Haas Profile Evaluation - Tools for B-School Profile Evaluation

Thank you so much RUCHIPCONSULTING for the feedback

Let me answer your questions here

Professional Journey:- I started my career as an auditor with KPMG and served one of the biggest clients in north India. I was able to get awards such as Kudos and Above and beyond on very first assignment and got promoted twice in a single year. After completing my 2 years journey with KPMG I moved to EY FAAS where I was responsible for implementing new accounting framework such as IFRS 16 and ASC 842 for clients while working with them on site. I was also youngest member in Technical Accounting Advisory Group, an internal group in EY which deals with the challenges in reporting and dig deep into the accounting literature and industry standards to give internal advice to the team on site. I also got some opportunity to work on USD1.5 billion deal in renewable energy sector. Got promoted in first year in EY. To gain more experience on IPO I left EY and joined an IT company which was planning to go for an IPO in US market. To sum up my professional journey I have worked as an Auditor, as a consultant and the as a client and they all cover the three sides of the table.

Post MBA goal:- My goal is to gain as much experience in financial deals and reach up to a leadership role or start a consulting business of my own. Short term goal would be to join a consulting firm which focuses on IPO, Mergers or a private equity funds.

Impact with non profit:- I started the Idea while I was in KPMG but couldn't implement it enough because of long working hours and working weekend in KPMG. My new organisation gives my enough time to pursue other things so I thought of restarting it again. I with my another friend started book donation in September 2019 and have collected and donated more than 1500 books in Bangalore. We have organised donation drive in organisations such as ABinBev and Wokafella. We had to stop the operations in March because of lock-down and non-availability of volunteers, couldn't start it back since then.

I have no other ECs for now. I am a 1600 rated chess player and trying to increase my rating beyond 1800, if that counts as an EC.

No other volunteering in Covid - too scared to go out.

It would really help if you could suggest me alternatives. I am certainly using this time to improve on my verbal score I can get Q49/50 in mocks but Verbal is a bit stretch for me to be honest.

It would really help if you could suggest me some more Bschools considering my experience and Post MBA goals.

Thank you so much again.

Background and nationality: British and lived in London since 1999. Also lived in Holland for first 6 years of my life.
Undergrad Information : GPA 3.3
GMAT: 720
Work experience and leadership :
1 year international experience working as a senior associate for PwC in Qatar.
2 years experience working as an analyst for Deloitte.

Total EXP: 5 years

Lead a team of 6 where we invest in financial markets (stocks, commodities and forex)
Performed some voluntary work in Pakistan in 2015 where I taught young students from less fortunate backgrounds Maths & English
Football and Cricket team captain
Travelling


Post MBA goals
Work for leading Tech firms in silicon valley

Thank you for your time!

Stats: 28F, CPA certified, Asian

Undergrad: Econ major at a top public US university

GMAT: 700 (47Q, 39V, 8IR) - would it be recommended to take the GMAT again for a higher score?
EA: 160 (18IR, 11Q, 11V)

GPA: 3.124 for major, 3.23 with additional classes taken to fulfill CPA units requirement

Work exp: 4 years at a B4 public accounting firm, 2 years in internal accounting at a financial services company (with a 3-month stint at a CPG company)

Extracurriculars (post-college):
-private piano teacher to a small number of middle and high school students (unfortunately covid has put a pause on this activity)
-member of a triathlon club
-volunteer at a well-known music nonprofit corp

Extracurriculars (in college):
-director of a subcommittee of a student government council and member of another student-run government commission
-front desk concierge at a local hotel
-member of the student accounting society

Reason for MBA: to pivot out of accounting into a more strategic financial analyst role where I can work on FP&A, evaluating strategy and M&A work.

Thank you!

Hey there,

A little late here but I'd be curious what you're thinking in terms of the GMAT. For better or for worse how closely your GMAT aligns with the average at the school you're applying to is a strong indicator of success in the process. (Even more so if you have a similar profile to other folks applying--and every year there are a ton of Big 4 applicants all competing for the same spots.) The average GMAT at Haas is around a 730, so the closer you get to that really the stronger you'll be. If you think you have it in you I'd encourage you to give it another shot!

I also think there's probably an opportunity to build out your story a bit more--it makes total sense that you want to move into a more strategic role (and an MBA will certainly help you do that) but what more can you share with the ad com that will get them really excited about you as a person and the journey you're on? Is there a particular industry that really stands out to you? What is it that you want to do long-term that is going to be different than every other Big 4 candidate they're reading about? Combine the stats + that personal angle and I think you've got something!

Hopefully that helps and feel free to reach out to us if you think we could be helpful during the process.

Best,
Karen

Hi azie786,

Your profile seems diverse. First talking about stats, they seem almost at par with the school average. I do not have many details about your work ex, but from the details you have provided, it does look good with big names in the CV. Your ECs seem nice as well. What I liked in your profile is your exposure to different worlds and it can become a differentiating factor if you may bring the narrative of how these experiences helped in building you.

For your post-MBA goals, what kind of roles are you looking for in the tech firms and what are your motivations for targeting tech firms post-MBA? Also what tech companies are in your mind? Google, Amazon and Airbnb are among the top tech-employers for Haas. I would like to know more about your goals since I think they can make your profile diverse from your pool. One thing that I would like to emphasise on is your stats. Your GMAT is below average and so to make your profile stand out, you need to bring the personality very strong and different from the pool. Build your application around the four principles on which Haas is built:

1. Question the Status Quo
2. Confidence Without Attitude
3. Students Always
4. Beyond Yourself

I hope this helps. If you’d like we are happy to hop on a call sometime this week to discuss your chances further. 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, Linkedin
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond
Schedule a free session
Email: shantanu@mbaandbeyond.com
What s app: +65-97158525

Background:

Male, Brown, 27 y.o., Indian citizen

College: Undergrad in Civil Engineering from top 3 Indian engineering school (IIT), Masters in econ from top 2 econ school in India

Work experience: 3.5 years in investment banking in Mumbai, India. 2 years working as an analyst in the leveraged finance team at Nomura (private debt for LBOs). This was a middle office role and I was supporting the EMEA team based out of London. 1.5 years as an analyst at a no name American boutique investment banking firm focusing on M&A and private fundraising for growth stage tech companies across the US and India. This is a front end role.

Extracurriculars: NA

Stats:

GMAT: 330 (169Q, 161V)

Undergraduate GPA: 6.94/10.00 Master's GPA: 75%

Goals/Info:

Overall Statement: Ever since my undergraduate days at a school with an active culture of entrepreneurship, I have always been intrigued by startups & the tech industry. As a tech focused banker, I have experience of analyzing tech companies qualitatively & financially which I feel is a good segue into an internal role at a growing/established tech company

Reason for MBA: To pivot to a strategy/finance/PM role at a growth stage or large tech company. I'm also interested in investment management roles but since these roles are hard to come by I will focus on tech recruiting.

Why now: I have strong experience of analyzing tech companies from the outside and feel like this is the right time to transition to an internal role so I can directly contribute to the growth of a tech company.

Target schools (Applying in R2 this year): Kellogg, Haas, Ross, Anderson, Tepper

What are my chances at the schools I'm targeting, am I being too conservative or ambitious? Would you recommend targeting other schools given my background and goals ? I'm also really interested in recruiting for venture capital but realize it is super hard to break into for internationals and people from schools except HSW so I've given up on that. I am not interested in recruiting for consulting/IB

Thanks

Hi,
I would like my profile to be evaluated. Following are my details:

Background and nationality: Indian, Male, Engineer, 29 years

Undergrad Information: University of Mumbai, 68%

GMAT: 760 (Q50, V41)

Work experience and leadership:
Total 7 years, 5 years in a data analytics startup (3 promos - Data Scientist, Lead, Analytics Manager, Associate), 2 years Operations in leading Tech company (FAANG) (1 promo - Associate, Program Manager)- Over 3 years of international work experience, currently working in Singapore. Multiple business visits to Philippines, US, and Dublin

Data Analytics work experience:
[*]Among top 5% employees to be promoted for client leadership, working in a client liaison role in Singapore
[*]Optimized the trade-based money laundering process of Singapore’s leading bank’s operations team, reducing workload by 60%
[*]Led 10-member team to help category buyers of a leading US retailer make informed decisions based on product performance and customer preference; project led to annual savings of $500M
[*]Awarded two ‘Spot Awards’ (top 10% performers) showcasing self-drive, going the extra mile for tasks beyond deliverables, and being the team’s torch bearer
[*]Awarded ‘Impact award’ (awarded to top 5% performers) for enabling success of the engagement, developing good client relations, mentoring multiple folks over time, and contributing to both organization and account-level initiatives

FAANG work experience:
[*]Led business continuity planning, collaborating with 10 teams across Product, Engineering and Operations in US, Ireland and Singapore to enable work from home operations of 3,000 vendor workforce during COVID pandemic
[*]Led projects to change the existing operations processes, reducing operational spend by $500K
[*]Led effort to improve KPIs of operations team, improving quality as a KPI by 25%
[*]Redesigned workstream setup, improving the review accuracy by 10% and realizing $1M in savings

Community / EC:
[*]Led college’s student chapter of NSS, an organization of over 160 volunteers engaging in community service
[*]Conducted community service camps to villages, teaching basic math to kids and engaging in farming activities
[*]Volunteer of a non-profit group aimed at improving welfare of underprivileged children; conducted educational sessions for children of age groups 8-10 years, financially supporting their education till date
[*]Represented and won medals for department athletics team at intra college sports festivals
[*]Hobbies: Playing football: represented Facebook Singapore at corporate indoor football championship
[*]Travel: Visited 15 countries, enjoying landscape photography and adventure sports such as skydiving and scuba diving. Started Photography club at my company, conducting classes and doing photography trails with 20 other enthusiasts

Post MBA goals

Short Term
[*]To pivot from operations to Product management at a tech company

Long Term
[*]I intend to solve the problem of misinformation on technology platforms through creating my own venture (How is my current work ex relevant? - Currently a program manager, responsible for ensuring safe and trusted connections between people, businesses, and the company by maintaining its integrity through content moderation of its commercial listings / ads. )

My obvious concern is low GPA during undergrad from a non top 20 colleges in India. Will the GMAT, work ex, my goals, and (hopefully) strong essays offset this by any chance?

Thanks in Advance.

Hi Advait08,

I just have evaluated your profile for Stanford and for Haas, I would say, it's a great pick for careers in PM in the tech industry and does provide you with a plethora of opportunities and a great network of people chasing the same field. A Product manager requires a wide array of skills including negotiation and analytical skills. I believe you are rich in the latter but you need to explore which other skills are needed for PM and what you are missing that Haas' community and curriculum can help you with.

Also, here are some of the core values of Haas. I am listing them down to help you determine your fit to the program:

1. Question the Status Quo
2. Confidence Without Attitude
3. Students Always, and
4. Beyond Yourself

I would say you have a rich profile but you really need to find which schools can best fit your personality, values and career goals. We are happy to know your personality and help you shortlisting them.

Cheers!
Kashish Garg,
Community Manager, MBA and Beyond

On behalf of,
Shantanu Sharma, Linkedin
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond
Schedule a free session
Email: shantanu@mbaandbeyond.com

Profiles of Berkeley Haas admitted applicants

Hi Everyone,

We are collecting the profiles of those who got admission into the Berkeley Haas program. It would be a great insight for future applicants. If you got admitted into Berkeley Haas, I request you to share your profile with us by replying in this topic. You can use the following format to share your profile. Feel free to add any other details you would like to share.

Name/username:
Age :
Country/Location :
Under-Graduate School :
Under-Graduate GPA:
GMAT/GRE Test scores:
Which Round did you apply in?:
Total Work Experience :
Pre-MBA Industry :
Target industry post-MBA:
Brief about Work Experience :
What is your relation to the Recommenders?(Manager. client etc):
Volunteering/Extra-curriculars:
International Experience :
Scholarship Given? :
Round Applied :
Why Berkeley Haas? :
The motivation for MBA and why Now brief? :
Short-Term Goal :
Long-Term Goal :
Link to your interview debrief:
(You can add your interview experience HERE and paste the link above )
Did you use the help of an MBA Consultant? :
Any comments, feelings, advice to share?:

I am planning to apply for MBA/MEng dual degree program of Haas.

Nationality- Indian Male
Age- 26
GMAT- 720 (V37 Q50 IR 3)
Undergraduate Information-
B.Tech in Computer Science & Engineering
GPA:7.3/10 From one of the top 7 IITs (Graduated on May 2016)

Work Experience:
Currently working as an Associate in a Global Financial Services firm (started as an analyst in 2016)
- acting as a tech lead for a group of 3-4 employees overseeing 3 different products
- working on an automation platform that reduced 300 x 8 man-hours per day
- architected a few services & products for better automation across the firm

Extracurriculars:
- Founded an open-source organization that develops the intelligent administrative tools leveraging vast experiences of system/product administrators
- active participation in multiple community works

Target schools for 2021 intake: Haas, Sloan

Post MBA goals: Short term - work as a project manager (or a technical lead) to gain some experience & Long term - build an organization that build products that increase work efficiency by utilizing developers' experiences

Confused between option 1:- re-attempt GMAT to improve my score and apply for R3 and
option 2:- apply in R2

Please evaluate my profile and suggest whether I should retake GMAT. Also, feel free to suggest target schools based on my profile.

JaswanthReddy you have an impressive profile. Here's my advice to you:

• GMAT
  I hope you know that you belong to one of the most overrepresented demographic (Indian, male, engineer). Just because of that, the 720 GMAT - which is otherwise a fantastic score - will be on the lower side of your competition pool for most M7 and T10 schools. A very non-scientific rule of thumb is that the more overrepresented your demographic, the higher above the average your stats should be, to put you in a comfortable sport.
  So, I would certainly encourage you to retake the GMAT and try to bump your score to a 740 at the very least (750+ would be ideal).
• Which round to apply
  2020 has so far been an insanely competitive admissions cycle due to several factors - reduced number of available seats due to schools granting deferrals, more applicants due to COVID19-related layoffs, and more otherwise professionally accomplished folks deciding to go for an MBA. Going by the R1 numbers this year, and by the fact that Haas and Sloan have been one of the most selective schools historically, R2 is definitely going to be a very tough proposition for most applicants.
  R3 is typically an out-of-question proposition for internationals in even an ordinary application's cycle. This cycle, I think you shouldn't even bother thinking about it as an option.
• Post-MBA Goals
  Not sure if you were intentionally vague and precise in mentioning your goals, but "work as a project manager (or a technical lead) to gain some experience" and "build an organization that build products that increase work efficiency by utilizing developers' experiences" sound as generic as a post-MBA goal could. What industry do you want to work in? If tech, what kind of tech? What products do you want to build?
  I would urge you to think a bit more and have more specific and concrete articulations for your goals.

My overall advice to you: If you REALLY want to apply this year, go for R2, but not without bumping your GMAT by 20-30 points and refining your goals. However, if you can, let this admissions cycle pass and apply in R1 in the next cycle, and you should definitely add more schools to your target list.

Kindly review my profile.

Background and nationality:
Indian 28 years old Female

Undergrad Information:
Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering with 8.34/10 CGPA

GMAT: 710(Q50,V35,IR6,AWA5)
TOEFL Yet to appear

Work experience and leadership:
Currently in the role of Junior Executive and working as an Air Traffic Controller at Area Control Centre with a total of 5.5 years of experience at Airports Authority Of India. The day to day job is to provide Air Traffic Services in the continental and oceanic airspace, identify and resolve conflicts between aircrafts using separation standards, handle priority, emergency and medical aircrafts, and assist other organizations in Search and Rescue. Trained in Aerodrome and Approach Control as well at Civil Aviation Training College.

International Air Transport Association(IATA) certification in Introduction to Airport Operations.


Past Employer: Infosys Limited. For 2 years. Worked on business intelligence tools for building a consumer data hub, while in an EIM project for the client: Moneygram, USA

Leadership:
Served as the Class representative(CR) for two years in college. CR was the point of contact between the university staff and the students and facilitated the grievance redressal of students.
Was a part of the hostel mess committee for three years in college to look after the working of the mess management staff, keep a check on day to day mess facilities and act as a bridge between administration, hostel mess management on one side and the students on the other.

Post MBA goals:
I would like to join a top global management consulting firm because the diverse and fast learning atmosphere that a consultant is attuned to attracts me. I believe providing tailored and unique solutions to clients would be good fit for my career. I will work my way to becoming a partner and, in the long run, I will specialize in the field of aviation.

Others: Class X: 93.4%
Class XII: 85%
Bagged various prizes in Olympiads and art related events at school.
Represented the Eastern region at Organization level Table Tennis tournament.

A Query: I have another reportable GMAT score of 570 from my first attempt (3 months before the second attempt). How will that affect my profile?

Hello AkP1992,

Thank you for your post. Happy to see that you have broken your post MBA goals down into more short- and long-term aspirations. Your profile is really cool and quite unique. We have applicants around the world and lots from India, but I can’t say we see many air traffic controllers so this will help you!

The key to your application success will be to combine all aspects of your profile into a consistent and compelling story. Your GMAT will also be a factor here. While a 710 is not low for Haas, it could be stronger – particularly because you are coming from an over-represented demographic background. Scoring in the mid 700s will help you enhance your candidacy.

If you want to get the best score you can, Personal MBA Coach’s tutors scored in the 99th percentile and are available to provide you with customized tutoring on your schedule and based on your specific needs.

As for your concerns regarding your 570 GMAT, I would not worry too much. It has obviously gone up substantially and will likely continue to trend upwards on your next attempt!

Regards,
Personal MBA Coach

Hi,
I would like my profile to be evaluated. Following are my details:

Background and nationality: Indonesian, Male, Public Sector Accounting, 30 years

GPA: 3.64, Accounting
GMAT: 580 (Q45, V25) This is my first attempt. I realize this is very low, but since Haas is asses it as a whole, I wonder if I have any chance

Work experience and leadership:
Total 11 years, 8 years in a state-owned property utilization (manage 2,7 millions USD State-owned property) Over 2 years in State-Owned Accounting (lead the project of asset revaluation)

Financing: Scholarship from government (already)

Awarded:
1. Top 30 Future Leader (for young and potential inspiring civil servants all around Indonesia)
2. Top 10 innovator in Innovation Competition (3 out of 10 best innovations)
3. The Asset Manager 2019 (representing the Ministry of Finance in a competition that aims to find state asset managers who have high enthusiasm and ability to execute in optimizing assets, participants include representatives from State-Owned Enterprises)
4. Awarded from the Minister of Finance for the contribrution in getting highest standard opinion in Financial Statement.

Community / Voluntary:
[*]Treasurer at etnic traditional organization
[*] Voluntary in "Ministry Finance Teaches
[*]Host brother – An der Agger Church, Germany and Indonesia traditional church
[*]Volunteer coordinator about covid education.

Post MBA goals

Short Term
[*]. Increasing state revenue through rent-out unused State-Owned Asset
[*]. Explore the potential of sharia bonds in Indonesia with State-Owned Asset as a catalyst.
[*]. Rationalization the number of State-Owned Asset


Long Term
[*]I I will specialize in bringing business to state-owned asset management (How is my current work ex relevant? - Currently, we are not aware about state-owned assets. The state owned asset mostly are purchased from tax. However, because the accountability is not directly to the community, sometimes the management of the assets is neglected. By incorporating the business element into this large amount of "assets", I hoped that it can increase income for the welfare of the community.


Thanks in Advance.

Hi aldi,

Thanks for sharing your profile. I can see a lot of good elements in your profile which will help you to enhance your apps. Talking about your academics, your undergrad GPA is decent but your GMAT score is on the lower side. I suggest you retake the GMAT and try to push your score to 700 in order to have a safer ground.

On the work front, you have a pretty good 11 years of work experience. You will need to explain the roles and responsibilities you have undertaken and your part in the growth and development of the organization. Exhibit the instances where you were in the leadership roles, this will put forth leadership attribute in your apps. I would like to know more about your work experiences such as your career trajectory and major projects to give a realistic assessment.

Your achievements are worth highlighting, and they can be one of your USPs. They're another jewel on your profile that proves your competitive attitude. You can also make your profile appealing by connecting all of this to a story where you can tell how your past achievements will match your MBA at Haas. Then expand on how you're going to be able to contribute to society and your future organisation. Your involvement in the community is also good. But I want to know, do you pursue any hobbies? Try to find something you're doing right now, beyond work. This will help adcoms to get to know your diverse personality and what you are going to bring to the table.

Your post-MBA goals are clear and it's really nice to see your willingness to contribute to the community. You'll need to clarify how Hass' MBA will help you fill the gaps in your profile to reach your goal. Also, I believe that the 1yr program is going to be a better option for you and so LBS, INSEAD etc. would be better suited to your profile. One of the main tasks for you is, first, to smartly shortlist schools. 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!
Shantanu Sharma
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond
Testimonials
Email: shantanu@mbaandbeyond.com
What s app: +65-97158525

Dear "MBAandBeyond"

I have a condition in my scholarship.

Regarding to my GMAT score, do you think I still have a chance to get admitted in Haas?
Do my overall profile offset my weakness?

Thank you.





Posted from my mobile device

Hi aldi,

Your GMAT is very low. R3 is already highly competitive. I would suggest you retake the GMAT, sometimes even without much efforts, you're able to score better. Also, if you do want to apply to Haas in R3, it's a stretch with your current GMAT. Make sure you have a good portfolio of schools including target and safe schools.

I would like to know if, through other aspects, we can highlight your analytical and quantitative aptitude. Because your overall profile is strong and so, it can be possible that b-schools ask you to reattempt GMAT and target a higher score. So, you should have something to compensate for this and provide a plausible case of your academic rigour.

Hope this answers your question.

Cheers!
Shantanu Sharma
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond
Schedule a free session
Email: shantanu@mbaandbeyond.com
What s app: +65-97158525