Thank you Sir for your power thoughts..!

Looks like I will have to change my plans a little.. I will try my best to make a difference in my career profile. Will let you in the know if anything interesting turns up..

Posted from my mobile device

Hi Alex,

I was wondering if you could do a profile evaluation for me; I’m planning to apply next year (for Fall 2016) but I would like to know what my strengths and weaknesses are now so I can improve upon them. My goal is to eventual transition into management consulting where I would better be able to utilize my skill-set as well as expand upon it in a fast-pace environment (obviously, my essay and interviews will phrase that better but I don’t want to bore you). Any help would be greatly appreciated.

29 (at matriculation)/male/white

Certifications: CPA, CFE

GMAT: 750

Undergrad GPA: 3.6 (Top 30 school, major: Math-Econ)

Grad GPA: 3.45 (Masters in Accounting , top 5 accounting program)

Work Experience (at matriculation): 2 years at Big 4 in IT Audit, 3 years in data analytics within the finance department at large US telecom (current job). Promoted once at each job; I believe/hope that I will be promoted again at my current job.

Extracurricular Activities: children’s charity, park trail recovery, volunteer at charity golf tournament (PGA event), Toastmasters

Schools considered: Penn, Chicago, MIT, UVA, Duke, UNC

In short, all you have to do at this point is to continue doing what you're doing, and apply next year. You've chosen a good range of schools (top 8, top 16, top 30) so you've got the right idea about where you stand.

There's not really anything you can do to improve your profile -- your profile would be stronger if you had more school and employer pedigree (i.e. went to an Ivy/equivalent, worked at McKinsey instead of Big-4 audit, or worked in IB/PE instead of your current position), which means basically nothing that is in your control or that you could compensate for this late in the game (i.e. the only thing that could compensate for less pedigree is being an outlier in some other area, such as being a nationally ranked athlete in college, Olympic trials, NCAA D-1 football/basketball, professional dancer/singer/actor, etc.). And as you know, any substantial achievement in any endeavor is the culmination of years if not decades of work and sacrifice (and failures/disappointments along the way), and not something you can just pull off the shelf in one year without it looking like window dressing.

Again, you've got a strong enough profile right now that you should be focused on just continuing with what you're doing, and when it comes time to apply, to focus on doing the best you can on the applications themselves. There are plenty of folks like yourself at these top schools, so just focus on executing the applications and hope for the best. Good luck
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Hi Alex,

It would be great if you could help to do a quick profile evaluation and share your insights on my current situation at the end of the post.

Ethnicity: Asian Male (International Student)
Age : 27 (as of now)
Gmat: 730 (V40, Q49) (3rd attempt)
Undergraduate: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 3.70 GPA, Accounting

Work Experience (5 years)(All in Hong Kong)
3 yrs - Audit in Big 4
0.5 yr - Transaction Advisory Services
1.5 yrs - M&A Associate at a regional/boutique investment bank (advanced promotion from analyst to associate in 1 year)

Certifications:
CPA

ECs:
Fairly limited, I did do some mentoring (though not on a regular basis) for my high school, and also captain of an amateur basketball team, where we have organized practice and tournaments weekly and have won a few championships

Target Schools: Wharton, Booth, Columbia, Kellogg, Stern

Post-MBA Goal: Private Equity or Bulge Bracket Banking in Hong Kong

My situation: I have started applications for Stern and Columbia (though I am thinking if I should hold off until next year since it is rolling admit), and I am wondering whether I should apply to one more school from the 3 remaining schools (Wharton, Columbia, Kellogg) before the R2 deadline in early January or hold off until next application season to improve some aspects in my profile, in particular the ECs. I have thought through it and below are the pros and cons:

Apply now

Pros: To avoid only applying to 1 school and not knowing my chances at other schools had I applied

Cons: Might be rushed to put in an application with about 6 weeks of time

Hold off

Pros: More time to put my best foot forward and to improve certain aspects of my application (plus more time for me to simultaneously to seek out job opportunities to pursue my goal as I know I do not 100% need an MBA to accomplish it)

Cons: Age and timing

Thanks Alex, much appreciated.

Just apply this year. It's foolish to hold off one year so you can add some extracurriculars (which will not only look like window dressing, but will be insubstantial because anything worth achieving is usually the culmination of years of sacrifice and hard work - and not something you can just pick off the shelf).
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Alex,

To follow up, what are my chances at Wharton/Booth/Kellogg?

Posted from my mobile device

If you're knee deep in the applications, you will do your best job if you *believe* you'll get in. It's akin to sports: when you're in the middle of the game, the last thing you should be thinking about is whether you have a chance to win or not - you have to believe that you can win in order to be at your very best to even stand a chance to get in.
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Hey Alex,

I am posting my stats again over here with slight changes in my plan( hope you would be patient enough.. ) for an evaluation from your side for the range of schools both in US and UK where I may be competitive ( you kinda missed out telling me where i could probably target in my last post). My targets are top 10 in the US and top 5 in the UK. However I would like you to guide me in choosing the appropriate " realistic schools" and if possible advise on the mitigating factors for attaining so.

Also I would like to point out that I have just started working so you could probably evaluate without the work ex part although rest assured I am trying mighty hard to put my work ex at credible standings.


As you can see below there is a rough 1.5 year gap after my graduation although this time was used pursue something which would help me with respect to finance field.

Long Term goal: To start my own firm in Financial services either in Dubai or in India



My Brief Stats are as follows:

UG: Btech NIT Calicut( Tier 2 Engineering College India ), GPA: 6.95/10, Highest GPA was 8.8/10, Class rank: 17/42, No of Distinctions in class( GPA 8 and above): 8

GMAT, GRE: Yet to give I am contemplating something around 700 or 720.

Actually my story goes as follows..

Before entering college I had to drop a year during my 11th grade because my dad got a transfer to a different part of the country & after completing my 12th grade I again took a year off for the purpose of coaching myself for the prestigious IITJEE exam.Thus as you can seen I was about 20 years old when I entered college.


I graduated from a tier 2 Engineering college in India ( NIT), however I had serious health issues during my first year of college and hence i couldn't attend classes for half of the semester..( I received 6 F grades because of this..).My dad who happens to be a doctor of course treated me, hence I can provide some reasoning for this in my Essays as well as in some recommendation letters from some of my professors who know me quite well. Towards the end of my college I had began to do a bit of financial modelling and with sufficient interest I had taken up my final year thesis with a professor of my college for a financial modelling and optimization project.

I became interested in this field and again took up another 2 finance project under the same professor, all based on higher degrees of financial modelling and optmization ( He is now an Assistant Professor at IIM Indore). Since I needed time to put myself into this track I had to devote near to around 8 months solely for making out these thesis and subsequently publishing them into an International Finance Journal. These 3 projects have now been published.. Very Happy I have plans also to present them in a national or an international conference.

After 8 months of research in finance i decided to spend some time in doing social cause work and for around another 7 months was actively working for 3 to 4 NGOs( 1 international and the rest having offices abroad) in the field of Child rights, Environment protection etc..helping them with fundraising and campaigning. I was also subsequently offered to become a campus ambassador for a micro finance NGO in helping them find investors for the firms operations.( I am presently doing this apart from my full time work.

Most of the NGO work had specific outputs such has raising huge funds, roping in large no of investors, raising awareness on child rights to a larger section of the society etc.

Also the entire episode with the NGO's helped me realize and attain interpersonal skills such as pitching, managing investors etc.. which i am sure has incorporated itself into my work skills.

Thus after 1.5 years after graduation I joined for a job in Dubai at a reputed I bank.

Along the way I have taken CFA level 1 and 2 and FRM level 1 and 2 as well. Also I am planning to take up GRE Math ( apart from GMAT) as well some UC Berkeley extension courses to help rectify my academics.

Can you tell me whether I can make a shot to the top 10 schools with this profile or what steps are required for the same.


Hope you can help me out.

Take the GMAT or GRE (doesn't matter which one) first. If you want to maximize your options, shoot for a 720+.

Get more work experience. From what I read (my reading comprehension seems to be deteriorating, especially with longer posts. Must be aging...) - it seems like you graduated 1.5 years ago, and just started a full-time job now. If that's the case, then don't bother asking about b-school, as you're getting too ahead of yourself. Focus on building solid full-time experience for at least 3-4 years before considering an MBA program. Good luck
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Hi Alex,
I was wondering if you could take a look at my profile and let me know what do you think and what are my chances of getting into the universities that I have considered to apply and also if you have some suggestions.

I am a prospective applicant for a joint MBA/MIA (International Affairs) program for fall 2015. I am considering applying to Wharton,Booth, Columbia and a joint program at Fletcher school of international relations and IE (Spain).

Background information:
Sex: Male
Age: 26
Gmat Score : 680 (48 quant,35 verbal, 8 IR , 5 AWA)
Grad school GPA: 3.8
Undergrad GPAL 7.5/10

I have a degree in electrical engineering from one of best universities in India called VJTI and a masters in electrical engineering from University of Southern California. I have been working with a mathematical computing firm called The Mathworks for almost 3 years. I have worked in the area of partner management , product marketing , technical support and quality engineering. Currently I work as a quality engineer with the statistics toolbox development team.
Communicating the use of technology to people who are not well versed in it is my passion.
One of my biggest achievements is being selected as a general secretary of a national level technical event in Mumbai, India where I led a group of 150 students to successfully carry out a science and technology event at budget of 1 million rupees. Oversaw conceptualization, planning, budgeting, sponsorship, infrastructure and media management
Along with 2 other people I am in the process of launching a digital media website to provide political/social/scientific news in the form of listicles and infographics targeting the youth of India.

My goal is to use my expertise in the area of science,engineering and technology to help shape public and foreign policies in the capacity as a consultant.

Thanks,
Aditya

I'm confused. Are you applying this year for Fall 2015 entry, or are you applying in Fall 2015 for entry in Fall 2016?
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I am applying this year for Fall 2015 entry

Then you shouldn't be asking what your chances are.

The deadlines are just over a month away. You should be focused purely on execution right now, and not on reassurance.

It's like being in the middle of a boxing match, and wondering "what are my chances of beating my opponent?" while your opponent is pounding away at you, and the timer is ticking down. When you're in the midst of a match, you should be focused solely on executing, that's it.

Good luck, and get it done.
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Alright. Advice taken. Thanks.
Seems like I will have to pull out a knockout punch to win this bout

Thanks for the reply Alex

In short, you have a pretty solid middle-of-the-road background (Big-4 consultant, business background), which means that your sweet spot will be the top 16 schools (Ross, Duke, Darden, Yale, Stern, Cornell, UCLA) - this means that while they aren't safeties, you will at least have a reasonable shot. Schools in the top 8 (Kellogg, Sloan, Columbia, Booth, Tuck) will be stretches where you have enough of a shot that they're worth applying, but not enough that you should limit yourself to these schools. Top 3 schools are going to be very tough -- Wharton is likely more of a stretch, whereas HBS and Stanford are going to be longer shots. Doesn't mean you shouldn't apply, but that you need a lot of luck on your side, as Big-4 consultants at HBS and Stanford in particular are crowded out by the sea of M/B/B consultants (current or alums of these firms) - and any M/B/B that don't get into H/S will end up at Wharton (which still has a sizeable contingent of M/B/B folks). The small handful of Big-4 folks who get into H/S tend to have some truly unusual or exceptional activities outside of their undergrad/work experience, such as being a nationally ranked/Olympic/professional level athlete, an artist (musician, actor, filmmaker, etc) with some professional renown, or some significant social/political advocacy throughout their lives (and not just something one picks up in the last year or so), or they are from high profile families, or are very high profile alums (heavily involved and/or big donors) of the university.

In any case, with your goals, you don't need to go to a top 3 school -- you'll likely be just as well served with top 8 or top 16 schools. If you're looking to "improve your chances" in just one year, to be honest there's not much you can do to fundamentally change who you are, short of having a time machine (working at McKinsey out of college, rather than at a Big-4). Again, you have a solid background, and you should focus on 3-4 top 8 schools, and 3-4 top 16 schools, and maybe target 1-2 top 3 schools at most if you need to scratch that itch.
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Hi Alex,

Thanks for your comment. You made me think realistically again and I need that object view. I appreciate your honesty and your help! Thank you.

Posted from my mobile device

Hi Alex

I am your typical Indian IT Male candidate.
Age -25 (now)
Planning to apply for Fall 2016.
GRE - 337(Converts to a 780 on GMAT in ETS conversion Tool), AWA-3.5
Will taking the GMAT help ?

Undergrad - Vellore Institute of Technology, India. CGPA-8.7/10

Work Experience :- 2.8 years in a US based Multinational( will have 4 by the time I attend a B- School)
CTO in a health-industry tech based startup - 3 months.

Extracurriculars :- Director of a public school for underprivileged students for more than 7 years. Have driven various projects, recently helped the school to expand to 2 more villages and gain recognition,
Co-founded my own NGO recently.
Have my won sports related website and have played cricket, soccer on school, college and corporate levels winning various honors.

Colleges I applied to this year :- Duke , Kelley , Darden , Tepper , CEIBS, Olin,NUS
Admitted :- CEIBS, NUS
Interview(to take)- Olin

Schools I want to target: - Chicago(Booth), Ross, Tuck. UCLA, Tepper , Cornell,Darden, Duke.
What has changed this year ?

I will have gained some international experience(US) and a promotion. I also did not mention the startup, NGO or my sports website as all of them were in the nascent stage and recent ventures,

You should consider working for another 1-2 years before applying. Keep in mind that for the top 16 schools, you're up against a lot of Indians who have around 5+ years of experience at time of application, with a lot of that experience in the US full-time (the ones who tend to be the most successful at getting in historically are those who came over to the US to do an MS in engineering before starting their working career in the US). You have an outside shot at this point, but a few more years of experience (ideally in the US, on an H1b or L1 visa) will make you more competitive. Your extracurriculars are fine, but too many folks overestimate its importance - they are dessert, not the main course (the main course being your work experience, GMAT, and education). And the GRE is fine - there's no need to take the GMAT.
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Caucasian Male
Age - 23 (now)
Planning to apply for Fall 2017.
GMAT- 710, AW 6.0

Undergrad - University of Oklahoma, BS Industrial Engineering, GPA 3.09
Graduate- University of Oklahoma, MS Industrial and Systems Engineering, GPA 4.0

Work Experience :- 2 years (when I apply, 3 when I will attend) as a Test Engineer for a DOD contractor
note: Working full-time during MS degree (45+hours/week)
Currently writing a thesis over risk management

Extracurriculars : Sports, Volunteering at local Food Shelter, Programs on campus
Schools of Interest:- Harvard, MIT, Columbia, NYU, Northwestern, Dartmouth, Yale, Duke, UCLA

My main concern is my undergraduate GPA and my lackluster school. There were some extenuating circumstances with my family during 2011, during both semesters that caused me to miss pretty much all of my classes and only score a 2.5 and 2.6, pretty much without studying, just showing up to take exams. I know. Sounds weird. It is what it is, and I will write a supplemental essay explaining how my GPA got to where it is. Since I am currently working towards a 4.0 on my MS, does the undergrad still carry as much weight?

I only want to leave my current position for a quality school. Otherwise, why bother leaving?
How can I strengthen my application to top schools? I only need to get into 1, that's why I am apply to all of the top schools.