Yale Profile Evaluation Thread - Post All Requests Here

Hi, I plan to apply in R1 this year and would appreciate comments on my profile.

Background: Indonesian, female, 31 years old.

Undergrad: University of Western Australia. Dual degree Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Commerce with Honours.

GPA: 3.55
GMAT: Have not taken yet but aiming 700+

Work experience:
Total of 8 years at Big 4 firm in assurance.
-I have had 4 promotions and was early promoted to my current manager role.
- 3 years of manager experience. I'm responsible for managing the firm's portfolio of non profit clients which consists of large non profits in the aged care and community services sectors. I also have clients in other industry such as mining, transport and manufacturing.
- Lead audit teams consisting of 3-7 people, mentor 2 assistant managers, involved in recruitment process for graduates
- Responsible for maintaining relationship with clients, presenting training and identifying new opportunities for the firm.
- Prepare proposals. Was successful in a tender for a large client which resulted in significant additional revenue for the firm.
- Organise volunteering events.
- The nature of audit work is backward looking and there are limited opportunities to add real value to clients. Now that I have obtained management experience I'm thinking of doing MBA to pivot into a career that involves financial analysis and solving problems.

Extracurriculars:
- Since 2015 I have done bookeeping for my family's small business in the food industry. I do various financial analysis to identify cost savings and efficiency opportunities. Some of my ideas have been implemented and bottom line has improved by 10% in the first year.
- Mentor 2 unemployed accountants who were introduced to me by local employment agency.
- Member of Toastmaster club
- Volunteer at local church

Post MBA goal: Financial planning & analysis or management consulting.

Thank you!

Posted from my mobile device

Posted from my mobile device

Hi. I was dinged without interview from most of the Rd1 schools I applied to (HBS, Wharton, Stanford, CBS). I did interview at Sloan and am waiting to hear a decision. In the meantime, I am working on essays for Rd2 schools, including Yale.

After being dinged without interview at so many schools, I have concerns that my age and my profile are going to be tough sells at other top schools (Yale, Booth, Kellogg, Stern, etc.). Looking for advice on my chances and what I can do to maximize them.

Background and nationality: 32 y/o American white/middle eastern male
Undergrad: 3.66 GPA from public state university; Finance major; magna cum laude
GMAT: 760 (47/47)
Work experience:
10+ years WE including military deployments.

The Good: Currently in a compliance role at JPM while serving as a logistics officer in the Marine Corps Reserves, where I am a captain and command a company of ~175 Marines. Deployed to E Europe during the Crimea Crisis and again in 2017. Lots of stories there involving building trust and relationships with people of different nationalities across E Europe, overcoming language barriers, bringing multiple nationalities together for a common goal, etc. Also leveraged accounting background to discover and escalate $MMs in overpayments to a government contractor. Had to overcome bureaucracy as a junior officer to get the government recompensed.

The Bad: Long-winding road to get to my present situation as a 2008 recession grad: worked multiple blue collar and service jobs, was injured in Marine Corps training twice, did not finally commission as an officer until 2013, 5 years after my initial decision to join the military. I sacrificed a lot of time and job opportunities on this commitment. Was an inner-city kid from a state school who worked full-time to pay for college so missed the boat on internships and networking that would have helped.

Extra-curriculars: As well as working for JPM and serving in the Reserves, I am a part-time video game developer for a Microsoft contractor; I am part of a team developing a blockbuster game series with 4 million players. I also prepared many of our marketing materials and am involved in customer outreach.

Post-MBA Goals: I hope to leverage an MBA to give credibility to a career transition to product management, preferably in entertainment software or another tech-related field. I believe I would be effective in such a role by combining my leadership and operations/logistics experiences from the military, my financial background, and an MBA coursework focused on marketing and operations management. My part-time experience in game development and marketing may also give me some credibility to transitioning to a full-time position with Microsoft or with another firm, such as Electronic Arts.


So, do I have a shot? Anything I can do to mitigate some of the red flags in my profile that probably got me dinged from schools?

I have an update. I was waitlisted to Yale (Fuqua, and Stern), but accepted to Booth, Kellogg, and Haas.

Posted from my mobile device

Hi, I'm planning to apply this year for the 2019 intake.

Indian, Female, 25.

- Undergrad : 3.2/4, Economics at a top-5 Indian college. (Would it be a low GPA as it's an arts degree, and the course was very subjective?)

- GMAT - yet to give.

- Work experience - 3 years at Management consulting (MBB), 1 year at a United Nations organization (outside of India)

Worked in different areas - strategy, corporate finance, performance improvement, due diligence, consumer markets etc. to grasp the fundamentals of management consulting. Made a shift to the humanitarian sector by working full time with a UN agency. Engaged with stakeholders at all levels,

-Leadership at undergraduate - Heavily involved in extra-curricular committees - I was marketing head of a prestigious committee, leading a team of 15 members, that led to the highest sponsorship amount received, of an Indian classical music festival, marketing head of economics department events, etc. Was briefly involved with leading the fundraising aspect of a social venture, for a friend. Also attended an NYU Stern leadership exchange program one summer.

- Leadership at work - Managed a team of 4 for a year and was the direct point of contact for clients. Coached, trained junior class at work and actively involved in recruitment etc. At the current job, I'm involved in developing project management training tools and coaching incoming interns on fundamentals like excel, powerpoint, data research and project management.

- Community - Taught underprivileged students English and Math during undergraduate program and first company. Shifted to full-time role at the United Nations, with an entirely humanitarian role.

- Post MBA goals - Continue the career in the humanitarian/social impact space, with a focus on fundraising or private-sector partnerships.

- I've lived in four countries, and have pursued music as a hobby for 20+ years (very passionate, have won awards), dubbed for an award-winning social film as a child, and composed two original songs.

Thank you.

Hi, I'm planning to apply this year for the 2019 intake.

Indian, Female, 25.

- Undergrad : 3.2/4, Economics at a top-5 Indian college. (Would it be a low GPA as it's an arts degree, and the course was very subjective?)

- GMAT - yet to give.

- Work experience - 3 years at Management consulting (MBB), 1 year at a United Nations organization (outside of India)

Worked in different areas - strategy, corporate finance, performance improvement, due diligence, consumer markets etc. to grasp the fundamentals of management consulting. Made a shift to the humanitarian sector by working full time with a UN agency. Engaged with stakeholders at all levels,

-Leadership at undergraduate - Heavily involved in extra-curricular committees - I was marketing head of a prestigious committee, leading a team of 15 members, that led to the highest sponsorship amount received, of an Indian classical music festival, marketing head of economics department events, etc. Was briefly involved with leading the fundraising aspect of a social venture, for a friend. Also attended an NYU Stern leadership exchange program one summer.

- Leadership at work - Managed a team of 4 for a year and was the direct point of contact for clients. Coached, trained junior class at work and actively involved in recruitment etc. At the current job, I'm involved in developing project management training tools and coaching incoming interns on fundamentals like excel, powerpoint, data research and project management.

- Community - Taught underprivileged students English and Math during undergraduate program and first company. Shifted to full-time role at the United Nations, with an entirely humanitarian role.

- Post MBA goals - Continue the career in the humanitarian/social impact space, with a focus on fundraising or private-sector partnerships.

- I've lived in four countries, and have pursued music as a hobby for 20+ years (very passionate, have won awards), dubbed for an award-winning social film as a child, and composed two original songs.

Thank you.

Would request you to please evaluate my profile. Planning to apply this year for fall 19 intake.

Nationality: Indian Male, Age 31, Commerce graduate

Undergrad percentage: 61% from University of Mumbai

Post graduate diploma in Management: 4.3/7

Gmat score: 670 (planning to retake the test in July '18)

Work experience: 2 years in KPO, 5 years in Banking operations as Assistant Manager managing a team of 8 in an MNC bank. 1 promotion.

Extra curriculars: Organising CSR and other corporate events at my workplaces. Have also volunteered at an NGO for mentoring underpriveleged children

Post MBA goals: Transition from banking to management consulting and specialising in strategy and leadership.

Hi, please evaluate my profile.

Background and nationality: Female, 25, India
Undergrad Information: Most prestigious law school in India, top 15% of the class (GPA of 5.9/7)
GMAT: 730
Work experience and leadership: Work ex- MBB for 2 years, 1 year at a fintech startup focusing on financial inclusion. Work at MBB involved strategy for MNCs, implemention of large scale transformations, government report released by the Prime Minister. Manager of strategic partnerships at fintech, onboarded 10k+ new customers by identifying relevant partners.
Community and others: Strongly involved in social work in college- legal aid, head of an student-run NGO where I managed a large team of 40+. Also conceptualised and authored a report on the University (led team of 4), which was widely covered by media. Currently continue mentoring underprivileged students whom I had mentored as part of NGO in college.
Post MBA goals: Work closely with social entrepreneurs in scaling up and in working towards the "double bottomline" succesfully, either as part of an incubator/accelerator or through VC/impact investing. Also open to development finance (DIBs, SIBs). Long term goal is to start my own enterprise, preferably in financial inclusion.
Anything else? Am currently learning to surf, passionate about writing (strong track record of publications, blogs, media articles)

Hi everyone I'm hoping to get an honest MBA evaluation profile

Age: 29
Nationality: Russian (dual citizenship Russia/USA)
GMAT: currently studying, aiming for 700+
Undergrad: Law, top 20 school
Undergraduate GPA: 3.4
Master's degree: LLM from USC school of law (USA)
Current work ex: 5 Year
1. worked in a big law firm
2. Now, The head of the legal department
Extra Curriculars:
Co-founder of the first American football team, in which played as a linebacker
Short term goal: switch my career to I-banking and focus on M&A

Thank you guys in advance. I am looking forward to getting your feedbacks

Hi All!

I am applying round 1 and wanted to know how my profile holds up:

I am an African American female and graduated from a top 10 university in 2015. Majored in Politics Science with an economics minor.

GPA: 3.4

GRE Exam Results:
158 V / 156 Q
160 V / 154 Q
160 V / 151 Q - (I'll probably only send the first two)

WE:
3 years in media/entertainment
-For two years, I worked at one of the top three (i.e ABC/CBS/NBC) media companies in research and strategy. I was promoted after 1 year.
-Within the last year, I worked at a major talent agency (i.e CAA/WME/ICM/UTA) in talent department as an agent assistant. I now work at a production company headed by a showrunner with two series on air. I am tasked with reading scripts (to see if it might be something my boss wants to develop) and understanding the current content landscape as well as developing a company strategy. It has a start uppy feel
-In addition, I am the executive director of a local scholarship fund (in charge of reading materials and selecting scholarship recipients)
-For two years, while working in media, I was a researcher for the head of entrepreneurship/econ development for a city that experienced bankruptcy in 2015 (sorry for the vague language. trying to remain somewhat anonymous on here).

Post MBA:
I want to work in the entertainment in strategy/business development.

What are my chances? I would like to raise my math score but am unsure if I want to retake the test again when I need to focus on my applications. I was thinking of doing that online math course to show that I have mathematical ability.

Hi mba2018pls!

I think overall you've got a shot at Yale, but I share your concern about the academic side and demonstrating strong quantitative skills in particular. Your GPA is in range for Yale, and hopefully you have some quantitative-based econ courses that you did well in on your transcript? For your GRE score, I'd love to see your quant closer to Yale's median of 164, but I'm not sure if it's worth the effort. Did you take any practice tests where you scored higher than 156? If so, I would give it one more shot with some focused studying; but if not, I think you may be best served focusing on other parts of your application, given how soon Yale's Round 1 deadline is approaching! By the way, yes, I would not submit the 3rd score you listed. And if you decide not to retake the test, then I would definitely look into something like MBA Math or another online course (something like Stats or Accounting depending on what's already on your transcript). Check out this short blog post on the topic: https://www.mbamission.com/blog/2018/06 ... l-courses/

Besides that, you have a really interesting work background and come from a less represented industry, and that should work in your favor. Your additional activities outside media are impressive too! Perhaps those will make for a great topic for Yale's commitment essay.

Hope this helps, and best of luck!
Kate

Hi Katie, thanks so much for your response! I am conflicted about retaking the GRE vs enrolling in MBA Math. I wish I could do both but am concerned about timing while I work a full time job. The highest Quant score I've received on a practice test has been 159 - I want to throw in the towel but I am wondering if I should suck it up and pay for the cost of a prep course to boost my score (hopefully by first round deadlines).
I have taken 6 quant econ classes and have received Bs or better in all.
Thank you again!

Hi All!

I am applying round 1 and wanted to know how my profile holds up:

I am an African American female and graduated from a top 10 university in 2015. Majored in Politics Science with an economics minor.

GPA: 3.4

GRE Exam Results:
158 V / 156 Q
160 V / 154 Q
160 V / 151 Q - (I'll probably only send the first two)

WE:
3 years in media/entertainment
-For two years, I worked at one of the top three (i.e ABC/CBS/NBC) media companies in research and strategy. I was promoted after 1 year.
-Within the last year, I worked at a major talent agency (i.e CAA/WME/ICM/UTA) in talent department as an agent assistant. I now work at a production company headed by a showrunner with two series on air. I am tasked with reading scripts (to see if it might be something my boss wants to develop) and understanding the current content landscape as well as developing a company strategy. It has a start uppy feel
-In addition, I am the executive director of a local scholarship fund (in charge of reading materials and selecting scholarship recipients)
-For two years, while working in media, I was a researcher for the head of entrepreneurship/econ development for a city that experienced bankruptcy in 2015 (sorry for the vague language. trying to remain somewhat anonymous on here).

Post MBA:
I want to work in the entertainment in strategy/business development.

What are my chances? I would like to raise my math score but am unsure if I want to retake the test again when I need to focus on my applications. I was thinking of doing that online math course to show that I have mathematical ability.

Hi @2018MBApls ...fellow former media marketing research manager here.

I'm afraid I would recommend that you retake the GRE and strive for a higher quant score (hopefully higher overall score, of course, but quant being the most urgent).
The 80% range for SOM for quant, for the class of 2019, is 160-169.
https://som.yale.edu/programs/mba/admissions/class-profile

I always urge my clients to only apply to schools where they are within the 80% range; if you are underrepresented, given solid credentials and a great application, being at the lower end of the range will often work, but I feel it would be irresponsible to advise you to move forward with an app where your scores are outside the 80% range. Not impossible, of course, but very implausible. I like the expression to always treat yourself as the rule and not the exception.