Ask Accepted.com : Ask Admissions Consultants

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Hi GMAT Club Members!

We appreciate your stopping by our thread. As Bogdan wrote, Accepted has been an active member of GMAT Club since 2004 and in MBA admissions consulting since 1994. Linda founded Accepted and Cindy joined Accepted in 1998.

We are happy to respond to questions, but I also want to introduce you to a few resources at Accepted:

• First our MBA admissions consulting and editing. If you just need a bit of private and custom advice, editing of your essays or interview prep, you can find it here. Or you can also discover individualized and comprehensive assistance with your applications to MBA programs around the world. Our catalog should be your first stop if you are considering professional guidance for your application effort. We have lots of different options and price points.
  
• Our team of MBA admissions experts.

Not ready to engage a consultant? No problem. There's lots to explore at Accepted.com:

• Hundreds of free resources for MBA applicants,
• Essay tips for top MBA programs
• MBA admissions podcasts including shows with MBA deans and directors as well as current students and recent grads
• Bschool zones -- web pages with articles, videos, and podcasts devoted to specific schools.
• Sample essays
• Free MBA Admissions Guides

While we encourage you to check out the treasure trove of advice that is found at Accepted.com, we're also happy to answer your questions here in Accepted's thread on GMAT Club.

Since we've been around GMAT Club for a while, we know that profile evaluations and what-are-my-chances posts are pretty popular. Here is the information we need in order to evaluate your profile:

1) Brief description of your full-time work experience. What do you do?
2) Your GMAT/GRE with breakdown, preferably in percentiles.
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.
4) Significant college and post-college extra-curricular activities or community service, especially leadership experience.
5) Important certifications like CFA, CPA, FSA, or CA.
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.
7) When you plan to apply? Please specify round and application cycle, for example R2 2015-16 or R1 2016-17.
8) Your post-MBA goal.

Your high school grades are irrelevant at this point.

Brevity is appreciated. We're sorry, but posts of over 500 words increase the likelihood that we won't respond due to lack of time.

Thanks,
Linda Abraham and Cindy Tokumitsu
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Hi Linda & Cindy,

Thanks for doing this. While I understand that essays and recommendation letters also play a big part in the assessment, I would like to know my fit (however that is assessed) at Kellogg (dream school), LBS, Tuck, Darden, UNC, Kelley & Rotman. If there are any other schools that you think may fit my profile well, please do let me know. I say this because my post MBA goal is to get into strategy consulting and most of the top 20 schools have a strong foothold in that space.

1)Global Business Performance analyst at SABMiller Procurement and Lead Analyst at Beroe Inc. (Dual role - consulting)Have been in this role now for 20 months. Overall, I have 4.2 years of work experience (at present). Have had good international exposure; solid experience in working with F100 clients in Sourcing and Procurement
2) Gmat : 720 (94th percentile), Q 49 (79th percentile), V 39 (89th percentile), IR 7/8, AWA 6/6
3) Graduated with Honors (40 out of 1800 students received the distinction) from SASTRA University (2007-2011), India; Majored in Electrical and Electronics; University Badminton team; Short-film making club; GPA : 8.75/10
4) Club Treasurer of a Lions Club Chapter in Chennai (Jul'15 -present), Joint secretary (Jul'14-Jun'15), Member (Jul'13- Jun'14); Extracurriculars -actor in regional tv serials, advertisements
5) Do Coursera courses count ?(Have verified licenses for Intro. to Financial Accounting and Intro. to Marketing - Wharton).
6) Kellogg, Tuck, LBS, Darden, UNC, Kelley, Rotman
7) R1. I am applying for '16
8) I would like to draw on my experience in Sourcing and Procurement Consulting as well as Market Research to move into Strategy Consulting. Hence, I am tilting towards programs that have a strong general management focus

Thanks in advance.

bazc wrote:Hi Linda & Cindy,

Thanks for doing this. While I understand that essays and recommendation letters also play a big part in the assessment, I would like to know my fit (however that is assessed) at Kellogg (dream school), LBS, Tuck, Darden, UNC, Kelley & Rotman. If there are any other schools that you think may fit my profile well, please do let me know. I say this because my post MBA goal is to get into strategy consulting and most of the top 20 schools have a strong foothold in that space.

1)Global Business Performance analyst at SABMiller Procurement and Lead Analyst at Beroe Inc. (Dual role - consulting)Have been in this role now for 20 months. Overall, I have 4.2 years of work experience (at present). Have had good international exposure; solid experience in working with F100 clients in Sourcing and Procurement
2) Gmat : 720 (94th percentile), Q 49 (79th percentile), V 39 (89th percentile), IR 7/8, AWA 6/6
3) Graduated with Honors (40 out of 1800 students received the distinction) from SASTRA University (2007-2011), India; Majored in Electrical and Electronics; University Badminton team; Short-film making club; GPA : 8.75/10
4) Club Treasurer of a Lions Club Chapter in Chennai (Jul'15 -present), Joint secretary (Jul'14-Jun'15), Member (Jul'13- Jun'14); Extracurriculars -actor in regional tv serials, advertisements
5) Do Coursera courses count ?(Have verified licenses for Intro. to Financial Accounting and Intro. to Marketing - Wharton).
6) Kellogg, Tuck, LBS, Darden, UNC, Kelley, Rotman
7) R1. I am applying for '16
8) I would like to draw on my experience in Sourcing and Procurement Consulting as well as Market Research to move into Strategy Consulting. Hence, I am tilting towards programs that have a strong general management focus

Thanks in advance.

Hello,

On one hand, it looks like you’re a good fit for the schools you mention – of course the nuances of fit are different at each, and you should tailor your applications accordingly. On the other hand, while fit is good, and your experience looks quite interesting, you’re also in the over-represented Indian demographic, another challenge. So overall I’d consider LBS, Kellogg, and Tuck as reaches, albeit reasonable reaches (especially if you do great applications that vividly portray your experience and goals); Darden a closer reach; and Rotman and UNC on-pars.

The Coursera courses won’t count in terms of formal academic profile, but they’ll certainly be pluses showing your commitment and initiative to pursue related learning, as well as good preparation for the MBA.
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Hi Linda & Cindy,

Thank you so much for taking out the time to evaluate my profile. My credentials are:

Gender : Male
Nationality : Indian
Age : 29 years

Academics :
Xth - 83%
XIIth - 87%
Graduation : Chemical engineer from IIT Delhi (Consistently ranked among the top 2 engineering universities in India)
CGPA - 6.5/10

GMAT - 740

Work experience :

Total 48 months

* 1 year 8 months as a Proprietary trader at one of the largest prop trading firms in India. Not very famous outside India though.
* 2 years 2 months as cofounder of an educational startup that grew to 60,000 monthly users. Did not not raise venture funding. The startup has been closed.
* Managing director of family investment firm for the past 6 months. This is part-time so I don't really know how much it counts.

Extra Curriculars :

* Director of a family run Non Profit organisation that is working towards the prevention and eradication of Encephalitis. It's a small organisation currently and work has been limited to 3 districts in India.
* Captain of hostel soccer team.

International Exposure:

3 months as an International Research scholar at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Activities & Interest:

* Traveling : Have traveled to more than 15 countries. Into exploring cultures and understanding the values and traditions of people living in different parts of our beautiful planet.
* Soccer.

Post MBA goal - Product Management at an established technology company or a high growth startup so that I can learn valuable skills I am currently lacking, and which along with the lessons from my previous startup enable me to create an organisation that significantly improves the lives of people involved.

My target schools are - Wharton, Berkeley, Kellogg, UCLA. My main considerations are Location (Silicon Valley) and placement in technology companies. I plant to apply in R2 2015-2016.

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.

Again, thank you for doing this.

Pillarsofcreation wrote:Hi Linda & Cindy,

Thank you so much for taking out the time to evaluate my profile. My credentials are:

Gender : Male
Nationality : Indian
Age : 29 years

Academics :
Xth - 83%
XIIth - 87%
Graduation : Chemical engineer from IIT Delhi (Consistently ranked among the top 2 engineering universities in India)
CGPA - 6.5/10

GMAT - 740

Work experience :

Total 48 months

* 1 year 8 months as a Proprietary trader at one of the largest prop trading firms in India. Not very famous outside India though.
* 2 years 2 months as cofounder of an educational startup that grew to 60,000 monthly users. Did not not raise venture funding. The startup has been closed.
* Managing director of family investment firm for the past 6 months. This is part-time so I don't really know how much it counts.

Extra Curriculars :

* Director of a family run Non Profit organisation that is working towards the prevention and eradication of Encephalitis. It's a small organisation currently and work has been limited to 3 districts in India.
* Captain of hostel soccer team.

International Exposure:

3 months as an International Research scholar at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Activities & Interest:

* Traveling : Have traveled to more than 15 countries. Into exploring cultures and understanding the values and traditions of people living in different parts of our beautiful planet.
* Soccer.

Post MBA goal - Product Management at an established technology company or a high growth startup so that I can learn valuable skills I am currently lacking, and which along with the lessons from my previous startup enable me to create an organisation that significantly improves the lives of people involved.

My target schools are - Wharton, Berkeley, Kellogg, UCLA. My main considerations are Location (Silicon Valley) and placement in technology companies. I plant to apply in R2 2015-2016.

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.

Again, thank you for doing this.

Hello,

You have some strengths in your profile, including interesting experiences, strong GMAT, and seemingly strong extracurriculars.

The challenges I see are:

- Being part of over-represented Indian male demographic.
- While interesting, the work experience doesn’t clearly portray upward growth and it seems somewhat unfocused – top b-schools want to see not just interesting work, but a strong professional track record of growth and impact.
- Less than clear connection between your experience and your goals – this may not be a weakness/challenge, but you will have to clarify the connection even if indirect. This is a particular issue because your work experience also is a bit scattered.

The above noted challenges may well be overcome with a strong, thoughtful application. If so, I consider Wharton, Kellogg and Haas to be high but still reasonable reaches, and UCLA a closer reasonable reach or possibly on-par.
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Hi Linda and Cindy,

Can you please evaluate my profile. Main point are :

Indian male

GMAT Score 710 Q49V38 IR 7, AWA awaited.

X th : 81% out of 100%
XIIth : 76% out of 100%

Undergraduated ( NIT Hamirpur) : 7.66 out of 10 on CGPA scale.

Work Experience : 6 years approx.

Worked in Product company Fibcom India Ltd. (10 month as Engineer).
Worked with VNL India Pvt Ltd ( Product company) for 26 month as a NPI engineer with basic responsibility of product design and Life cycle management.
Now working with a Start-up for last 24 months approx , which include international Work Experience of working with Sagem ( Saffron Group company ) for almost 15 month
My basic concern is my work experience as i have worked with Indian Industry ( except for international assignment) and all small or mid level company.
Can you please suggest some school I can target.
I am interested in General Management or Product Management.

Best Regards,
Pankaj Vashist

Hello Pankaj,

Thank you for your inquiry. It’s great that you have had some international assignments, and it’s okay that you’ve only worked for Indian companies. As for working with small-mid sized companies only, it adds a challenge – i.e., without a recognizable brand name, you have to clarify in your applications the nature of the business, your role, etc., as the adcom won’t automatically know. On the other hand, you can turn this challenge into an opportunity by making those companies a point of interest – the adcom will see and learn something new, fresh, if you handle it effectively.

If you’re interested in US programs, you might consider schools such as UNC, Tepper, Marshall, and UCLA as reasonable reaches. For Europe, consider HEC Paris, IE, and ESADE as on-pars. IMD in Switzerland would likely be a reasonable reach.
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A

Hello,

Would you please evaluate my profile? Below are my credentials:

1. Indian male resident of USA since 2005.

2. Scores: X - 82%
XII - 92%
Undergrad IN Aerospace Engg. from India - 3.6 GPA (top 5% in the University)
Masters in Aerospace Engineering - 3.7 GPA
GMAT - 660 (Q50, V28 and IR 5)

3. Total WE - 8 YEARS in USA

3 years as a Mechanical engineer
2 years as a Team Lead managing 4 resident engineers and 4 engineers overseas
3 years as a Sr Consulting engineer

4. Achievements:

Graduate scholarship
Best thesis and top 5% of the class in undergrad and graduate school
US Patent awarded in 2013
Involved in several overseas assignments in Europe

4. Aiming for PT programs at Booth/Kellogg.

Please advice.

daredevil123 wrote:Hello,

I am a 23 year old Indian male with a Bachelors in Mining Engineering from one of the IITs (among the top 5 tech universities in India). I will have a total of 4 years of work ex by the time of matriculation (I graduated at 20).

Brief Profile:

CGPA : 7.4/10; GMAT score : 740 (Q50,V40)

Work Ex ( Chronological order) -

(1) Worked as a Mining Engineer with a huge mining company in Australia for 2.7 years. Plenty of (indirect) leadership experience to talk about - work profile mainly involved managing onsite operations. Though I was an engineer, I did a lot of work in the areas of process improvement and business improvement (ended up saving significant amount of $$ for the company).

(2) Fellowship with a state govt in India (3 months project) - Worked on creating an investor friendly environment for mining industry

(3) Recently joined a Big 4 firm in India in their metals & mining consulting practice

Post MBA goals: Move into mainstream strategy consulting to get cross functional and cross industrial experience. Following that, move back to natural resources industry and grow as a business leader.

Others
Contributed heavily to Health, Safety and Environment aspects at the mine site (my past work place) and also won a few awards for the same. Also a certified senior first aid person
Held a lot of leadership positions at university (including an elected post)
Passionate about Scuba diving - 6 dives to my name. Shall hopefully get my scuba diving license soon
Ran a few 10/12 kilometer runs and a half marathon to raise funds for charity

Target schools on my list are Wharton, Duke, Ross, Kellogg, Columbia and Tuck. I am also very tempted to apply to HBS and test my fortunes. What are my realistic chances at the schools mentioned above.

Any inputs would be really appreciated. Thank you

Hello! Quite interesting work experience, and strong stats. For the schools you list, I’d consider Wharton, Columbia, and Tuck high but still reasonable reaches; Kellogg and Ross still reaches but closer ones, and Duke closer to on-par. HBS would probably be a bit of over-reach – though you’re qualified. I’d suggest focusing on the other applications first, and then if you have time and energy – why not – toss in an HBS app. But I would not suggest doing HBS instead of one of the others.
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um36 wrote:Hello,

Would you please evaluate my profile? Below are my credentials:

1. Indian male resident of USA since 2005.

2. Scores: X - 82%
XII - 92%
Undergrad IN Aerospace Engg. from India - 3.6 GPA (top 5% in the University)
Masters in Aerospace Engineering - 3.7 GPA
GMAT - 660 (Q50, V28 and IR 5)

3. Total WE - 8 YEARS in USA

3 years as a Mechanical engineer
2 years as a Team Lead managing 4 resident engineers and 4 engineers overseas
3 years as a Sr Consulting engineer

4. Achievements:

Graduate scholarship
Best thesis and top 5% of the class in undergrad and graduate school
US Patent awarded in 2013
Involved in several overseas assignments in Europe

4. Aiming for PT programs at Booth/Kellogg.

Please advice.

Hello,

You appear to be a qualified applicant for these part-time programs, although the GMAT is still a bit low even for the PT MBA programs. That said, your work experience is strong. Since your current work experience is an important element in the PT applications (since it’s what you’ll be “bringing to the table” every day), I suggest really highlighting in your application your insights on this work and also delineate clear, compelling goals. They’re great PT programs; good luck!
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Dear Experts,

I would like to request you to evaluate my profile : -

Demographic: Age 31, Male, from India

Academics : - Bachelor in Electrical Engineering with 64%.

Work Experience: 8 years of rich engineering and Business Development experience for a Major Industrial Automation company. Worked with some of the major Oil companies (e.g. Shell, BP) at some remote places like Prudhoe Bay (North Pole, Alaska), Middle East, Australia etc. I have led various Automation projects for Oil refineries and Chemical plants at various locations.

Certifications and Awards : - Six Sigma Green Belt, Won various awards from my employers for Business Development in US, Australia and Middle East.

GMAT: 640 on third time (49Q/28V). I was able to score around 680 to 690 in Mocks (in real Test environment), but performed poorly on actual GMAT each time. I don't want to retake GMAT, but if i have to, I shall retake.

Extracurricular Activities: Play Bass Guitar (was part of a Rock band back in College days), Trekking and hiking (recently completed 54km Great Walk in Australia), Scuba and Cooking

Co-owner of a Restaurant (along with my wife). Started the restaurant only 3 months back.

Have been involved with an NGO in North East India (since 2000) that works for the conservation and preservation of Rainforest and Wildlife in the foothills of Himalayas.

Target Schools : -
1) Kellogs
2) ISB Hydrabad
3) INSEAD
4) NUS
5) Tuck

Could you please review and let me know if i should retake the GMAT again ?

Thanks and Appreciate the help.

Cheers.

Aurion wrote:Dear Experts,

I would like to request you to evaluate my profile : -

Demographic: Age 31, Male, from India

Academics : - Bachelor in Electrical Engineering with 64%.

Work Experience: 8 years of rich engineering and Business Development experience for a Major Industrial Automation company. Worked with some of the major Oil companies (e.g. Shell, BP) at some remote places like Prudhoe Bay (North Pole, Alaska), Middle East, Australia etc. I have led various Automation projects for Oil refineries and Chemical plants at various locations.

Certifications and Awards : - Six Sigma Green Belt, Won various awards from my employers for Business Development in US, Australia and Middle East.

GMAT: 640 on third time (49Q/28V). I was able to score around 680 to 690 in Mocks (in real Test environment), but performed poorly on actual GMAT each time. I don't want to retake GMAT, but if i have to, I shall retake.

Extracurricular Activities: Play Bass Guitar (was part of a Rock band back in College days), Trekking and hiking (recently completed 54km Great Walk in Australia), Scuba and Cooking

Co-owner of a Restaurant (along with my wife). Started the restaurant only 3 months back.

Have been involved with an NGO in North East India (since 2000) that works for the conservation and preservation of Rainforest and Wildlife in the foothills of Himalayas.

Target Schools : -
1) Kellogs
2) ISB Hydrabad
3) INSEAD
4) NUS
5) Tuck

Could you please review and let me know if i should retake the GMAT again ?

Thanks and Appreciate the help.

Cheers.

Hello,

Regardless of the strengths of your work experience and interesting extracurriculars, you must raise your GMAT in order to be a viable and qualified applicant to the programs mentioned, with the exception of NUS – I would consider NUS a reasonable reach. For the others you’d need in the 700 range to have a meaningful shot.
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Hi,

I've just given my GMAT and got a score of 670(47Q/35V, IR 7).
A bit more about myself:
I'm an Indian male, age 24 years. I have lived outside India for the major part of my life (in the middle east).
I have a bachelors degree in Electrical and Electronics form NIT Warangal ( Rank 8 college in India ) with a CGPA of 6.3/10, graduated in 2013.After which I worked at Bank of America as a Tech associate in India for 18 months. Here I was the offshore point of contact for an agile project. Worked in the role of Business Analyst in gathering business requirements and developing test cases working extensively with the developers and business partners. Got a silver award for my work in this project.

I then started a company with my friend called Urbserv which is a online/mobile app that allows you to book a handyman around the clock at your convenience. We launched in March and have received around 1000 orders till now.While working on the startup our aim was to create an app for cooks and cleaners on the go and improve their living conditions by the profits we generated from this but to change the idea because of security laws that govern this kind of work and the investors werent interested because of this.

I then moved to Riyadh,Saudi Arabia after working for a few months in the startup and started working as an Assistant Manager in a mid sized Printing and Packaging Firm(generates business of around 5 million SAR monthly ) to improve my leadership skills and to learn all aspects of running a company.Here I supervise the overall working of the company focusing mainly on operations and sales and have about 80 people reporting to me. Over the course of 6 months that i have worked here the company has improved its profit margin from 14-18%. We have used the extra money to improve the living conditions of our labour employees and in educating them. In the past 3 months we have focused on using a part of our profits in helping the under privileged by organizing volunteering activities.

During the process I have learnt that an MBA would have been very helpful.I would like to start a Social enterprise after my MBA, which aims on creating revenue generating businesses marketed with a social theme and the profits generated from these business will be used for building homes and providing food for the underprivileged in the country .In 10 years time I would like this Enterprise to improve the living conditions of the people living below the poverty line by building homes, proving food,education and providing proper healthcare.

To further my career at this point in time I would like to apply for an MBA program. Given my profile it would be very helpful if you could advice me to which colleges I can apply to. With colleges considered, ambitious, moderate and safe.

Thanks
Arjun

Dear Experts,

I am an Indian male, 28 years old.

I have a dual degree BE honors civil engineering and MBA degree from BITS Pilani (5 years, with 1 full year internships, coursework completed in 4
years, GPA 6.98/10 ).

X/XII both 86 %.

GMAT 750 (Hope this will mitigate my low CGPA).

I worked with a major KPO in the area of Sales and Operations Planning. In 5 years was promoted thrice and was leading a 6 member team of data analysts.For the past 6 months I am working with Myntra, India's largest fashion ecommerce company, as an individual contributor in the process excellence function.

Extra curricular.. was on the organising committee of our management fest, was responsible for official fest website and social media accounts, nothing much post college.

Have got a number of awards at work, for being the best team leader in my vertical, also for teams which i was leading and was a part of.

Post MBA want to get into consultancy.

Confused about which schools to target, don't know about the strength of my profile.

Planning to apply this year.

Regards,
Shashank

Dear Accepted. com Experts,
I'm preparing for MBA application now and still not sure what school is right for me. I'm looking for schools in the US.

I'm 32/female/Chinese with 10+years of experience.
B.Comm from UBC/Sauder(Canada) - major in logistics and supply chain management and minor in economics.
GPA: 71/100
GMAT: 700(going to retake the test this month)

Background:
After I graduated from high school, my mother and I decided to open a school offering ballet and piano classes in Nanjing(one of China's major cities). We have no employee at the beginning. Starting from distributing flier on the street and giving free class in public school, we managed to build the foundation of our business and make profit in two years. Then I went to Canada in 2003 for university education. After that I had two jobs in Vancouver Canada(one job as purchasing assistant and one job as full cycle accountant for a small company). I was part time teaching piano at the same time. Then I went back to China and work as a sales and marketing specialist in an MNC in 2011. At the same time I started to do the management work for the school again. I quit job in 2012 and devoted all my energy to the school. Now our school has very good reputation in Nanjing and has over 1000 students. We are offering courses for nationally and internationally recognized certificate now. Currently I invited a partner to join our team and she will take over the daily operation in the school when I pursue MBA degree.

ST/LT goal:
My plan is to enhance my soft and hard skills as an entrepreneur, to professionalize my school and to grown my business through MBA program. My short term goal upon graduation is to expand my school. My long term goal is to build a international school brand in China and provide education from kindergarten to high school(International Baccalaureate(IB) programmes).

Please kindly give me some advice on which schools I should apply and where I stand with my profile. Thanks in advance!

Hello All,

I am looking to apply for part-time MBA programs.

profile: Indian male currently working in USA.

1) Undergrad: Engineering (First Class with distinction, 75.22/100)
2) Masters : USA, Electrical & Computer (GPA= 4.0/4.0)
3) Total 7 years of professional experience - 4 Years as Lead.
4) topper in maths in high school, topper in Masters - got full tuition waiver for my master program.
5) NGO work - 6 years (thou, I stared at the young age fo 14 years and was part of high school & undergrad activities as part of Bharat scouts & NCC, companies NGO participation)
6) achievements at work, NGO and sports activities

I am looking for the following schools in order of priority - specialization in Technology Consulting.
1) Foster evening MBA UWashington Seattle -
2) EMBA Broad MSU - ( can apply for GMAT waiver based on my Masters GPA)
3) Gonzueita evening MBA -
4) Schellar, Georgia Tech evening mba

Can someone please let me know which colleges I can get an admit. if not, my weak areas in the profile

Thank you in Advance.

Female, US Citizen, South Asian descent (but born and raised here)

GMAT 730 Quant 48 Verbal 42

Education
Cornell University, 2011, BA, Economics, GPA 3.2
Johns Hopkins, 2013, Evening Masters Program, Energy and Climate Policy, GPA 3.5

College Activities
Business team leader of Cornell University Solar Decathlon - this drove me to pursue a career in energy and sustainability
Serve as a College Ambassador for both Cornell and my Johns Hopkins Program

Community Activities
Pro Bono consulting through Compass Pro Bono for a Sustainable Agriculture nonprofit
Pitching a comedy drama show/screenplay that I've been working on for the last year
Improv

Work Experience
Federal Government (FERC) for almost 3 years
Consulting in Energy Efficiency for a year and a half
Utility for 6 months (will be a year upon matriculation)

I had to leave my consulting gig because the company was not getting work and was going under! Switched to the utility world, which has been great, but I want to pursue business school right now. Should I explain this in my application?

In my application, I'm going to stress my career in the energy industry. I want to work in the social/technological innovation space as a thought leader, focusing on solutions to our energy problems.

Any insight would be great (let me know if you have additional questions)! I just took the GMAT yesterday and am applying R2, so it's going to be a hustle! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE HELP!

Background: 24 y/o White Male

Concerns:

1. I missed a number of classes in a literature elective my junior year due to illness (unexcused, so I was technically in the wrong), my professor was unforgiving, and he flunked me for the course. Trying to overcome what I assume is a pretty costly blemish in the eyes of admissions officers, and I'd love any insights you may have.

2. Should I try to switch into either a corporate strategy / direct investment role at another firm and wait before applying? I'm worried that BlackRock isn't a "gold-level" feeder firm into top three business schools.

School Applying to: HBS, GSB, Wharton

Undergrad Institution: H / P / Y

Undergrad GPA: 3.52 (with the F..., ~3.65 without)

Major: International Affairs, with a focus on International Trade; Minor in Theater.

GMAT: 780 (Q 49, V 51)

Languages: Spanish

Work Experience: Internship with a public sector banking group (think Bank of America, JPMorgan, Citi) after sophomore year. Spent ~five months working for the White House Council of Economic Advisers as a research analyst in the trade policy concentration, then spent two years working for BlackRock's Financial Markets Advisory Group in New York (advises government institutions like the Federal Reserve, Her Majesty's Treasury, ECB).

Quant Experience: Introductory micro + macro. Intermediate micro. Introductory and intermediate political statistics. Econometrics. Latin American political economy. Course on innovation. Seminar on the Federal Reserve. No accounting / pure finance classes.

Strength of LoR 1: Dean of the College, with whom I've taken three seminars. Likely best LoR.

Strength of LoR 2: Managing Director from BlackRock, who has extensive policy experience from working at the NY Fed. Quite close with him, so I'm hopeful this will be cogent as well.