculars on your resume to GPA and GMAT scores. The key for you is tying the narrative together so your accomplishments have a theme and your post-MBA goal of returning to consulting brings enough imagination and impact to bear. Let us know if we can help and/or if you are interested in a free consultation: https://admissionado.com/free-consultation/

smukherjee42 · Answer

I am aware that my profile is quite a long shot when it comes to an M7 School, but would appreciate some feedback nonetheless

Background and nationality: Indian, male, age 29
Undergrad: Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Telecomm Engineering from a top public university in India (Nationally, ranked 10th in engineering)
GPA: 7.53/10, roughly translates to 3.33/4
GRE (323 160 Q, 163 V) I underperformed on the day and have a retake scheduled this week
Looking to join an MBA program in August 2024

Work Experience and Leadership (~6.5 yrs at time of joining program):

3 years at a major US digital marketing agency where I was part of a founding team that helped set up a service delivery centre in India for the agency. Led a significant amount of knowledge transfer from international teams to set up the practice. Led discovery sessions and requirements gathering for every new client the Indian business unit onboarded for the marketing platforms practice for the first six months. Onboarded roughly 15 accounts in total over this period and trained 70+ new joiners. Worked directly with business unit head in talent acquisition- screening, managing job posts, ATS, and vendors (job portals, hiring agencies). Headcount grew from 4 to 200 in 6 months, interviewed hundreds of candidates and filled 80+ open positions. Was the lead consultant on several client accounts with demonstrated impact on business KPIs like engagement, conversions and CAC

Close to 3 years at Goldman Sachs working in the Asset Management marketing team. Led go-to-market activities on digital channels for 7 ETFs, managed performance marketing campaigns targeted at fund distributors, institutional investors and family offices that led to gross sales of over $476 mn, led a 25 member team for post-merger integration workstreams for platform integrations, rebranding, website reskinning, rebranding of over 370 funds. I also lead the SEO function within Asset Management Marketing. My role involves a lot of cross functional collaboration across sales, tech, portfolio managers, investment and product strategists. I am also directly exposed to the investment research and thought leadership that is produced by the investing teams as that is a key component of our marketing messaging.

I also lead the mentorship program for the entire Asset Management marketing team (roughly 80 people) under direct supervision of the Asset Management CMO.

I led 3 person team to regional finals of Analyst Impact Fund, where teams identify nonprofits that are tackling global challenges and pitch innovative solutions to the firm’s leadership.

Older experience:

After junior year in college interned at an Indian NGO called Goonj where I did fieldwork in rural India, directly mobilizing 150 individuals for rural development projects such as canal digging, shed construction, cultivating a school kitchen garden. Built a lead list for fundraising. Organized collection camps that raised over 1 metric tonne of material and $24,000 in monetary contributions. Worked directly with organization leadership to launch a range of upcylced products to monetize surplus material by producing and marketing a range of upcycled sustainable lifestyle products (bags, accessories). Set up kiosks at collection drives, earned $1200 gross sales in pilot.

Post MBA goals: Long term is to set up a PE firm focused on deploying growth equity in India. Short term is to transition from Asset Management marketing to a more core finance role in IB, preferably in FSG an group. Currently networking within GS across Global Banking & Markets and Asset & Wealth Management and self-learning to prepare for the transition. Looking for a pre-MBA internship and am actively reaching out to people in my network to help land a role. Would appreciate any information around how to secure a pre-MBA internship that can help my transition.

Anything else?
Organizer of film festival at university
Co-founded graphic design and creative club in high school

Many thanks for your consideration

Admissionado · Answer

smukherjee42 :

You have a fairly well-rounded profile, so stay confident.

The most important thing you can do now is improve your GMAT score. Then, you should turn your attention to your applications for R2 as deadlines will be around the corner.

M7 may be tough, but you could have a shot at many 2 of them. If you are intent on going to b-school, you should consider other programs as well so you have some options.

Let us know if we can help when you are post-GRE and ready to start on your applications/strategy.

Admissionado

Profile Evaluation for Columbia Business School

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