Ask Accepted.com : Ask Admissions Consultants - Page 3

Linda,

Thanks for the super quick response and the suggestions.
If you had to rank Yale, UCLA, Cornell, Ross, Duke, and Georgetown for my profile and goals, which 3 would you suggest for R1? Also, which schools are more likely to offer a full scholarship?

Great to hear about Stanford being in reach. Look forward to learning more at the webinar.

Thanks again!

Accepted.com wrote:

PM1989 wrote:Hi,

Thanks for doing this.
I would appreciate your suggestions on dream, reach and safe schools. Any strategy on which ones to target in R1 and R2?
Also, what are the weaknesses of the profile?

Indian, F, 27

1) Brief description of your full-time work experience. What do you do?
Industry – Non-profit; 4 years in 2 international NGOs
2.5 years in Business Development - Building and managing strategic partnerships, primarily with corporate social responsibility divisions
1.5 years in Programme Management - Monitoring the implementation of developmental programmes in livelihoods (microfinance and skill training)
No overseas work experience but have worked on collaborative projects with colleagues in US (weekly calls, joint proposals etc.)
Have significant leadership experience in these roles

2) Your GMAT/GRE with breakdown, preferably in percentiles.
GMAT – 740/ 96 percentile; Q48/ 71 percentile, V 42/ 97 percentile; IR 3; AWA Awaited

3) College Info
University of Delhi - Bachelor’s (Honours) Degree in Journalism - 69% (First Division) – 2010
Master’s Degree in Sustainable Development Practice - CGPA 9.27/10 - 2012 - University Gold Medal
Post Graduate Diploma in Urban Environmental Management and Law - Grade A

4) Significant college and post-college extra-curricular activities or community service, especially leadership experience.
Pioneered the first renewable energy powered mobile market in the national capital by facilitating 50 vendors to own solar lights and discontinue the use of illegally sourced electricity

Was member of Editing and Designing Team at School and College Level

But, no ongoing long term extra curricular currently

5) Important certifications like CFA, CPA, FSA, or CA.
No

6) Your target programs
Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, UCLA, Cornell, Schulick, UBC

7) When you plan to apply?
R1 2016-17

8) Your post-MBA goal.
Non-profit management and strategy
Corporate social responsibility and sustainable businesses

You're most welcome.

Reach: Stanford and Berkeley.
Competitive: Yale, UCLA, Cornell
Safety Shulich, UBC.

You may also want to consider Ross, Duke, and Georgetown.

Possible weaknesses; Overall I think you have a strong profile. Your quant score is a little low, but your grades are so high that I don't think it will be a concern. And your overall score is very competitive.

I advise you to apply to your reach and competitive schools Round 1 and the safeties round 2. If you're accepted round 1 you may not need to apply to the safeties.

FYI: I am presenting a webinar Get Accepted to Stanford GSB on Wednesday.

Best,
Linda

of those 6 I'd recommend Yale, UCLA, and Ross (see https://blog.accepted.com/2015/08/05/sus ... -for-good/ for insight on Ross) and Cornell, Duke and Georgetown for R2. I think full rides are fairly unlikely at any of these schools, but that's really hard to predict.

Hope you enjoyed the Stanford webinar.

Best,
Linda

PM1989 wrote:Linda,

Thanks for the super quick response and the suggestions.
If you had to rank Yale, UCLA, Cornell, Ross, Duke, and Georgetown for my profile and goals, which 3 would you suggest for R1? Also, which schools are more likely to offer a full scholarship?

Great to hear about Stanford being in reach. Look forward to learning more at the webinar.

Thanks again!

Accepted.com wrote:

PM1989 wrote:Hi,

Thanks for doing this.
I would appreciate your suggestions on dream, reach and safe schools. Any strategy on which ones to target in R1 and R2?
Also, what are the weaknesses of the profile?

Indian, F, 27

1) Brief description of your full-time work experience. What do you do?
Industry – Non-profit; 4 years in 2 international NGOs
2.5 years in Business Development - Building and managing strategic partnerships, primarily with corporate social responsibility divisions
1.5 years in Programme Management - Monitoring the implementation of developmental programmes in livelihoods (microfinance and skill training)
No overseas work experience but have worked on collaborative projects with colleagues in US (weekly calls, joint proposals etc.)
Have significant leadership experience in these roles

2) Your GMAT/GRE with breakdown, preferably in percentiles.
GMAT – 740/ 96 percentile; Q48/ 71 percentile, V 42/ 97 percentile; IR 3; AWA Awaited

3) College Info
University of Delhi - Bachelor’s (Honours) Degree in Journalism - 69% (First Division) – 2010
Master’s Degree in Sustainable Development Practice - CGPA 9.27/10 - 2012 - University Gold Medal
Post Graduate Diploma in Urban Environmental Management and Law - Grade A

4) Significant college and post-college extra-curricular activities or community service, especially leadership experience.
Pioneered the first renewable energy powered mobile market in the national capital by facilitating 50 vendors to own solar lights and discontinue the use of illegally sourced electricity

Was member of Editing and Designing Team at School and College Level

But, no ongoing long term extra curricular currently

5) Important certifications like CFA, CPA, FSA, or CA.
No

6) Your target programs
Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, UCLA, Cornell, Schulick, UBC

7) When you plan to apply?
R1 2016-17

8) Your post-MBA goal.
Non-profit management and strategy
Corporate social responsibility and sustainable businesses

You're most welcome.

Reach: Stanford and Berkeley.
Competitive: Yale, UCLA, Cornell
Safety Shulich, UBC.

You may also want to consider Ross, Duke, and Georgetown.

Possible weaknesses; Overall I think you have a strong profile. Your quant score is a little low, but your grades are so high that I don't think it will be a concern. And your overall score is very competitive.

I advise you to apply to your reach and competitive schools Round 1 and the safeties round 2. If you're accepted round 1 you may not need to apply to the safeties.

FYI: I am presenting a webinar Get Accepted to Stanford GSB on Wednesday.

Best,
Linda

_________________

I think I have a fairly unique resume! I'd love to hear what you think about an US Air Force officer who is not a pilot.

Age/sex/ethnicity: 25 male caucasian
Career: 3 years as an Aircraft Maintenance Officer -- First Lieutenant
Degree: 3.55 (Magna Cum Laude) in Finance from a average state school (think U Houston/Mizzou/U South Florida)
Commissioning source: ROTC
GMAT: 700 -- 48Q, 38V, 6IR, 6AWA

I'm always told, even by pilots, that there's no better opportunity in the Air Force to lead at a young age than as an Aircraft Maintenance officer. (Anecdote: a General who was a pilot told me it took him 15 years to get the leadership opportunity I had on day one) I am the Officer In Charge of an Aircraft Maintenance Unit that contains 100+ maintainers. Technically this is a job for Captains. In the Air Force, it is the Maintenance Group that owns the Aircraft. It is my job to negotiate and generate the flying program and manage the triage and the chaos that that entails. On a daily basis I have to grapple with bureaucracy and resource shortfalls. I believe I can sell the process oriented/outside the box thinking mentality I developed here to convey why I can become a successful business consultant. I have 4 Company Grade Officer of the Quarter and 1 Company Grade Officer of the Year awards. I have stellar letters of recommendation from my senior leaders.

Extra curriculars: my senior year of college (3 years ago) I volunteered twice a week at a children's hospital. Last year I managed a base wide fundraising campaign that raised $14,000 for 4 charities supporting Airmen and their families. I have been involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters for just over a year.

Goals: I want to be a consultant at Bain/McKinsey/BCG

Target schools: Harvard, Stanford, Dartmouth, Wharton, Columbia, Texas (safe school)

If you'd be willing to give me odds for these schools I'd be incredibly grateful!

alex13usa wrote:I think I have a fairly unique resume! I'd love to hear what you think about an US Air Force officer who is not a pilot.

Age/sex/ethnicity: 25 male caucasian
Career: 3 years as an Aircraft Maintenance Officer -- First Lieutenant
Degree: 3.55 (Magna Cum Laude) in Finance from a average state school (think U Houston/Mizzou/U South Florida)
Commissioning source: ROTC
GMAT: 700 -- 48Q, 38V, 6IR, 6AWA

I'm always told, even by pilots, that there's no better opportunity in the Air Force to lead at a young age than as an Aircraft Maintenance officer. (Anecdote: a General who was a pilot told me it took him 15 years to get the leadership opportunity I had on day one) I am the Officer In Charge of an Aircraft Maintenance Unit that contains 100+ maintainers. Technically this is a job for Captains. In the Air Force, it is the Maintenance Group that owns the Aircraft. It is my job to negotiate and generate the flying program and manage the triage and the chaos that that entails. On a daily basis I have to grapple with bureaucracy and resource shortfalls. I believe I can sell the process oriented/outside the box thinking mentality I developed here to convey why I can become a successful business consultant. I have 4 Company Grade Officer of the Quarter and 1 Company Grade Officer of the Year awards. I have stellar letters of recommendation from my senior leaders.

Extra curriculars: my senior year of college (3 years ago) I volunteered twice a week at a children's hospital. Last year I managed a base wide fundraising campaign that raised $14,000 for 4 charities supporting Airmen and their families. I have been involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters for just over a year.

Goals: I want to be a consultant at Bain/McKinsey/BCG

Target schools: Harvard, Stanford, Dartmouth, Wharton, Columbia, Texas (safe school)

If you'd be willing to give me odds for these schools I'd be incredibly grateful!

Alex,

Thank you for our service.

Your experience is highly valued both by MBA programs and future employers. Your grades are competitive at these programs. Your GMAT is below average for all your target programs except UT. I think Dartmouth and CBS will probably be more inclined to overlook than HBS, Stanford, and Wharton. I'm not an odds booking type. , but here's how I like to put it, H/S/W are stretch programs. You have a competitive profile for the other programs you are considering. Also consider Ross, Darden, Cornell Johnson, and Duke Fuqua.

Best,
Linda Abraham
_________________

Accepted.com wrote:

alex13usa wrote:I think I have a fairly unique resume! I'd love to hear what you think about an US Air Force officer who is not a pilot.

Age/sex/ethnicity: 25 male caucasian
Career: 3 years as an Aircraft Maintenance Officer -- First Lieutenant
Degree: 3.55 (Magna Cum Laude) in Finance from a average state school (think U Houston/Mizzou/U South Florida)
Commissioning source: ROTC
GMAT: 700 -- 48Q, 38V, 6IR, 6AWA

I'm always told, even by pilots, that there's no better opportunity in the Air Force to lead at a young age than as an Aircraft Maintenance officer. (Anecdote: a General who was a pilot told me it took him 15 years to get the leadership opportunity I had on day one) I am the Officer In Charge of an Aircraft Maintenance Unit that contains 100+ maintainers. Technically this is a job for Captains. In the Air Force, it is the Maintenance Group that owns the Aircraft. It is my job to negotiate and generate the flying program and manage the triage and the chaos that that entails. On a daily basis I have to grapple with bureaucracy and resource shortfalls. I believe I can sell the process oriented/outside the box thinking mentality I developed here to convey why I can become a successful business consultant. I have 4 Company Grade Officer of the Quarter and 1 Company Grade Officer of the Year awards. I have stellar letters of recommendation from my senior leaders.

Extra curriculars: my senior year of college (3 years ago) I volunteered twice a week at a children's hospital. Last year I managed a base wide fundraising campaign that raised $14,000 for 4 charities supporting Airmen and their families. I have been involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters for just over a year.

Goals: I want to be a consultant at Bain/McKinsey/BCG

Target schools: Harvard, Stanford, Dartmouth, Wharton, Columbia, Texas (safe school)

If you'd be willing to give me odds for these schools I'd be incredibly grateful!

Alex,

Thank you for our service.

Your experience is highly valued both by MBA programs and future employers. Your grades are competitive at these programs. Your GMAT is below average for all your target programs except UT. I think Dartmouth and CBS will probably be more inclined to overlook than HBS, Stanford, and Wharton. I'm not an odds booking type. , but here's how I like to put it, H/S/W are stretch programs. You have a competitive profile for the other programs you are considering. Also consider Ross, Darden, Cornell Johnson, and Duke Fuqua.

Best,
Linda Abraham

None of my business But i couldn't resist the urge to comment =>
700 isn't an "average" GMAT score be at any university.

It might not be a stellar at some schools but its definitely not an average GMAT score.
Congrats on that Alex.

stonecold wrote:

Accepted.com wrote:

alex13usa wrote:I think I have a fairly unique resume! I'd love to hear what you think about an US Air Force officer who is not a pilot.

Age/sex/ethnicity: 25 male caucasian
Career: 3 years as an Aircraft Maintenance Officer -- First Lieutenant
Degree: 3.55 (Magna Cum Laude) in Finance from a average state school (think U Houston/Mizzou/U South Florida)
Commissioning source: ROTC
GMAT: 700 -- 48Q, 38V, 6IR, 6AWA

I'm always told, even by pilots, that there's no better opportunity in the Air Force to lead at a young age than as an Aircraft Maintenance officer. (Anecdote: a General who was a pilot told me it took him 15 years to get the leadership opportunity I had on day one) I am the Officer In Charge of an Aircraft Maintenance Unit that contains 100+ maintainers. Technically this is a job for Captains. In the Air Force, it is the Maintenance Group that owns the Aircraft. It is my job to negotiate and generate the flying program and manage the triage and the chaos that that entails. On a daily basis I have to grapple with bureaucracy and resource shortfalls. I believe I can sell the process oriented/outside the box thinking mentality I developed here to convey why I can become a successful business consultant. I have 4 Company Grade Officer of the Quarter and 1 Company Grade Officer of the Year awards. I have stellar letters of recommendation from my senior leaders.

Extra curriculars: my senior year of college (3 years ago) I volunteered twice a week at a children's hospital. Last year I managed a base wide fundraising campaign that raised $14,000 for 4 charities supporting Airmen and their families. I have been involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters for just over a year.

Goals: I want to be a consultant at Bain/McKinsey/BCG

Target schools: Harvard, Stanford, Dartmouth, Wharton, Columbia, Texas (safe school)

If you'd be willing to give me odds for these schools I'd be incredibly grateful!

Alex,

Thank you for our service.

Your experience is highly valued both by MBA programs and future employers. Your grades are competitive at these programs. Your GMAT is below average for all your target programs except UT. I think Dartmouth and CBS will probably be more inclined to overlook than HBS, Stanford, and Wharton. I'm not an odds booking type. , but here's how I like to put it, H/S/W are stretch programs. You have a competitive profile for the other programs you are considering. Also consider Ross, Darden, Cornell Johnson, and Duke Fuqua.

Best,
Linda Abraham

None of my business But i couldn't resist the urge to comment =>
700 isn't an "average" GMAT score be at any university.

It might not be a stellar at some schools but its definitely not an average GMAT score.
Congrats on that Alex.

StoneCold,

You are correct that a 700 is above average in the overall applicant pool, but when someone asks me about chances at specific schools, I have to look at the numbers for accepted students at those schools. in fact for the class of 2017 there are 15 programs where the average entering GMAT is above 700 including some where the difference is significant and that Alex expressed interest in -- specifically HBS (725) , Stanford (733) and Wharton (732). For Dartmouth and CBS the average GMAT score is 717 and 715 respectively. UT's average GMAT is 694 (All per US News


Best,
Linda
_________________

Agreed Accepted.com .!!
I hope you didn't mind me commenting
And for the records => I am still awaiting for any response from your end regarding my Brief i posted over 3 months ago..!
Its on page Two of this forum ..!!

Though a lot has changed since then =>
I have a specific query
Is my profile good enough for notre dame ?
and additionally if not then - should i skip applying this year in R2 and apply in early round next year so that my work ex will be more than 2 years and 4 months?
i want to get into notre dame or georgetown..!
Actually Notre dame is my top priority.
P.S => I realize my post was a bit amateur given that i didn't do any research back then .
have done my research now ..!

Cheers
Stone Cold

stonecold wrote:Agreed Accepted.com .!!
I hope you didn't mind me commenting
And for the records => I am still awaiting for any response from your end regarding my Brief i posted over 3 months ago..!
Its on page Two of this forum ..!!

Though a lot has changed since then =>
I have a specific query
Is my profile good enough for notre dame ?
and additionally if not then - should i skip applying this year in R2 and apply in early round next year so that my work ex will be more than 2 years and 4 months?
i want to get into notre dame or georgetown..!
Actually Notre dame is my top priority.
P.S => I realize my post was a bit amateur given that i didn't do any research back then .
have done my research now ..!

Cheers
Stone Cold

I don't mind at all! Sorry I missed your earlier post.

Your earlier post didn't mention a GMAT score, which is kind of important. Your grades are competitive. Your chances would be enhanced by an additional year of work experience. Why don't you post again after you get your GMAT, but please provide the information I ask for. FYI, high school grades are irrelevant at this point.

Best,
Linda
_________________

Accepted.com wrote:

stonecold wrote:Agreed Accepted.com .!!
I hope you didn't mind me commenting
And for the records => I am still awaiting for any response from your end regarding my Brief i posted over 3 months ago..!
Its on page Two of this forum ..!!

Though a lot has changed since then =>
I have a specific query
Is my profile good enough for notre dame ?
and additionally if not then - should i skip applying this year in R2 and apply in early round next year so that my work ex will be more than 2 years and 4 months?
i want to get into notre dame or georgetown..!
Actually Notre dame is my top priority.
P.S => I realize my post was a bit amateur given that i didn't do any research back then .
have done my research now ..!

Cheers
Stone Cold

I don't mind at all! Sorry I missed your earlier post.

Your earlier post didn't mention a GMAT score, which is kind of important. Your grades are competitive. Your chances would be enhanced by an additional year of work experience. Why don't you post again after you get your GMAT, but please provide the information I ask for. FYI, high school grades are irrelevant at this point.

Best,
Linda

Thanks Linda I will get back to you as soon as soon as i have my Gmat

Cheers
Stone cold

Hi Linda,

Would appreciate if you can evaluate my profile:

Gender : Male
Nationality : Indian, French (naturalized)
Age : 30 years

Academics :
Xth - 87.33%
XIIth - 85%
Graduation : Bachelor & Masters in Chemical engineering from IIT Bombay (top-tier engineering school in India)
Graduation : Masters in Petroleum engineering from IFP School (top-tier engineering school in France)
CGPA - 7.5/10 (among top 5% in class)

GMAT - 680 (can surely improve it in a few months, but I "have" to apply asap for MBA because of reasons related to job)


Work experience :

- Strong international experience - Total 5 years experience in France as a Process engineer in one of the world's largest oil company
- Prior to my work experience, I was selected for several international projects in universities such as Stanford University (USA), Massey University (New Zealand) and Ecole Polytechnique (France)
- Selected for several competitive, international conferences such as Solvay European Business Summit in Belgium and Total International Energy Summer School in France

Languages: English (Native), French (Fluent), Marathi (Native), Hindi (Native), German (Intermediate), Turkish (Basic)


Activities & Interest:

* Positions of responsibility: Was the Publicity Manager for university cultural festival
* Music: I am a vocalist harboring immense interest in international music


Post MBA goal - Management Consulting, Investment Banking, Tech (Amazon, etc)

My target schools are - Insead (main target), HBS, HEC Paris, Wharton, Stanford, Berkeley, Kellogg, UCLA. I plan to apply in R1 2017.

I would love to know your view on my profile, preferably the weaker points and things that can be done to mitigate the weakness in my profile.

Profile

Gender: Male
Age: 21
Nationality: Canadian
Minority: No
GPA: 3.93/4.0
Degree: Economics and Finance
School (Undergraduate): Florida Southern College
Official GMAT Score: 710 (49Q 38V 8IR), English is not my native language
Languages: French, English, Spanish (conversational)

Internship: 2 four-month internships at an actuarial firm in Canada (Income projection, actuarial valuation for divorce, analyzed segregated funds for estate planning, etc…)

Extracurricular Activities:
-Captain of the varsity Men’s tennis team (One of the nation’s best D2 program).
-Vice-President of the Elite Board of Students (Top 5% students of the business school).
-Member of Phi Kappa Phi and Gamma Beta Sigma Honor Societies. -Participated in international tennis championships all around the world (North America, Africa, Asia, South America).
-Recipient of athletic and academic scholarship.

Desired Canadian Programs: University of Toronto (Financial Economics), Queens University (Ms in Finance)

Desired American Programs: MIT (Ms Finance), Vanderbilt (Ms Finance), Chicago (Mathematical Finance), UC Berkeley (Financial Engineering), Columbia (MS Financial Economics), Any other programs you would recommend applying?

Desired European Programs: Oxford Said (Ms Finance), LBS (Master Financial Analysis), LSE (Ms Finance and Private Equity or Ms Finance), HEC Paris (Ms Finance), Any other programs you would recommend?

I would like to work in IB, M&A or hedge funds my biggest dream being to eventually manage a hedge fund. Europe has always been a place I want to discover so I was thinking of maybe working there, do you think studying there would give me a better chance of finding a job over there?

I travelled a lot for tennis tournaments since becoming a professional player was my goal but I recently realized that only a very small proportion of players make enough money to live so I decided to go play college tennis in the US.

Let me know what you think of my profile and on when I should start applying to schools!
Kind Regards
Laurent

maxmascle wrote:Hi Linda,

Would appreciate if you can evaluate my profile:

Gender : Male
Nationality : Indian, French (naturalized)
Age : 30 years

Academics :
Xth - 87.33%
XIIth - 85%
Graduation : Bachelor & Masters in Chemical engineering from IIT Bombay (top-tier engineering school in India)
Graduation : Masters in Petroleum engineering from IFP School (top-tier engineering school in France)
CGPA - 7.5/10 (among top 5% in class)

GMAT - 680 (can surely improve it in a few months, but I "have" to apply asap for MBA because of reasons related to job)


Work experience :

- Strong international experience - Total 5 years experience in France as a Process engineer in one of the world's largest oil company
- Prior to my work experience, I was selected for several international projects in universities such as Stanford University (USA), Massey University (New Zealand) and Ecole Polytechnique (France)
- Selected for several competitive, international conferences such as Solvay European Business Summit in Belgium and Total International Energy Summer School in France

Languages: English (Native), French (Fluent), Marathi (Native), Hindi (Native), German (Intermediate), Turkish (Basic)


Activities & Interest:

* Positions of responsibility: Was the Publicity Manager for university cultural festival
* Music: I am a vocalist harboring immense interest in international music


Post MBA goal - Management Consulting, Investment Banking, Tech (Amazon, etc)

My target schools are - Insead (main target), HBS, HEC Paris, Wharton, Stanford, Berkeley, Kellogg, UCLA. I plan to apply in R1 2017.

I would love to know your view on my profile, preferably the weaker points and things that can be done to mitigate the weakness in my profile.

Maxmuscle,

If you do not plan to retake the GMAT and are applying with a 680, you have several weaknesses:

1) the top Mangement consulting and investment banking firms want to see a 700+ GMAT. If you say you are aiming for them, you may appear unrealistic.
2) Your goal is vague and basically means you don't know what you want to do post-MBA.
3) INSEAD, HBS, Wharton, Stanford, Haas, Kellogg and UCLA are all stretch programs.

Your strengths -- international exposure, work experience, and multi-lingual abilities.

I strongly urge to take the time and raise your GMAT. Or consider other programs like CMU Tepper, Darden, Georgetown, Vanderbilt, UT Austin, and Duke.
_________________

laurent777 wrote:Profile

Gender: Male
Age: 21
Nationality: Canadian
Minority: No
GPA: 3.93/4.0
Degree: Economics and Finance
School (Undergraduate): Florida Southern College
Official GMAT Score: 710 (49Q 38V 8IR), English is not my native language
Languages: French, English, Spanish (conversational)

Internship: 2 four-month internships at an actuarial firm in Canada (Income projection, actuarial valuation for divorce, analyzed segregated funds for estate planning, etc…)

Extracurricular Activities:
-Captain of the varsity Men’s tennis team (One of the nation’s best D2 program).
-Vice-President of the Elite Board of Students (Top 5% students of the business school).
-Member of Phi Kappa Phi and Gamma Beta Sigma Honor Societies. -Participated in international tennis championships all around the world (North America, Africa, Asia, South America).
-Recipient of athletic and academic scholarship.

Desired Canadian Programs: University of Toronto (Financial Economics), Queens University (Ms in Finance)

Desired American Programs: MIT (Ms Finance), Vanderbilt (Ms Finance), Chicago (Mathematical Finance), UC Berkeley (Financial Engineering), Columbia (MS Financial Economics), Any other programs you would recommend applying?

Desired European Programs: Oxford Said (Ms Finance), LBS (Master Financial Analysis), LSE (Ms Finance and Private Equity or Ms Finance), HEC Paris (Ms Finance), Any other programs you would recommend?

I would like to work in IB, M&A or hedge funds my biggest dream being to eventually manage a hedge fund. Europe has always been a place I want to discover so I was thinking of maybe working there, do you think studying there would give me a better chance of finding a job over there?

I travelled a lot for tennis tournaments since becoming a professional player was my goal but I recently realized that only a very small proportion of players make enough money to live so I decided to go play college tennis in the US.

Let me know what you think of my profile and on when I should start applying to schools!
Kind Regards
Laurent

Laurent,

I don't have the class profiles in my head for the MiF programs as I do for the MBA programs. Your GPA is excellent and your leadership is also good. Your GMAT quant score is probably on the lower end for the top MiF programs like MIT, Booth and CBS, but it's not so low as to knock you out, especially given your grades. Also some MiF programs want to see at least a little full-time experience. don't apply to those programs because you don't have it.
_________________

Hi Linda,

Please let me know your thoughts. Looking for a second MBA or MPA (say at a school like SIPA Columbia). Motivations can be explained in app.

Male, 30 years, Indian with Significant International and domestic work experience

1) Brief description of your full-time work experience. What do you do?

Around 5 years in toto; led teams (size upto 30) across hierarchy, cultures and geographies given the nature of work

• 4+ years a Management Consultant with a large Indian IT firm (think TCS, Infosys; yes, such firms do have consulting business apart from IT)- I have worked in both Digital and Traditional Consulting- multi-vertical exposure (from Healthcare/ Life Sciences to Retail and Logistics)
1. 2 promotions in 4 years, multiple awards, experience with leadership, etc.
2. Published a paper on 'Double dip recession' in a widely recognized finance journal published by a leading Indian university
3. Alum of the 2-year rotational program for Elite B-school graduates in India

• Close to a year of Pro-bono Consulting (for a mechanical engg. consulting firm)at one of the big 5 IITs (during my MBA from that IIT) in India (Advised on Business Development)- helped it grow 2-3x.

• Close to year of Project Management at a Social sector Organization in rural India-liaised with government as a part of my work

• 6-months Internship with Indian Army (successful beta stage acceptance of a critical project)

• 2-months Internship at a large US bank (think Citi, JP Morgan)- during first MBA at IIT

2) Your GMAT/GRE with breakdown, preferably in percentiles.

GMAT 740 (97 %ile; 50 Q, 40 V, 4 IR and hopefully 6 AWA) - Took GMAT 3 times- 660>690>740 in that order- My concern is IR (having scored 5IR in earlier attempt and now having 4IR), can you please share your thoughts?

3) College info: The name of the college, your GPA or grade average, your major, year of graduation. For any graduate degrees, please provide the same info. If you grades are low, please indicate if there were extenuating circumstances.

• BS (Electronics and Communication Engineering) 2009- 9.74/10 (Gold Medalist topper in a class of 250); a leading private university in India
• MBA (General Management) 2012- IIT (one of the big 5 in India) 8.52/10 (In top 10 out of 70; topper of Finance cohort of 30)

4) Significant college and post-college extra-curricular activities or community service, especially leadership experience.

Extra-curricular/ Sports

• Public Speaking (Multiple awards over the years all through school/ college- won nationally as well in all forms; captain of school/ college teams; office bearer of Toastmaster’s club at current firm)
• Dramatics (again same description as above)
• Volleyball and Swimming college champ
• Founder of Consulting/ Finance club at IIT
• Student Coordinator (committee member)of one of the largest college festivals in India (footfalls- 50000; budget 10m+ INR)
• Student rep- Convocation Committee 2011 (managing all aspects for 1500 graduands)

Community Service

• Founder of Social outreach group at my firm (providing vocation training to disadvantaged youth (200-300 since 2012)
• HelpAge India volunteer in school/ college (Fund Raising to the tune of 10000 INR) and some more like that (Don’t want to add a lot here for brevity)

5) Important certifications like CFA, CPA, FSA, or CA.
Six Sigma green belt and ISO proficiency (from IIT); multiple professional/ industry certifications at the current company

6) Your target programs. Please note that our experience is with the top MBA programs (FT, PT, EMBA, Sloan Fellows) around the world. If the programs you are targeting are not listed here, we may not respond due to lack of time.

I think I may be competitive at top 10-15. Please advise (given the cut-throat in the Indian IT male group)- open to Euro programs (one year also) as well. Sent my scores to Yale, Darden, INSEAD, LBS and UCLA.

7) When you plan to apply? Please specify round and application cycle, for example R2 2015-16 or R1 2016-17.
Applications for R1 and R2 this year

8) Your post-MBA goal.

• Short term goal- Tier 1 (big 3) Consulting.
• Long Term goal- Use my experience in Healthcare, Social sector and strong background in technology to do well in the same business in India in long term (I know this needs some fine-tuning)- more specifically sector agnostic leading management consultant.

One last thing: Someone told me Indian IT may not have that much pull at top programs. I recently got an offer from IBM. Would it make much of a difference if I join them (assuming I do, I will be able to send my applications by R2)?

Thanks,
Monty

Dear Linda,

Let me start off by appreciating this endeavor you have undertaken. I'll be grateful if you can have a look at my profile.
I am a Pakistani male, 25 years old.

1) Brief description of your full-time work experience. What do you do?

4 years in a large manufacturing concern as an SAP consultant.
Technical lead in a team of 12 consultants.
1 consultant directly reporting to me.

2) Your GMAT/GRE with breakdown, preferably in percentiles.
740 97th Percentile Overall (Q:49 77th Percentile; V:42 96th Percentile) IR : 7 (82nd Percentile)

3) College Info
Bachelors in Computer Engineering : CGPA : 3.27 (2012)
National University of Sciences & Technology

4) Significant college and post-college extra-curricular activities or community service, especially leadership experience.

President of Sports Society in College, with a team of over 60-70 members - organized multiple inter college, intra college events at the city and national level
Vice President of College IEEE technical society with a team of 40-50 members
Chief Editor of two college publications with a team of 12-15 editors
Convener and organizer of major college events overlooking a student body of 2-300 volunteers
Working on a pro-bono basis with two start-ups : one of them is a web based career mentoring platform for students
Part of corporate outreach program with my current company

5) Important certifications like CFA, CPA, FSA, or CA.
No

6) Your target programs
Stanford, Berkeley Haas, Duke Fuqua, Sloan, Yale SOM,
Safer schools : Foster, Tepper, Kelley

7) When you plan to apply?
R1 2016-17 for the top 10 programs (Stanford, Haas, Sloan etc )
R2 2016-17 for Foster, Tepper, Kelley

8) Your post-MBA goal.
I aspire to a role of general management and strategy in a tech based company

Do you think I have an outside chance at the likes of Stanford, HBS, Wharton; or should I set my sights lower ?
Also, let me know if I am competitive for the other targets listed.

Regards,
Talha Aftab

montys80 wrote:Hi Linda,

Please let me know your thoughts. Looking for a second MBA or MPA (say at a school like SIPA Columbia). Motivations can be explained in app.

Male, 30 years, Indian with Significant International and domestic work experience

1) Brief description of your full-time work experience. What do you do?

Around 5 years in toto; led teams (size upto 30) across hierarchy, cultures and geographies given the nature of work

• 4+ years a Management Consultant with a large Indian IT firm (think TCS, Infosys; yes, such firms do have consulting business apart from IT)- I have worked in both Digital and Traditional Consulting- multi-vertical exposure (from Healthcare/ Life Sciences to Retail and Logistics)
1. 2 promotions in 4 years, multiple awards, experience with leadership, etc.
2. Published a paper on 'Double dip recession' in a widely recognized finance journal published by a leading Indian university
3. Alum of the 2-year rotational program for Elite B-school graduates in India

• Close to a year of Pro-bono Consulting (for a mechanical engg. consulting firm)at one of the big 5 IITs (during my MBA from that IIT) in India (Advised on Business Development)- helped it grow 2-3x.

• Close to year of Project Management at a Social sector Organization in rural India-liaised with government as a part of my work

• 6-months Internship with Indian Army (successful beta stage acceptance of a critical project)

• 2-months Internship at a large US bank (think Citi, JP Morgan)- during first MBA at IIT

2) Your GMAT/GRE with breakdown, preferably in percentiles.

GMAT 740 (97 %ile; 50 Q, 40 V, 4 IR and hopefully 6 AWA) - Took GMAT 3 times- 660>690>740 in that order- My concern is IR (having scored 5IR in earlier attempt and now having 4IR), can you please share your thoughts?

3) College info: The name of the college, your GPA or grade average, your major, year of graduation. For any graduate degrees, please provide the same info. If you grades are low, please indicate if there were extenuating circumstances.

• BS (Electronics and Communication Engineering) 2009- 9.74/10 (Gold Medalist topper in a class of 250); a leading private university in India
• MBA (General Management) 2012- IIT (one of the big 5 in India) 8.52/10 (In top 10 out of 70; topper of Finance cohort of 30)

4) Significant college and post-college extra-curricular activities or community service, especially leadership experience.

Extra-curricular/ Sports

• Public Speaking (Multiple awards over the years all through school/ college- won nationally as well in all forms; captain of school/ college teams; office bearer of Toastmaster’s club at current firm)
• Dramatics (again same description as above)
• Volleyball and Swimming college champ
• Founder of Consulting/ Finance club at IIT
• Student Coordinator (committee member)of one of the largest college festivals in India (footfalls- 50000; budget 10m+ INR)
• Student rep- Convocation Committee 2011 (managing all aspects for 1500 graduands)

Community Service

• Founder of Social outreach group at my firm (providing vocation training to disadvantaged youth (200-300 since 2012)
• HelpAge India volunteer in school/ college (Fund Raising to the tune of 10000 INR) and some more like that (Don’t want to add a lot here for brevity)

5) Important certifications like CFA, CPA, FSA, or CA.
Six Sigma green belt and ISO proficiency (from IIT); multiple professional/ industry certifications at the current company

6) Your target programs. Please note that our experience is with the top MBA programs (FT, PT, EMBA, Sloan Fellows) around the world. If the programs you are targeting are not listed here, we may not respond due to lack of time.

I think I may be competitive at top 10-15. Please advise (given the cut-throat in the Indian IT male group)- open to Euro programs (one year also) as well. Sent my scores to Yale, Darden, INSEAD, LBS and UCLA.

7) When you plan to apply? Please specify round and application cycle, for example R2 2015-16 or R1 2016-17.
Applications for R1 and R2 this year

8) Your post-MBA goal.

• Short term goal- Tier 1 (big 3) Consulting.
• Long Term goal- Use my experience in Healthcare, Social sector and strong background in technology to do well in the same business in India in long term (I know this needs some fine-tuning)- more specifically sector agnostic leading management consultant.

One last thing: Someone told me Indian IT may not have that much pull at top programs. I recently got an offer from IBM. Would it make much of a difference if I join them (assuming I do, I will be able to send my applications by R2)?

Thanks,
Monty

Monty,

Given that what you're doing is excellent preparation for what you want to do and that you've received increasing responsibilities over time, I see no benefit to changing jobs now from an admissions perspective.

You have a competitive profile for your target programs. You may also want to consider Wharton's HCM program or Duke Fuqua.

You may be interested in <a href="https://reports.accepted.com/against_the_odds_indian_mba_applicants">MBA Admissions for Indian Applicants.</a>
_________________

aftab90 wrote:Dear Linda,

Let me start off by appreciating this endeavor you have undertaken. I'll be grateful if you can have a look at my profile.
I am a Pakistani male, 25 years old.

1) Brief description of your full-time work experience. What do you do?

4 years in a large manufacturing concern as an SAP consultant.
Technical lead in a team of 12 consultants.
1 consultant directly reporting to me.

2) Your GMAT/GRE with breakdown, preferably in percentiles.
740 97th Percentile Overall (Q:49 77th Percentile; V:42 96th Percentile) IR : 7 (82nd Percentile)

3) College Info
Bachelors in Computer Engineering : CGPA : 3.27 (2012)
National University of Sciences & Technology

4) Significant college and post-college extra-curricular activities or community service, especially leadership experience.

President of Sports Society in College, with a team of over 60-70 members - organized multiple inter college, intra college events at the city and national level
Vice President of College IEEE technical society with a team of 40-50 members
Chief Editor of two college publications with a team of 12-15 editors
Convener and organizer of major college events overlooking a student body of 2-300 volunteers
Working on a pro-bono basis with two start-ups : one of them is a web based career mentoring platform for students
Part of corporate outreach program with my current company

5) Important certifications like CFA, CPA, FSA, or CA.
No

6) Your target programs
Stanford, Berkeley Haas, Duke Fuqua, Sloan, Yale SOM,
Safer schools : Foster, Tepper, Kelley

7) When you plan to apply?
R1 2016-17 for the top 10 programs (Stanford, Haas, Sloan etc )
R2 2016-17 for Foster, Tepper, Kelley

8) Your post-MBA goal.
I aspire to a role of general management and strategy in a tech based company

Do you think I have an outside chance at the likes of Stanford, HBS, Wharton; or should I set my sights lower ?
Also, let me know if I am competitive for the other targets listed.

Regards,
Talha Aftab

Talha,

I think you've done a good job in choosing schools. You do have a chance at Stanford, Haas, MIT et. al. but those are tough programs. Actually they are the most selective programs. Still the rewards are enormous if you get in so give it a try. Your "safety schools" are good options. Maybe consider adding Ross, UCLA Anderson or UT Austin to your list.
_________________

Hello, I am a white, 25 year old male from New York:

1) I am an Infantry Officer in the US Army. Graduate of Ranger School. Served one year as a Platoon Leader responsible for 35 Soldiers and now serve as the Executive Officer (2nd in command) for a 100-man company. Rated in the top 10% of all Infantry Lieutenants. Will be promoted to Captain after finishing up my 4th year in the Army in May of 2017.
2) 690 (86th percentile); Q 44 (54th percentile); V 40 (91st percentile); IR 8 (92nd percentile); AWA awaiting score
3) University of Virginia; Major in Economics, Minor in Religious Studies; 3.18 GPA (but 2.7 Economics GPA); Graduated in 2013
4) President of Theta Chi Fraternity (awarded Greek Man of the Year); President of the Army ROTC Cadet Association; Student Basketball Manager for the UVA Mens Basketball team.
5) None; Army badges include Ranger, Airborne, Air Assault and Expert Infantryman Badge.
6) Northwestern, Yale, Duke, UVA, Michigan, Cornell, UCLA, Texas, Indiana, Georgetown, USC, Vanderbilt
7) R1 2016-17 (begin school fall of 2017)
8) Interested in Entrepreneurial studies and using my organizational/leadership knowledge to start my own business. Also interested in government consulting.

I just took my first GMAT today and got that score. I am concerned about my low quant score (coupled with my low grades in quantitative-like classes at UVA). Would you recommend retaking the test to shoot for a better Quant score to get into the schools I listed?

Thanks in advance!

Miles

Hello

I am looking forward to apply in international MBA programs for fall 2017 session. Could you please give me insight which programs I should choose for a career in management consulting post MBA.
My Profile:
Nationality/Gender/Age - Indian/M/27
GMAT- 720 (50,38)
Academic qualification - BTech, IIT Roorkee
CGPA - 8.43/10
10th- 88%
12th- 88%

Work experience:
A total of 6.5 years experience in manufacturing an engineering sector.
Currently working as Senior Engineer in engineering department of the one of India's largest manufacturing company. This is a public sector company as well.
~6.5 years experience in thermal power plants set up, plants operations, manufacturing of various components and selection of their materials.
- Consultant to Design group for material selection
- Responsible for quality control of incoming material.
- Vendor development and material inspection.
- Review various metallurgical processes like steel making, forging, casting, weld repair, heat treatment.
- Part of material management team.
~ Done number of projects as a leader as well as member to enhance productivity or to save money for the company.
~Done a course on project management

International Exposure:
Did internship in Germany for 3 month during BTech
Worked with people from diverse nationalities and ethnic backgrounds.

Extra –Curricular activities/Achievements:
Published a research paper in an International journal of high impact factor
Won various awards in paper presentation contest during BTech
Received DAAD scholarship to pursue internship in Germany
Organized various events during college festivals.

Post MBA plans:
Work in management/strategy consulting


Kindly evaluate my profile and let me know which schools Should I target. I have shortlisted some colleges like Emory, Hass, Darden, Anderson, Tuck. Pls tell me what are the chances in these colleges and some practical colleges as well. I will also be applying for indian clgs like ISB and IIMs.



Look forward to hearing back
Thanks
Panbhl

Hi!!
I am planning to apply Round 1 this year for the fall 2017 session. It would be of great help if you could please evaluate my profile.

Nationality/Gender/Age - Indian/F/23
GMAT- 620 (45Q, 31V, 4.5AWA)
Academic qualification - B.E(Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering), Pune University.
GPA - 3.75

W.E:
Working as a software engineer at an IT company.
Will be completing 2 years by the time I join.
Lead the web development department of my team
Received an award for the best web developer of my batch
Organized training sessions for different courses at my company

Extra –Curricular:
Was the sponsorship team head of the national tech fest of my college
Won a pool tournament at my company
Volunteer for an NGO that helps underprivileged children
Captain of my college volleyball team, represented it at national level
Conducted various events under IEEE during college
Part of a team in my company that conducts many 'Go Green' drives

Post MBA plans: work for a consulting firm initially and then move on to leadership roles in the industry

Target schools:
Wisconsin Madison
University of Florida
Texas A&M
Texas Dallas
University of Illinois Urbana Champaign

Please let me know if I have a good chance with these target schools? If not, what can I aim for?

P.S. I know my GMAT score is too low, so if I need to improve on that part, how much do I need to improve, given that I have to apply soon